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Well what a fabulous day we had and a wonderful surprise! Arica is on the coast of Chile, very near the Peruvian border. We were lucky enough to be there for part of their Carnival celebrating the many cultures of the area.
We we docked once again in a working port - the area is very arid, no rain in the last 4 years despite being on the coast. The coastline has some nice beach areas and folks were out enjoying the beach and the Carnival. The Carnivale included ongoing parades from various communities in their traditional or celebratory dress. Street vendors for food, crafts and so on. Lots of music, crowds of people having a great time and a wonderful party atmosphere.
We walked both along the coast and throughout the community and the parades. We had a fabulous lunch at a small bar where we could sit and still see the parades and then Adrian had his first Pisco Sour - a Peruvian specialty at a restaurant on the water.
We we docked once again in a working port - the area is very arid, no rain in the last 4 years despite being on the coast. The coastline has some nice beach areas and folks were out enjoying the beach and the Carnival. The Carnivale included ongoing parades from various communities in their traditional or celebratory dress. Street vendors for food, crafts and so on. Lots of music, crowds of people having a great time and a wonderful party atmosphere.
We walked both along the coast and throughout the community and the parades. We had a fabulous lunch at a small bar where we could sit and still see the parades and then Adrian had his first Pisco Sour - a Peruvian specialty at a restaurant on the water.
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Lovely day at sea. Pretty much the usual, Bridge lesson, gym workout, lunch and then a fabulous wine tasting with some new friends. Then Adrian and I spent some time enjoying our balcony. Tonight we lose another hour so tomorrow we'll be one hour ahead of NS.
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Today we were supposed to be in callao, Peru at 9am for a technical stop. The ship removed Peru from our itinerary due to the civil unrest but had to stop to refuel and pick up supplies. Very foggy evening and morning so we were about 3 hours late arriving. This is the view from the bridge in the morning.
Adrian and I went to our second Bridge lesson and followed that with our first game of Duplicate Bridge in the afternoon. The weather cleared around lunchtime and we got a good view of the very busy port. The ship also was eventually cleared to allow us to go ashore and shop at the market stalls that had been set up specially for our visit.
In the evening we had our second meal in the Pollo Grill - one of the two specialty restaurants onboard. We also lose another hour tonight so tomorrow we'll be back on Atlantic time.
Adrian and I went to our second Bridge lesson and followed that with our first game of Duplicate Bridge in the afternoon. The weather cleared around lunchtime and we got a good view of the very busy port. The ship also was eventually cleared to allow us to go ashore and shop at the market stalls that had been set up specially for our visit.
In the evening we had our second meal in the Pollo Grill - one of the two specialty restaurants onboard. We also lose another hour tonight so tomorrow we'll be back on Atlantic time.
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Today we're at sea! Gorgeous day with a lovely cool sea breeze. We managed to get up in time to take a beginner's Bridge lesson at 9:30 am, very proud of ourselves.
This was followed by the special celebratory brunch to celebrate both the world cruise and the cruise line's 20th anniversary. The food was good but the food art was spectacular - more photos below.
This afternoon Adrian's practicing his guitar and writing, while I am reading. We're spending an hour or so in the sun and some time on the deck scouting for wildlife.
We each had a massage on our first sea day - while the massage was okay the price was huge - even through we each had $150 ships credit it cost us another $100 each. They ask for a tip on top of the 20% gratuity they add automatically!! All that to say that when Terrance, the fitness guy on board, did his sales pitch for a massage machine we took the offer - less than the cost of another massage for one of us and it does a much better job!
This was followed by the special celebratory brunch to celebrate both the world cruise and the cruise line's 20th anniversary. The food was good but the food art was spectacular - more photos below.
This afternoon Adrian's practicing his guitar and writing, while I am reading. We're spending an hour or so in the sun and some time on the deck scouting for wildlife.
We each had a massage on our first sea day - while the massage was okay the price was huge - even through we each had $150 ships credit it cost us another $100 each. They ask for a tip on top of the 20% gratuity they add automatically!! All that to say that when Terrance, the fitness guy on board, did his sales pitch for a massage machine we took the offer - less than the cost of another massage for one of us and it does a much better job!
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We chose to stay onboard today. Yesterday we saw pretty much everything there was to see. Today we followed our usual routine of a late start, gym time, lunch and then Adrian practised his guitar and I went for a walk. It's Tuesday so I went to afternoon tea, only to be disappointed that my favourite dessert wasn't there - so much for my Tuesday theory!
The top photo is one view of the port and the next photo is the other. We're docked in a large working port area with lots of containers coming and going.
The final photo is of me doing my sit-ups - pretty proud that the bench is in its lowest position. Working out with Adrian is pretty humbling so everytime I hit a new level I'm pretty pleased.
Tonight we are invited to dinner with the HR Manager - I think she's from Canada. Tomorrow we're at sea!
Today I also managed to change my travel package with Eastlink so now my cellphone is working again when we're in port! They're travel easy package doesn't include that many countries but their travel pack does - actually the travel pack is cheaper too for long trips such as ours! Feeling much better not having to depend on Adrian - we'll still have to negotiate the wifi when we're at sea though...
Hope everyone is well - please stay in touch.
The top photo is one view of the port and the next photo is the other. We're docked in a large working port area with lots of containers coming and going.
The final photo is of me doing my sit-ups - pretty proud that the bench is in its lowest position. Working out with Adrian is pretty humbling so everytime I hit a new level I'm pretty pleased.
Tonight we are invited to dinner with the HR Manager - I think she's from Canada. Tomorrow we're at sea!
Today I also managed to change my travel package with Eastlink so now my cellphone is working again when we're in port! They're travel easy package doesn't include that many countries but their travel pack does - actually the travel pack is cheaper too for long trips such as ours! Feeling much better not having to depend on Adrian - we'll still have to negotiate the wifi when we're at sea though...
Hope everyone is well - please stay in touch.
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Last night, around midnight, we crossed the equator and now have our certificates for same! No ceremony at that hour but by our calculations we should cross 3-4 more times so likely one of those times we'll get to experience the usual shananigans.
Today we missed the shuttle bus into the city centre - it leaves when it's full - ven if that's before it's scheduled time. So we checked from our balcony and it was there - sadly by the time we headed down the gangway it was gone.
So we met Lou and Amy from San Francisco and shared a cab for the day. We went to the Malecon 2000 which is the city's beautifully revitalized waterfront. Lovely gardens, monuments, restaurants and so on. The highlight for us was supposed to be a visit to La Penas, the artists community in the city. The area is beautiful with fully 444 steps to the top of the area, however the galleries are closed on Monday. We had a beer overlooking the waterfront. We also visited a local market - and then returned to the ship.
There's an amazing gondola over the harbour to another island which may visit tomorrow! Deck party tonight so if we manage to stay up that late we'll post photos!
Today we missed the shuttle bus into the city centre - it leaves when it's full - ven if that's before it's scheduled time. So we checked from our balcony and it was there - sadly by the time we headed down the gangway it was gone.
So we met Lou and Amy from San Francisco and shared a cab for the day. We went to the Malecon 2000 which is the city's beautifully revitalized waterfront. Lovely gardens, monuments, restaurants and so on. The highlight for us was supposed to be a visit to La Penas, the artists community in the city. The area is beautiful with fully 444 steps to the top of the area, however the galleries are closed on Monday. We had a beer overlooking the waterfront. We also visited a local market - and then returned to the ship.
There's an amazing gondola over the harbour to another island which may visit tomorrow! Deck party tonight so if we manage to stay up that late we'll post photos!
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Lovely day in Manta, Eucador! Cloudy so quite comfortable as we travel by Chivas, traditional bus, from the ship to Montecristi. Manta's the world leading supplier of tuna and the port is full of tuna boats. Montecristi is the home of the "Panama hat". Actually it's a Montecristi hat, supplied to Panama but know the world over as a Panama hat.
We visited a family owned business - the process is incredibly long. From timing the cutting of the raw palm to separating the fibres and the boiling and drying the material - everything is done by hand. Family members specialize in different parts of the process so everyone has a hand in the final product. It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 5 months to make a hat - the tighter the weave the longer it takes and the more expensive the hat. What fun we had - Adrian and I each bought a hat and celebrated with a local beer.
We also bought a fridge magnet today - but for our door - each day more and more cabin doors have been decorated by passengers! Given the average age, some of the artwork likely helps folks with dementia find their door. Such a fun practice we decided to follow suit. Just like back in my university dorm days! Our magnet depicts a woman making a hat - perfect commemoration of our day here.
We're in cabin 7059 perfectly situated, starboard side, midship. Deck 7 is 2-3 flights below the pool, Terrace Cafe, walking track and so on and 2-4 flights above the Grand Dining Room, Boutiques, Baristas Coffee, reception and the gangway. While the elevators are well used by others we take full advantage of our location to get some exercise without having to officially workout.
We visited a family owned business - the process is incredibly long. From timing the cutting of the raw palm to separating the fibres and the boiling and drying the material - everything is done by hand. Family members specialize in different parts of the process so everyone has a hand in the final product. It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 5 months to make a hat - the tighter the weave the longer it takes and the more expensive the hat. What fun we had - Adrian and I each bought a hat and celebrated with a local beer.
We also bought a fridge magnet today - but for our door - each day more and more cabin doors have been decorated by passengers! Given the average age, some of the artwork likely helps folks with dementia find their door. Such a fun practice we decided to follow suit. Just like back in my university dorm days! Our magnet depicts a woman making a hat - perfect commemoration of our day here.
We're in cabin 7059 perfectly situated, starboard side, midship. Deck 7 is 2-3 flights below the pool, Terrace Cafe, walking track and so on and 2-4 flights above the Grand Dining Room, Boutiques, Baristas Coffee, reception and the gangway. While the elevators are well used by others we take full advantage of our location to get some exercise without having to officially workout.
We're back in time for Adrian to watch the football game -
The ship across the wharf from our stateroom has been unloading tuna all day!
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What a great day - we attended our first lecture in honour of International Holocaust Day - which was Jan 27 but celebrated on board today, Jan 28, with a passenger who was a Holocaust survivor who spoke about his experience. What a humbling experience, hard to comprehend.
This afternoon we attended our first wine tasting event - Bordeaux versus Napa Valley California - California won...
Tonight we have a Captain's cocktail party and tomorrow we're in port - Manta, Ecuador!
This afternoon we attended our first wine tasting event - Bordeaux versus Napa Valley California - California won...
Tonight we have a Captain's cocktail party and tomorrow we're in port - Manta, Ecuador!
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Friday - sea days are beginning to find their own rhythm. A bit of a lie in - with one of us getting cappuccino, usually Adrian (thank you), lunch in the Terrace Cafe, exercise in the gym, a walk on deck perhaps, and so on. We even managed stay awake long enough to take in our third show, Jared Freiburg and the Vagabonds - three of the 4 Quartet from the Broadway show "Million Dollar Quartet" . Last night we watched Viviana Guzman https://viviana.org/
In addition to our white round the world hats that we'll likely never be caught dead in we received some additional swag - gold member hats, bags and a pin!
We had our first meal in Polo the specialty steakhouse onboard, excellent meal and new friends made, Bill and Gerry from Louisiana!
Interestingly, most of you likely know Adrian is an actuary by profession and given the average age on board is quite high, we feel very young indeed, I recently asked him how many people we should expect to lose over the 6 months onboard, he said without knowing the specifics demographics, he'd guess at least 2 and probably 4. Sadly we've already had one death and one couple return home due to illness and we're less than 2 weeks in...go hug someone you love and live today like there's no tomorrow!
In addition to our white round the world hats that we'll likely never be caught dead in we received some additional swag - gold member hats, bags and a pin!
We had our first meal in Polo the specialty steakhouse onboard, excellent meal and new friends made, Bill and Gerry from Louisiana!
Interestingly, most of you likely know Adrian is an actuary by profession and given the average age on board is quite high, we feel very young indeed, I recently asked him how many people we should expect to lose over the 6 months onboard, he said without knowing the specifics demographics, he'd guess at least 2 and probably 4. Sadly we've already had one death and one couple return home due to illness and we're less than 2 weeks in...go hug someone you love and live today like there's no tomorrow!
