ARUBA - FT. LAUDERDALE - THE END

ARUBA - Pop. Just over 100,000.  Only 20 miles long and 69 sq. miles.  Dutch

Windy, hot and humid.  We were joined in port by 2 Royal Caribbean ships so the town was busy.  Jewelry stores fill the streets and we walked through some to take advantage of their air conditioning.  Beaches, of course,  are the big attraction during the day and casinos are the draw for night.

There was a deck party on Thursday night but it got ruined by rain and wind.

The rest of the days were at sea so the usual went on.  There were matinee performances, the pop choir sang, boat builders showed off their creations, the drummers drummed at the pool, etc.

Pictures - our dedicated wait staff for dinner and breakfast

DAYS 54- 56 CARTAGENA & SEA DAYS

We had 2 days at sea including 1 for the Panama Canal transit.  They finally have the new lane open.  It's a faster transit if you use the new canal but we didn't hear how the lanes are determined.  It costs $437,000 for our ship to use the canal which works out to $134. per person.  They are also building a new bridge at the Eastern end of the canal but It's missing 3 sections and won't be finished for at least 2 years.

CARTAGENA - Pop. around 1 million.  Currency - Colombian peso but US $ widely accepted.  Spanish.  Due to it's proximity to the equator,  there are no seasons and the average temp is 82 with a few rainy months.

We did the hop on hop off bus for a tour of the city.  There was a 90 minute guided walking tour of the old city which we didn't do but we went around twice and got off part way around the second time.  There were a lot of people from the ship using this sightseeing transportation and they ended up using a boat to take us back to the ship.  From all accounts, Cartagena is a safe city.  It is also a major producer of emeralds.  They certainly have a lot of condos and they are almost always white.  Hotel rooms average $250/night but you can stay a month or more in a condo for around $1000/month.  Wages are in the area of $300/month.

Pictures - 1 the fortress at the old city Cartagena
                 2  beach condos in the new city

PUNTARENAS, COSTA RICA & SEA DAY - DAYS 52 & 53

FRIDAY - A quiet day at sea.  There was another "crossing the equator" ceremony.  What a difference the Captain makes!  The Captain and several of his upper staff all took part and jumped into the pool during the southern crossing. This time the top staff member taking part was the Entertainment Director.  We haven't even seen and seldom heard from this Captain and he's been on board for over 2 weeks.

PUNTARENAS  - Pop. 14,000.  Currency - Costa Rican Colon but US $ widely accepted.  Costa Rica was the first Central American country to export coffee and bananas.

Puntarenas has a collection of businesses, primarily for the locals. All the tours were long as the port is quite a distance from the rain forests, volcanoes, coffee plantations and the capital city of San Jose. We chose to walk down the pier and go to the beach.  It was not as clean a beach as we're used to and it was mostly locals. There was the usual setup of tents with souvenirs.

Holland America Westerdam was moored next to us.  It's about the same size as the Island Princess and is on a 15 day cruise from San Diego through the Panama Canal to Ft. Lauderdale.

Again, no pictures as we saw nothing remarkable and it will be dark as we sail away.

GUAYAQUIL & MANTA, ECUADOR

GUAYAQUIL - The port is situated on a tidal river and a decision was made to cancel this stop due to the depth of the port and the tides during the time we'd be visiting. As a result we'll spend overnight in Manta, our next stop and the only one we'll make in Ecuador.  Guayaquil is the gateway to the Galapagos  Islands so we've been here but only at the airport.

MANTA - 60 miles south of the equator. Pop. 218,000, climate - 90, US $.  Ecuador is about the size of the UK.  No one was allowed to walk on the port so shuttles took us to the port gate.

This is a fishing port -  shrimp, lobster, sea bass, tuna, oysters, crab.  Several tuna boats were in port when we arrived.  Not sure how long they spend at sea but it took most of the day to unload their catch using cranes and huge nets to move the fish to big trucks for delivery.

In the afternoon we walked left at the port gate along the waterfront until we came to an artisan market with a lot of local handicrafts.  I've been surprised at the heavy sweaters that are available.  Don't know if this is due to the abundance of llamas and alpacas in Peru and Ecuador or, despite being close to the equator, it gets chilly in their winter.

Montecristi, a short drive from Manta, is the home of the panama hat.  There are knock-offs which would cost around $25. but the real deal will run around $250.

There were beaches on both sides of the port.  We didn't stop at the beach but everyone said they were clean and the water was clear.  Pedestrians, as in other S. America countries, do not have the right of way and there didn't seem to be any traffic lights to cross the roads.

On our second day in port we wandered to the right of the port gate and found a huge shopping centre- there must have been 5 floors.  It was bright and very modern with the usual mix of stores including a large supermarket where we bought some local beer.  Those of you who really know Len will not be surprised at this but as we exited the mall what does he see but a $20. US bill on the ground and nobody around.

Picture - Manta

DAYS 47-49- SALAVERRY

SALAVERRY - Our last stop in Peru, sandwiched between 2 sea days.  The weather word of the day was FOG.  We arrived near Salaverry around 6:30 am and the ship was finally tied up and passengers started to disembark at 8:30 when the fog lifted enough to see the port.  By the time we left at 5 pm the fog was back in full force.

The town of Salaverry was just outside the port gates but there was a shuttle to the city of Trujillo, about a 40 minute drive depending on traffic.  It was pretty well built up all the way to Trujillo.  Until we got into the city the houses were really hovels.  They almost all had a substantial door but the roof was sometimes missing, sometimes a tarp, sometimes a thin tin. In the city the roof was almost always red tile.  There were tall walls (between 6 and 8 feet) surrounding almost everything- the old walls were made of brick, newer ones were cinder blocks.  Even the shopping centre we went by was surrounded by a tall wrought iron fence.  There was litter everywhere - not necessarily garbage but litter.  The cleanest places I saw were service stations - they were big and there was no litter to be seen.

The 2 days at sea were the usual mix of exercise, food and entertainment.  The lectures have not been very interesting and most of the movies have been old.  They did show The Shape of Water and I Tonya but both were late at night.  The ocean was very calm.

PICTURES - LIMA

1.  The main square
2.  The traffic

PICTURES - LIMA

1.  Len's favorite newsstand
2 & 3 -  Fountains
4.  Peruvian Folkloric show

LIMA - DAYS 44-45

LIMA - Pop. Almost 10 million, Callao (where we landed) just under 1 million.  Currency - Peruvian Nuevo Sol but US accepted everywhere.  Overnight in port.  Lima is in the desert but very humid.

Another container port so no walking on the pier except to the few tents set up close to the exit ramp.  A shuttle took you to the port exit where you could get a taxi or another shuttle which took you to a shopping  mall. This mall was a 45 minute drive from the port.

We had an evening tour that took us through the Old Town which is an UNESCO World Heritage site.  We've toured here before but it's a very interesting area - a beautiful square and the Government Palace where if you time it right you can see the changing of the guard.  The traffic was unbelievable.  On some streets 3 lanes became 4.  Vendors would walk through the cars attempting to sell water, popcorn, candies,etc.  Our destination was the Park of the Reserve and the Magic Water Circuit, verified by the Guinness Book of world records as the largest water fountain compound in the world.  Imagine the water show at Bellagio in Vegas but add colors, size, numerous fountains and a laser show. 

We arrived back at the ship in time to catch the late Peruvian Folkloric Show.  There was a cast of around 20 - musicians and dancers who worked very hard to entertain us.  Some of the dances were comedic, some showed off their athletic abilities and all the costumes were very colorful.

DAYS 41-43 - 2 SEA DAYS & PISCO

TUESDAY - WEDNESDAY  - 2 days at sea.  Just the usual sea days but it's now nice enough to walk on the deck without a jacket.  Wednesday was formal so the singers and dancers performed.  They are a talented group on board for all 60 days and perform 8 times (shows are only 30 mins.).  Unlike on many cruise ships, this team does not have to do any other jobs so they have quite an easy life.  A couple doing a tribute to The Beatles performed in the theatre one night and the Explorers Lounge the next day.

A man was found dead a few decks below us.  The room steward checked the room after the "do not disturb" sign was on for a couple days and found him.  Quite a shock for her.

SAN MARTIN - The middle of nowhere - the ocean on one side of us and brown, desert like landscape on the other.  We're about 20 minutes from Paracas and 40 minutes from Pisco so have to take a Princess shuttle to town as that's the only transportation.  A lot of passengers left the ship this morning for a 2 night excursion to Machu Pichu.  They will rejoin us in Lima. 

We were here a few years ago so most of the shore excursions are to places we've already seen so it was a day on the ship.  There were about 20 vendors set up in tents on the pier offering the usual t-shirts, magnets, etc.  Thd most popular tent was the one offering samples of the local liquor Pisco.

PICTURES

Coquimbo and La Serena

DAYS 37-40 - 2 DAYS AT SEA, SAN ANTONIO (SANTIAGO) & COQUIMBO

FRIDAY & SATURDAY - It's getting a bit warmer, wind has died down.  The usual is going on.  There were 2 matinees by comedians we saw earlier in the segment - both were good.  All the entertainers have done at least 2 shows  - not sure if it's tough to get entertainers to some of the small ports we've stopped at or if it's just cheaper for Princess to bring on 5 or 6 people and have them do more shows.  We'll see what the next segment brings.  The good thing about having the same entertainers around for a lengthy time is that you run into impromptu concerts at the various lounges during the evening.  The Princess guest pop choir performed.  Quite surprisingly, there are almost as many men as there are women in the group.  Another Pub lunch.

The Captain who joined us in Punta Arenas is a big change from Captain Michele.  We never get interesting little updates during the day and we haven't seen him out and about.

Saw whales again.

SAN ANTONIO - This is a substitute port for Valparaiso which was the original stop.  Both are gateways to Santiago which is around 70 miles away.  The port info handed out by Princess was for Valparaiso so we don't even have a map of the area.  This is a busy cargo port and we must take a shuttle to the terminal as we're not allowed to walk on the pier.  We ended up just staying on the ship as everyone we talked to who did not have a tour booked said there was nothing to do.  It's Sunday so most shops are closed.  There were some handicraft tents set up but they were quite a walk and it was the same sort of goods we saw at the last stop.

This is the first day of our 3rd and final segment.  There are 2126 on board from 30 countries - US 1246 (59%), Canadian 482 (23%), Argentin 102, followed by Aussies and Brits.

It was Oscar night and the ship had a live feed in the Explorers Lounge and at Movies Under the Stars starting with the Red Carpet.  As we're 2 hours ahead of N.Y. we only saw about half of the show before hitting the bed just after midnight.

COQUIMBO - This is our last stop in Chile. Chile is the longest country in the world but very narrow.  Coquimbo is a picturesque city with small, colorful houses dotting the hillsides.  Some appear precarious as most of the house is sitting on stilt like supports.  The area seems quite poor but it is the gateway to La Serena which is a popular holiday resort located across the bay and a 40 minute drive from Coquimbo.

We wandered the streets.  Most of the shops are tiny , dark spaces with the same leather and wooden handicrafts.  Banks seem to be on every corner and dogs are sleeping on the uneven sidewalks.  School is back in session after their summer break.  Students we saw all wear uniforms.

PICTURES

1.  With the Captain
2 & 3 - Chacabuco

PUERTO MONTT & CHACABUCO - DAYS 34 & 35

PUERTO MONTT - Pop. 212,000, Chilean peso.

Another tender port and another rarely sunny day.  Puerto Montt receives over 200 days of rainfall annually so we are lucky that rarely sunny becomes a reality in the afternoon.  It's warmer today but we head south tonight so it eill be cooler.  The tender pier is about a half hour walk from city center but there is a craft market along with a veggie and fish market closer.  There are wool, leather and wooden goods for sale. 

The city was settled by Germans.  There are 2 active, although dormant, volcanoes in the area.  Tourism is the big industry but salmon farming has become important to the economy.

Our popular Captain leaves us today.  He does a great job of PR for Princess.  We see him all over the ship and he takes part in a lot of the activities. All the passengers will miss his cheerful updates every day at noon. 

CHACABUCO -  Pop.1,243, Chilean peso

Another tender port but the last in this segment.  Still in the Chilean fjords. We're sitting in a bay surrounded by beautiful scenery.  This port was opened in 1991 after the eruption of the Mount Hudson volcano forced the closure of the main port 10 miles away.  They receive between 9 land 10 feet of rain annually which accounts for the green mountains.  It's a gray day but we're hoping the low clouds will rise so we can get some pictures.  There is nothing close to the tender pier and it takes the tender, a shuttle and then a bus to get to the nearest town so we decided to spend the day on board.

Wine dinner tonight.  One white and 5 reds paired with dishes like seared ahi tuna.

PICTURES

1.  Amelia Glacier
2.  The piece of ice 20 hours after it was rescued from the bay

DAYS 32-34 - PUNTA ARENAS & 2 SEA DAYS

PUNTA ARENAS , CHILE - Pop.127,000, Spanish, Chilean Peso 570 = $1. US.

This is another tender port and it's Sunday so not many shops open in town.  Known for it's winds we're lucky to have partly sunny with light breezes.  We wandered around town and again purchased wine.  Chile is the world's 9th leading producer of wine.

Punta Arenas is under 900 miles from Antarctica and one of the shore excursion options was a 2 1/2 hour (each way) flight to visit the research station, maybe hike a little and, hopefully, see some wildlife such as penguins and whales.  This cost a mere $3500. US each - so, no we didn't partake.  It turned out that no one got to go to Antarctica because of fog.

MONDAY - Seas are a little rough again.  There was a big sale of S. America warm gear by the pool but they don't understand the concept of a sale as the prices were the same as in the stores last night.  Every day should get warmer as we're going north but the wind is wicked.

Around lunch time we entered another channel on our way to Amalia Glacier and the seas calmed.  We are in the Chilian fjords.  There is more than 1 glacier here and at first glance they don't appear massive but as we get closer they are impressive.  Aparently, the Amalia Glacier is the largest in the world.   They are quite blue and and we can see the results of the calving in the number of ice bergs around the ship.  One of the little orange rescue boats was put into the water  with photographers, etc. on it and they were able to grab a big piece of the ice to bring back on board.   The Amelia Glacier has retreated 7 km, the most of any glacier in the world. Animals that were spotted were sea lions, a deer-like animal and an albatross.

TUESDAY - Seas are a little calmer, winds a bit lighter and it's a tad warmer.  A quiet day on board- some reading, a screening of the video covering the ports since Buenos Aires with commentary by the Captain and the usual gym work.  Ric Steel a singer from the Grand Ole Opry was the entertainment and there was a country/western party later in the evening.

PICTURES - USHUAIA

1.  The southernmost post office
2.  The steam locomotive on the prisioner train

DAY 30 & 31 - USHUAIA & DAY AT SEA

USHUAIA - pronounced osh why a.  Pop. 65,000. Island that is part of Argentina.  Only 150 km from Cape Horn and 1000 km from Antarctica.

A pretty port surrounded by mountains that still have some of last winter's snow although it's the middle of summer.  It's around 16 C (low 60's) which is about as hot as it gets with little wind.  They average 25 days a year of full sunshine - today does not count as we had some clouds mid day.  Tourism is the big industry but it's interesting to note that China outsources some of it's electronic manufacturing to Ushuaia (tvs and cell phones).  Low taxes is the appeal.

Houses are a variety of colors and shapes but all have metal roofs due to the winter snows.  Every house seems to come with a dog.

The authorities thought the island was ideal for a maximum security prison similar to Alcatraz as it would be almost impossible to escape.  We rode on a replica of the original prisioner train - still steam powered and on narrow gauge rails.  The train passes through some picturesque areas into a National Park where we visited Ensenada Bay.  Wild horses roam the grassland.  Across the Bay is Chile and the strait leading to Cape Horn.  The Park is reminiscent of some of our National Parks with beautiful scenery but it us not developed at all.  The post office was the only amenity and the roads are all dirt.

The Island is visited by around 350 cruise ships each year, most of them being small 100 - 200 passenger ships on their way to explore Antarctica.  During the winter many Brazilians come here to ski.

Ushuaia is considered the "end of the world" and ,as a result, you see the southernmost post office (where it cost $20. US for 3 postcards and 3 stamps), the southernmost railway, etc.

SATURDAY - We're sailing among a chain of islands.  Once we reached the open seas it got very rough with high winds.  The bridge announced we'd be running into some brief showers which turned out to be an afternoon of heavy rain.  Once we entered the passage to Punta Arenas the seas calmed and it was a pleasant evening.

Formal night tonight.  Princess is cutting back on many things.  Usually a corsage is delivered to suites on the first formal of each segment - not this time.  Also there is usually a Captain's Circle party with free drinks and minimal appetizers where the most traveled passengers (certainly not us) are honored with a bottle of champagne or bouquet of flowers.  Again, not this time - maybe the next segment.

PICTURES

1 & 2 - the entertainers Donovan & Rebecca

DAY 29 - AT SEA & CAPE HORN SCENIC CRUISING

THURSDAY - To put our location in perspective we are as far south of the equator as Ketchican is north of it.   Much cooler (lower 40's) and windy.  The port side of the ship was wet from sea spray so it was short laps for my walk and I finished it in the gym.  Waves are no more than 12 feet which I understand is almost calm for this area.  Estimated time to arrive at Cape Horn is around 7 pm.  I believe we'll cruise around the island.  There will be destination expert aboard to describe the experience.  We'll see a big rock with a lighthouse and a monument of an albatross.  Sunset isn't until 8:30 so we should be able to get some pictures.

Another pub lunch to break up the day. 

The Captain had a couple choices as he sailed towards Cape Horn and we're happy that he chose the smoother course.  As we approach Cape Horn we're cruising through a passageway and the seas have become quite rough (the map on TV says in the vicinity of 6+ meters).  Passengers in the window seats in the dining room will attest to that.  A family of 2 adults and 2 children live in the lighthouse and are scheduled to be there for a year before being replaced.  We were cruising around Cape Horn for just under 2 hours and when we exited the passage the seas became quite calm.

We ran into the first head waiter (Nelson) on the World Cruise and had a lengthy chat.  You may remember me mentioning that we had a head waiter who could remember everyone's name.  Len gave him a phony name (Mike) and he was called that every time we met Nelson - in the buffet,  on shore among others.  He didn't remember our names after 2 years but he recognized the faces.

DAYS 28 - 29, AT SEA AND FALKLAND ISLANDS

TUESDAY, DAY 27 - A fairly nice day - blue skies and little wind.  We had a mandatory safety drill in the morning.  Apparently, new laws have been passed and this is required at least once every month.  First time we've ever done this on a sea day but most of us were off the ship when the drill was conducted in Buenos  Aires so they picked today to fill the requirement.

While having a gin and tonic in our cabin about 7 pm the Captain made an announcement that there was a sailboat in the area but the sailor was ok.  Some passengers had noticed the sailboat and were concerned so the ship turned around and made contact with the sailor to make certain he was not in distress.  The bridge had already been in contact with him but to ease the anxiety of some passengers they contacted him again.  He is a single sailor making his way from New Zealand to France.  I can't imagine anyone thinking that would be fun but he's already made it around the Horn so that's an accomplishment.  A fellow from Surrey who is a big sailor says it will probably take him until this time next year to complete his journey.

FALKLAND ISLANDS - Pop. - under 3,000.  British.  They have their own currency - the Falkland Islands pound.  This is a tender port and, because it can be very windy, no one was certain that we'd be able to stop.  It is breezy and cool with a chance for showers.

We did take the tender to town.  It's very small - quite a few cafes and souvenir shops.  The big thing to do here is to view the penguins but, as we've seen them in both Melbourne, Australia and S. Africa we opted to just walk around.  One of the main attractions seemed to be the old English red telephone booths and red mail boxes.  The roofs of the houses are a variety of colours - red, yellow, blue, black, tan.

On the tender back to the ship we talked to people from Okotoks, and Alberta, Alabama - we've never heard of Alberta, Alabama.

ARGENTINA PICTURES

More views of the Falls - not sure who my new best friend is but he seems happy

ARGENTINA PICTURES

Various views of the Falls

DAYS 25-27 AT SEA & PUERTO MADRYN, ARGENTINA

SATURDAY - We should have still been in Argentina but sailed at 7 am rather than the advertised time of 4 pm.  Apparently, the Argentine navy planned maneuvers in the bay and our ship had a choice of sailing at 7 am or 11 pm.  It was a head office decision (and not a popular one) to sail early morning.  Had we left at 11 pm the next port would have been scratched.  We certainly disagreed with this decision as we had hoped to see the city of Buenos Aires during the day.  Because we had an extra 9 hours to make our next stop we sailed very slowly during the day.  The Buenos Aires pilot disembarked the ship around 9:30 am, the 2 river pilots disembarked around 5:30 pm.  All this time we were sailing down the Platte River which is a huge river that flows between Uruguay and Argentina.  Again, this river looks a muddy brown color due to the soil but it is filtered and is the Buenos Aires drinking water.

New entertainers onboard and tonight's feature was someone playing the harmonica.  Seems like quite a downgrade from a classical violinist but we didn't see the show so we shouldn't comment.

SUNDAY - A quiet day for us at sea.  None of the seminars were of any interest to us and it seems all the movies they're playing are old.  We did have a long discussion with a couple who did a city tour and tango show in Buenos Aires.  She is a former dancer and one of the 2016 World Cruisers. She says she had never seen such a wonderful display of dancing.  We're sorry to have missed that.  Too bad that it's such a long trip down here.

There is a pickle ball court on board (a first for us) and even though it was windy and we didn't know what we were doing we gave it a shot. Len then shot a few hoops before going back to the gym.

A couple of acrobats were the entertainment.  Donovan and Rebecca have 4 World Records and, if you watch reality shows, you may have seen them (we don't watch them but they appeared  on whichever show had Howard Stern as a judge).  We'll try to attach a picture but this Wi-Fi is balmy and we have trouble sending pictures.

PUERTO MADRYN -  Pop. 59,000.  Spanish spoken.  Argentine peso.

Very windy and cool as we approached the port.  We just wandered around the town.  Most people did not speak English but I found a young girl in a wine shop who was quite fluent.  I didn't know anything about Patagonia Malbec but she tried to educate me about it.  I ended up buying a Mendoza Malbec but when we went back out we bought a couple bottles from Patagonia. 

Entertainment at night was a comic from Toronto.  He will perform again in the Explorers Lounge in a couple nights.  I take back my earlier comment about the Harmonica player (another Canadian).  Apparently, he was very good and has played on the Montreal Philharmonic.

We now have 2122 passengers on board, with 1301 US, 487 Canadians, 74 British and 51 Aussies.  Argentina was the biggest loser going down to only 18 as a lot left the ship in Buenos Aires.

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - DAY 24

BUENOS AIRES- Pop. 2.8 million, 12.8 million in metropolitan area.  Argentine peso (20 = $1.  US).

We had a full day excursion booked to Iguazu Falls which are on the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.  The ship docked at 7 am and we were on our way to the domestic airport by 7:30 for the hour and a half flight.  Upon landing a local guide joined us and we were off to a buffet lunch which included a barbecue.  Argentine beef is good -  maybe not as good as Alberta beef but good.  After lunch we headed to the Upper Falls  trail.  The Falls are in a National Park and the park has done a great job of making the trails accessible.  Most of the trails are over the river and are metal mesh bridges.  There are actually around 300 diffefent falls but when it rains as it did for the 5 days prior to our visit many of the Falls merge into one.  The Falls were formed thousands of years ago and are on the Iguazu River which flows south from Brazil.  The soil is red and as a result the river is quite brown so some of the falls are not the pristine white you expect.  We had great views of the Falls and they are quite spectacular.  After completing this trail which took about an hour we hopped on a train for a 20 minute ride to the next set of trails.  These trails also took about an hour - same falls but different views.  Back on the train for another 20 minute ride to the first station.  From there we walked to the hotel where dinner would be served.  Some of the people went straight to the hotel but the rest of us went to the Lower Falls trail.  We could hear the roar of the water although we couldn't see the Falls.  This trail leads to the bottom of the Falls.  The views are amazing and you can get quite wet from the spray.  Back at the hotel we had a great buffet dinner with wine and beer.

The Park is home to 3,000 species of butterflies and we saw a lot of them.  They are wonderful colors and their underwings are different from the outside wings.  The Park is home to many different animals including the jaguar.  Our local guide was 38, has lived in the area all his life but has never seen a jaguar while some people claim to see one on their first visit.  Animals we did see were the coati (a type of raccoon that looks quite different than the Canadian ones but are just as mean), crocodile, monkey and deer.

We arrived back at the ship at 11 pm, tired but so glad we did this tour. Arriving at this late time meant that the shops in the terminal were closed so our planned purchases of malbec and Quillems beer will have to wait to our next port.  A German brewer started this brewery in 1888 and the beer is almost a national institution.

We have now seen Niagara, Victoria and Iguazu Falls and you can't really compare them.  Both Victoria and Iguazu Falls were at their best when we saw them and each have their own personalities.  What stands out about Iguazu was the view from the bottom.

Pictures to follow.

DAYS 21-23 - AT SEA & MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY

TUESDAY  - 2 days at sea - the first was windy with rough seas.  The open decks were blocked off so it was off to the gym.  Finally, I ducked under the ropes and walked on the Promenade deck.  There was another gathering of world cruisers in the afternoon.  Not as well attended as the first but both the Captain and cruise director attended.  It was another formal night so the singers and dancers performed.  The violinist I mentioned before (Chris Watkins) also had 2 shows in the Explorer's Lounge.  This fellow is so popular that even though it was his third performance it was standing room only.  We've never been on a ship where the performers are on for an extended time but a group of about 6 or 7 have been onboard since the Canadian entertainers left - probably 15 or 16 days, so they do new shows at least twice.

WEDNESDAY - Calm seas so much more enjoyable.  Valentines day and it is a Princess tradition for couples to renew their marriage vows.  A large group participated including the Captain and his wife.  The violinist and Broadway singer entertained prior to the ceremony.  A lot of entertainment on the ship today.  The singers and dancers did another show in the afternoon, a comedian had 2 shows at night, and then the violinist again performed in the Atrium.  This was his 5th performance onboard and he did 2 shows per night for 3 of them.  He leaves us in Montevideo and we'll be sorry to see him go.

MONTEVIDEO - Population 1.3 million, country of Uruguay 3.5 million, 35 million cows.  Second smallest country in S. America.  Spanish.  We did a city tour.  There are a lot of old buildings and a lot of them are of locally made brick.  Some of the roads are still cobblestone.  The city hosted the first ever World Cup in 1930 and the stadium still exists.  I believe that Uruguay won the game.  Education is compulsory from kindergarten to 10th grade.  Public schools and universities are free but private ones have fees.  Everyone contributes to health care based on their income.  They have both public and private health care and the people get to choose which system they want to use but if private is the choice there are added costs.  Uruguay supposedly has some fabulous wines so that was our major purchase.  Still no problems getting wine or beer onboard.

Pictures - 1 - the soccer stadium
                  2 - Chris Watkins, the violinist
                  3 -  the singers and dancers

PICTURES - CARNAVAL

These are pictures of the parades at Carnaval

PICTURES - RIO

These are pictures taken from Sugar Loaf and while we were waiting in line

RIO - DAYS 18-20

SATURDAY - Arrived in Rio this morning to a beautiful sunrise.  We had a morning tour that was supposed to depart at 8.  Instead it was just before 10 when we left and we returned to the ship at 3 rather than 12.  Knocks the heck out of a day.  It was a city tour with Sugarloaf Mountain.  Our first stop was to be Copacabana Beach.  We did see the beach - crowded with umbrellas, people and souvenir booths - but, due to Carnaval, the buses were not allowed to stop.  Copacabana Beach is 4 kilometers long.  We carried on to Sugarloaf and there were huge lineups.  It took well over 90 minutes to get to the tram.  The trip up the mountain is in two stages.  The first tram takes you to the top of the first mountain which is 220 meters high.  The next tram takes you to the very top of Sugarloaf - about 400 meters.  There are spectacular views from it.  It was a bit hazy so the statue of Christ the Redeemer is not very clear in our pictures.  Interestingly, hawkers were selling agua (water) in the lineup up for $1 US, at the top a bottle was $5 US and when we got back down it was $1.50 each.

There are 10 million people in the metropolitan area.  The port which they say was renewed for the 2016 Olympics is downtown which has certainly not been renewed.  There is garbage and graffiti all over.  The buildings are slum-like.  It is really hot and humid.

A local folkloric group performed for us as the evenings entertainment. About 10 beautifully, but scantily clad women were backed up by a mostly drum band and a singer.  I'm not sure how they get their bodies to shimmy that fast and long. 

SUNDAY - We started the day with a champagne breakfast on the balcony.  The main course was quiche with a side of crab legs - delicious.  There was a local parade with about 40 floats which we were able to see from our balcony.  Very quiet day for us as we had an excursion to Carnaval at night.  It took us over an hour to get to the stadium from the ship.  Along the way we'd see huge groups of people who would gather, force the streets to be closed and have their own Carnaval.  These would be locals who could not afford to attend the official party.  Some of the crew I talked to during the day say they ran into these groups late the previous night and they were welcome to join the party but it helped if you were willing to get naked.

Carnaval is quite an experience.  Sunday night there were 7 samba schools performing.  Each has a time limit of 75 minutes to complete their parade with the first group starting around 9:30.  It's clear that they start this late to give the temperature a chance to cool down but it was still well over 30 C (90 F).  Each school has 3000 students and they all partake.  The stadium holds 90,000, is long and narrow with cement bleachers.  If you opt for the box seats (twice as much as a bleachers seat) you get a plastic chair to sit on.  Fireworks for about 5 minutes signal the start of a parade and it then takes at least 20 minutes for the first group to get to our section which was directly across from the judges stand. There are huge, beautiful floats separated by several brightly costumed groups.  They are dancing the whole time as they pass by the stands.  It is a sea of color as you look in either direction.  I will send another blog with some pictures so you get an idea of the experience.  After each group the floor is cleaned similar to a zamboni cleaning the ice between periods in a hockey game.  We only made it through 5 schools before better judgement kicked in and we headed back to the ship where we arrived just before 5 am.

MONDAY - The last of a 3 day long holiday weekend in Rio.  Due to the little sleep we had it was a quiet day but again there was a local parade passing by the port.  These people know how to party.  We leave here at 4:30 pm and will have 2 sedate days at sea to recuperate.

ILHABELA, BRAZIL - DAY 17

Located 4 miles off the Brazil coast, 210 miles south of Rio.  Population 30,000.  Average temp. 75.  Portuguese.   Because of the strong winds and calm waters - 80 miles of coastline has earned this island's reputation as Brazil's national capital of sailing.  The waters are green, blue, turquoise and sapphire colors.  Ring-a-ding - Bell's beach located on the islands northwest coast gets it's name from rock formations which produce a bell like sound when the rushing surf crashes over the rocks.  Among a bounty of seafood, prawns are the star of most menus.

This is our first tender port and it did not go smoothly.  The ship blamed it on a medical emergency but they were only using 4 tenders with a capacity of 90 each.  It only took about 10 minutes to get to the port from the ship but it took a long time to load each tender. They started tendering people off around 9 am and it was 1:30 before there was no longer a lineup to get off.  It was fine for us as we planned to get off around then and spend an hour walking around the town but a lot of people were very irate.

It's a pretty island but an island is an island.  There was the usual array of souvenir shops and cafes.  The sidewalks are paving stones and very uneven so you have to watch each step.  One lady from our ship tripped, fell and broke her nose.  Don't expect that she'll enjoy the next few days.  Our big purchase was again a 6 pack of local beer which we successful got through security.

Celebrity Infiniti is moored next to us.  This is only the second port that we've not been the only ship in town but it will be different tomorrow when we get to Rio.

Pictures

1.  Devils Island
2.  Fortaleza - the beach across from some of the many condos
3.  Fortaleza- ceiling in the theatre
4.  Fortaleza - stained glass windows in the church

DAYS 13-16 FORTALEZA & 3 DAYS AT SEA

FORTALEZA  - Population 3 million, Portugese.  Has some of the longest coastlines and nicest beaches in Brazil.  We did a city tour and visited the Metropolitan Cathedral - the 3rd largest church in Brazil.  It can accommodate over 5000.  It has many beautiful stained glass windows and, although it appears older, has only been around for 40 years.  It did take 40 years to build.

We visited the Jose De alencer Theater.  Opened in 1910 and across from a very busy, dangerous square that we were warned not to visit.  Next stop was Central Market with over 500 small stores with local handicrafts on 3 floors. - t-shirts, caps, leather goods - typical flea market atmosphere.

There is a lot a garbage in the streets.  Garbage is picked up a few days each week but it's just thrown in the streets between pickups.  Most buildings are covered in graffiti.  Poverty seems to be at an all time high - 8% unemployment.

Out tour guide said the area was under a terrible drought, but we brought relief as we have done for all our stops.

Our final stop was at a pier along the beach.  This spot is very popular - people were walking, jogging, biking and sunning.  Across the road are many high rise condos and hotels.  In the newer condos a small 2 bedroom condo goes for around $400,000.  Most people live in condos - we did not see any single family homes.

We went to a wine pairing dinner in Sabatinni.  Six courses - smoked duck, octopus, risotto, veal osso buco, tagliata di manzo (sliced steak), and lemon cake - each served with a fine red wine (except dessert which was accompanied by limoncello).  It was this ships first attempt at a wine dinner and was very good.  They are awaiting feedback before deciding if this will become a tradition.

TUESDAY - Finally a day with no rain.  There was a pub lunch in one of the specialty restaurants so we just had a light breakfast and did lunch.  Runway at Sea was in the afternoon - about 20 people paraded on the stage in the Explorer Lounge, wearing clothes from the shops and escorted by the Captain and some of his senior staff.  This captain is more involved in everyday ship life than most.  He stops into our breakfast room a couple times a week to chat with the eaters, was interviewed by the cruise director at Coffee with the Captain and is seen all over the ship.  His wife and son are with him on this cruise.

A very talented violinist entertained us in the theatre before dinner.

WEDNESDAY  - We had our usual morning of exercise and breakfast then went to the movie Snatched with Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer.  Good for a laugh.

Tonight there is a cocktail party before the show and dinner.  The entertainer was a singer - sang many songs from Les Mis.  He will perform again in couple of nights with the violinist.

THURSDAY- A relaxing day as we have a few busy days coming up.  There are the usual things we could partake in such as arts & crafts, choir practice, enrichment lectures  but we chose to exercise and read a book.

We got a printout from the front desk showing that there are 34 different nationalities in the 2118 passengers aboard- 1272 US, 475 Canadians.  The next largest group are Argentians with 97.  We understand that about 400 will leave us in Buenos Aires and 500 will take their place.

DAYS 9-12 AT SEA

Thursday - The highlight today was a gathering of previous World cruisers.  There are at least 60 onboard, although not all from our 2016 cruise.  We've met up with over a dozen who were with us in 2016 and there could be more hiding around the decks.  The rest of the day was our usual - breakfast, exercise, happy hour, entertainment, dinner and more entertainment.  There are 3 female violinists who play in the atrium 2-3 times every evening who are really good and there is a fellow from Toronto who plays the piano and sings songs we would all remember.  The show was a ventriloquist.  We didn't make the show but I understand he was really good and will be performing again next week with a new show so we'll try to catch him then.

Friday - We stopped for about 3 hours in the bay by Devil's Island.  There are actually 3 islands owned by French Guyana.  Most of you will know about Devil's Island from the many books and movies, notably Papillion with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.  This was not actually a port of call - we were just supposed to do a slow cruise past them.  The Islands have become a tourist destination and have around 50,000 tourists each year.  They also have the usual t-shirts, caps, fridge magnets, etc. which one of our tenders transported to the ship for sale.

At lunch we attended a wine tasting.  There were 6 different wines starting with a champagne and ending up with a high end red from Tuscany.  There was a plate of appetizers for every 2 people and we were told which ones to try with each wine.  Just before we started with the 3 reds the maitre d' cooked up some pasta for us.  As far as the food went, it in no way compared to the ones we attended on the Pacific Princess but the wines were very good.

Saturday - Not much planned for the day although there are some good movies on around the ship.  I went for my usual walk around the Promenade Deck.
We still have a lot of wind and, for some reason, the starboard side gets very wet.  I'm sure a salt water facial must be good for the skin  - right?

This is a formal night so the dancers and singers will perform.  Some of the passengers take formal night very seriously- one fellow was decked out in a tux, top hat, white gloves and a cane.

Sunday -  We crossed the equator during the night and a crossing ritual is required so it was held at 2 pm.  A couple passengers along with several crew take part and it gets  messy - spaghetti, raw eggs, jello among other liquids are involed.  The captain, his son and 3 of his senior staff end up in the pool.

Going in Style with Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine was the movie under the stars.  Good for a couple hours entertainment.  Super Bowl is being aired on the big screen (movies under the stars on Decks 14 & 15) as well as in one of the lounges but has a start time of 8:30.  Luckily, the downpour stopped and the game could be seen on the decks.  ESPN broadcast the game, (likeCanada) deleted all the US ads and showed only their own ads.  We did get to see the half time show.

DAYS 6-8 ST. VINCENT, GRENADA, TRINIDAD

ST. VINCENT - Population 100,000, Eastern Caribbean Dollar.  Only 90 miles from Martinique.  Again, our plan was to do a walkabout.  Again, rain was the predominant feature of the day.  They advertise the island has seemingly never ending sunshine and this is supposedly the dry season but the sun was a rare sighting - maybe tomorrow.  We did venture out for about half an hour armed with a Princess umbrella.  When we returned to the ship, security told us we were each allowed to bring a bottle of wine or 6 pack of beer onboard (hard liquor not allowed).  So, of course, to check it out Len went back for a 6 pack which he successfully got through security.  They are usually so strict about bringing wine and beer on board so we're not sure why this change of heart.

GRENADA - Population 110,000, Eastern Caribbean Dollar.  The Spice Isle, home to nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and cocoa.  Although we don't dive, Grenada is home to the first ever underwater sculpture park designed by a British sculptor.  The rain was sporadic today and we did get a walk in without getting wet.

We've gone to 4 shows and 3 of the entertainers have been Canadian (Vancouver - Lovena Fox, Toronto - Karin Grainger & Scott Harris).  All the entertainers including those performing in bars are leaving the ship in Grenada or Trinidad so we'll get a new bunch starting Wednesday.

We went to the Crab Shack, a speciality restaurant they have periodically.  Crab legs are never on the menus in the dining rooms (at least on ships we've been on) so we really enjoyed them.

TRINIDAD - Population 1.2 million, Trinidad and Tobago dollar.  The 2 island nation covers about 1900 sq. miles.  Trinidad is only 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela.  Trinidad produces over 100,000 barrels of oil a day and is second richest Caribbean country next to the Bahamas.  The Island is considered to be the birthplace of calypso music.  Angostura bitters are distilled here.

Woke up to another day of rarely sunny and have had several heavy showers this morning.  Glimpses of sunshine in the afternoon.  Another successful beer run.  The terminal was quite a walk so they did provide shuttle buses for the mobility deficients.

This is a very busy container port. It's quite interesting to watch them moving and loading the containers.

FT.LAUDERDALE, ST.MAARTEN, MARTINIQUE

FT. LAUDERDALE - January 24th - We were several hours late leaving Ft. Lauderdale.  The previous cruise had a breakout of norovirus and the ship had to undergo a full sanitization process before we could board.  We're on the Island Princess which was completely refurbished in 2015 (2200 passengers).  We're in a suite at the rear of the ship which was previously part of the gym.  The gym has been moved to the 6th deck with state of the art equipment but no windows.  There is only one upright bike for Len but he says it's great with several different races programmed so he gets the feel of an actual race, with uphill, downhill, corners, etc.  There is a thermal suite in the salon area which we get to use.  There are 3 different steam rooms, a sauna, showers and heated benches for relaxing.

There are several people on board from our World Cruise in 2016.

Seas were very rough on the 26th and open decks were closed most of the day.  We had to put our clocks forward an hour and, strangely, they did it at noon rather than 2 am.

ST. MAARTEN - Population - French 36,000, Dutch 39,000.  Each side uses their own money.  English widely spoken.

We're docked next to a yacht (Eclipse), owned by a Russian and, if Google is right, the most expensive yacht in the world at well over a billion dollars (533 ft. long).  It has 92 crew aboard, 6 guest suites (the owners suite is 5000 sq. ft.), 3 helicopters, a submarine and its pool is, apparently, bigger than anything on the Island Princess.

The Island is open for business but there is a lot still to be done - you see damage all over and it's worse if you go a block or so off the beach.  Some places that people suggested we see are completely destroyed and may never be rebuilt.  The people are resilient and say they'll come back stronger than ever.  They are still a happy, cheerful lot and thank you for any money you spend in their stores.

This is the smallest island in the world shared  by  2 nations.  Legend has it that a Frenchman and a Dutchman divided ownership of the island through a walk off.  The two men stood back to back and headed in opposite directions walking around the island until they met.  It is rumored that The Dutchman paused for a refreshing brew and as a result the French ended up claiming 21 sq. miles of the island while the Dutch got only 16.

MARTINIQUE - Population 400,000.  French and Euros.

This is the first time we have visited this island.  One of the highlights of the island is the Balata Botanical Gardens where there are 300 types of palm trees and over 3000 varieties of tropical plants.  Our plan was to visit these gardens but we just got off the ship and into a tourist information tent when there was a huge downpour.  To our left there was a set of about 50 stairs and the water was gushing down them like a fast flowing river.  Our plans went out the window but we took a short walk before returning to the ship.  Throughout the afternoon the bridge would announce that more rain was on the way and to take cover.