live Island Princess 59 day Circle South America Ja 9 -Mr 7

[Waynetor]

Day 53 Sunday, March 1, at sea

Our time in South America has just about come to an end -just a bit more sailing overnight and we will be in the Caribbean Sea. 

 

For the fist time since seas days after Easter Island at 2am today we had a time change gaining an hour.  It was nice as we got to sleep in a bit and still make an early for us breakfast.

 

Nice weather most of the day until late in the afternoon.

 

I have what should be a great tour tomorrow.  Forecast is for perfect weather.

 

Today’s thought of the day- Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. - Mark Twain

[Waynetor]

La Serna, Chile - Pisco Factory 

[Waynetor]

 

La Serena, Chile - countryside

[Waynetor]

La Serena Chile - port area

 

 

[Waynetor]

La Serena, Chile - port area

[Waynetor]

Chile coast near Amalia Glacier

[Waynetor]

To Jack questions- I suppose the tower refers to the trail in Mantra - I would say yes it was worth the walk.  A few in our group stopped part way as it is not too easy if you have any walking difficulty.   The walk is on a ridge giving views of the ocean in both directions.

Again I assume the boat question is the boat under construction next to the fish market.  There were about 6 boast in process.  Each roughly around a 100 ft.  Not much work being done while we were there but I imagine it is a lengthy process.  All the work done right there on the beach.  No idea of cost.   

When we booked I had no idea of the failure rate on tendering at Easter Island.  It would have been a great shame to have missed it, especially when it took 8 sea days to get there and back.  Having been there and getting in a full tour, I think it was a great day.  If you like this kind of history, go for it. 

My recommendation for anyone really wanting to go there would be to use a cruise that ends or starts in Santiago and fly to Easter Is. before or after the cruise.  That way you are guaranteed to see what you want without being rushed.  

[suzyed]

A bit off topic, so apologies in advance....have you or anyone you know brought wine onboard from the ports?  We are really looking forward to trying some of the wines in Chile and Argentina and would love to purchase some to enjoy during our many sea days toward the end of our sailing.  (We are on the 32 day voyage from Santiago commencing on March 5th)
Enjoying your travelogue!
Thank you!

[Reina del Mar]

We have taken wine aboard in Chile and Argentina.

 

There is usually a table as you re board, after the scanners, to hand in wine/ alcohol that you want to be stored for you until the end of the voyage,  or to pay $15 corkage per bottle.

[Tamara2cruise]

8 hours ago, suzyed said:

A bit off topic, so apologies in advance....have you or anyone you know brought wine onboard from the ports?  We are really looking forward to trying some of the wines in Chile and Argentina and would love to purchase some to enjoy during our many sea days toward the end of our sailing.  (We are on the 32 day voyage from Santiago commencing on March 5th)
Enjoying your travelogue!
Thank you!

I’m onboard this cruise as well, and they do not appear to be enforcing the wine rules at all. We’ve brought on wine at numerous ports, one bottle per person, with no issues whatsoever. At one port we were told by the alcohol’checker’ that they didn’t care about the wine being brought on board, only the hard alcohol.  YMMV of course.

Edited March 2, 2020 by Tamara2cruise

[suzyed]

22 minutes ago, Tamara2cruise said:

I’m onboard this cruise as well, and they do not appear to be enforcing the wine rules at all. We’ve brought on wine at numerous ports, one bottle per person, with no issues whatsoever. At one port we were told by the alcohol’checker’ that they didn’t care about the wine being brought on board, only the hard alcohol.  YMMV of course.

Thanks for that info.  While we will be on the Coral rather than the Island, I anticipate it will be the same.  We have had no problems with bringing wine onboard in Eupoean ports but just thought I would check on how it was in SA.

[Waynetor]

Re  bringing wine on board - I have not bought any on board, I have been told by a few people that they have brought wine on with no issue.  The ship was only holding hard liquor.  One lady on a tour I was on in Peru brought back 8 bottles no issue.  I also heard that someone else was charge $150 for 6 bottles of wine.  So like other issues, Princess is consistently inconsistent. 

[Waynetor]

Mar 2 Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago intro

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean.  The main island, Trinidad (93% of the country) is 11km (6.8mi) off the coast of northeastern Venezuela.

 

It became part of the Spanish empire after Columbus arrival and was surrendered to Britain in 1797.  Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 31 August 1962.

 

Trinidad and Tobago has the third highest GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP) in the Americas after the United States and Canada.  It is recognised by the World Bank as a high-income economy.  Unlike most Caribbean nations and territories, which rely heavily on tourism, the Trinidadian economy is primarily industrial with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals, much of the nation's wealth is derived from its large reserves of oil and natural gas.

 

Port of Spain is the capital and has the largest port on the island.  The city serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre and is home to the largest stock exchange in the Caribbean.  The city has a wonderful mix of modern as well as colonial buildings.

 

The average high temperature in March is 32C (86F) with about 12mm (.5in) of rain.

 

[Waynetor]

Day 54 Monday, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago  8 – 5pm

Our cruises from last winter included B2B 14-day voyages that brought us here – both times it was Sunday and the downtown area was very quiet.  Other than the market at the port there was no other shopping options open that I saw.  At the port there were a string of vendors enticing you to book a tour of some sort.  The first time I got a map from the local tourist guides that were in the port area and went on a long walk that took me to a nice arboretum about 45 min walk from the port.  The second time both of us did a shorter trip around downtown.  Near the port there is a large government building, at 1 end there is a large piece of art work that honours each Olympic medal winner from Trinidad and Tobago – not very many but very good considering the countries size and they don’t do winter Olympics.

 

I joined another roll call tour today.  The tour was with Island Eco-Cultural Tours.  The description of the $79US tour was –

Port Of Spain City/ Panyard / Maracas Beach / Mount St. Benedict Monastery

Time: 9.00am-3.00pm (6 hours duration)

Approximate Tour Timings

09.00am – 11.00am - Port Of Spain city tour

11.00am – 11.45am - North Coast Scenic Drive

11.45am – 12:30pm - Beach Stop at Maracas Beach

12.30pm – 02.00pm - Drive via country side to panoramic viewpoint at Mt. St. Benedict Monastery

02.00pm -- 02.15pm - Stop at Mt. St. Benedict Monastery

02.15pm – 03.00pm - Return to ship via different route

We depart the port and make our way to downtown Port of Spain for a 2-hour city tour. Here we experience lively Independence Square with its imposing Central Bank and Brian Lara Promenade. We continue our tour passing various interesting sights like the Trinity Church, the Parliamentary Building (Red House), the Supreme Court, our most prestigious High School St Joseph's Convent, the Museum of Natural History and at last the "world's largest roundabout", the Queens Park Savannah. This 200-acre recreational Park is lined with exotic trees and interesting colonial style buildings. The most impressive among these are the "Magnificent Seven", a row of imposing mansions with amazing architectural designs.

Continuing our 45 minute drive we now tour through various villages until we reach the most astounding part of our tour – the scenic journey up the North Coast Road. We enjoy the panoramic views of the Paramin Hills, the highly residential valleys, the Northern Range Mountains and the rain forest. The most amazing view awaits us when we reach the Caribbean Sea. A photo stop at the Maracas Lookout is most rewarding (panoramic view). A short drive now brings us to Maracas Beach where we stay for about 45 minutes. Here we can taste the famous “Bake and Shark” or other fish sandwich (cost on own). Take time to enjoy this total unspoilt beach with a lovely rainforest backdrop (no hi rise hotels!).

We then depart on a 1 hour 30-minute panoramic countryside drive via Santa Cruz and its cocoa plantations to our last stop at the lovely Mt. St Benedict Monastery where we will spend about 15 minutes. Enjoy a beautiful panoramic view and opportunity to taste homemade yogurt (cost not included) produced by resident monks. Inside visit of the church.

We then have a 45-minute drive back to the ship via a different route.

 

Review – Unlike many Caribbean Islands, prepaying for tours seems common here.  We had to pay by Dec. 1.  We had a similar case when we did a tour in Tobago a few years ago.  For our group 3 14 passenger vans were used with a max of 12 in each vehicle.

 

Due to traffic concerns, the company reversed the order of the tour which made sense as the last item then became the item closest to the port. 

 

Mt. St. Benedict Monastery was nice but not spectacular – It was built in the early 1900’s and future tourist considerations was not a factor when designing.  The site offered great views.  There was a lot of hair-pin turns getting up to its location.  I would guess back when built, its inhabitants did not travel very far from the building.  Many of the roads here are narrow and had parked cars.  I was constantly amazed at the closeness of the vehicles when passing without taking each other’s mirrors off.

 

The North Coast Scenic Drive gave us an opportunity to see a lot of smaller village life and scenic countryside.  The trip took us across the mountain range that runs down the island.  We made a stop at a high point with very steep slopes that gave sweeping views of the east coast and Atlantic Ocean.

 

Not too far from the lookout the road went downhill to Maracas Beach.  The beach there was very nice – rentals were available but we were not there long enough to be worth it.  There were several beachfront restaurants/bars.  Our guide recommended the ‘shark burger’.  Someone that tried it said it was wonderful.  I got into the ocean up to just past my knees – water was very warm.

 

Heading back towards Port Of Spain we made a special request stop at a grocery store.  Most retail business here are not very large, but this was a fair size.

 

The city tour was basically just driving around pointing out various sites and buildings.  I had seen the majority before but while we covered a lot of area, most of the time only people on the ‘correct’ side of the van could see what was being pointed out.

 

Tonight the weather was quite clear and 1 of the CD staff did a star gazing talk up on deck 16 forward.  The ship turned off as many lights as possible and lots of constellations could b seen as well as a shooting star.  The partial moon did not help nor the lights from a distant island but certainly a lot more stars than I ever see in Toronto.

 

Today’s thought of the day - Instead of seeing what it cost you to get on the ship, see what it cost you to get off the ship.

[Waynetor]

Trinidad- St Benedict

[Waynetor]

Trinidad - countryside and Atlantic coast

[Waynetor]

Trinidad - Maracas Beach

[Waynetor]

Trinidad city and port

[Waynetor]

Mar 3 Barbados intro

Barbados is part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 13°N of the equator.  It is 34km (21mi) in length and up to 23km (14mi) in width, covering an area of 432 km² (167mi²).

 

The Portuguese Empire claimed the island between 1532 and 1536, but later abandoned it in 1620; with their only remnants being an introduction of wild boars for a good supply of meat whenever the island was visited, and to replenish their water supply.  An English ship arrived in Barbados on May 14, 1625; its men took possession of it in the name of King JamesI.

 

On November 30, 1966, Barbados became an independent state and Commonwealth realm with Elizabeth II as its Queen.

 

Its population of approximately 287,000 is predominantly of African descent.

 

Barbados is often spared the worst effects of the region's tropical storms and hurricanes during the June – December rainy season.  The last significant hit from a hurricane to cause severe damage to Barbados was Hurricane Janet in 1955.

 

Bridgetown, the capitol lies on the southwestern coast of the island and has a population of approx. 110,000. 

 

Bridgetown is a major tourist destination, and the city acts as an important financial, informatics, convention centre, and cruise ship port of call as well as the island main freight port.  On 25 June 2011, "Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison" was added as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

Bridgetown is the only city outside the present United States that George Washington visited.

 

The average high temperature in March is 30c (85F) with 37mm (1.5in) of rain for the month.

[Waynetor]

Day 55 Tuesday, Barbados 7 – 4pm

We have been here many times including 3 times last year.  We have done tours to most of the common tourist areas.  Known for its dramatic scenery, the east coast around Bathsheba is a classic.  We loved going to the Orchid garden.  Several times I have walked to Bridgetown and explored some of the back-road areas.  Last year I walked all the way to the end of Carlisle Bay doing the beach part as much as possible going there and took the road back – not much room for pedestrians in some areas – it is very popular for ship passengers that just want a beach day – easy to get a group taxi to the beach.

 

The port holds several cruise ships so depending on what berth your ship docks at it can be a fair walk to the port.  We are here today with a large MSC ship and a small 3 mast Sea Cloud II ship.  Shuttles were available to the port but many people like to walk instead of lining up and waiting for a shuttle.  The port offers lots of shopping and some outdoor bars.  Some Caribbean cruise start here- saves using a couple sea days getting south and north from Florida.  Gives the benefit of more port days and for Europeans it is just as easy to fly here instead of Florida plus it is easy to add some wonderful days pre/post cruise on the island.  Cruises starting itineraries here are usually on weekends so no such ships today.

 

There are plenty of taxis/vans offering individual or group tours as well as rides to popular beaches.  Outside the gate there are unregulated taxis available.  To get to Bridgetown you can use a taxi or it is about a 15-minute walk much of it along the waterfront.  It is possible to go to Bridgetown in a wheelchair but there are just enough areas that are not good to make it much less than ideal.  Bridgetown is a lively place, filled with locals and tourist.  There is no major market but lot of smaller ones and street vendors.  Lots of options for a fresh local cooked meal.

 

For a change of pace today I decided instead of walking out of the port towards Bridgetown, I decided to turn left out of the port and walk north.  It takes about 20 minutes to walk past all the port related business.  Once past that one of the first business is Mount Gay rum.  I did not spend a lot of time there but had heard that tours were available but did not see any sign.  They also had a museum sign on a door but it was locked.  They had a restaurant and bar with lots of rum based drinks as well as a range of rum bottles and product souvenirs.  My Mother -in-law loves their rum.  They had some special edition bottles priced at $150, $200 and $250US.

 

Just pass Mount Gay is Brandon beach and Brighton Beach.  They can be seen from the ship.  I went there.  They were not very busy.  There are chairs and umbrellas available at a few spots.  One spot had a bar/restaurant.  I did a quick swim before heading back to the ship.  From leaving the ship to the beach was near 40 minutes.

 

Thinking back to a previous time here - With all the poverty around here, we asked our guide how he had managed to save enough to have a nice vehicle.  He told us it was a combination of misfortune being turned into lemonade.

He told us he once bought a donkey for a $100 to work his small lot.  The next day he went to get the donkey and the seller said, “Sorry son, but I have some bad news.  The donkey died”.  So our guide replied, “Well just give me my money back then”.  The seller replied, “Sorry but I’ve already spent it”.  So, our guide just asked him to bring over the dead donkey to his farm.  “But why” asked the seller.  Our guide said “I’m going to raffle him off” and that is what he did.  He told us he sold 2,000 raffle tickets at $10 each.  I cut in and asked “But didn’t anyone complain”.  The guide said, “Just the guy who won, so I gave him his $10 back”.

 

Today’s thought of the day - Everyone in 15^th century Spain was wrong about where China was and as a result Columbus discovered Caribbean vacations - P J O’Rourke

[Steelers36]

22 hours ago, Waynetor said:

I also heard that someone else was charge $150 for 6 bottles of wine.

Math doesn't work for me.  Either $90 or 10 bottles.

[Waynetor]

My understanding of the $150 for 6 bottles is $25 per bottle corkage fee. 

[Waynetor]

Barbados - I forgot to take any pics of the beach I went to

1st getting ticket from cop on segway

2nd/3rd Mount Gay shop

4th sign in port and Sea Cloud II

[Waynetor]

Ushuaia, Argentina - approach

[Waynetor]

Ushuaia, Argentina - approach