Laguna San Raphael, Chile

Tuesday January 31, 2012.  Today we are anchored out in the middle of nowhere.  We got up and had breakfast in La Veranda.  Then I went up to needlepoint while the cabin was cleaned.  In order to view the glacier, you must take a catamaran to go up close.  Our ship is too large so we were all given a time to view.  We were scheduled for 10:50am.  The boat was late, so we finally got on at about 11:30.

The Southern Patagonia Ice Field is the third biggest extension of continental ice after the Antarctica and Greenland, located at the Southern Patagonic Andes between Chile and Argentina.  The ice field was first studied in 1943 by aerial photography made by the USAF.  The journey from our ship to the glacier took about one hour.  The catamaran was very nice.  Large seats and the ship had lunch for us since we missed lunch on the ship.

Catamaran

San Rafael Glacier is a popular tourism destination.  We got a great view of the glacier but were not able to see tit calve or any wildlife.

Glacier

It was cold

We returned to the ship and went up and spent one hour doing water exercises.  It was raining but not hard and the water was warm.  Of course, we were the only ones in the water.

We came back to the cabin to clean up for dinner.  We are eating with Jack, Norma, Tom and Alice tonight.  More on that later.

We were to meet the four others in the Mariner Lounge.  We arrived early and they soon met up with us.  O'Neal (Tom goes by this middle name) told us they called him and asked if he wanted to dine in Prime 7 tonight.  He said if they could make it for six and they said no problem.  I had the Dover Sole and Bob had lobster.  All very good.  O'Neal and Alice have been married for 57 years and Jack and Norma have been married for 53 so we were the newlyweds.  Good food and great conversation.  Nice people.  They live in Jacksonville and Jack and Norma know our good friends the Edmonds.

We returned to the cabin to ready for bed when the Captain came on the PA to tell us we would be getting into some rough seas from midnight until noon tomorrow and he was right.  So Bob duck taped the drawers so they could not slide open and anything fall out and break.

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Monday January 30th and we are arriving in Puerto Chacabuco, Chile.  We cancelled our shore excursion for today as we are taking a closer look at them.  Lots of bus time.  So we will do Chacabuco on our own.

Regent has free laundry rooms but they are waiting room only.  So Bob got up early this morning and started the wash.  I had told him what to do last evening but I did not tell him which washer to use.  He ended up putting the clothes in the dryer and turning on the washer.  He quickly fixed it and now I am tending to the laundry while he is up swimming.  I would be swimming too but it is rainy and I would rather not swim in the rain.  Will swim later in the day.  The water is back in the pool and heated.

Breakfast in Compass Rose.  Just Special K and banana for me.  Then up to the Observation Lounge to gather with my needlepoint group.  This morning is a scenic sail in via the Chile fjords.  But the weather is rainy and cool so not such good looking at the sites.

Andes

Andes

Puerto Chacabuco is a town in the Aysen District.  It is a small town and not much going on.  We have to tender here, so Bob and I decided to stay on the ship.

Center of fishing village

Dinner tonight is a special dinner and show for a third of the full circle passengers.  They had one dinner last night, one tonight and one tomorrow night.  It is held in Signatures and after there is a show with a man named Steve something who plays the piano and sings.  Not bad but I don't know why these people feel they have to bang on the keys is beyond me.  But dinner was very good.  Back to the cabin and lights out.

Puerto Montt, Chile

Now it is Sunday and we are docked here in Puerto Montt, Chile.  The Silversea Spirit and another ship, which right now cannot tell the name of, are anchored here but we are lucky and are tied up at the dock.  Because it is Sunday, the town is not quite awake yet.  The weather is rainy and cool.  Hope it clears up by the afternoon when we are scheduled for our shore excursion.

We had breakfast in La Veranda.  Every Sunday they have a champagne and caviar breakfast.  Bob does enjoy the caviar but a little too early for the champagne.  Special K for me.

The town itself looks a lot like Alaska.  Wooden buildings and very colorful.  Puerto Montt is the capital of this district in Chile.  The German colonists first arrived in the community in 1852.  The German influence is apparent at every turn.  Many of the homes look like alpine ski chalets.

There are three other ships here with us today.  We were very lucky to be the one to dock as it is not a nice day weather wise.  The Seaborne Sojourn is also here.

We had lunch out at the pool grill as we have to gather for our excursion before La Veranda opens for lunch.  Sat with Carol and Phil from Portland, OR and they are on the same tour.

We got on the most luxury bus I have ever been on.  Wow.  Instead of four seat across, this bus has two on one side and one on the other.  Better than most airline seats.

We headed out of town toward the Lake District of Chile.  We drove alone the shoreline of Lake Llanquihue which is dominated by the impressive snow capped Osorno Volcano, but with the clouds today, we have to take their word for it.

We visited a lovely small resort town of Puerto Varas, the City of Roses.  We then drove up to Petrohue Waterfalls where we took a 45 minute walking tour up to the falls.

We returned to the ship just in time for sail away.  We cleaned up for dinner in Compass Rose.  We spoke with Enzio, not sure of the spelling, who is from the head office of Regent and Oceania.  We had seen him on the Marina last year.  He is leaving the ship soon to go to the Ragatta.  Head of food and beverage.  Lots of travel.  Back to the cabin to watch "Moneyball" which I do not know how it ended as I fell asleep.  Oh well.

A Foggy Day at Sea

Today is Saturday and it is foggy.  The horn started about 3am and is continuing all morning.  We were up early and had a cup of tea at the grill until the La Veranda opened at 7:30.  Not many people up yet.  People do sleep in on sea days.

Needlepoint is at 9am.  All during our gathering, the horn blew and the rains poured.  I attended the lecture which was on the glaciers of Chile.  Very interesting.  We have been to this area before but because we were on a larger ship, we were not able to see the glaciers.  We will this trip.

We went to the Compass Rose for lunch and John and Norma were just starting so we all sat together.  They are from Jacksonville and have a condo in Ponte Vedra.  He was associated with SteinMart and moved here from Birmingham.  We had a great conversation and good lunch too.

After a nice lunch, the waters became more choppy and there was a lot of movement on the ship so the pool was emptied so no swimming. 

We went to the show before dinner.  It was Ray, the cruise director.  He is a wonderful entertainer.  Ray has performed for the Queen of England and did the act he did for her.  Ray has been working on cruise ships since forever.  He is a puppet master and ventriloquist plus a great singer.  Full of energy and not a young man by any stretch.  He has retired several times but Regent has convinced him to come back again and again.  We had dinner with Bert and Ernie, our Virtuoso hos\ts, and Tony and Gloria from Australia.  Dinner was good but Tony and Gloria are complainers.  Do not care to be around those kind of people. 

Before dinner we were having a club soda in the lounge waiting for Bert and Ernie, when a couple from Boston came and sat with us.  They were waiting for the Engineer.  He arrived and we spoke with him for a few minutes and then they went into dinner.  He promised to meet up with us in the future. 

Back to the cabin and bed.  Tomorrow in Puerto Mont, Chile.

Valparaiso, Chile

Friday the 27th of January we docked in Valparaiso, Chile.  Valparaiso is 74 miles west of Santiago and is Chile's principal port and second largest city.  We had an early tour so breakfast was quick and in La Veranda where we sat with Roz.  She is a widow from Portland, Maine.  She travels a lot by herself.  Regent is good about getting the single travelers together so they can make many new friends and eat with others.  She told us Regent adds a 75% single supplement to her fare and Silverseas only charges 25%.  She is thinking about switching but she has so many perks with Regent that switching is difficult. But Regent is not doing World Cruises any more so several of the real loyal passengers are switching because they do not want to have to fly outside of the US.  And I can't blame them since Silverseas has now decided to do their World Cruise from US ports.

We were docked in a working port so had to be shuttled to the regular buses for our tour.  Today we were on a Virtuoso Voyager Club tour.  We left Valparaiso and headed for the Casablanca Valley region and a visit to the William Cole Vineyard.  The vineyard lies in a flat valley ringed by hills and is very much like the Mediterranean and the Napa Valley.  We got a tour of the winery and cellars and a tasting of two of the wines.  One white and  a red.   Below are two pictures of the beautiful grounds and flowers.

Next we continued to the equestrian center Puro Caballo to experience the country side Chilean traditions and where the Chilean "Huaso" (cowboy) and the Chilean horse are the protagonists.  We were greeted by the owners and treated to a welcome cocktail of a piso sour and empanaditas.  We were served a lunch and entertained by folk music and Chilean dance.

After lunch we watched a equestrian show which included two 14 year old riders.  They demonstrated how to handle the horse and the skills they have developed. The rider in the middle is a 14 year oul girl who is a champion rider.  And check out the spurs on the boots.  Wow.  One must be very careful around them.

After the rodeo, we were able to get up close to the horses and riders. 

We then headed back to the ship.  We went up to swim around 5pm but I found out I had a cut on my leg so I had to head back to the cabin to clean it up and bandage it.  I then went swimming and worked out for 50 minutes.  We cleaned up for dinner and ate in Compass Rose.

We returned to the cabin and watched one episode of "House".  We were told it was funny but this one was about a 9year old with cancer.  Not too funny for us.  Oh well.  Read a bit and then lights out.

During the night, the fog horn started blowing.  I first heard it at about 3am.  It continued and is still blasting now at 8am Saturday.

Another Day at Sea

A total day of rest.  Got up late and headed to Compass Rose for oatmeal and tea.  Then headed up to the Observation Lounge for my early bird needlepoint gathering.  This is a group of about 6 to 8 ladies that get together every sea day.  They may get together on the port days but we are usually off the ship so I don't know if they do or not.  I then attended Terry's lecture on South America and its progress.

Lunch in the Compass Rose where the service was a little slow.  We ordered dessert and it took so long to get to us, we left just as they were bringing it.  I decided it was the ships way of keeping me on my diet.

We got to do our exercises in the afternoon.  While doing them while the ship is moving is a challenge.  Lots of motion of the water so you end up swimming twice as hard.  While we were in the water, a young boy jump in.  Do not know where he came from but he was being watched from the side by a cabin stewardess.  He was about 7 or 8 and could only doggie paddle.  He seemed to be having fun but also working very hard to stay on top of the water.  I was wondering if he got into trouble, do you think the gal would jump in after him or would it have been up to us?  At any rate, he did okay and there was no problem in the end.

We cleaned up for dinner and headed to Mariners Lounge where we met up with Mickey and Richard for cocktails and dinner together.  They are next door to us and on the entire circle.  Nice people.  He worked for Abbott and she Microsoft.  Not married but together for 17 plus years.  She still has her own condo on the lake front in Chicago.  And then they have a place together.  At least, I think that is right. Did not want to appear too noisy.

Back to the cabin to watch tv and bed.  A good day.

Antofagasta, Chile

Bob enjoying ghost twon slide

Today is Wednesday and we are docked in Antofagasta, Chile.  We lost another hour last night and we are taking a shore excursion, so no morning swim.  We had a light breakfast in La Veranda and then headed to the theater for our bus assignment.  Mickey and Dick are on our bus.  Our excursion is called "Historic Chacabuco and Baquedano Train Museum".  Sounded great but wait till I tell you all about it.  I thought that since we had to pay for this tour, it would be a great one.  Surprise to me!!!

We boarded our bus and headed out of the city into the desert.  This is the driest desert in the world.  Not a tree to be seen.  The ride to the first stop was about one hour.  Baquedano is hardly a town.  It once was an important junction of the Antofagasta and Bolivia Railroad Company.  Here you get to see several old and rusty locomotives that were used in the nitrate industry.  Today they are rusting away in the desert.

Old Locomotive

Next stop was at a town called Chacabuco.  This was once a large nitrate town built in 1922 for the workers of the nearby nitrate plant. The town was abandoned after nitrate prices fell below market sustainability levels and was largely untouched until put into use again between 1973 and 1975 by the Pinochet government as a concentration camp for political prisoners.  In recent years, the German government has tried to restore some of the buildings.  But we found that most of the buildings are cracked and in very bad shape.

On the ride back to the pier, we drove on the PanAmerican Highway to stop at the Tropic of Capricorn, where a recent monument has been built to mark this spot.

We returned to the ship and had a late lunch at the Pool Grill.  I enjoyed a burger and sweet potato fries.   Yum!!

After a short nap, we headed up to the pool to do our exercises.  It seems at this time of the day, the pool is not crowded.  Some others will come into the pool for short spurts of swimming and then ususally head to the hot tubs. 

We cleaned up for dinner.  Tonight we decided to eat at La Veranda.  They switch the menus from Italian, to French, to Mediterian, etc.  Tonight was Italian and okay.  But a nice change from the Compass Rose. 

We came back to the cabin and decided to watch a movie.   Decided on "Footloose".  Not bad.  Then lights out and sleep.

Tomorrow a sea day.

Sea Day

Today is Tuesday and we are at sea on our way to Antofagasta, Chile.  The weather is sunny, warm and seas are calm.  We did not go swimming this morning as we got to bed late last night and we lost one hour so will swim later.

Breakfast in Compass Rose and then I headed up to my needlepoint gathering.  I stayed to listen to the lecture on a flatter abdomen.  Then to the lecture by Terry Breen on Chile.  She gives a great talk.  I returned to the cabin to work on my blog and then went to lunch with Elda and Terry and the needlepoint ladies.  Great conversation.

We found the laundry empty so decided to do a quick load.  It is wonderful that Regent does not charge for the laundry.  A very popular place and you meet the nicest people in the laundry room.  It is close to our cabin so it is very convenient.

We went up to the pool to swim for 45 minutes and then a dip in the hot tub.  We returned to the cabin in time for the block party.  This is where everyone comes out into the hall with an empty glass and the stewardess pours wine and you meet your neighbors.   The cruise director, Hotel Manager, Captain and tonight the Engineer all race around and shake everyone's hand.  A nice way to meet others.  But on our hall we are all circle passengers so we already know one another.  But we did it anyway.  While at the block party, I spoke with Mickey from next door.  She told me that the piano player from the ship was mugged in Lima.  He was striped down to his under ware and robbed of his money, watch, etc. beaten  and then let go.  Plus a couple of the butlers also ran into some problems.  One needs to be very careful especially when going out at night.  We stayed for two nights in Lima so the staff like to get off the ship late and that is when they run into trouble.

Tonight dinner in Prime 7.  We shared a table with a couple from outside San Francisco.  Sandra and Llyod.  Have been married for 51 years.  They are on the Lima to Buenos Aires leg.  Good food and good conversation.  We elect not to go to the show which is a guitarist.  Back to cabin for a cocktail and bed.  Tomorrow is a busy day and will relate it later.  But today was a good day.

Matarani, Peru

Monday we were at sea for the entire morning as we are sailing down the coast of Peru toward Matarani.  We got up early and swam for about one hour.  Bonnie and David were in the pool with us plus two other gentlemen who dropped in for a few minutes.  Later we dressed and had breakfast on the aft deck of La Veranda.  I then went up to the Observation Lounge to needlepoint with my lady friends.  Elda, the assistant cruise director, leads this am group.

We had a small lunch in Compass Rose and then got ready for our tour.  We are docking here in Matarani, Peru at 2pm.  We have a 7 hour tour scheduled - wow - what was I thinking.  When you dock in any port, the local authorities come on board and clear the ship so you can get off.  Well, yesterday the men were late getting on board to clear us.  Found out we had a medical emergency and they wanted all the details.  Did not want someone with a contagious disease coming into their country.  At any rate, we finally got off and headed to Arequipa.

Bridge built by Spanish is 1500's.

Arequipa is known as The White City - a nickname because of the pearly white volcanic rock sillar that is used in its buildings.  This is a UNESCO World Heritage city and to get there you dive about 2.5 hours from the coast over the mountains and the coastal plateau.  It is quite a ride.

While driving through the desert, you come across a true oasis.  This is a wonderful site to see. And the bridge was built by the Spanish in the 1500's.  It is truly beautiful to see.

The ride included this

Once we arrived in the city we visited the Santuarios Andinos Museum to see the Ice Maiden only to find out it is out of the Museum and into the lab for 3 months.  The museum is situated in the Catholic University of Santa Maria.  It houses some fascinating exhibits, the most notable being the famous mummy of Juanita, the Ice Maiden.  The mummy of this teenaged Inca maiden which they named Juanita, is one of the most important archeological finds of the last few decades in the Americas.  Found frozen in the Andes in 1995 by American anthropologist Dr. John Reinhard, Juanita contained many clues and information about her culture and life.  It is believed that she was the victim of a ritualistic sacrifice by Inca priests and her death brought about by a violent blow to the head.  They think she was thirteen when she died, she lay buried beneath the snow for 550 years, only being revealed after an eruption of the nearby Savancaya Volcano melted the ice on the mountain peak.

Since her discovery, the team has found three more graves up on the mountain.  We were able to see the artifacts that were buried with the others.  And to see one of the others remains.  We also saw a film doing a reenactment of the process for the sacrifice.  At least, what these people thought the process was.  I am sure no one knows for sure.

Oasis on the way to Arequipa

Another view of oasis

After the museum, we walked across the town square and were able to see the Cathedral.  The left tower of the Cathedral was destroyed during the earthquake of 2001 but has been rebuilt.  We had dinner in a local restaurant which was typical Peru food.  And we were entertained by some of the local dancers.  The men dress like women by wearing skirts.  It is said that during the time of the Spanish, the women were subject to rape so the men dressed like women to lure the Spanish men and then kill them.

Cathedral

Local dancers

We returned to the bus for the ride back to the ship in the dark.  We had a wonderful bus driver so we arrived at the ship safe and sound.  But it was late and we lost one hour during the night.

I will add more pictures tomorrow morning as the internet is really slow to upload them during the day.

Pisco, Peru

Today is Sunday and we are docked here in Pisco, Peru.  We arrived about 7 am and the Silverseas Spirit is already here.  They were with us in Callao and left after us but are here first.  I guess we just took our time getting here.  The cruise lines are scheduled to arrive at a certain time so we keep on schedule like we are told.  We had breakfast in La Veranda.  Because we are taking a shore excursion today, we will swim later in the day.

Peru is made up of three areas.  10% is the coastal region with 60% or the people living there, 30% mountains and 60% jungle with 10% of the people living there.  They have just found a new tribe of people living in the Amazon Jungle.

Landscape of area

The landscape heere is dramatic to say the least.  Here is the Pacific Ocean and then desert as far as the eye can see.  Our excursion was The Route of The Pisco.  We traveled by bus for an hour drive to the town of Ica.  Here there are several wineries and we were scheduled to visit two.  The Peruvian pisco is a clear to slightly yellow grape brandy distilled from fresh grapes with an alcohol content of approximately 42%.  We learned about the process to make pisco and then a tasting.  Nice.

Tacama Winery

View of the winery from tower

On the way to the bodega, we encountered tons of traffic in this little town as it was market day.  And then the road into the bodega itself was not passable so we took another route and encountered a ton of goats on the road.  The roads were all dirt and narrow.  I will add pictures later as today the internet is very slow.


The second winery we visited told the story of how Pisco is made.  They used to stomp the grapes from 6pm until 5am because of the bees being attracted to the grape juice.  Now it is done by machine.

View from winery

We got back to the ship around 2pm so headed up to La Veranda for a quick lunch.  That afternoon we swam only to be almost chased out of the pool because of the winds and fog.  So the fog horn would blow every few minutes and being in the pool, it is quite loud.  Hurts your ears.  


Tonight was formal night.  We did not realize there would be four formal nights on this cruise so did not bring our formal wear.  We made do with what we brought.  Coat and tie for Bob and black dress with topper for me.  Passed as we were allowed to eat in Compass Rose.  While dressing for dinner we watched part of the New England/Baltimore game and then after dinner watched the 49'ers/giants game but did not see the end as we were tired and turned off the tv.  


They had the Captains reception tonight but we did not attend.  We went to the Mariners Lounge for a club soda before dinner.  

Day Three in Callao

Bob is much better today so we are planning on heading into town.  Breakfast up in La Veranda and then back to the cabin until Ronalyn needs to clean so we go to the coffee conection and meet up with Micky for the cabin next door.  She and Dick are from Chicago and on the entire trip with us.  They have done several long cruises with Regent.  Not sure is they are married in the typical sense but they travel together with different last names.

We take the shuttle that Regent arranged to go into Miraflores.  The trip takes about 45 minutes and the ride is exciting to say the least.  The drivers in Peru play chicken with their cars.  Who can blink first.  It does not matter if you are a small car or a big bus.  We are surprised no one got killed on the way in or the way out.

Downtown Miraflores

We crossed the street (light gives you 14 seconds to cross this 4 lane street) and entered a place similar to the Jacksonville Landing only much, much better.  They have up scale shops and over 18 different restaurants.  They even have a Hello Kitty shop.  But we did not go in but Bob took a picture for Gretchen.

Downtown Miraflores

55 Chevy

We returned to the Marriott to do a little shopping and this 1955 Chevy pulled up.  Brings back all kinds of memories.  We waited to the shuttle and sat in the front seat which was a mistake as we were able to see up close and personal how close some of the encounters were.  But the ride is partly on the shore front and the landscape is dramatic to say the least.

View of Landscape

View form Landing

WE had lunch at La Veranda and then a nap for Bob and hand work for me.  Later we went up to the pool for our exercises and I met a lady from Hanover, New Hampshire.  She said it was -13 when she left the other day.  But no snow since the October storm.  We cleaned up and head to the open deck for the Pisco Sail Away Party.  Dinner in Compass Rose and then after dinner drinks in the Observation Lounge.  Read and bed.  Tomorrow we dock in Pisco.  More later.

Day two in Callao

Well today's entry will be short and sweet.  It is disembarkation day for some and embarkation day for the new folks.  With Bob still not up to par, we will have a fairly quiet day.  The Silversea Spirit is docked here with us today.

Silversea Spirit

Breakfast up in La Veranda.  Just tea for Bob but I had a good breakfast.  I downloaded or uploaded some pictures for my blog and then we enjoyed a coffee at the coffee connection.  Spoke with Nicola and thanked her for the tee shirt she gave my yesterday.  I think I forgot to mention that but the shops do not sell the Regent Logo tee shirts anymore.  Bob likes these to work out in and so we were disappointed.  Then last night Nicola was giving the prizes to those folks who have won tokens.  And on the table was a long sleeve tee and I asked if I could buy one for Bob.  She told me they were for the tokens only and then gave me one to give to him.  Hope it fits.  I don't think I can take it back.

Back at the cabin, Bob worked on his pictures and then a short nap.  Lunch in Compass Rose with soup and tea for Bob and I had a wonderful salad.  After lunch, I headed out to the shop here at the port for some Peru soccer shirts for the kiddos.  Hopefully tomorrow Bob will be better and we can take the shuttle into the city.  I did not want to do it by myself.  Safety in numbers.

Now catching up on the blog and Bob still resting.  Do not know what dinner will be tonight.  The new folks have the muster drill be I do not think we have to go.  With the recent Costa accident, I think everyone will pay attention to the drill.  They have a show tonight that is an introduction to the performers. I will only go if Bob does, as it is late and not before dinner like last night.

Callao, Peru

Today we are in Callao which is the port city for Lima.  We are here for three days.   As tomorrow is disembarkation/embarkation day, the internet will be off for the morning so I am writing this now and will edit it with pictures later.

We were up early for our water exercises.  The water is still cool and it was very windy but we did it anyway.  We cleaned up for breakfast and got ready for our tour.  Today we visited the Convents and Monasteries of Lima.

Our first stop was to the Convento de Los Descalzos.  This was built in 1592 at the foot of Cristobal Hill.  The convent was founded by Father Andres Corso  as a spiritual retreat.  Even though it is called a convent, this was the home of the friars.  We toured the convent and saw many large paintings that are in bad need of cleaning.

We then went to Museo San Francisco.  This is a very impressive colonial building featuring a church, chapels, monastery and striking colonial fresco paintings.  The cloister is inlaid with glazed tiles most of them from Seville, bearing the dates 1620 and 1639.  The crypts or catacombs were built of bricks and mortar and are very solid and have withstood many earthquakes.  They served as the Lima cemetery until 1812.  It is estimated that 23,000 bodies have been laid to rest there.

San Francisco

On our walk to the next stop, we spotted a line of local police all in riot gear.  Not sure what was going on but they were all young and smiling so I don't think anything bad.  Maybe just practice.

Local Police

Next stop was the Santo Domingo Convent.  This is the oldest church and convent in Lima.  The foundation of the city of Santo Domingo was conceived by a friar named Tomas de San Martin.  Santo Domingo is sort of a city within the city and is comprised of a succession of cloisters and yards surrounded by service areas and communal rooms.  Both Saint Rose and Saint Martin de Porres are buried in Lima.  Construction of the Santo Domingo Convent began in 1540, but it was later modernized into its present neoclassical style in the 18th century.  In 1730 the general hall was built - a work of art that later became a part of the city's more unified ornamental groups.

The Convent included a wonderful library that contains hundreds of volumes.  Some of the Bibles date back to the 1500's.  They have just reopened it to the public.

Library

We returned to the ship and had lunch at the pool grill as everything else was closed.  Had a Philly Burger which is covered with grilled onions and grilled mushrooms.  Tasty.  Back to the cabin to finish the crossword puzzle and a short nap.

Dinner tonight is at Prime 7 but not until 8 pm so I think I will go to the show at 6pm and then to dinner.  This is the last night for some of the folks but several of the passengers are off the ship and since we are here overnight, many might be eating in Lima.  Will find out later.

Well a lot has changed.  First is the Bob is not feeling well and so we cancelled dinner in Prime 7.  I went to the show alone and then we headed up to the Observation Lounge while they cleaned up the cabin.  We sat with Bonnie and David and then returned to the cabin to bed.  Skipped dinner but I did have some crab legs the butler brought in so no starving.  Hope he feels better.  Achy and tired.

Salavery, Peru

Salavery is the port for Trujillo, the second largest city in Peru.  Most visitors to Peru choose to travel to Lima and Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca so the north coast of Peru is not as developed for tourism.  That being said, we headed out for an excursion to visit Trujillo and the Colonial Houses.

Before breakfast, we swam for 45 minutes.  The water and air were cool to cold when you are wet.  The pool opens at 6am and then they turn the heat on so the water was not yet warm.  But it kept us moving which is the goal of water exercises.  We cleaned up and headed up to breakfast in La Veranda.  Then we headed out for our excursion.

This is us sailing into Salavery.  Lots of small fishing boats and desert.  This area is very dry. We took a bus into Trujillo.  When we got to the city, we then did a walking tour of the Colonial Houses.  The first house as the Casa de la Emancipacion.  This home has been restored and was where Marquis Torre Tagle signed a document declaring Trjillo's independence from Spain in 1820.

Courtyard 

The traffic in Trujillo is interesting to say the least.  Lots of taxis and kind of a dog eat dog mentality.

Traffic in Trujillo

Protest walkers

In the center of the town, we came across a protest march.  Something to do with money.  Very orderly and well attended.

At the end of our tour we stopped in a home and were treated to the Pisco sour.  Kind of a strong drink.  Later we headed to the town square and then to a church and then back on the bus for the ride back to the port.

The weather was sunny and fairly hot.  We had lunch in La Veranda as the dining room was closed by the time we arrived back.

Hotel in Trujillo

Tonight was the Captain's Farewell Party.  We only could stay for 30 minutes as we had dinner reservations in Signatures.  Ray, the cruise director, did the show.  His is quite good.  A puppet master and singer.  At Signatures we sat with Joe and Alison from Texas.  They are also doing the entire cruise.  Good food and great conversation.  We returned to the cabin and bed.  Tomorrow is Callao, the stop for Lima.  Several passengers are getting off and traveling to Machu Picchu tomorrow.  They will get back on the ship on the 21st.  We elected not to go on that side trip as it is at a high altitude and not sure I would be able to handle it.  So we are visiting Lima.  More on that tomorrow.