La Boca in Buenos Aires

 GRAFFITI OR ART? LA BOCA IN BUENOS AIRES IS FULL OF COLOR AND VIBRANT WALL ART.

ONE OF THE SMOCKS WORN BY SCHOOL CHILDREN. THIS IS TO ENSURE NO CHILD FEELS BAD IF THEY CAN'T AFFORD FINE CLOTHES.

 THE STOREFRONTS IN LA BOCA ARE CHARMING. THIS IS A SOCCER STORE.

ANOTHER STORE IN LA BOCA.

After a solid 9 hours of sleep last night, we arose bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to enjoy our last day in Buenos Aires. Or, at least I was bright-eyed, Steve is still battling his cold and was game to see how far he could go today.

The weather was perfect...not too hot and little wind. We took a taxi to the La Boca neighbourhood, which is a colorful barrio that has become popular with tourists. Last time we were there, about 3 years ago, we were stopped several times by well-wishing women who told me to hang on to my purse as thieves were a problem. We didn't see any evidence of that, though to be fair, we didn't venture much off the beaten track.

The houses and storefronts here are very colorful. Some would say there is a lot of graffiti, while others would call it murals. Whatever one calls it, it makes for a vibrant street scene.

I was quite interested in the children who were coming home from school or kindergarten. They wore little smocks over their clothes. We were told this is so that no child feels singled out for a lack of fashionable clothes. The idea is similar to that of uniforms, the difference being the schools provide the smocks.

We took a taxi to the San Telmo area. We used that as our starting point to make the long walk back into the centre of the city. We stopped for lunch at a wonderful place that had a horseshoe counter in the centre of the long and narrow restaurant. We sat at permanently mounted stools. They had a sample of their menu items in the glass cases in front of us, so it was easy to decide what to eat. When it was ready, the cook slid the plate down the narrow counter. There was only once when it looked like it might fall off. Steve had the world's largest hamburger (they served it on two dinner plates) while I had a salad that included everything you probably have in the fridge right now (cold potatos, rice, corn, peas, beets, carrots, lettuce, onions, celery, cheese, ham, chicken, and a bunch of stuff I can't recall).It was tasty but we ended up leaving more than half of it on our plates as the portions were just so huge.

Now we are back on the ship and Steve is napping, trying to get rid of this cold. We had a bunch of new people join the ship here, so it is fun to see new faces. It looks like a young and noisy crowd!!! We set sail at 6:00 p.m. tonight and arrive back in Montevideo, Uruguay on Friday morning.

Buenos Aires - the Paris of South America

 BUENOS AIRES APARTMENTS...NOT PARTICULARLY A GOOD SHOT, BUT MAY GIVE A FEEL FOR THE CITY

STEVE WON THE BRONZE MEDAL IN GOLF....HERE HE IS WITH TWO AMERICAN OLYMPIANS 

 TANGO TANGO TANGO.... I AM GOING TO SIGN STEVE AND I UP FOR LESSONS TONIGHT. OR MAYBE NOT.

 THE HALL OF MIRRORS IN THE OPERA HOUSE IN BA.....A BEAUTIFUL PLACE THAT HAS SEEN EVERY MAJOR SINGER AND DANCER PERFORM ON ITS STAGE.

AND YET ANOTHER BIG BEER......LIFE IS GOOD.

Is there a more vibrant and cultural city than Buenos Aires, Argentina? If so, I haven't visited it yet. The city is jam-packed with everything beautiful and everything not so beautiful. We docked here yesterday morning and we were immediately stuck in a traffic jam as we took the shuttle bus into the city centre. It took a full 45 minutes to get where we were going, ordinarily a 10 minute drive. The traffic is horrendous for a couple of reasons....there is a massive street rehab program going on in the centro area, and I think everyone must own a car and wants to drive it.

The city centre is beautiful. We went to Teatro Colon, the opera house that is an eclectic blend of Italian and French. This is because they had two young architects (French and Italian) each who died at age 44. One was natural causes and the other was shot by a jealous husband, and when you're Italian, perhaps that's considered natural causes as well!

When we stopped for lunch (and yet another big beer) we fired up our I-pad to take advantage of the free WiFi. To our horror, we discovered that my mom had suffered a series of heart attacks the night before and was in critical condition in a Regina hospital. After many tears and a couple of phone calls and emails, we were in touch with family. By the next morning, mom was doing better and Shelley and Julie had made flight arrangements to go and visit her. Thank goodness for family!

Today, Steve was down with a cold and chose to stay in bed. I ventured forth and spent 7 hours shopping and wandering the streets. It would have been more fun with Steve, but it was okay and I never felt threatened or afraid. I did manage to pick up a couple of little dresses, so it was happy happy as I made my way back to the ship.

Last night we went to a special Tango Show that was performed specifically for our Crystal World Cruisers audience. It was amazing....the music and the dance. The cast was about 60 people strong and there was a lot of interaction with the audience.

We are now going down to see a show in the theatre, and then going to the onboard movie theatre to see Evita with Madonna. Steve is feeling better and for those who are wondering, we still like each other!

This and That

Today is Saturday, but it could be any day. It is becoming more difficult to separate the days and remember the various ports we have been in. Thank goodness for photos. It will be fun to spend some time and put them all together once we get home again.

We spent two days at sea coming north from Ushuaia. The weather has not been good....lots of rain and wind, but it doesn't seem to impact on any of our activities. There has been a World Olympics Competition on board for the last couple of weeks, with gold, silver and bronze medals awarded for various events. Steve won the bronze in golf....yay!! His medal ceremony is on Sunday.

Yesterday we were in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. The weather was rainy, so we just bumbled around the city centre. During a particular heavy downpour we ducked into a hairdresser's shop and each got our hair cut. Total cost for both was $20. Not bad. We also stopped for coffee and for a big beer!

There is typically 12 inches of rain in Puerto Madryn per year. I think most of it fell when we were there. There are no drainage systems in place, as they don't usually need it. Consequently, there were deep ponds of water in the streets.

Today was our final day at sea on this segment of the World Cruise. The last golf lesson and the last keyboard lesson. We had to play a selection for the class. Out of the 5 renditions of Edelweiss that was played, I would say mine ranked about fourth! Ah well....there is only one way to go, and that is up.

Tonight is formal night, so another chance to get all gussied up. It is still quite thrilling to look around the room and see so many beautifully gowned women and men in their tuxes. Maybe a visit to the casino as well, as I walked away from the Craps Table with $800....a $600 profit. Steve was not quite so lucky!

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will play golf in Montevideo, Uruguay.

 THE STAR PRINCESS WAS DOCKED BESIDE THE CRYSTAL SERENITY IN PUERTO MADRYN, ARGENTINA. THE PRINCESS SHIP HELD 4000 PEOPLE.

STEVE AND I SHARED A BIG BEER WHILST WE WAITED OUT THE RAIN.

 PUERTO MADRYN TYPICALLY RECEIVES 12 INCHES OF RAIN IN ONE YEAR. I THINK IT ALL FELL ON THE DAY WE WERE THERE.

Too Cold for This Canuck

It's the middle of summer here in Ushuaia, at the southern tip of Argentina. The kids are out of school, the campers and tenters are out in full force, visitors from all over the world are here.....and it is darn cold! We found this out the hard way. This morning we went out to the National Park with a small tour group. We took a van to the train station, then took the Prisoner's Train into the park.

The Prisoner's Train is one that was initially built by the convicts who were sent here to set up a penal colony. They thought the location for a penal colony was perfect...cold, inaccessible, and if someone did escape, there was no place to go. Also, it was a way for the Argentenians to populate the area. The prisoners hacked out the railway bed...only 16 guage, so it wasn't TOO bad (!!!) then took the felled trees and big rocks back to the town to build their prison. It only took 20 years to complete. As a commentator said, “things don't happen quickly in Argentina.'

The visit to the park was beautiful, but it was so cold that I could hardly stand it. People couldn't believe we were from Canada. The winds blowing from the snow capped mountains and whistling down the valleys were the coldest I've felt since my Edmonton days. But, we soon arrived back to the port, boarded the ship, had a good lunch (hot dog/french fries/caramel sundae....no calories there) and am now planning on curling up with a good book.

But before that, I want to tell you about the Yamana people that lived here for many years. They were 'discovered' only about 100 years ago.....in fact, there are many photos of them around. They were not large in numbers, only about 3000 of them. They lived in an area from Ushuai down to Cape Horn. The most memorable things about them were: a) they had strong upper bodies and legs that were considerably weaker. This was from always being in a canoe or squatting in their huts made of leaves and branches. The second memorable thing was that they were naked. Think about it. We are not far from the Antarctic and these people did not wear clothes. They subsisted on a diet of seal and sea lion, which was rich in fat and it obviously kept them warm enough to survive. In the winter, they would wrap a seal hide around them. When the Europeans and Argentinians arrived, they thought they would teach them a better way to live and introduced them to clothing (European style) and houses. Unfortunately, this contributed to their population being decimated. When they were naked and lived in temporary shelters, whenever it rained they became clean. Once they were in clothes and buildings, they lived in dirt and filth and the resulting diseases pretty much wiped out their entire population. We heard that once this people was 'discovered', it only took 40 years for the population to go from 3000 to just a few hundred. One woman remains, but she is over 70 years old and there is virtually no chance of continuing that line.

And a final note on the architecture here. Most houses are modest and almost all of the them have a metal exterior and a metal roof. I doubt there is a building in the city that is more than 4 or 5 stories tall, most of them are one level. Prices are very expensive, but everything has to be flown or shipped in. There is a strong military presence. We have heard it is to safeguard the border against Chile, and I suspect it is also because the Falklands Islands (they call it the Maldives Islands here) is so close and in the event there are any more hostilities.

We leave Ushuaia tonight at 9:00 p.m. and will arrive in Puerto Madryn after two days at sea. We're going straight north so it is bound to warm up.

 THE END OF THE PAN AMERICAN HIGHWAY....ALASKA IS JUST 17848 KMS AWAY

 THE LOCOMOTIVE ON THE PRISONERS TRAIN. THE ORIGINAL TRACKS WERE MADE OF WOOD.

A BEAUTIFUL BUT COLD LAKE IN THE NATIONAL PARK. I DIDN'T SEE ANYONE SWIMMING, BUT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF TENTS PITCHED IN THE AREA.

Rounding the Horn

 THE LAST BIT OF LAND AT CAPE HORN....AFTER THIS, IT'S ANTARCTICA

 THE BONES OF MANY SAILORS LIE BENEATH THESE JAGGED ROCKS AT CAPE HORN

THE BEAUTY OF BEAGLE CHANNEL...NAMED AFTER DARWIN'S BOAT, THE BEAGLE

It's official. We've rounded Cape Horn and we are now entitled to wear a gold earring in our ear and to eat dinner with our feet on the table. Or at least, if we were sailors of old, that would be the honor bestowed to us in rounding the Cape without incident. We cruised down the Magellan Straits and the Beagle Channel. I had thought the captain was taking the easy route because of possible high seas on the outside, but our table mate who was a ship's captain from Holland said “no”, that was not the easy route, but was a very difficult route because of rocks, icebergs, and very narrow passageways. It was the scenic route and the scenic route was spectacular.

We saw hanging glaciers that defy description. We saw millions of seabirds that wheeled about the boat and swooped down to the sea. We saw huge rock pillars rising out of the sea that were covered in bird guana. We saw waterfalls that fell hundreds of meters, with few if any people to appreciate their beauty.

It's a wild land, with jagged rocks and harsh, barren islands. We saw the occasional shelter/hut that may be used for scientific expeditions or maybe for fishermen. But, we didn't see any people at all. At the very tip of Capo de Hornos (Cape Horn), there is a working lighthouse that is manned by a Chilean man and his family. If you want to visit, or if they want to visit you, the only way in and out is by helicopter. Or, if you are very lucky and the sea is calm, by boat. But then you have to climb almost 300 stairs to get to the top of the cliff where their house is perched. They have to be self-sufficient for periods of up to 3 months at a time, as they are often storm-stayed for that long. A couple of times a year a teacher comes out for several weeks to teach and to leave lesson plans behind for the children. It must be quite a lifestyle for the family.

The rounding of the Cape itself took us almost two hours. I was disappointed because the waves were not more than 3 metres.....but most people were really happy that the rounding was so smooth. One woman I spoke with said this was the fourth time she had attempted to round the Horn, and was the first time the conditions were favorable enough to do it. The maitre de' at our table said that in the dozen times he has rounded the Horn, this was far and away the easiest. Even at its easiest, it wasn't difficult to imagine the tremendous forces at work as the three oceans met....the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the undercurrent from the Antarctic. We saw a map today that highlighted all the ship wrecks at Cape Horn and there are dozens and dozens. There are many bones beneath those waves.

Today and tomorrow we are in Ushuaia, which is in Argentina. We spent the day walking around town and visiting the museum. We were taking a beer break in the Irish Pub when we were told by one of the ship's employees (also taking a beer break) that the port had closed down operations for some unknown reason and we couldn't get back on the ship. They had been waiting to do so for two hours already. Nothing to do but sit and drink beer. Tough life. But, the port authorities opened up operations a couple of hours later and we arrived back on ship in fine form.

Tomorrow, we have booked a private tour of the National Park, including travelling on the End of the World railway. We will be dressed for sun, rain, snow and wind.

Penquins are so cute

 PENQUINS AT THE OTWAY BAY PENQUIN COLONY HEADING OUT TO SEA.

 JUST HANGING OUT WITH THEIR BUDDIES

A LIFEBOAT FROM THE CRYSTAL SERENITY GOING OUT TO THE GLACIER

Glaciers, ice bergs and now penquins. We are at the far south of Chile at Puntas Arena, which they claim is the southernmost city in the world. It is the height of summer here, but you would never know it as people wear toques, gloves and jackets. As the sun comes out, they may take off the hat or the gloves, but they are always close at hand as they know once the wind comes up, it is darn cold.

The penquin colony was very good. We drove about an hour outside of the town to the Otway Bay penquin colony. There are about 7500 penquins there. What I learned today was:

penquins mate for life, but if one dies, the other one will take up with a new partner each year thereafter.

Penquins return to the same underground burrow each year. The male comes about a month before the female to ready the burrow.

Once penquins leave the nesting colony, they live in the water until they return the following year to their same burrow. They even sleep in the water.

The penquins biggest predator is the Orca or Killer Whale (called the Sea Whale down here).

Steve and I then bumbled around the town of Puntas Arenas, visiting the cemetary and stopping for lunch at the Italian Club. It was fun....we were the only tourists and we felt just like family. We picked up a few souvenirs, then headed back to the ship. Now, it's almost time for happy hour.

Tomorrow is the day we round Cape Horn (weather permitting). The captain said one time they came through, the water was like glass. I'm hoping for a little more action, but not the extreme kind!

Glaciers and Bergie Bits

I had always wondered what it would be like to stand at 'the edge of the world'. Now I know. We are currently cruising through the Steno Eyre Fjord at the southern tip of Chile. We nestled up close to a glacier this morning, and lo and behold, the fog and rain lifted, the sun came out and we were treated to a spectacular display of blue ice and glacier green water. Actually, the water is a very distinct color from the ocean water because of all the glacial flour in it. Glacial flour is the fine powdered rock that results from the glaciers grinding down the mountains. Quite spectacular.

We are travelling very close to the shores in the these fjords. The captain has said there are two pilots on board and will be for the next couple of days. I am hoping they know these waters well, as thoughts of the Costa boat have been going through my mind!

We have passed ice bergs and bergie bits....the little pieces of ice bergs that float merrily along. The naturalist onboard told us we are seeing only 15% of the bergs....the other 85% is under water. I went out on deck this morning as we approached the glacier and it was quite eerie.....fog, rain, mist and groaning sounds coming from under the boat. I don't know if we were scraping past ice or not, but no-one seemed too concerned, so I wasn't either.

The land formations look like giant pieces of coal jutting high into the sky. These mountains are very rugged, with little vegetation, but lots of waterfalls. All in all, a most spectacular place to be.

Tomorrow we remain onboard as we 'visit' the Amalia glacier. Then it's on to Punte Arenas, where we are booked to visit a penquin colony. It will involve going over dirt trails in what we've been told will be primitive vehicles, so it should be interesting.

The 'big event', rounding Cape Horn, happens on Sunday for about 3 hours in the late afternoon. I made the comment to someone that I hoped we'd have a storm as we rounded. He told me to be careful of what I wished for, as this ship, Crystal Serenity, had a couple of windows broken out the last time it rounded. I guess the waves were 45 feet then. I have since revised my hope for calm seas!

Just About the end of the World

I was up early this morning (6:30) and looked out my stateroom window to the most beautiful sight. We were slowly gliding into the fjord to drop anchor at Puerto Chacabuco near the southern end of Chile. The mist was rising, the mountains were dropping into the sea, and it was quite a magical sight.

We were on an excursion this morning, going to a nature park and hiking for about an hour. We hiked to Old Man's Beard waterfall, and saw lots of examples of trees that are not found anywhere else but Chile.

We ended up at a quito....a place that is used for parties and celebrations. Lamb was being cooked over an open fire, dancers were waiting to entertain us, and there was lots of Chilean food and drink on hand. Who could ask for anything more?

We brought the bus back into the town, which was hastily put up to accommodate a port when the REAL port became unnavigable due to volcanic silt buildup. There isn't much here yet, and tourists must be few and far between because we noticed lots of people looking out their windows at us. We took a nice long walk in the rain, which reminded us of Vancouver Island. We stopped into a little cafe for coffee. The woman told us (in Spanish) that she had been born in that little village and had never been out of it. Somehow, we didn't think she was the only one who could say that.

Our ship leaves today at 5:00 p.m and we won't get back on land again until Saturday. We will be cruising through the Chilean Fjords, the Sterno Eyre Fjord, and the Amalia Glacier. I am really looking forward to it and hope to get some good photos.

SAILING INTO PUERTO CHACABUCO, CHILE

OLD MAN'S BEARD WATERFALL IN CHILEAN PATAGONIA

SLOW COOKING LAMB OVER AN OPEN FIRE AT THE QUITO

Puerto Montt Chile

Today we anchored at Puerto Montt, Chile at 8:00 a.m. It was very windy, rainy and blustery, but the tender ride into the port was not too bad. Steve stocked up on Gravol for both the tender ride and the bus ride.

The area is considered a gateway into the Chilean Patagonia. Because the weather was so cloudy and misty and foggy, we were unable to see the volcanos. But, we did go on a 45 minute catamaran ride on Lago Todos de Santos, a beautiful emerald green lake that must be spectacular in the sunshine.

We hiked into a waterfall area, which is actually the water rushing from the mountains over basalt (volcanic) rock, carving out interesting channels and putting on a fairly impressive display of Mother Nature. The fact that we had to literally hang on to our hats and watch where we stepped because of the high winds and the pounding rain made it all the more exciting. EEHAW!

Our group was taken for lunch to a lovely, somewhat eccentric hotel that I think must be owned by Germans, judging by all the Germanic antiques and posters. This would not be surprising because there is a large contingent of Germans in the area, accounting for the large number of Bavarian style chalets and homes we saw. Lunch was delicious....typical Chilean fare which consisted of cheese empanadas, pisco sours, wine, vegetable soup, salmon filet (farmed salmon is the areas second largest industry), the best boiled potato I have ever eaten, creamed spinach, and for dessert, kuchen with apple sauce and caramel. Yum Yum. We arrived back onboard ship at 4:30.....just barely enough time to have a brief rest, a shower and get ready for dinner out with the golf pro on board ship and his wife. Life continues to be fun.....although I think we could both use a 'down' day to recharge our batteries. It won't be tomorrow, though, as we are booked on another excursion as we dock in Chacabuco tomorrow morning.

WE HAD TO HANG ON TO OUR HATS AND MAKE SURE THE WIND DIDN'T PUSH US INTO THE RAGING WATERS.

Shrunken Heads and Naked Men

After two days in Valparaiso, Chile, we are still saying “wow”. We decided to go off on our own and explore the area without benefit of an organized tour and it was the right decision.

On Friday, we went to Vina del Mar. I think it is part of Valparaiso. It is the area that the wealthy Europeans built houses and hotels back in the day before the Panama Canal was built. It is on the sea and is quite lovely.

We happened to find the museum in our walk and to our surprise, it was very enjoyable. We saw shrunken heads (see photo), Easter Island heads, the now-requisite mummies, and even such oddities as a two-headed lamb. Upstairs was the natural history section, with lots of examples of birds, fish and wildlife. We saw a condor and an albatross, both stuffed, mind you.

Today we explored Valparaiso. It is a city that is built on 43 hills, so it is full of steep and winding roads. We took a local bus and I think he must have been practising for the Grand Prix in Monacco. Even the locals were hanging on for dear life as he took the corners. But, for $1 each, it was great fun.

We took a funicular that was built in the 1890s and is now a heritage site. Actually, funiculars play an important role in how the people of this city get from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.

We did lots of walking today and saw many examples of revolution slogans and unrest. We will definitely be keeping an ear out for anything to do with Chile in the future.

I don't want to sound like an advertisement for Crystal Cruises, but I do have to talk about the wonderful onshore event they planned for all the World Cruise guests last night. We travelled about an hour outside of the city to Valle Casa Blanca.....a valley that is renown for its grape growing. We went to an Estancia which I think means 'ranch.' It was amazing...right in the middle of miles and miles of grapes nestled in the valley of the Andes mountains.

Riders on horseback met each bus at the entrance to the Estancia and escorted us in. We were immediately given a glass of wine and hors d'oeuvres at every turn. They had several stages set up with folkloric entertainment which was very very good. Included was a trio of young men that wore body paint and not much more. Scattered around the grounds were lovely seating areas....white couches/chairs and tables with elaborate flower arrangements.

After about an hour of eating and drinking (I had smoked eel...I thought it was sausage), we were invited indoors for dinner, unlimited wine and more entertainment. When we got up several hours later and made our way to the bus, we were serenaded by a 30 piece full orchestra which was playing under the stars of this most perfect night. Truly....I can't imagine how Crystal could have made it any better.

But, enough of the advertisement. Suffice to say that life continues to be good and we are enjoying ourselves immensely. And, for those of you who are wondering, we still like each other! 

DON'T KNOW HOW THEY DID IT...OR WHY... BUT HERE ARE SOME SHRUNKEN HEADS.

ALL YOU NEED IS A LITTLE PAINT...

STEVE FOUND THE BIGGEST BEER YET IN VALPARAISO...NOTE THE BIG SMILE!

Chile

Today we had our first taste of Chile....arriving in the Port of Coquimbo and taking a bus to one of Chile's premier beach resorts, La Sirena. We didn't bother with an umbrella, as it hasn't rained here in five years. We were told that the water level in the reservoir is 16% and if no rain falls this winter, the area will be in big trouble.

But, there was certainly no sign of trouble today. As this is the height of their summer holiday, the resort town was bustling, with lots of outdoor cafes, street buskers (although it's hard to call a five piece band a busker!) and tons of open stall markets.

We visited the ATM and took what we THINK will be $400 cdn worth of Chilean pesos....$200,000. The exchange rate is about 500 pesos to 1 dollar. Not bad!

We stopped into a museum and spent the grand sum of roughly $1.50 each to enter. We saw artifacts from Easter Island, some shrunken heads, and yet more mummified bodies and skeletons. I'm not sure I had ever seen a real skeleton before this trip, and now I've seen dozens.

Pisco is a popular drink here...created from fermented muscatel grapes that packs a punch. I had a pisco sour and, except for the fly I found in it, was pretty damn tasty.

We set sail in about 1 1/2 hours for Valparaiso, where we will spend two full days. I may have to do some shopping.

STEVIE WITH AN EASTER ISLAND BUDDY

HAPPINESS IS A CHILEAN BEER

Two Days at Sea

We are into our second day at sea as we leave Peru behind and travel into Chile. First port of call is Coquimbo.

You might think being at sea would make for a peaceful, relaxing time. Guess again. Just to give you an idea of what we are doing, our itinerary for the past 36 hours has gone something like this:

Tuesday - walk 5 miles around the deck; attend golf lesson; attend lecture; quick lunch; attend music class (Steve took his Spanish books and found a quiet corner); attend second golf lesson; nap; cocktails in the Crystal Cove; formal dinner in diningroom; casino.

Wednesday – walk 4 miles around deck; attend golf lesson; leisurely lunch; attend music/do Spanish; attend second golf lesson; nap; cocktails in the Crystal Cove; attending violinist concert; dinner in diningroom; after dinner drinks in Avenue saloon.

As you can see, it is tough being us! Actually, we are both enjoying the voyage immensely and have met some very interesting characters....fodder for another posting. One couple we have met is from New Brunswick. We met them a year and a half ago and they are lots of fun. Some other folks we have met are Allyn and Barry- professional poker players from Las Vegas. She is a lawyer specializing in gaming law as well. He is the author of a popular gaming magazine.; Heinz and Pat....he is a past CFO for IBM from Germany and she is a traveller from Montana (has trekked the Inca Trail twice); Jim Klein, who is involved in lots of businesses including distributing golf balls. He has the contract for all the major PGA tournaments.

Well, that's it for today. The seas continue to be calm, the skies a brilliant blue, and the winds relatively gentle.

The Watchers

One of the best things that can happen when you travel is when you stumble upon the unexpected. That happened today when we went exploring in General San Martin Pisco, our last stop in Peru, a country I love.

When we looked out our door this morning, we thought the Captain must have made a mistake, as we were docked in the middle of nowhere. From every direction all we could see was sand-dunes and hundreds of miles of nothing.

We decided to take the shuttle bus into the town. After travelling about 30 minutes, it dropped us off in a little seaside town. About a dozen years ago the town had been devastated by a major earthquake. Some rebuilding is taking place, but the general concensus is that it will take years for it to get back to where it was.

We walked down the seaside walk where there were a few restaurants and some vendors. At the end of the road we sat on a bus stop in the shade and watched a group of young men play soccer. They were pretty good.

We continued to wander around town and spied a small museum. We went in and found a film crew interviewing a Peruvian man through an English speaking translator. We stood there for about 10 minutes, not wanting to disturb the interview. They were holding a small skull and talking about cranial changes and distortions. It sounded quite scientific.

The translator came over and told us the museum was closed because they were filming a tv show and the film crew needed all the space, but if we wanted to just have a quick look around, we could. The owner of the museum (it is a private collection) soon joined us and gave us a wonderful personal tour of his collection. He has an absolutely astounding collection of Inca and pre-Inca artifacts, including skulls and mummified skulls.

There is a great deal of interest in this area (there are numerous backpacking hostels and lots of young people wandering around) because of the Nazca Lines. Resembling massive animals and geometric figures, these geoglyphs decorate the dusty Pampa de San Jose and are best viewed from the air. Some measure 1,000 feet long and are etched into the desert's unfriendly crust and have probably been there for some 2,000 years. It was the 1968 “Chariots of the Gods” which has generated cultish interest in these lines.

What brought the film crew here was Juan's (the museum owner's) collection of skulls which feature the 'cone heads'. One of the people being interviewed said there were three reasons why people distorted their children's skulls in the Paracas tribe were (1) they thought it was attractive; (2) they thought it made their children more intelligent; and (3) they wanted to look like their ancestors. The interviewer, of course, questioned who these original ancestors were.

After we visited the exhibits, the film crew was taking a break so we began talking to them. It turns out they are the crew from The Watchers, a series of programs that researches all things alien. !!! Wow.

They have been all over the world filming for the program, and they said this place excited them the most because there was no attempt at 'cover-up.' 

THE FILM CREW FROM THE WATCHERS WERE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THESE GUYS.

We finished off our day by enjoying Inca Cola at a local restaurant, buying bracelets from Camilla, a 10 year old girl who was the 'smartest girl in her class' according to her friend.

All in all, a great day. Next stop, Chile.

 YOU JUST CAN'T BEAT THE REFRESHING TASTE OF INCA COLA!

A Mystical Tour with Travel Bumps

ONE OF THE WORLD'S WONDERS - MACHU PICHU, PERU

It didn’t take me long to decide whether or not to join a group of four travellers and go to Machu Pichu in the Andes Mountains. About 2 minutes.

It was an independent-of-the-ship excursion that was put together by one of our group’s travel agent in Atlanta. The ship sanctioned excursion would have cost $6999 ... I spent considerably less. But, whatever the cost, it was definitely worth it.

It was too bad that Steve could not contemplate making this trip, but we had to fly into Cusco which has an elevation of almost 12,000 feet, which would have made breathing impossible for him. As it was, altitude sickness was a very real possibility for all of us. Three members of the group had been taking medication prescribed by their doctor in anticipation of being that high. I picked up some pills at the airport, but it turned out I didn’t need them.

The symptoms of altitude sickness are headaches, dizziness, nausea, stomach pains, and vertigo. As soon as our plane landed in Cusco, we were told by our tour guide to move very slowly and to drink lots of coka tea, a tea brewed from the leaves of the coka plant. We were also told to drink lots of water, not to drink alcohol, and to eat lightly. At that altitude, our digestive systems slow right down and if we overload, it can cause big problems.

Our hotel in Cusco was a beautiful old monastery that is now part of the Orient Express group of hotels. It was very luxurious and even included its own chapel with tons of gold leaf on every conceivable surface and many beautiful paintings.

On Friday afternoon we toured the area and saw why the Inca civilization continues to be so highly regarded (if you can get over the human sacrifice part). The architecture and engineering is truly impressive. After hundreds of years, their structures and their designs would fit into today’s world with little adaptation required.

Friday night was dinner (light) at a beautiful restaurant that was part of the Art Museum. I found out that Peru is becoming a gastronomic destination by people from all over the world. It is the home of the potato, with more than 4000 varieties grown here. (I thought there were only about 6 varieties!)

Saturday morning we had to be at the train station at 6:00 am. It was a 3 ½ hour trip down the Andes mountains. We followed a rushing river that was wilder than anything I have ever seen. This is the rainy season which accounted for its turbulence, which is much too gentle a word for what we saw.

At the end of the line, we boarded a bus that took a very narrow and very steep road up to the mountain valley where Machu Pichu is located. Only local buses are allowed on this road....which is a good thing because there is no room for more than one vehicle at a time. I didn’t count the number of switchbacks we made on the bus, but it must have been at least 7 or 8.

Four hours after leaving the train station in Cusco, we arrived at mystical, magical, mysterious Machu Pichu. This is an Inca city that was ‘discovered’ by Hyram Bingham in the early 1900s. He stumbled upon it while researching other archeological sites. He sent pictures of the site to National Geographic and it was quickly heralded as one of the wonders of the world. And it is. It is perched high on a mountain, ringed by other mountains, and consists of buildings and farming terraces that truly boggle the mind. The scope and scale is tremendous.

We had perfect weather. It was cool and misty in the morning, with the sun coming out as we were ready to head back to the train. However, it had been raining elsewhere, which we were soon to find out.

The train ride was pretty interesting. In addition to seeing all the scenery again, we were treated to an impressive show of dancing by a costumed Inca medicine man and a pretty good fashion show of Peruvian baby alpaca sweaters and wraps. All was going well until the train came to a shuddering stop. All the rain had caused a landslide over the tracks and we were stuck. Luckily, we were only delayed by about an hour. The train in front of us, however, was stuck for about 3 hours until they cleared the track. But, we finally made it back to Cusco and to the very welcome bed.

The next day, we left for the airport and once there, found out our flight was cancelled. There was a couple of moments of panic as the ship was leaving that night. But, in true traveller ‘roll with the punches’ attitude, we were all set to take what comes. What actually resulted was we were put on a plane that arrived to Lima a full hour than we were supposed to arrive. Hurray!

I didn’t get a chance to see much of Lima, only what I could see on the drive from the airport to the port. It was a poorer part of town, but seemed to have a good number of corner parks and playgrounds. Many people put portable swimming pools out on the street for their children to play in.

Steve, meanwhile, spent a couple of days in Lima sightseeing with people from the ship. He visited a number of museums (including the museum of erotica!!!) and of course, the obligatory churches and cathedrals. He kept up his walking routine, putting in 6 miles today. One of the first things he told me when I arrived back was he has lost 1 pound since he arrived on ship. Way to go Steve!

We have now concluded the first leg of this four leg journey. Many people have left the ship, and we are seeing many new ones that have come onboard. One couple are people we met a year ago onboard a Crystal cruise. They are from New Brunswick as well, and are fun people to hang out with.

 
Tomorrow we dock in Pisco, Peru, home of the famous Pisco Sour, a drink that they claim will knock out even the heaviest of drinkers. I think I may have to try one.

 A FRIENDLY LLAMA, ONE OF MANY WHO LIVE AT MACHU PICHU

THE 'MODEST' LITTLE CHAPEL AT THE HOTEL MONESTARIO IN CUSCO