Live from the 2019 Grand South America and Antarctica Voyage

[Maggie North]

This is fabulous! Thanks for all the detail. We have become HAL fans and would like to do this cruise in the future. Enjoy yourself!

[Scrapnana]

January 10, 2019

Fuerte Amador, Panama (Panama City)

 

Last year when I was here I did the Hop-on, Hop-off bus and there were no excursions I really wanted to do so I took the free shuttle to the Albrook Mall.  The mall had to be one of the top two largest malls I have ever been to.  I only walked from one end to almost the other on the ground floor and ended up spending two and a half hours.  There were at least three food courts as well as various small kiosks of food.  If you had a hankering for US fast food, you had your choice – McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, KFC, China Wok, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Pizza Hut, Dominos, Subway, Popeyes, and more.  So what did I end up having for lunch???  Cinnabon!  I don’t think I have had a Cinnabon in ten years and it really tasted good (I don’t care much for HAL’s cinnamon buns).  For $3.25 I had the very healthy meal of a Cinnabon and a Coke.

 

I also used the ATM to get a little more US cash since two friends and I are going to hire a taxi in Manta rather than take a tour.  I have gotten into the bad habit of having a soda as I finish up my blog each night so I stopped in the “Super 99” store in the mall which has groceries as well as a little bit of everything and bought a 12-pack of ginger ale.   I took the 2:30 shuttle back to Fuerte Amador (it was about a 20 minute ride).  I then looked around in the duty free shop by the pier before taking the tender back to the ship.

 

I had enough time to take my drinks to my cabin before afternoon trivia.  We had 10.5 right out of 18.  The winning team had 12.5.

1) What was the name of the girl who died in “Love Story”?

2) Which former US President was a fashion model while in law school at Yale?

3) What is the minimum number of musicians needed for a “Big Band”?

4) What is the name of the tea company that is the largest in the UK and Canada and the second largest in the US?

5) And, for my Aussie friends…. Five of the stars on the Australian flag have seven points.  How many points does the sixth star have?

 

Had my afternoon ice cream (I missed yesterday) and sat with my feet in the Lido pool before heading to my deck to watch us sail away from Panama.

 

We once again came in second place in evening trivia with 18 out of 19 correct.  The winning team had all correct.

1) What disease gets its name from the Latin words for “bad air”?

2) Which company introduced the first decorative box of chocolates?

3) Which Japanese auto maker shares its name with the Persian god of light? (this is the one we missed)

4) In what year did the Berlin Wall open up?

5) What European country does Aruba maintain the strongest ties to?

 

Tonight was Panama Hat night.  Everyone was given a hat and the ladies’ hats were different from the mens’ (unlike last year when they were all the same).  Even the menu was decorated with Panama hats as were the penguins.  For dinner I had French onion soup with short ribs (very different), seafood fried rice with crabmeat and shrimp, and crème caramel. 

 

The show was a variety show with three of the performers from previous shows.  I did not go.

 

 

Afternoon trivia….

1) Jenny

2) Gerald Ford

3) 10

4) Tetley

5) 5

 

Evening trivia….

1) Malaria

2) Cadbury

3) Mazda

4) 1989

5) Netherlands

 

Smooth sailing until next time!

[Scrapnana]

On ‎1‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 11:20 PM, SusieKIslandGirl said:

And thanks Kathi-love the trivia challenges.

Sherita and I have said a number of times how much we wish you were on our team!

[Scrapnana]

 

Can anyone tell me what the black thing is?  First time I have seen it.

 

[whogo]

12 minutes ago, Scrapnana said:

Can anyone tell me what the black thing is?  First time I have seen it.

  

I am no sailor, but believe it shows that the ship is at anchor.

[Scrapnana]

9 minutes ago, whogo said:

I am no sailor, but believe it shows that the ship is at anchor.

That would make sense since I have seen it the two times we have been at anchorage.  Thanks!

[erewhon]

2 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

 

Can anyone tell me what the black thing is?  First time I have seen it.

 

 

The black ball signifies that the ship is at anchor.

Thank you for all your reports and great photos.

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Dup

Edited January 11, 2019 by The-Inside-Cabin

[The-Inside-Cabin]

As whogo noted, this is an anchor ball - which signals that the vessel is anchored.   This is one of a class of objects called "Day Shapes"   More here

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_shapes

 

At night, you must display anchor lights

 

 

 

Anchored Vessels

AT NIGHT: All vessels at anchor must display anchor lights. If your vessel is less than 164 feet/50 meters in length, then its anchor light is an all-round white light visible where it can best be seen from all directions. (Figure 😎

 
Figure 8

 

DURING THE DAY: All vessels at anchor must display, forward where it can be best seen, a black ball shape. (See Figure 9)

 
Figure 9

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great report.  Always love those trivia questions.

 

Interesting about that black ball -- learned something new this morning.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great pictures.

 

That mall looks way better than the couple we have left around here.

 

Love the penguins with their hats.  Your hat looks very good.

 

We have anchored several times at Fuerte but I never paid any attention to that black ball.

[scluvsrain]

In Fuerte Amador yesterday, I took a ship tour to the Embera village, about a 90 minute drive from port. It had great reviews, and I wasn’t all that interested in the mall or a city tour, so I opted for this one. It’s an indigenous community nestled up a river way out of town. 

We we had a very nice time. 

[CruiseMGM]

On ‎1‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 6:49 PM, Vict0riann said:

I think, if you can find the sail away thread for Prinsendam, you will find the itinerary on that.

 

Here:  

 

 

Wow, how interesting! The Prinsendam will be ahead of the Zaandam by about 4 days the whole way, I think! Fair .weather and good sailing to all of us. Enjoying the thread.

 

Best wishes!

[Krazy Kruizers]

50 minutes ago, scluvsrain said:

In Fuerte Amador yesterday, I took a ship tour to the Embera village, about a 90 minute drive from port. It had great reviews, and I wasn’t all that interested in the mall or a city tour, so I opted for this one. It’s an indigenous community nestled up a river way out of town. 

We we had a very nice time. 

 

That is a great excursion.

 

Thanks for sharing the pictures which are great.

[rafinmd]

13 hours ago, whogo said:

I am no sailor, but believe it shows that the ship is at anchor.

I don't want to hijack the thread but I have a followup question.  Do any of the marine experts know how anchoring affects the need for a pilot.  Can the pilot disembark once the anchor is dropped?  Also, does the situation change if a ship is using Dynamic Positioning rather than an anchor?

 

Roy

 

[DeeniEncinitas]

Sherita thank you for more beautiful pictures of your travels and Kathi I’m sure learning a lot with trivia!! Hope you’ll all have a great time and love the penguins with Panama hats too!

Denise😊

[erewhon]

8 hours ago, rafinmd said:

I don't want to hijack the thread but I have a followup question.  Do any of the marine experts know how anchoring affects the need for a pilot.  Can the pilot disembark once the anchor is dropped?  Also, does the situation change if a ship is using Dynamic Positioning rather than an anchor?

 

Roy

 

I think that it varies in that some ports require a pilot to guide the ship to the anchorage and some do not. Similarly some pilots would feel that they should stay aboard whilst at anchor while others would not. 

[Scrapnana]

January 11, 2019

At Sea

 

I can’t believe that I have been on the ship for a week already!  The time is flying by.

 

I went to the Knitters and Stitchers group at 10 which was actually posted in the “When and Where”.  Last year I was told they do not put this in the daily program.  Nobody in the group had any idea why it was included today.  We had about 10 people show up.

 

I left the group at about 10:50 to go to Music trivia.  Only Pat, Patty, and I played on our team but we won with 30 out of 33! Then to a quick lunch before 1 pm trivia.  We had 12 out of 19 and tied with three other teams for first place.

 

1) In “My Fair Lady” who was Henry Higgins sidekick?

2) For what reason was Gertrude Ederle given a ticker tape parade in 1926?

3) To how many different men was Elizabeth Taylor married?

4) In what year was Orson Wells famous radio broadcast of “War of the Worlds”?

5) What is the collective noun for a group of cockroaches?

 

As part of the perks for a four-star Mariner, I was invited to a wine tasting.  I heard from someone who had been to the first wine tasting that there were no sweet wines, so I did not go.  Instead I went back to the Lido for my afternoon ice cream which I had before arts and crafts.  We made a necklace and pencil holder.  Afterwards I sat by the pool and read with my feet in the water.

 

It was announced this morning that we would be having a block party at 4:30. Everyone was encouraged to come out in the hallway with a glass and get to know your neighbors.  The room stewards were going around with a choice of white or red wine and later showed up with champagne.  My end of the hall appears not to be very neighborly as none of them came out.  I went down the hall and started talking to some other ladies.  My original plan had been to go for a dip in the Lido pool (which I have not been in yet) after the block party but since I did not leave until 5:25 I gave up on that idea and went out on my deck to watch a lone bird attack the flying fish.

 

Evening trivia was an absolute disgrace for us.  After winning two trivias today we evidently used up our daily quota of brain cells because we only had 9 out of 19 correct.   The winning team had 18!

 

1) In what year did Diana and Prince Charles divorce?

2) Who was the first Prime Minister of Canada?

3) Into what body of water does the Volga River flow?

4) Which group of islands lies about 300 miles southwest of India?

5) In 1994 Tim Rice and Elton John won an Academy Award for what song?

 

This was our second Gala Night.  I had a shrimp salad, a green salad, Filet Mignon topped with crabmeat, and a berry tart.  I decided to skip the show as I had seen it on Amsterdam last year.  As I recall it was a good show but I need an early night so I can get up early enough for our adventure tomorrow in Manta.  I did listen to the music from the show in my cabin since I am, once again, directly above the showroom.

 

Afternoon trivia…

1) Colonel Pickering

2) She was the first woman to swim the English Channel

3) 7

4) 1938

5) Intrusion

 

Evening trivia…

1) 1996

2) John A MacDonald (sp?)

3) Caspian Sea

4) Maldives

5) Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

(we missed all five of these)

 

Smooth sailing until next time!

Edited January 12, 2019 by Scrapnana

[SusieKIslandGirl]

On ‎1‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 2:18 AM, rafinmd said:

https://morethangetaways.wordpress.com/itinerary/

 

Roy

Thanks for the information. Had hoped to meet up with all of you but we'll be a couple of day off in several of the ports.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the updates.

Love the trivia questions.  An intrusion of cockroaches - priceless.

[kazu]

A Block party?  How wonderful!  It was so much fun when they did the first one on our cruise.   Wonder if they have turned this into a Prinsendam tradition?  

 

Don't feel badly about Trivia, Kathi.  I wouldn't have done well either but I do know who the first Prime Minister of Canada is 😉 

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

The block party sounds like a great idea.  Too bad your neighbors didn't join in.

 

Trivia can have its ups and downs.

 

Love the reports.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Checked out the pictures.  The Power Bank looks like a great pillow gift.

[Scrapnana]

January 12, 2019

 

Manta, Ecuador

 

It’s summertime!  (Apologies to my friends at home who are getting snow.)  Shortly after midnight we crossed the Equator and went from winter to summer.  I love these years when I get two summers!

 

Patty, Sherita, and I met at 9:00 to tour the area.  Because this is a working port you could not walk to the gate but instead there was a free shuttle to go into town to the Plaza Civica where there were handcraft stalls set up.

 

When we got to the Plaza we hired a cab for three hours.  HAL was asking $90 each for almost the same tour (we did not go to the museum they did) - we did it for $27 each.  We knew we wanted to go to Montecristi which is the home of the Panama hat.  Despite the name, the hats were never made in Panama but were shipped around the world from Panama.  They became very popular during the California Gold Rush (many of the miners came across the isthmus of Panama rather that sailing around the Horn) and again during the building of the Panama Canal.  Even Teddy Roosevelt had one.

 

Out taxi driver was Fernanado.  He had limited English but luckily, Sherita speaks some Spanish.  We drove the few kilometers from Manta to Montechristi where he took us to visit a Panama hat shop.  I don’t wear hats, I don’t think I look good in hats, and I did not plan to buy one.  Guess who came back with a hat????  Actually, it wasn’t as crazy as it sounds because my cruise seagrass hat had fallen apart last year so I didn’t bring it and I needed a sun hat.  (That’s my story and I am sticking to it!)

 

We then went part way up the mountain from which Montecristi gets its name.  There is a nice lookout at the Museo Ciudad Alfaro (where we met a couple of bus loads of HAL excursions).

Next Fernanado took us to the downtown area where we walked around and took some pictures.  The focal point of town is the Cathedral.  In the area near it are tributes to Eloy Alfaro.  He was a native of Montecristi, a leader of the Ecuadorian Liberal Revolution, and two-time President of the country before he was assassinated in 1912.

 

Our next stop was in the very small village of El Chorillo where we were able to see people making products from the agave plant.

 

When we returned to Manta, Fernando took us on a drive around town before dropping us at the Plaza.  We decided to get a little more cash from an ATM (did you know Ecuador uses the US$ for its currency?).  With money in hand we did some shopping before taking the shuttle back to the ship.

 

It was after 1:30 and I was hungry and thirsty so I headed to the Lido for a late lunch and then sat out by the Lido pool knitting before afternoon trivia.

 

Only five on our team for afternoon trivia at 4.  We again were one off the winners with 12 out of 20.

1) Lavender, mulberry, magic mint and wild watermelon were once – flavors of Life Savers candy, Crayola crayon colors, Chapstick Lip Balm flavors, or Kool-Aid flavors?

2) Why are they called “kewpie” dolls?

3) Which two stars have an imprint of a cigar on their Hollywood Walk of Fame stars?

4) How many eyes on a standard deck of playing cards?

5) What is the collective noun for a group of giraffes?

 

It is amazing what people (myself included) will do to get those silly Amazon activity prize vouchers.  After trivia most of our team went to deck 4 for the ring toss.  We were all terrible – not one person got one ring but we did get our vouchers.  I am not sure I have mentioned it but this year you can get vouchers on port days.  On last year’s world cruise you could only get them on sea days.

 

Because of a couple of activities I wanted to do this evening, I told one of my dinner companions I was not going to be there.

 

After an amazingly fast dinner in the Lido, I went to the Crow’s Nest for evening trivia.  Pat and I were the only ones from our team so we played with a gentleman I first met on the world cruise last year (we sometimes joined forces when our teams were not there).  We tied with 15 out of 18 but Erin still gives tiebreakers and we lost that one.  (How many dominoes in a standard set?)

1) What Swedish car company’s name means “I roll” in Latin?

2) Which country consumes the most beer per capita?

3) What was the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound?

4) What is the most plentiful metal in the Earth’s crust?

5) In 1933, what King was killed by the American army?

 

At 7:15 Sharon, Patty, Sherita, and Jim (from our Cruise Critic roll call) played “Majority Rules”.  In this game you get a point if you give the same answer as the majority of other teams.  All of the questions are opinions so there are no right or wrong answers per se. We had 5 out of 9 points with the winning team having 8.  A few we had tonight were…

1) What is the best age to get married?

2) What country is known for its cuisine?

3) What is the favorite port on this cruise?

4) What is the favorite candy bar?

5) If you forgot something for the cruise, what would be the most important to replace.

 

After the game we stayed for the second performance of the pianist, Paul Pappas.  He is very good.  Sure is a difference in the size of the audience for the 8 and 10 pm shows!

 

 

Afternoon trivia…

1) Crayola crayon colors

2) Named after Cupid

3) George Burns and Groucho Marx

4) 42

5) Tower

 

Evening trivia…

1) Volvo

2) Czech Republic

3) Steamboat Willie

4) Aluminum

5) King Kong (Pat was the only one to get it)

Tie-breaker – 28

 

Majority Rules…

1) 25

2) France

3) Rio

4) Snickers

5) Toothpaste

 

Smooth sailing until next time!

[kazu]

Thanks for the report Kathi!

 

A Panama hat will come in very handy indeed 😄 Better to buy than to be sorry you didn't later.  Are you going to give us a pic?