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.