JANUARY 31, 2012 - DAYS 23 - 27

January 27 – Day 23 – Puerto Chacabuco, Chile - Continued

Frank had warned us that, when we arrived at Puerto Chacabuco, we would find nothing beyond the marine containers in the port. As we walked to our tour bus, his comment was confirmed.

We boarded the bus for the comfortable ride to Coyhaique. This is a good sized city across the mountain range in interior Chile. As we drove farther east from the port, the weather improved. The rain stopped and the sun took over. Our guide spoke very good English. She explained the historical sights along the way with a focus on the geology. We arrived in Coyhaique at the town square. It was nice to walk the square and enjoy the antics of the kids out with their moms.

Handicrafts abounded. We restrained ourselves. Instead, we admired the monuments and flora. Back on the bus, after too short a visit. Off to a natural reserve along the Simpson River. This was a beautiful forest with trees and shrubs marked for reference. Unfortunately no English equivalent was given for the names. A path down to the river gave great views of the mountains and rapids. Awesome.

Next stop was for a snack at a rodeo grounds. The food was good and the wine was better. Soon we were back aboard. The wind had increased significantly, and we swung at anchor until all were back aboard. The itinerary called for backtracking to a channel into the ocean. Then we would follow the coast to the south, and re-enter the inside passage for scenic cruising tomorrow.

Nature would have it otherwise.

As we journeyed toward the Pacific, I noticed that the barometer was falling. The weather was deteriorating. Worse than that, the seas were building. Captain Roberts came over the public address system to advise us that a large low pressure system was racing down to meet us. As a result, the swells had built to 15-20 feet and were hitting us in the aft starboard quarter. This caused the greatest motion we had experienced since leaving Ft. Lauderdale. Out came the seasick bags. We did not need these.

Captain Roberts went on to explain that, if we returned to the inside passage for scenic cruising tomorrow, we would reach a point where we must go back to the Pacific. At this point the storm would be on top of us, and the ride would get much worse. He had decided to stay outside all night and all day tomorrow to cruise faster. This would allow us to stay ahead of the worst of the low, and then, we would go inside at a different place, and cruise inside the rest of the way to Ushuaia. It would be much smoother. 

January 28 – Day 24 – Rushing Down the Coast of Chile

The plan is working. We are still rolling more, but the ride is manageable. The captain has said the stabilizers are “working their little hearts out.”

So this is a day of reading and attending lectures. All are very satisfactory. Tomorrow will be scenic cruising.

January 29 – Day 25 – Scenic Cruising Chile’s Inside Passage

The weather is overcast with some sun. The waters are relatively calm, with no movement felt aboard. The scenery, which is beautiful, keeps passing by. It is early morning, and we are sailing up to our first glacier. It is very pretty, but not as impressive as our Alaska experiences. Nonetheless, it is special because it is our first of this voyage. It wll not be our last.

Again lectures and reading pass the time. Perhaps we will do some eating too. After all, it is a cruise.

January 30 – Day 26 – Piunta Arenas, Chile

We arrived on schedule to Punta Arenas. This will be our last stop in Chile. We opted to make it our first stop for penguins, so we will be going on tour to the Ottway Sound penguin reserve.

After a drive to the edge of the city, the bus turned onto a gravel road through the countryside. This was our route for the next hour. When we arrived at the reserve, we had an hour on our own to follow a boardwalk around the boroughs. This path formed a long loop through various terrains and habitats. Everyone seemed to be going to the right, so Alice and I went left. This was not a one way trail. We were glad we chose to be different because there were two observation platforms, along this way, that had a three person limit. We were the only people there, so no waiting. The overlooks gave us great views of penguins entering and leaving boroughs. Those leaving met in lines heading toward the sea. They hopped along in step and dove right into the crashing waves. Lunchtime, we guess.

As we looked across one area we spotted a very large rabbit-like animal. It had long ears and a huge body. It bounded through the brush, came to a stop in front of a standing penguin, took one look, and ran away.

Now we started meeting people who had started out the other way. We passed them and came to the seaside observation platform they had all vacated. Again, we had no waiting. We stood in wonder watching the marchers enter the waves. When we turned the other way, there were many penguins being pushed ashore by breaking waves. Some would fight the waves. Others just tumbled in with the waves, hopped up and waddled ashore.

We really had enough time to do all of this justice, but we were so enthralled we wished we could have stayed longer. The ride back to town took us past some highlights and then gave us the option of getting off at the square or riding bck to the tender pier. Six of us got off. The rest went to the ship for lunch. Hope they came back because Punta Arenas turned out to be nice.

All around the square were carts with handicraft vendors. Many products were repeats from other places, but some were new. We enjoyed looking. As we left the square to find the shopping street, an elderly gentleman approached us speaking Spanish. I could not understand a word he was saying until he put a flyer promoting a handicraft store into my hand. After much gesticulating, we understood where it was, and headed off to visit it. We are glad we did. It had some of the nicest wooden objects we had seen anywhere. Wooden penguins were available in multiple sizes. They were laminated from various kinds of wood, turned and then nicely finished. They were too expensive and too heavy to bring home, but they sure were beautiful to look at.

They also had many travel books for Chile. This is what we had hoped to find on the shopping street. But none of these were in English. “Conversation” with the Spanish speaking shop keeper disclosed that there were no English books of this sort available in this area. Bummer. We did manage to find other bookstores on the way back to the ship, but none of these had English books  among their travel selections in the window. I say in the window because all were closed for siesta, and would not reopen until after we had to leave town for the tender. Oh well, maybe amazon.com will prove the solution.

Our sail away from Punta Arenas was delayed because the tour to Antarctica had not returned. They left a 7:00 AM and were to return at 6:30 PM. This was the $3,400 tour that Ken and Steve our tablemates, took. The tour returned at 8:00 PM and we were off at 8:30 PM.

We attended the Indonesian Crew Show at 11:00PM. We had debated doing this because we were tired after a busy day. We are really glad we did. This was the best crew show we have ever seen. It played to a full house. This is a real tribute to our Indonesian cabin attendants and diningroom staff. They work hard to keep us happy cruisers, and then they go the extra mile to give us first class entertainment.

Again we will be cruising inside, but Captain Roberts warned us that tonight we would be in the ocean for a while, and it would get rough.

January 31 – Day 27 – Scenic Cruising the Beagle Channel and Ushuaia, Argentina

When I got up this morning I went to the fitness center and rode 5 miles on the bike. It had snowed overnight, and there was slush on the fantail at deck 9.

This morning we learned that, when the ship entered the Pacific last night, it started rocking and rolling, as promised. We, on the other hand, slept right through it all.

We met Steve and Maureen in the dining room at breakfast. Steve shared stories with us of the great adventure to Antarctica. Maybe we will do that another time.

We cruised the Beagle Channel for most of the morning, passing many glaciers. These were much more interesting than yesterday’s.

The schedule has us arriving in Ushuaia at 1:00PM, but the captain informed us that, because of the delay in leaving Punta Arenas last night, we will arrive closer to 2:00PM.

At about 1:30 we started our approach to Ushuaia. The captain told us that the wind was very strong and forcing us toward the pier. This would make landing challenging. There were no tugs to assist us.

After our first attempt, the captain told us that it would be necessary to anchor, and tender to the dock. As we moved to our anchorage position, the coast guard notified us that they had closed the port. Tender operation would not be permitted. Our captain confirmed that the wind and waves were too severe to allow for safe tendering. We were forced by the weather to miss Ushuaia, the southern-most city in South America. All tours were cancelled, and no one could go ashore. We sat at anchor from 2:30 till 5:30 while immigration cleared the ship into Ushuaia, and then, cleared us out. I know this sounds a little goofy, but it should make it easier and quicker to clear into Buenos Aeries next week.

At 5:30 we hightailed it out of Ushuaia to speed down the Beagle Channel toward Cape Horn. This is necessary to keep ahead of the strong storm that has been chasing us south, and ruined our day in Ushuaia. We will know tomorrow how well this worked.

I am not sure how good the satellite link will be way down here. Until next time we are fine and happy cruisers.

January 27, 2012 - Days 21-23

January 25 – Day 21 – Sea Day

This was a first of sorts. A quiet sea day. There were not too many things that required our attendance on the agenda . So we thought.

I went to a lecture by a geology professor on oil reserves and global warming. It was very well done. He did much to explain the inadequacy of world oil reserves, even with the extraction of oil from shale. This problem is compounded by the increased demand for oil coming from China. Fossil fuels just won’t meet the long term demands. Nuclear fuel seems to be the best solution. This leads to all sorts of controversy.

After that program, the port lecturer talked about the ports for tomorrow, Castro, and Friday, Puerto Chacabuco. Both look interesting. Castro is on an island at the end of a bay, and Puerto Chacabuco is back on the mainland. It will be our gateway to Patagonia.

Next, we attended a lecture by a retired NASA engineer who worked on the space shuttle and international space station. His love is astronomy. His presentation centered around photos taken by the Hubble telescope, after it was repaired in the bay  of the space shuttle. These pictures were truly amazing and beautiful.

Now for a nap to prepare for our evening with the captain and ship’s officers. This is a formal night designated the Black and White Ball. Everybody attempts to incorporate black and white into their formal dress. The officers are especially demonstrative with white tuxedo jackets and black trousers or skirts. I was in black suit, white shirt and bow tie. Alice wore a black and white cocktail dress. We fit in well.

At 6:15 we made our way to the captain’s quarters on deck 11, where we joined about 20 other passengers and many of the ship’s officers and spouses. The captain’s quarters are the largest in the Holland America fleet because this ship was built for Royal Viking Line. It is the only ship not built to HAL specs. 


We had an open bar with a welcome and toast by Captain Tim Roberts. We had all been invited because we were either 4 star mariners (200 days cruising or more) or collector voyagers who were doing this cruise immediately followed by the Grand Mediterranean Voyage. This is the next voyage of the Prinsendam, and leaves the same day that we return to Ft. Lauderdale. It sails for 62 days. 

Drinks finished, we moved down to the Pinnacle Grill on deck 7. Here we were divided and seated with one of the ship’s officers. Alice and I sat with a couple from Akron, Ohio, a lady from Minnesota, who was in a wheelchair, and the ship’s Safety, Engineering and Health Officer. He is a very nice fellow from Liverpool with a 5 month old son at home with his wife. He gets off the ship in April, and goes home to see them. He can’t wait.

Conversation flowed well, as the courses were served and removed. The food was excellent. Kjeron, the officer, gave us some shocking news. He had been talking to the lady in the wheelchair, Kathy, and Alice about their respective experiences in wheelchairs aboard. He told us that there are people who rent chairs, when they cruise, just so they can get preferential treatment in boarding and in seating on tours. He calls the folks from shorex the "miracle workers." They will simply state that wheelchairs cannot be accommodated on some tours. That is when the lame get up and walk. "Truly a miracle" he says.

After dinner, we adjourned to the showroom for the ball. It started at 10 and ended at 11. We danced till the end. Thank goodness for our naps. Even so, the beds were a welcome respite.

January 26 – Day 22 – Castro, Chile

I rose early to get outside and watch our approach to Castro. We had entered the “inside passage” of Chile during the night. Castro is partway down Isla Chiloe on the west side of the passage. When I went out, we were cruising up a long bay to reach Castro at the end of the bay. The shores were very hilly and lush with grain fields, forests, and hedgerows. Gorgeous! Although the sun was shining, it was still quite cool at 8 AM. The tide was out, and the docks along the waterfront were high above the water level. Many fishing boats were resting on the sea bottom.

After breakfast,  we took a tender to shore. We pulled up to a concrete dock that angled from street level down into the sea. This made it possible to dock at any tide level. The walk up the dock led to a street that ran the full distance of the city’s waterfront. This was an easy walk past homes, shops, and stalls. Once at the end of the street, it was time to head up to the city square. This was a workout, as the square and most of the city were at the top of a steep hill. This hill was so steep that the sidewalk had stairs with flat transitions that went on for three long blocks.

Puffing, we reached the square. It was very nice with the expected monuments and fountains. What we did not expect were the huge rose bushes that edged the walkways.

On one side of the square was the church. It was built entirely of wood in 1906 with high arched ceilings and many side altars. Very beautiful on the inside, but very weather beaten on the outside.

Near the church, we found a children’s park filled with large inflatable slides. Lots of kids were enjoying themselves, while parents and grandparents watched them and us.

We started our walk back through town and down toward the water. This walk down was more challenging than the walk up. We had to work to keep erect and not fall forward. The road we took down was at the opposite end of town from our climb up. It was even steeper and had no steps. We negotiated it by taking very small steps. This was to the chagrin of local workers heading home for siesta. They came clomping down behind us, so we would edge over to the side of the walk to let them by. The locals are very fit. They walk, not ride, all over.

When we got back to the dock, the tide was coming in. Boats that had rested on the bottom were now well afloat. We were told that the tidal range is 10 to 20 feet. The shoreline water marks seemed to bear that out.

All the while we were exploring, Alice was fighting a headache. When we got back to the ship, it was unbearable. I went to a late lunch alone. In an attempt to sleep it away, she went to bed, and I took my book out on deck to read after lunch. When I returned to the cabin at 5 to get ready for dinner, the headache had gotten worse. More meds and sleep were the plan. I returned after dinner to find things had not improved. Al took some sleeping pills, and I went off to the entertainment. I was early, so I went out on the promenade deck where, directly in front of us, I saw snow-capped Andes Mountains in the distance. They ranged all along the coast as far as I could see. The sun set, and I went inside. After the show, which was enjoyable, I got back to the cabin. The sleeping pills had worked. Alice was out like a light. I retired at 9:15.

January 27 – Day 23 – Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Alice awoke headache free at 5:30 this morning. Allah be praised. Wrong part of the world, I know. Appropriate, nonetheless.

Breakfast is over, and Alice is looking forward to going on tour with me today. We are now cruising past steep rock formations, similar to Norway.

Puerto Chacabuco is the gateway to Patagonia. We have a 4 hour tour to drive inland, and experience the mountains and valleys up close. It is currently foggy and raining, but temperate. Layering with ponchos is the order of the day. We are ready for the weather, but sure hope visibility improves. The vagaries of travel.

Even as I write this, the sun is trying to break through. Fog pockets dot the cliffs and peaks making for lovely views. Frank, our port speaker, has just started his narration of the passing geology and the sights to come.

I will break for now. We are looking forward to another adventurous day. It is hard to believe that we are already 1/3^rd through this voyage. Seems like we’ve just begun. Alice is very much at ease with the prospect of getting through 68 days at sea with me. The vastness and beauty of South America certainly help with that.

Days 19-20

January 23 – Day 19 – Coquimbo, Chile

The pleasures of Antofagasta were still in mind as we prepared to head off to Coquimbo. What would we discover today. We have no tour scheduled, so we will be exploring on our own. The Port Speaker, Frank Buckingham, has explained that Coquimbo is yet another copper city. That is, the bulk of its industry is related to the mining and shipping of copper. As a result, he told us to expect to find very little in the port area. He did say that the nearby town of La Serena had nice shops, churches, and squares. One could get there by taxi, but should negotiate the fare before leaving the dock, ask the driver to return to La Serena at a specified time for the trip back to the ship, and by no means pay him before being delivered back at the ship. Sound like hassle to you? It did to us.

So, upon leaving the dock, we started walking toward Coquimbo town center. We met an Australian couple who told us there was a bus that goes to La Serena for 500 pesos. We turned just in time to see one approaching and hailed it. The fare was 500 pesos each, which is about $1.10 apiece, each way. Half an hour later we were walking toward the cathedral in La Serena. It was beautiful.

Next to the cathedral was a handicraft market with some very nice items. We left them there. Next to this market was a large food mart. It was very much like being at home. Alice took pictures of many items with their prices. It will be fun to compare prices from city to city and home. Then we were off to the main square. Here was the usual monument, beautiful landscaping, a museum, city hall, and a large church. There was also a very large crowd of people using the park. This was consistent with the crowds at the handicraft and food markets. These were all Spanish speaking. We did not understand how so many people could be shopping or resting, but not working on a Monday.

We had an absolutely delightful day exploring and enjoying La Serena. We returned to the bus stop, and boarded the bus back to Coquimbo. Upon boarding, we asked the driver in our best Spanish “Coquimbo Puerto?” His “Si” was comforting so we settled in for the ride back. As we were winding through Coquimbo he called back to us “Puerto.” When we got off, we found that this was not where we had gotten on in the morning. We were some distance from the ship, but we could see it.

We worked our way down a steep hill and discovered the craft stalls that Frank had mentioned in his port talk. We meandered through the many stalls to the fish market and seaside restaurants. More memorable sights and smells. Bravo.

We retraced our steps and with the Prinsendam in view ahead of us we worked back to the town square just a block from the ship. Our memory card accepted a fair share of photos of the square, and we returned to our cabin with time to spare before sail away.

Our impressions of Coquimbo and La Serena are happy ones. We saw and did a lot, and all of it exceeded our expectations. Even the local stalls, that had been down-played, proved a source of pleasure and memories. We are glad to have been here. And we only spent $4.40 for transportation. Did I mention that we saw passengers from the ship’s tours at the same sights in La Serena. Whatever we save today, we will have for spending tomorrow!

January 24 – Day 20 – Valparaiso, Chile

As we sailed away from Coquimbo, the captain told us that we had a lot of sea to cover to make Valparaiso by morning. As a result he was going to put the pedal to the metal and cruise at 20 knots. That is almost maximum speed for the Prinsendam. We had been tooling along at just 10 knots until now. This meant that we would experience more motion on the ship. This would primarily be pitching, the rise and fall of the ship forward to aft. The ship’s stabilizers would limit rolling, the left to right motion. We might also feel some increased vibration because all 4 of the engines would be used.

After sleeping for 10 hours, Alice and I awoke to find us docked safely and quietly in Valparaiso. Increased motion?

The sun was shining, and the temperature was in the 70’s. After breakfast we headed to shore. Frank had warned all that the port requires us to take a shuttle to the agriculture inspection station about a mile away. He also told us about Viñe del Mar, which was reachable by taxi or light rail. The light rail stopped just outside the cruise terminal. It required the purchase of a plastic fare card, and the purchase of fares to be added to the card. We thought we would both need cards for 1,200 pesos each plus the roundtrip fare of 800 pesos each. The agent said we could both use one card, and saved us 1,200 pesos. Result, 2,800 pesos or $6.15 for roundtrip transportation for two to a lovely seaside resort at the opposite end of the bay from our pier. This was about 10 miles away.

We spent 4 hours there. We walked and walked. We saw shops, the downtown, residential neighborhoods, restaurant areas, churches, squares with monuments, the new casino, and, of course, the beautiful beaches. We were only sorry that it was so far out. We had to leave Valparaiso so soon that we missed the sights of the city proper.

Like our other ports in Chile, so far, Valparaiso is built on mountainsides that run down to the sea. In some places the streets are so steep that funiculars have been built to move people between levels. These are quite old, but safe. And they are cheap. We will have to do this next time.

Alice and I agree that this is a city in which we would like to spend more time. Another visit would allow us to get out to the vineyards and farm country. We would also visit Santiago, the capital of Chile. It is about two hours drive away.

We sailed away from the pier and out of the bay surrounded by beautiful buildings hugging the mountains and lovely beaches. We felt a little sad that our time was too short, but glad to have experienced what we did.

We really like Chile!

Antofagasta,Chile

January 20 – Day 16 – Sea Day

This is a quiet sea day, so I thought I would add some pictures.

The Candelabra

Pellican and Seals - Some are pups a few weeks old

Pelicans and Penguins. The penguins are the little guys in the lower center

January 21 – Day 17 – Antofagasta, Chile

We have left Peru behind and are experiencing our first port in Chile. While much of what we saw in Peru was desert, we now find ourselves visiting the desert mountains of northern Chile. The terrain is very stark, but impressive, with the high peaks forming a backdrop for the city. Antofagasta is a mining town whose primary export is copper. In days past, silver was also a large export. Now copper goes to China, the U. S. and Europe. There it is used in the fabrication of other goods. Those other products, such as copper wire, are then imported back into Chile. They just don’t have the resources to do their own fabrication.

Antofagasta extends for many miles along the ocean, but just a couple of miles inland to the mountains. Again the weather was perfect, and walking was a pleasure. Our tour was "A stroll to the Highlights of Antofagasta". We bussed to various locations, and then walked to museums or sights before returning for the ride to the next place. We saw a museum at a mine and ore processing facility that closed in 1902. The museum was quite nice. It is on a hill just across from a new casino, which we viewed from outside. From there, we visited the site where refined copper is loaded onto ore ships for transport. This is well south of the main city. Next, we visited the city square, followed by a walk to the fish market. We saw all sorts of fresh fish in various states of preparation. There were also many stalls making and selling ceviche. Outside, harbor seals cavorted as they waited for fish scraps to be thrown into the harbor.

On the way back to the coach, 2 teenage girls on bikes approached a nicely bearded older passenger. They asked him if he was Santa Claus. He asked them if they wanted to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. They were unaware of that practice, so he explained it to them much to their amusement.  Without sitting on his lap, they did say they wanted Barbie Dolls. Chuckles all around.

We returned to the Prinsendam for lunch. Then Alice and I walked to a nearby mall we had been told about. Wow! It was alost like walking into Woodfield. We spent almost 2 hours gawking at all the goodies here, and people watching. As we headed back to the ship we walked through a Home Depot-like store. This had far more than our stores. It had all sorts of materials needed for heavy construction as well as for home improvement projects. A one stop shop.

January 22 – Day 18 - Sea Day

We are looking forward to a really quiet day at sea. We did not see anything on the schedule that interests us until 3:30. Alice plans to do some journaling in a very nice journal she got from Sean for Christmas.

We just got some exciting ship’s mail at our cabin door. We have been invited to cocktails in the captain’s quarters with him and the hotel manager. This is to be followed by dinner with them in the Pinnacle Grill, the specialty dining room. Dress is formal. I think we can manage that. This is the first time in 7 voyages on Holland America that we are to be so honored. I think they want to meet the guy who stopped the ship in Panama. Whatever. It will be fun.

I shall return after Coquimbo on Monday, or maybe not till after Valparaiso and our formal dinner.

Days 13 - 15

January 17, 2012 - Day 13 – General San Martin, Peru

We docked at General San Martin this morning at 8 o’clock. On our approach we could see the “candelbra” on the mountainside to starboard. This is a large “etching” on the ground that has variously been called a candelabra or a trident. It is several hundred feet tall by several hundred feet wide. It has been “carved” into the hillside by an unknown process. It looks like a 3-branched candelabra, but no one knows why or how it was created.

We did not take a ship’s tour today, but rather a tour organized by one of  the Cruise Critic passengers, who researched the possibilities before leaving home. We were met at the pier by a guide and a van. All 16 of us were driven into Paracas, a beach resort town devastated by an earthquake four years ago. Rebuilding is a slow process, but it continues. Paracas is about a 3 hour drive from Lima. The city dwellers come here to vacation on the beach, fish and tour the desert. It is very hot and dry with low hills and expansive desert. Sandstorms are a frequent occurrence.

Our weather was perfect. It was warm and windy, but no sand was in the air. Our goal was to boat out to Isla Ballestas. These small islands are called the Galapagos of Peru. There are many birds nesting here as well as seals and sea lions. We toured the waterfront on foot for half an hour, dodging street vendors, stray dogs, and birds. Then we boarded a 24 passenger speedboat, and donned lifejackets for our trip. We headed across the bay toward the Prinsendam, and continued on to the candelabra. We got a super close view before heading to the islands 30 minutes away.

The dominant species of birds on the islands were Peruvian boobies, pelicans, cormorants, and Humboldt penguins. Seals and sea lions were also there in good numbers. Baby seals had been born just a few weeks before we arrived. We also saw a pair of vultures cleaning up a carcass.

The rock formations were very interesting. At times we seemed too close, but all went well.

The local people have built a rock wall at the top of the cliffside to prevent the guano (bird poop) from falling into the sea. Every 7 years teams of workers come to the islands, for about 3 months, to harvest the guano. It is used as a natural fertilizer. We don’t know how the workers can stand it. We were downwind for ½ hour, and found the stench a bit much. 3 months with that odor would have done us in.

The boat trip back to Paracas was 20 minutes of bumping over the waves. The guide warned everyone to stow their electronics because we would get wet. The spray managed to hit everyone. One couple covered themselves with a rain poncho. They were promptly accused of engaging in a "boobie" hunt.

January 18, 2012 – Day 14 – Sea Day

Today was to be a quiet sea day. Hah!

 We attended a 9:30 Q&A with the guest chef. A fun time. At 11:00 it was back to the showroom for a talk on Peruvian jewelry. This was followed by a free raffle in the jewelry shop. The first prize was a very nice necklace with an amber pendant. Alice won it! It may not be the greatest quality, but it is pretty. And the price was right. Lunch with the Cruise Critic group followed in the dining room. At 1 we went to a talk on food markets around the world by the guest chef. She was interesting, and shared our likes for markets in Spain and Asia. Then, we ran off to the port lecturer’s talk on the first 2 Chilean ports. These are a few days away, but he likes to give us time to do our own research to expand on his tidbits. We followed this with some time with the future cruise planner. She will help us find something affordable and interesting for next year. I popped down to the medical center for my first shipboard INR test. In five minutes I had my results. INR = 2.6. This is perfect. They want it between 2 and 3. My next check will be in 3 weeks. The charge was just $35 compared to $88 at home. Dinner was next, followed by a very energetic show with the music of Frankie Valli presented by Unexpected Boys from New York. Then we trekked up to the sport deck forward to star gaze with the 3^rd mate. The southern Cross was clear as can be. In fact, the whole sky was ablaze with stars. A new moon eliminated lunar light interference. A perfect end to a great day at sea.

Was that a run on paragraph or what?

January 19 – Day 15 – MATARANI

This is an industrial port with a very small harbor. We were several miles from town. We took the shuttle to Mollendo. It was a twenty minute ride. There we walked down to a parkway that overlooked the beach. Seemed like Paracas, with a long beach,cluttered with sun bathers. From there we walked back along the main drag where we found the Church of the Immaculate Conception. We wandered through it, and took some pictures. Then, we went into a courtyard behind the altar. When we went to leave the church, the door, through which we entered, had been locked. We found a different, open, door and exited. We went down a long stairway toward a passing street. When we got to the bottom we found the gate was locked. A passerby told us, in Spanish, to go back up to the church. Half way up the sexton came out to tell us he would unlock the gate. He came down, and let us out. Then he could not get the bolt to line up to re-lock the gate. I helped him, we exchanged “gracias,” and went our separate ways.

That took us to the town market. Awesome! Fresh chickens, beef, pork and fish were on display, all without refrigeration. One man was still butchering a hindquarter of beef. Oh yes, we saw some fresh octopus too. There was an area of food service featuring fresh ceviche. We passed, but it did look good. Upon leaving the market building we found ourselves on a narrow street running up a hill. This street was lined with all kinds of stalls offering goods and services for sale. The fruits were all neatly stacked and looked beautiful. Potatoes, rice, peppers both hot and sweet, radishes, onions squashes and watermelons were among the products. There were also clothes, appliances, housewares and hardware. One corner had 4 different shoe repair stands with hand-driven sewing machines for stitching on new soles.

We spent almost 2 hours in the markets. Then we spent the last of our Peruvian solas on ice cream and chocolates.

Our next port is in Chile. Till then, life is good!

Days 9-12

January 13, 2012 – Day 9 – In Transit to Trujillo, Peru

We had been told that a driver would come to take us to the airport at 7:30 AM. I was to get a Heparin shot at 6:00. We opted to get up at 5:30. I would get ready first. At 5:50, just as I finished dressing, the nurse arrived with my shot. This was perfect.

Alice and I were ready and waiting for breakfast, which usually arrives at 7:00. At 6:45 the driver walked in, and we departed for the airport. It was a beautiful and quick ride because we were going counter to rush hour. As a result, we were checked in at the airport by 7:30. Boarding for our flight to Lima was scheduled for 10:30. We had plenty of time to kill, so we stopped for breakfast. 2 muffins, a hot chocolate and a coffee cost $11.65. Don’t you love airports?

We found a great spot to read and/or people watch. People watching won out as fashions here are very diverse. The little children, like all little children, were fascinating to watch. We played the universal game of hide and seek with many. The little ones seemed intrigued by my white hair. They don’t see much of that around here.

Our mostly smooth flight to Lima on Copa Airlines lasted 3½ hours. It was right on time. They served a nice meal, and had an open bar cart. They offer a different rum every quarter. Ours was an excellent dark Panamanian rum. I Will be looking for it when we get home.

We deplaned, went through immigration, passed through customs and checked in for our flight to Trujillo. Leslie had not been able to contact the port agent when we last spoke, so I called her from the gate. Still no contact. We had no hotel in Trujillo or ride to the port, Salaverry. While I was on the phone, she used hotels.com to give me the names of hotels in Trujillo. I called Hotel Libertador. I was greeted in Spanish that quickly converted to English, when she heard me.  They had a room with a king sized bed and full breakfast for $110. We booked it sight unseen. They would send a driver to the airport to take us to the hotel. Bravo. Now we just had to get there.

Our on time flight landed on the only runway, after skimming over the ocean highway. We stopped at the end of the runway, and turned around to taxi to the terminal on the runway. No taxiways, but only 2 flights a day made us feel safe.

A driver with "FINN" on a sign greeted us in Spanish, and hustled us off to the city. A 30 minute ride for $7. Not bad. The hotel was beautiful. So was the room. We were too late to use the lovely pool, but no suits anyway.

The hotel was  directly across from the main square of the city. We dropped our stuff in the room, and headed out to explore. Wow! It was 7:15 and dark, but the well lit square was flowing with people enjoying a great Friday night. The plaza is about 2 blocks square with a large monument in the middle and marble walks that gleamed under the lights.

After a complete walk around the square, we crossed the street to the cathedral. It was brightly lit on the outside and still open. We went inside to discover a Mass in progress. The interior was fully illuminated. It was absolutely gorgeous with vibrant colors, seven gilded altars and beautiful statuary adorned with fabric robes. We have been to many churches in our travels, but this one, in the small city of Trujillo, blew us away. We stayed for the Mass and were impressed by  the music.

We returned to the hotel and asked the desk clerk about a city map. She got one for us. and pointed out several churches and buildings. We had already discovered most of these. Then she dropped the bomb. Just the other side of the square was a walking street that ran for many blocks. She said that with many shops and restaurants it was very safe, even at night. Off we went again. Marvelous!

When we got back to stay, we inquired about a ride to Salaverry, the port about 10 miles away, where Prinsendam would arrive in the morning. She negotiated a fare with a local driver to pick us up at 9 in the morning.

January 14 – Day 10 - Trujillo, Peru

After a good night's sleep, not in a hospital bed, we had a super breakfast and went out for a last round of photos. We checked out at 8:45. The driver was already there. We headed off on an interesting ride through urban scenery to the pier. Arrived there at 9:30.

The ship looked beautiful! 


We boarded and went straight to our cabin. There we found a welcome back bottle of champagne from the captain and a beautiful floral  arrangement from Denise, in guest relations, who had helped Alice get off the ship. On our bed were hats from Panama night, the day we left, first aid kits that had been given out one night and rain panchos from another night. Our cabin attendants saw us coming and hustled to greet us. We were HOME.

We cannot say enough about how organized Holland America is for handling a medical emergency. They were so professional and so compassionate and helpful. We are really glad they are our cruise line of choice. We know that we do not have to worry about how we will be taken care of.

We had booked an 8 hour tour for today, but it had already departed. We asked to go on a 4 hour tour scheduled to leave at 10. We were told it was sold out, but we should wait on the dock in case of no-shows. We got the last 2 seats on the last bus. We were told that, although we had no ship stickers the ship escort knew we were OK. At the second stop I spotted this man. It was Dr. Horsley, who had sent me off the ship. We talked, and he told me there was never any question that he would allow us to come back. In fact, he had emailed the doctors to that effect well before they told us we were cleared to return. Much angst for nothing.

The tour was great. We visited the Temple of the Rainbow and Chan Chan, a large settlement with multiple palaces. These were pre-Inca ruins. Will do more research on them at home because they were very interesting.

Dinner was a treat. Our tablemates told us of the rumors that had circulated about us. They said that they got the straight story from our servers, who got the information from their boss. Privacy was maintained. They only discussed the schedule for our return. All the servers in our area of the dining room came over and celebrated our return. How nice!

January 15, 2012 –Day 11 - Lima, Peru

We have arrived in Callao, Peru, the port for Lima. It is very busy and highly industrial. We will be taken to the port gates by shuttle for safety sake. When we read this before leaving home, we thought it was a security issue. Instead, it is to protect us from being harmed by port equipment moving containers, cars, grain etc.

The ship also provided a shuttle all the way into suburban Lima about 45 minutes away. It let us off at a Marriott hotel in Miraflores. Directly across the street was a park with a multi-level mall below street level. It overlooks the ocean and beaches. This paralleled the ocean below. It includes nice shopping, many restaurants, movie theaters, game rooms etc. We spent a lot of time admiring the fountains and the view from street level before venturing to the lower levels. Even at the 3rd level down we were still well above sea level, atop the cliffs.

The shops were interesting, but it was just shopping. Then we saw several dress dummies adorned in Origami fashions. This was a free exhibit of astounding fashions all, done in Origami. We counted over 20 of these, each more beautiful than the last. We don’t think many of our fellow passengers experienced this, but we sure are glad that we did. It made our day.

January 16, 2012 - Day 12 – Lima, Peru

This is our 2^nd day at Lima. We do not leave until 10:30 tonight. Last night’s entertainment was a folk show provided by local performers. The singing, dancing and acrobatics were stunning. The costumes were absolutely beautiful.

Today we opted not to shuttle into town. After a leisurely breakfast, I got a haircut. Now it's time for reading and blogging. 


When I first thought of doing a blog, I wondered what I would have to say. Now I am wondering how to stop “saying” so you all won’t be bored to tears. Please, when I get to you, just page on.

DAY 8

January 12, 2012 - Day 8 - A Day of Rest

We spent today in our room reading, and getting ready for departure tomorrow. The big challenge is what to do with the scissors we took from the ship. Airport security is supposed to be on a par with TSA in the U. S. We will see. We might be doing some shopping in Trujillo, after our second flight tomorrow, in order to replace anything confiscated.

Our peace was only interrupted by the nurse who drew blood for my INR test and the doctor who came in to report that the INR was still too low. I needed a double dose of coumadin today and tomorrow. I also needed Heparin shots to the tummy today and tomorrow before we leave. The nurse will be in at 6 AM for that.

One of the doctors stopped by this evening to deliver my medical file. It is complete with a CD of MRI images and instructions for future care and INR testing. They have really been great. And so efficient. They even prepared my copies in English. Spanish is the norm.

The port agent for Holland America will have a driver here at 7:30 AM to take us to the airport for our 11:30 flight to Lima. We will arrive at 3:00 PM and change airlines for a 5:15 flight to Trujillo. The airline that serves Trujillo only flies within Peru, which is the reason for the change in Lima. The fare is almost as high as what we paid to fly to Beijing last year. Guess we are off the beaten path. What Fun!

Leslie at HAL in Seattle will call sometime tomorrow with info on where to meet the port agent in Trujillo for our transfer to our hotel. He is to come back Saturday morning to transfer us to the ship. Can’t wait to return to our new friends. Won’t they be surprised to see us? Disembarked passengers rarely return.

We were given a password this afternoon for the hospital wifi. What a joy. It is faster than our Uverse line at home. We have been able to communicate with Seattle by email. I have also brought this blog up to date. It may be a while before I blog again, but I’ll be back.

OUR PANAMA ADVENTURE

January 10, 2012 – Update for Days 5 – 6

Monday morning started at 6:00 on the top deck, forward, as we glided past many anchored freighters waiting for their scheduled entrance to the canal. We were following Windstar, a four masted passenger cruiser. Quite pretty. As the moon set and the sun rose, a myriad of pilot boats descended upon us. We ended up with 2 canal pilots and 14 line handlers coming aboard. One of those vessels took our photographers ashore at the locks to document our passage.

We were entering from the Caribbean on the northwest side of the canal and heading southeast toward Panama City. It is really hard to come to grips with those directions when we are moving towards the Pacific Ocean. But so it is.

It has been 12 years since our first passage through the canal. This one was every bit as intriguing. The lines from the towing engines, mules, were brought to the ship by two men in a row boat. Other methods have been tried over the years, but none have proven as effective as this. The mules do not actually propel us through the canal. We advance under our own power, and the mules keep us from hitting the sides of the locks. They did a great job for us.

Exiting the Gatun locks brought us into Gatun Lake. This is the water source for the operation of the locks. Each vessel uses 52,000,000 gallons of water for the complete transit. 35 ships a day transit the locks. You can do the math.

The canal is in operation 24 hours per day, and still cannot meet the demand. It is expected that the new wide locks, scheduled for completion in 2014, will remedy that. The canal is under the control of a separate Panamanian Agency, not the Panamanian government. It is self sufficient and very efficient. Each vessel must have its transit fee paid 48 hours in advance by a direct bank transaction or it will be barred from entering. The Prinsendam’s fee exceeded $350,000.

We sailed through Gatun Lake, transited the second set of locks and entered another, smaller, lake. That is when our real adventure began. I noticed that the shore line seemed blurry. I cleaned my sunglasses, but that did not help. My cataract surgery only corrected my left eye to 20-25, so I assumed that was the problem. When I blocked my right eye, my vision was very blurry and much worse than normal. I returned to our cabin to check the hours for the medical center. Alice and I went right down. It was 3:30 and the doctor did not come on until 5, but his nurse was there. She did some paperwork and started to give me what she said was an “emergency room” eye test. Right eye was perfect. Left eye had deteriorated to the point where I could not even see that there was an eye chart on the wall. OOPS!  She paged the doctor.

He arrived and did some quick tests only to conclude that I had probably suffered a detached retina. I needed immediate medical attention ashore. He called the bridge and learned that we were exiting the last lock. We had 5 minutes to prepare me to go ashore. Alice went to the cabin for my meds. 


Denise, the ship’s medical disembarkation officer, joined us upon Al’s return. She said she would help Alice pack necessities for a stay ashore. Denise would disembark Alice 30 minutes later. She also brought our passports. 

By now I was “blind” in my left eye, and a bit frightened. The doctor led me to the gangway where he turned me over to the paramedics. The trip across the gangway to the side of the lock was an adventure. I could see nothing to the left of center. The Holland America port agent met me at the ambulance. Since I could sit up, we decided to take his vehicle to the hospital in Panama City. At five o’clock we were met by a doctor at the emergency room door.

Vision had not improved.


Alice left Prinsendam almost an hour after I did. She was put aboard a small boat along with the Canal narrator. They had traveled some distance from the Canal in that time, so the ride back to Panama City took a while. A port agent met her and took her to a first immigration office where she waited 45 minutes in a lunch room while her papers were processed. Then she was "handed off" to another agent who drove her to another immigration office deep in the bowels of the container port. His wife and child were with him. None of them spoke English. After processing here, they drove to the hospital.

At about 7 o’clock, while the doctor was away getting forms completed, I started to see vague images with my left eye. 


At 7:30 Alice arrived. They had drawn blood, admitted me and we were on our way to my room. They apologized that they only had a couch for Alice to sleep on. They fed us, and we went to sleep knowing that they now felt that the retina was probably not detached or only partially detached. That was significant comfort compared to thinking I might no longer have left side vision.

January 10, 2012 - Day 6 - Panama Adventure 2

Today, Tuesday, I got a visit from a neurologist, had an MRI of the brain, an MRI of the arteries in my neck, a consult by the cardiologist with a pending echocardiogram and a complete eye exam by an ophthalmologist. The consensus is that I suffered a small blood clot that impacted the vision center in my brain. There is no lasting optical damage, and although my vision is not clear enough to read now, it should return to almost normal in a few days. The cardiologist believes that my atrial fibrillation triggered this event, so he wants the echo done to make sure the left ventricle is OK. He agrees with the ophthalmologist that I am safe to travel. They will confirm that tomorrow after the echo.

Holland America has been outstanding. HAL called me first thing this morning, and they called our travel insurance company. They will assist us in rejoining the ship as soon as possible, if I get clearance from the ship’s doctor after, he reviews the local doctors’ reports. Hope this can happen tomorrow. 


In response to HAL's call, a woman from our travel insurance company's claims department called. My incident is on file, and they will contact me, when we get home, to assist me in filing my claim.

It is now 6:30 PM, and we just received a visit from a new doctor on my team. He came to our new room to report that both MRI’s show no damage. It furthers the belief that my afib led to throwing a clot. They will continue to monitor my coagulation levels until we leave.

Our new room is a beautiful suite with beds for each of us, a lovely seating area , room to dance, and a huge bathroom. It overlooks the modern downtown skyline through 15 feet of windows. Cabin 350 will be small by comparison.

They finally came to get me for the echocardiogram, which went well, at 7:10. They do not use technicians to do the echo here. Instead a cardiologist administers the test. This is great because he provides an immediate interpretation. I have a slight thickening of the ventricular wall, but no sign of thrombosis in the heart. He said he will report this to the cardiologist on my team, but has no concerns about my ability to carry on.

He wheeled me out into the hall to wait for the transport person to take me back to our room. While waiting there, the Neurologist found me. He had been looking for me because he wanted to tell me that, although the MRI’s showed no signs of thrombosis, he was convinced that I had experienced a TIA (mini-stroke). He was going to recommend that I go home, not to the ship.

Alice and I were devastated. We so badly wanted to complete this cruise. All of our things were on the ship, including Al’s jewelry, her  computer and our winter clothes. We had not even begun to use our shipboard credits, the welcome aboard champagne was still in our fridge, and we were only 2 bottles into our 24 bottle wine package. We still had over 60 days to go. BUMMER!

Shortly after returning to the room, the lead doctor on my team paid a visit. I started to lobby him for a favorable report to the ship’s doctor, based on the fact that his cardiologist and ophthalmologist approved me for travel. He said the neurologists report could not be omitted, and that the ship’s doctor would have to decide, after he received their reports by email tomorrow. In the meantime my INR levels were too low so my blood was clotting too fast. Not what you want in TIA territory. He wanted me to take some coumadin immediately, and they would check my blood in the morning.

Will keep you posted, but we are both doing very well, all things considered.

January 11, 2012 – Day 7 The Beat Goes ON!

It is Wednesday now. Seems like we have been here forever. At eight o’clock they drew blood for the INR. Dr. Gabriel, the team leader, was here. He said the results would be back in an hour. He also said they were getting the reports prepared for transmission to Prinsendam. There was no change in their position since last night. The cardiologist came in and, again, said he believed my afib had tripped a clot that caused the problem. He also reiterated that he saw no reason to go home, but he recommended that I speak to my cardiologist when we got home. He suggested that I wear a Holter Monitor to recheck the regularity of my heart rhythm. They left.

Alice and I were still down. I decided to become proactive, and called Holland America. I explained the situation to the lady handling my case, and, again, told her how badly we wanted to return to the ship and how inconvenient it would be to have to go home with only the few warm weather things we had with us. She repeated the party line that it would be up to the ship’s doctor. She did say she would start looking for flights to rejoin the ship in Peru on Saturday or Sunday, but made no promises that I would be cleared. She just wants to be ready. She really is great.

After that call a nurse appeared. They had received my INR results, which were way too low. I was to immediately take a double dose of coumadin. After I did, she injected an anti-coagulant directly into my stomach. Ouch. I never had this experience before. They will check INR again tomorrow morning.

The phone rang . It was a woman from Clinica Einstein, the doctors' office. She apologized for being sick and away from work for the last 2 days because it is her job to support the patients’ families and keep us informed as to costs and payment methods. She told me how much the bill would be. Yikes! This would include all of the doctors, the hospital, canal disembarkation fees and all testing. This would need to be paid in full by credit card before we left. Yes, she understood that our insurance would reimburse us, not pay upfront. These are the rules, so I should start to make arrangements with my credit card company. GULP!

Then she told me that she would be coming to the hospital at 1PM to take Alice and me on a city tour. She would bring along the office person who handles credit card payments. We would then drop that person at the clinic as we started our tour. All of this occurred as indicated. We had a delightful tour of Panama City with this lovely lady. She even made photo and souvenir stops. She returned us to the hospital at 5PM, and said she would come by tomorrow morning with some immigration documents we would need to leave the country.

We no sooner sat down in the room than the phone rang. It was Leslie from Holland America. “I have good news” she said. “You are going sailing.” Alice and I almost cried. We have been up and down like yo-yo’s. Now the stress is waning as we know we will get back to the ship on Saturday in Trujillo. That will only have been 5 days away, but it seems like an eternity. This also means that we will completely miss visiting Ecuador and our first two shore excursions.

Best part is that Alice is really anxious to get back to the cruise. She has really gotten into it.

Sorry to be so long winded, but this is really a great stress buster.

Days 2-4

January 8, 2012 – Update for Days 2 – 4 

It is Sunday morning at 8:30 and we are just about to anchor at Bocas del Toro, Panama.

First a brief update on our last two days. Day 2, Friday, we anchored off Georgetown, Cayman Islands. A short tender ride in a calm bay brought us right to the town center. It is comprised of 600 plus banks for all that offshore U.S. money and what seemed like thousands of jewelry stores. Every brand of watch and kind of gem is available here. All you need is money. Somebody must have it because there are more shops here now than there were 12 years ago, when we last stopped here. We managed to leave a few dollars at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. Had a peaceful drink out of the sun and bustle. Then back to the ship after just 3 hours ashore. More than enough for us.

Saturday, day 3, was a sea day full of lectures, crafts etc. Not bad. Plenty of leisure time. Oh, did I mention eating, too? Food has been great, and we have been restrained.  Training for the next 65 days. The seas have been fine. Just some gentle rolling.

Sunday, day 4, we just dropped anchor. I am looking out our cabin window at a beautiful little harbor filled with good-looking sailboats. Time for breakfast. Be back after our trip ashore.

As promised here is our shore report. The ship has not stopped here before, and they kept telling us it would be a quaint place under development. The development thing must be for expanded tourism because there is quite a well established town with churches, schools, an airport, a hospital and many dive shops. This is a chain of islands belonging to Panama, but only 30 miles from Costa Rica. As near as we could tell, the tourists were water-oriented Spanish speaking folks. Snorkeling and diving are the big draw.The only Americans seemed to be from the Prinsendam. There  are many hotels and B&B’s. 

We had a good time walking the streets to see the sights and some craft booths. Usually everything is closed on Sunday, but who could resist 762 cruisers ( if we all went ashore.) So everything was open and waiting for us. It was very nice.

We went out on deck 11 after lunch to watch the locals circle around us in their boats. Many of them did this. Life seems pretty good for them!

The islands are planted with bananas, grown for Chiquita, that are shipped all around the world. 17 refrigerated freighters per month leave here destined for Europe and the U.S.

This was a charming stop. Tomorrow the Panama Canal.

DAY 1

JANUARY 5, 2012 – SEA DAY

Tuesday was our travel day, and it went very well. We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on time and went to our Holland America transfer to the Hilton Marin Hotel. We had a very nice room overlooking a marina just off the Inter Coastal Waterway. Lots of large expensive yachts.

Our transfer to the Prinsendam was scheduled for 11:15 on Wednesday, but it was delayed by half an hour because the truck for the luggage transfer did not arrive. Many of the 53 passengers who stayed here had their checked luggage with them, so the driver had to load many luggage carts of bags under the coach. It was cold out, but he was sweating like crazy. He remained pleasant for us, though I think he was muttering under his breath.

Our check in at the port went smoothly. We were in our stateroom by 12:30 (no upgrade), and in the dining room for lunch by 12:45. After lunch we walked all around the ship. She is old, but very nice.

We did get assigned to a table for six at the early fixed dinner seating. The other two couples are very nice. One is from near Edmonton and the other from near San Francisco. We look forward to many interesting meals with them.

This morning I walked a mile on the deck at 6:30 and then rode an bike in the fitness center for 20 minutes. It’s a beginning. I only tell you this because when I got back to our room, after I showered and dressed, I woke Alice. I showed her how the shower controls worked. Can’t understand why European fixtures are all designed to be so different. It is confusing. I thought she had everything well in hand only to get called back. The water that had worked so well for me would not turn on for her. I tried to no avail, so I tried the sink. Nothing doing there either. I called Guest Relations to report it. Five minutes later we had cold water, but no hot. Called again and was told it would be a while. Alice took a cold shower. We later learned that our neighbors’ toilet had overflowed, and the water was turned off to make repairs. All was well an hour later.

Had a fun time meeting others at the Cruise Critic meet and greet. This is a fun group of people from around the world who have been conversing about this trip online for many months. We only joined the fray in November, but are glad we did. We will have other meet and greets as well as lunches together and a Slot Pull. More about that after the first one next week.

Tomorrow is Grand Caymen. We plan to shop, but not tour. It is a tender port, and the shopping is within walking distance of the tender pier.

So far we are doing well. Aches and pains are manageable.

Will update you on Grand Caymen at a later time. For now, it is off to dress for our first formal night. They don’t waste any time.