KCSungirl

You can easily walk between terminals or take the tram. Very quick and easy. So much shopping and food in the airport. Lots of fun. I stayed in the Crowne Plaza in terminal 3 in a day room after my inbound flight. I am transiting thru again and will stay at the aerotel in terminal 2. Enjoy!

WOW! I am still speechless. I can't believe I actually made it to the Maldives. We have to make every minute count as I am sure this is a once in a lifetime moment. We were up for sunrise on our deck. Went to the west end of island to our favored breakfast buffet - Mixe. The views are stunning everywhere. After breakfast we walked the beach back to the villa. 1.7 miles. i got a nice thigh burn walking in a bathing suit. If I get any more burns, I am going to be uncomfortable. The sunburn is getting better.

We enjoyed our villa, private plunge pool, and view all day. PC loves his open water swims. The current is pretty strong.

By 3pm, I was ready for a cocktail and salad. We walked to the closest beach bar/restaurant to eat/drink. We hopped in a buggy before 5pm to go back down to the west end for sunset and get ice cream at the kiosk. Not the best sunset, but really the first one we have had because of weather. By the time we made it back to the villa it was 7pm. I was faced with all the packing and re-organizing. The travel back to Singapore is hard. I will get my butt kicked again with jet lag. We are flying overnight and lose 3 hours.

I have some more comments on the Maldives for later. All good things must come to an end. I am beyond grateful that I was lucky enough to have this experience. We are ready to get on the ship and unpack. At our age, we like to keep moving or we won't see enough of the world.

The seaplane comes to pick us up at 4pm. Night..........

Do Not Disturb this Dream

Good Morning Sunshine! Thank you God. I got up at 5:30am to watch the sunrise. Basically the sun rises and sets at 6am/6pm at the moment. The sun is trying to make an appearance, but still not quite sure. The sun rise stroll became a shelling expedition. So many beautiful small shells. I didn't take most of them, because the critter was alive and I didn't want my luggage/clothing to smell like dead fish. I thought about boiling them with the kettle, but the villa would stink.

We went to breakfast buffet at the alternate restaurant- East End Market. It is more of an Asian theme. I liked the atmosphere being on the water, but Asian food is just not my thing for the most part. Unless it comes from PF Changs. I am a noodleaholic, however. Never met a noodle I didn't like. I had a mushroom omelette and chicken noodle soup. Yum.

Our whale shark snorkel excursion is on schedule. Hooray. With the bad weather yesterday, I didn't think we would go out. The excursion ru s on Saturday mornings because the crowds are less on Saturday. That is the most popular check in/out day. Especially for divers and live-a-board vessels. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_shark Whale sharks live year round in the warm water of the Maldives. We rode a dhoni boat to the site, about 30 minutes off shore. It's 80/20 that you will find them on any given day. Tina from Vienna was our delightful guide. She is actually the excursion manager. She has worked for several properties in the Maldives. We drove around for two hours looking for the whale sharks, but it wasn't meant to be. Disappointing, but just gives me a reason to come back some day. I enjoyed the boat ride and we made a snorkel stop on the reef. Two turtles. The turtles are my favorite. The excursion is free if you don't see a whale shark. Saving PC more money. So I was a complete idiot and was too lazy to put on sun protection thinking it might rain. I am so mad at myself. Both PC and I got burned. We are too old to be damaging our skin and obviously too stupid to know better. Looks terrible in photos too. Back at the resort we return our snorkel equipment.

*******Warning*******Princess had an good idea ********* Sit down for this one **** The Lux* was formerly another resort. Lux* bought it and did a 30 million dollar rebuild. The had to close for three months over the summer for construction purposes. Upon reopening they needed an aggressive marketing campaign to get the word out they were open. They offered a lot of good introductory rates. There are 5 or 6 villa types in a variety of price ranges to chose from on property. I told you in a previous post I booked the cheapest villa, a steal under Maldives standards, at around $400/nt. I was upgraded at check-in to a larger beachfront villa. My personal Assistant, Rachael, also offered me an over water bungalow. Since the weather was bad and I was fried from traveling, I decided to take the Beach villa upgrade and consider myself lucky. I didn't ask about the price for the bungalow upgrade. Today, as soon as I saw the sun peaking through the clouds, the computer in my head went into action. I think I will inquire about those over water bungalows. As we were leaving for our snorkel excursion I hunted down Rachael and told her I would like to inquire about relocating to a water bungalow. I figured she would give me a good deal since the hotel was less than 75% booked. I was willing to pay a reasonable price.

Me: Rachael, I think I want to experience an over water bungalow.

Rachael: Princess, I already have one ready for you now.

Me: How much will you charge me?

Rachael: I am giving it to you.

Pick me up off the floor, because Rachael wasn't giving me the first tier bungalow. She was taking me to the top. For FREE. We are living so large. Lucky Princess.

It took an hour to get moved. The bungalow is a dream. Just like those pictures in luxury travel brochures. I will post a video on my FB page shortly. My excitement is through the roof that I am completely exhausted. We went to the bar so I could calm down. I was going to have a heart attack over my good fortune. Enjoyed a margarita and ordered a grouper sandwich.

By the time I settled down, showered, and rubbed lotion all over my Chernobyl glow, it was 8pm. We made our way back to Mixe for the international buffet. The two buffet restaurants are $70/pp. PC feasted on chicken curry, gourmet Gryos, and 6 scoops of gelato. I wasn't hungry after my late lunch, so I enjoyed wine. Well, Anthony, the chef who insisted I eat his dim sum for breakfast yesterday comes over to the table and begs me to let him cook me something. Seriously, this is just too sweet. I told him I would eat some noodles. He prepared me a soup to die for. Chicken with vegetables. We rode the buggy back to reception so I could phone home and share the news that I was really living lifestyles of the rich and famous. Robin Leach eat your heart out!

Rachael got a good tip and we all lived happily ever after......

Jet Lag has officially kicked my butt. I am not in sync yet. As I always say, travel is not for sissies! The weather is dreadful at the moment. It has not stopped raining almost from the time we arrived. This was supposed to be the most expensive suntan I have ever had. Major bragging rights. I better have something to show for my efforts besides a lighter pocketbook. Nevertheless, we are having fun being castaways.

This is truly a surreal experience. A one mile stretch of land in the middle of the Indian Ocean. If I think about it too long I will have a panic attack. The rain becomes problematic because the Maldives sit low and floods easily. The flora and fauna is a lush incredible rainforest. I was expecting a scrub island. It must rain a lot because the vegetation is amazing.

We started the morning at one of the two buffet breakfast restaurants - Mixe. It's an international theme. The alternate restaurant is more Asian/Indian. Free latte! OMG, saving PC money everywhere. They produce their own coffee on the island. Delicious. The employees are fascinated with us. I would like to think it's because they think I am Christie Brinkley, but the truth is they see so few Americans. We are a novelty act. They all want to know about our election. We tell them we had to flee the regime. Breakfast was wonderful. Homemade croissants were heaven. The chef insisted I try his Dim Sum. I am a pretty basic eater and Asian food is not really my thing, especially at breakfast. PC was over the moon they had six or so flavors of gelato and sorbet.

After breakfast we took the "buggy" (aka golf cart) to reception. There is a London phone booth outside with a phone to call anywhere in the world for free. So cute. PC pranked my mom. He called her and said "collect call $25/minute". She said ok. Thanks mom. He then says "collect call $36/minute. She said ok. She loves me. He then says "collect call $100/minute. She says wait and starts arguing. I am not worth $100/minute! 😂 She has her limits. We cracked up. The phone quality is so good it sounds like they are next door.

I went shopping at the gift shop and bought some embellished sandals for myself, linen shirt for PC, and a st. Bart's looking top/cover-up for my 9 yr old niece. She is so spoiled by me.

I met with my personal assistant, Rachael, for an hour. We had a nice chat about her life in Borneo and working in the tourism industry. I was then honored to have the Boss man, Glenn, sit down with us for another hour chat. So much to be learned by chatting. I will share a very important fact with you - you can go to Chennai, India Apollo Hospital and have a gastric sleeve for $8500. Dentures and Lasiks also. I know people go abroad for medical procedures, but I just could not do that. Way too scared. Glenn and his family get the group discounts I am sure. 😂

We signed up for a super cool excursion tomorrow, but not confident with the weather it will go.

Fabulous internet and lots of movie channels definitely eases the pain of a rainy day. We napped and read late into the day. I was still feeling a bit sick tired, so we opted for in villa dining tonight. We are total room service freaks! Love it. PC didn't like his burger. The fries were under cooked and soggy. My chicken Caesar was great until what I thought was goat cheese turned out to be a fried egg, I almost hurled. The chicken noodle soup was Fantastic. We were just too tired in the rain to venture out.

Hoping for manageable weather tomorrow. I would hate to think I came all the way to the Maldives to sleep and watch movies. We are having a deja vu. We went to Rarotonga, Cook Islands a few years back and it poured for 5 days. It must be the time of year. This Harry Potter movie marathon is just not what I had in mind. Who is Harry Potter?😉

A few have asked about my FB travel page where I post pics/video. Fungirl Across America and Beyond. It's public. It's also listed below on my signature.

Cheers! See you tomorrow

I will be on the Diamond in a few days, and you know I will set this straight. Carry on....

Oh, and I love seeing my Princess old-timers the boards - Colo Cruiser, Geoherb, etc. The pros who have gotten around. I never visit the boards unless I am preparing for a cruise, it's nice to see familiar posters.

Sungirl

SeaCrystal, I think I keep writing because of you. 😀 Thanks for jumping from the HAL board to Princess to come along. AussieGal, I was just born lucky to get those upgrades. ❤️

Thanks for your encouragement and expertise.

Thanks for checking in so I know who is with me!

If you have any interest in virtual cruising with me this year, I am posting my "LIVE" thread. I am in SEAsia

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425264

Yes, Mr Roark and his entire staff were at the seaplane dock to great us. Cold towels, drinks, and a personal assistant. Racheal, from Malaysia is my assistant. Racheal got us checked in. Gave me a great free upgrade from a beach pavilion to a beach villa. Much larger and nicer. We declined the over-water bungalow offer. It was sweet, but we didn't like the set up. We might change our minds in a few days. We have stayed in over-water bungalows in Tahiti, so the novelty isn't a draw. We like toes in the sand, a beach walkout, and most importantly a sunset. It's very similar to the beach experience we had in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.

The resort houses approx. 550 workers from India and Malaysia mostly. So friendly, loving, and eager to please. Very few female employees, so girls if you like Indian men, come on down.

The atoll is about a mile long. We dropped our bags and wanted to immediately explore. We walked the resort and felt good about the location we chose. There are golf carts everywhere to give rides around. At 2pm, which was 5pm Singapore time, we were starting to crash. We went to one of the beach restaurants for a Thankgiving feast. Delicious, fresh wahoo. Our lunch was a bargain at $146. Not joking. The drinks are in line with luxury resorts across the world, the food is pricey. The New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs are $14/glass, $60/bottle. We aren't big drinkers, so it's not an issue. However, we love to eat! We went to the ice cream kiosk for dessert. Homemade ice cream in every flavor. I got mint chip, PC got chocolate and mint chip.

We went back to villa to get unpacked and organized. PC was asleep in 10 minutes. We are still pretty messed up on our day/time, but by tomorrow morning we will be fine. We took the breakfast option, so I hope it is a fabulous spread. It was another bargain at booking - $20pp

Off to dreamland on Fantasy Island.

I am breaking the bank! If I don't quit doing this, that trailer living in Florida is going to come sooner rather than later. We all know islands are expensive, but the Maldives takes expensive to a whole new level. 5 star hotels range in price from $700 to $2000/nt. I spent hours researching accommodations and where to get the most bang for my buck. As I have told you before I am a practical Princess, a genius with money, and have really good luck. I found this resort that was offering a really cheap special (it's all relative) and I was very skeptical. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. After hours of research, I decide to take the "deal". The LUX* Resort. A small chain of resorts in a variety of locations in the Indian Ocean. The asterik really gets me laughing. The "deal" starts at a somewhat reasonable price. After taxes, breakfast, seaplane transfers, food/drinks, etc., there is no "deal", but I am quite proud of the deal I got. When you travel as much as I do, you have to learn the tricks. First, if they were offering a promo price, there had to be a decent amount of inventory available. I decided to book the cheapest (makes me laugh!) room, hope for an upgrade or better bargaining opportunities to upgrade in person. Score!

When you book the hotel, you must buy the seaplane transfers at the same time. The transfers cost more than my flight from Singapore - around $400 or so pp RT. Pretty sure there is some mark up for the resort. The hotel sets up all the transfers and confirms everything 24 hours in advance. Trans Maldivian Airways is the name of the Seaplane company. They have a large operation and very well run. We checked in a 8am and were in the air around 9:15am. It is a 20-30 minute ride from the North Ari Atoll to the South Ari Atoll. I forgot to tell you, that I missed #6 on the prohibited items in the Maldives- alcohol. I had two bottles of wine confiscated when I arrived. I could have gone to prison, but when they saw my lucious well-fed body they knew I would be spending some good money on their islands and spared me. I will get the wine back upon departure. However, I still had to pay $80 because I was over the luggage weight limit. I was so glad I didn't have the wine. It would have been ridiculously expensive. Like the Dali Lama says- sometimes not getting what you want is your greatest stroke of luck. That $10 bottle of wine was worth nothing compared to the $5 per kilo luggage overage. If you like math word problems, you can guess how many kilos over I was!

Up in the air again! I was a little afraid that I might get sick. I never get motion sickness, but this summer I went to Disneyland and I kept getting nauseous on the rides. I have no idea what that was all about. I couldn't find a barf bag. No worries, it was a nice smooth seaplane ride with barefoot pilots. That was just freaky. I understand the island life, but aren't there some rules? Had some girl power in the cockpit too. Pictures/videos on my FB page.

Mr Roark and Tatoo, I am sure will be waiting for us. De plane, de plane

I am speechless and completely loopy. How did I accomplish getting from my house in Kansas to the Maldives? I never thought I would ever figure out how to accomplish this, but I did. A dream come true. WOW. It's dark outside and I have been in airports for three days. We land in Male, the capital city of the Maldives. There are over 120 atolls and a few larger atolls with domestic airports. We switched to another time zone, 3 hours behind Singapore. I am so messed up! I booked a small 14 room hotel near the airport for a short overnight transit stay - h78. I used Trip Advisor to do most of my research h78 was $115us/nt including transfers and breakfast. Everything went smoothly. I loved our cozy room with a sunrise ocean view. I would rate the hotel A+ if I had not been for the lack of hot water. The super cold AC was really great. Bottled water is readily available. Alarm set for 5:30am. I've got 2 tickets to paradise.

Changi is full of shops, restaurants, food courts, photo ops, flora and fauna, and transit hotels. I have been to lots of international airports - Dubai, London, Paris, Sydney, Hong Kong, but none of them can boast of a Swenson's Ice Cream Parlor and Garrett's Popcorn. WOW! Also they have Paul's Bakery, one of my favs in Paris. The shopping is almost too overwhelming and lots of people. I didn't buy anything, yet. I am thinking I want that new Gucci fragrance, Bamboo. I will be transiting thru Changi a few more times. I did look at Swatch watches, which I collect if there is a city exclusive. No Singapore exclusive.

We are departing on Tiger Air, a budget subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. I bought the "extra" stuff. For $33US I got a Club Pass, priority check in, priority boarding, and seating toward the front of aircraft. Worth every penny to me. I also pre-paid for meals on the plane. That $10 was so worth the full size Cadbury chocolate bar. The food in the club was quite good, so by the time we got on the flight, we weren't hungry for the pre-paid lemon chicken and curry chicken. Do you think that stops me from eating? Never! The Airbus A320 was a bit worn beacause I am used to newer aircraft flying United a lot.

The Tiger Air pilots looked too young and I was a nervous wreck thinking about flying 5 hours into the middle of the Indian Ocean. But again, the Lord delivered and I am one lucky Princess. There were two open seats on the flight and guess what? We got the empty middle seat and had the row. That is equivalent to winning the travelers lottery IMHO. I could spread out a wee bit.

We have changed our attitude when booking pre/post cruise side trips. We historically have save the best for last and travel post cruise. We have changed our mind on that. We have decided that doing our side trips first while we are fresh and have energy is better. We can relax on the ship afterward. These flights would have seemed a lot harder post cruise. Also I learned from an experience my dad had. His dream was to go to Bhutan. He went around the world and saved Bhutan for last. Unfortunately, by the time he got to Bhutan, he and his brother were tired and sick (malaria pills and India!) and had to leave early. Do the the most important stuff on the front end. He wished he had reversed the itinerary and gone to Bhutan first.

Off we go. Into the darkness over the ocean. Breathe, pray, repeat.

Welcome to Changi Airport. An awesome place. Immigration took 3 minutes, bags were already circling when we got to the carousel, and you don't stop at customs unless you have something to declare. This has to be the most efficient operation in the world. We got a luggage cart (free)'and walked from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3, the location of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. A day room is from 8am to 4pm and cost me $148US. Nice swimming pool and super fun to have a runway view. Singapore Airlines has got to own the largest fleet of A380 jets. Love those double deckers! They keep driving by our room. The rooms are fresh, modern, and perfect for a rest and shower. There are a couple of cheaper options for transit passengers in the terminals, but more modest than the Crowne Plaza. I think I also read you can book smaller blocks of time like 6 hours. We are too excited to get quality sleep, but PC has been snoring pretty good. We will check out at 4pm so I can start my airport shopping and dining expedition before our next flight this evening.

I will give you my usual disclaimer - life, food, and entertainment is subjective and I don't take myself or others too seriously. On the short list of planning this year - South Africa, Vietnam by land/cruise, Bali/Indonesia. I struggle when it comes to land vs. cruise travel. I love both. Unfortunately none of the cruises I looked at were exactly perfect, so I compromised a bit. My consolation prize is a pre-cruise side trip visit to a place I never thought I would ever see. A dream come true.

I enjoy my status perks on United Airlines but they don't serve South Africa. Princess wouldn't be guaranteed a B-class upgrade on SAA. For that reason, South Africa keeps getting bumped from my schedule. Next year, hopefully.

I wander around a bit and I don't plan travel in advance. I am not wired that way. I have never paid a premium to book 14-30 days in advance. Plus, I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule to find lower fares. I looked at both the 10 and 13 night Diamond Princess itineraries. The price per day for a balcony cabin was actually cheaper on the 10 day, but when we decided to splurge on a mini suite, the per day price was about the same. I like taking advantage of the lower prices/less crowds before the Christmas holidays. November/early December. I think it has been since Christmas '09 that I have booked a mini-suite. Looking forward to the space and open balcony. I booked 2 weeks in advance, perfect for me.

I booked United Airlines via SFO to Singapore. It's the most direct flight for me. It's also the longest flight from the US - almost 17 hours. I love the 787 Dreamliner. We flew this aircraft to Buenos Aires last year. United is getting ready to roll out its new Polaris Business Class service next week. 17 hours seemed like the unthinkable, but with internet, movies, food, wine, etc., I embrace it as part of the adventure. I have watched three heavy foreign films, my favorites. And Absolutely Fabulous, the movie. I love Patsy and Edina. PC (Prince Charming, the mister) has watched American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused for the hundredth time. Coming of age movies are his favorites!

We are crossing the Phillipines as I write. Haven't seen the sun since we left SFO at 11pm last night. We are within three hours of arrival. I get so excited, it's difficult to sleep. We are spending our first day at the greatest airport playground in the world - Singapore Chiangi. Looking forward to having some fun eating and shopping at the airport. We are in transit and will be flying out of Singapore 11 hours after landing. We will get a day room, most likely at the Crowne Plaza.

Thanks for coming with me. I post my pics and videos on my Facebook travel page. See you in a few...........

In case anyone likes to follow me or wants port info.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425264

Happy Thanksgiving

Let's get this party started! I haven't seen you LIVE on Princess since Dec14 in Tahiti. I seem to be alternating between Holland America and Princess on the more exotic itineraries. Last year we cruised HAL around the Horn in South America with a side trip to the Atacama desert. I am really looking forward to leaving the heavy gear at home this year. No North Face! I miss my perks on Princess when cruising HAL. I have no status yet. I will report/review on the ship/ports in my irreverent style. I am starting my thread a bit early as we are taking our side trip pre-cruise instead of post-cruise. We are packed and ready to go. We are flying 12,500 miles in the next 48 hours. Lots of details to follow. Happy Thanksgiving, Sungirl

Groningen - I haven't started my Princess thread yet. I can post here when I start. Glad you enjoyed my Cape Horn SA cruise.

Cheers, Sungirl

Olsalt, completely agree with you on land travel in North Vietnam. I think I will plan that in conjunction with Japan. I love HKG, but haven't seen Tokyo yet. Except the airport.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. After agonizing over my plans, I decided to hop on the Diamond Princess instead of the Volendam. I wanted more time to play in Singapore and we are taking a side trip from Singapore pre-cruise. You won't want to miss it! If you follow my "LIVE" threads, you will want to jump over to the Princess boards. The pre-cruise junket may interest you. I also post my pics and videos on my FB travel page. Fungirl Across America.

Hello. I stop by for counseling every time I am considering booking an exotic itinerary. Last year you steered me right! I loved the South American cruise around Cape Horn. I am looking at the Volendam SE Asia Singapore to Hong Kong. I have travelled SE Asia before, and I am mainly interested in the Vietnam ports. The cruise would be a substitute for a land tour of Vietnam that would take a lot of energy - moving every two days, flying every two days, checking in and out, finding tours, transfers, and negotiating. Everything I never have to worry about on a cruise. However, the distances from the ports to the city center(s) are long, I would feel rushed, and I would have to give up touring Hanoi if I want to cruise Halong Bay.

What say you?

Thanks a bunch, Sungirl

27 November - Goodbye South America.

4:30 am wakeup call for a 5:30am departure. We are off to 14,000ft for sunrise over the Andes Mountains and also the moonset. There are around five places in the world that have significant thermal activity. The Atacama desert is one of those places. El Tatio Geysers. Phenomenal thermal activity and you can get up close, too close IMHO. Yellowstone would never let the public so close to boiling water. The only time to see the steam/vapors is when outside temperatures are low. That is first thing in the morning in the summertime. There is thermal activity going on all over a large area. We walked on the trails and were wowed by the gurgling, sputtering, and bubbling. The smells of sulfur were in the air. After a geyser side breakfast we headed back down the mountain to again see lots of wildlife - vicuna, ostrich, lots of birds, and the flamingos. We were barely staying awake.

Showered, packed, grabbed a cheeseburger, checked out of hotel, and we were on our way to the Calama airport. Over an hour ride from San Pedro de Atacama. The Calama airport serves LAN airlines and the low cost SKY airlines. A guest at the hotel told me they paid $80 RT on SKY from Santiago. Not sure if there are additional fees for baggage. I think I paid $250 RT including baggage.

LAN offers at least seven flights a day from Santiago to Calama. They go out full. Must be adventure seekers and astronomers! We are better people for taking this side trip to the desert. Learning about cultures and appreciating everything the US affords us. These villages are so poor, yet them seem to have the modern conveniences - satellite TV, Smartphones, washing machines, and internet. I felt very safe. These people make their money on tourism and wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize that. However, the stray dogs in several areas of Chile, were completely unnerving. This is a huge problem and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Many of these dogs are rabid. I get so nervous with these dogs circling around me and following me around.

The Calama airport takes about 15 minutes to checkin and go thru security. If all airports were only so easy. What is up with South America and the lax security? You can take unlimited liquids in bottles. They hardly screen anything. I got busted for being overweight on my carryon. 8kg is the limited, I was at 12g. They let me go on with 9kg. I was very appreciative they cut me some slack as I had no where to put anything else. They didn't weigh it on the outbound. Embarrassing to have to pull out crap and redistribute. I make the mistake of trying to put too much stuff in one bag instead of two.

We got cleared for an upgrade going home, so I am a happy Princess. We are both exhausted, but it was a trip of a lifetime. I don't see myself coming back to the Andes (I've done Peru and Ecuador), but I will return to SA to visit Brazil. I always make a souvenir video upon returning home, but this time my souvenir consists of a hotel jar of dulce de leche. As a recovering hoarder, the rule is - If I can't eat it, drink it, or wear it, I can't buy it! The only thing I would have bought is wine, but no space. I did buy one souvenir - my Buenos Aires Boca Futbol Swatch watch. Totally cool. Someone told me I was working class to be a Boca fan! HA! The rival, Riverplate, has more upper class fans. I am one to go with the underdog, so I am quite pleased with my working class BOCA watch. Even though I am a recovered hoarder, those refrigerator magnets are still hard to pass up! I am settling for cruise cards and hotel room keys in lieu of magnets.

As I have had a few days to reflect on the cruise, I have several thoughts. First, I have no desire to cruise Antartica anytime soon. There is so much to see in the world and Antartica is low on the list. I have done lots of traveling, but there is so much I haven't done. I am disappointed on the Fjord scenic cruising that HAL had scheduled. Most of the time I would say I would rather be in port than at sea, but this is an example of a situation where I would rather enjoy scenery. If I had any ambition, I would have traveled by land and visited El Calafate, Bariloche, and booked a cabin on the NaviMag ferry through the heart of the Fjords.

I really love the size of the Zaandam. I have never cruised on a mega-ship before - 4000pax+. Unfortunately with a ship this size, there is no buzz. Everything was sedate. I have the same feelings about the Island/Coral Princess. It wouldn't keep me from booking an itinerary on HAL, but I need to check out one of the larger HAL ships sometimes to see the difference. I recommend this itinerary, but I have no idea how people repeat this cruise. Once was enough for now. I am dying to get back to Asia. I also have never cruised Ireland or the Baltic. Or taken a European river cruise. Those are on the summer list.

I have some product endorsements for you. I found a new line of shoes I love. I buy the expensive comfort shoes for travel - Mephisto and Ecco, mostly. New Balance has this fashion line called Cobb Hill. I am crazy for these shoes. I have the cutest sandals that look youthful and high style and I have worn them on my last two trips.

I bought a Ruana earlier in the year for my trip to Morocco and Spain. It was the best purchase ever. Soft Surroundings always has cute ones. They are perfect for travel and they go with leggings or jeans.

Luggage. I go thru luggage with the seasons. I buy new luggage for almost every trip because I have different needs. I usually buy the disposable stuff from TJMaxx. The best carry on luggage is Pacsafe and Lipault. I own the Pacsafe purses, backpacks (ladies and mens), and carry ons. I did but some hardsided luggage to look more "Euro" style, but I can't squeeze as much stuff in.

I was so surprised at some of the cruisers who came completely unprepared for cold weather. It's usually the people in Florida who don't want to go out and buy "gear' for a few days of cold. Take my advice - buy the North Face. Get the fleece, thermobomber vest or jacket, and raincoat. I had the 3 in 1 jacket and it was perfect. The rain jacket was much heavier than a slicker type jacket. Jeans and khakis (hiking/safari type) are fine. Wear heavy tights or panty hose on cold days. I didn't think long underwear or boots were necessary. A hat is mandatory!

Boarding flight to go home. Yippee! See you tomorrow from the USA.

26 November - Happy Thanksgiving

We had a long excursion today. We gathered at 9am to head south to the Altiplanic lagoons. These are amazing salt flat lagoons at 13,000 ft. The ride is approx. 1 1/2 hours, but takes a little longer with toilet stops and photo stops. We hit the jackpot on wildlife today. There are very few species of animals that can survive in the Atacama desert and Patagonia. We saw all of them today - Guanaco, Vicuna, Chilean Fox, Andes Flamingos, donkeys, and ostrich. We were also so lucky to see the wildflowers that bloom once every seven years for approx. 2 weeks. The lupine was gorgeous. We had a Thanksgiving picnic lunch with the Andean flamingos. It was indescribable. The wind was strong, but temps fairly mild. We hiked around several areas and enjoyed the animals and scenery. The intensity of the sun is scary. You can be blinded by the sun's reflection on the salt at 13,000ft. These lagoons look like Caribbean beaches, but are not for swimming.

We returned to the hotel around 5pm. Time to start packing again. Farewell is tomorrow. Another lovely dinner with Red Velvet cake for dessert. We have had a great adventure, but we are eager to get home to our own bed.

We have the grand finale at 5:30am for sunrise tomorrow. A special excursion. We are flying straight thru tomorrow evening, not overnighting in Santiago. It will be a very long day.

I will get back to my cruise comments soon!

I hope you had a yummy Thanksgiving! We miss the pumpkin pie.

25 November Free Day at last

We needed a day off today. Unfortunately as much as I want to do it all, I will make myself sick trying to do everything. PC reminds me that we need to chill and enjoy our hotel and view.

We slept in and enjoyed some pool time. Finally, a pool that is warm enough to wade around in. After a gourmet lunch, we took the hotel shuttle a few minutes into San Pedro De Atacama, the main town. San Pedro is Northern Chile's most popular tourist destination. It's a small oasis village with many tour offices waiting for the adventure seekers. It's at almost 8000ft. The Domeyko mountains to the west, the Andes to the east. San Pedro is an important Pre-Incan settlement. We walked around the main square, toured the Iglesia San Pedro de Atacama, and poked around the shops and craft market. It took us all of an hour. Cool place, but wouldn't necessarily trust the food at some of the many cafes. The last thing I ever want is a food-borne sickness. This is one of the reasons I stay in expensive hotels - safe food and safe locations/security. We decided to walk the 3/4 mile dirt road back to the hotel instead of wait for the shuttle. We needed the exercise.

We enjoyed a leisurely dinner. I had panne cotta for desert for both lunch and dinner. Sinful. PC is eating up all the ice cream.

Huge day planned for tomorrow. Thanksgiving at 13,000ft.

24 November - Pretty sure we landed on the moon

Breakfast is served buffet style and has many options. I have been eating way too many croissants in the past 2 weeks, it's my favorite thing next to glazed donuts. Our first excursion is at 9:15am. The hotel uses passenger vans and each van accommodates 6 people. We have a driver and guide. We have to acclimatize 2 days before we can participate in half of the excursions. They go to 14, 000 ft. We did have headaches due to the altitude, but Excedrin took care of it. We are going to Death Valley and Moon Valley. This is a National Park with incredible sand dunes, red rock formations, salt crystals, and moonscapes. The colors are so rich and beautiful against a clear blue sky. We return to the hotel around 12:30pm. Lunch is served 1-3pm.

Pool time!! Finally!! I need my vitamin D and tan. The sun is the most intense I have ever felt being at this high altitude. There is an indoor pool and outdoor pool plus jacuzzi. A full service spa is also on property. It is very quiet in this 30 room lodge. We spend a wonderful hour at the pool before we have to go change costumes for our evening excursion. We leave the hotel around 4:30pm.

The Salar de Atacama. The world's third largest salt flat at 7700 ft. Miles of silver-gray salt crystals. Amazing. The thrill for me - the Laguna Chaxa. Hundreds of flamingos. Seeing flamingos in the wild, watching them fly, is the greatest thing. I have seen wild flamingos once before in the Galapagos Islands. These are Andean and Chilean flamingos. I could have stayed for days watching these birds.

After visiting with the flamingos, we drove on to Toconao, an oasis village with an early Colonial church and pre-Incan ruins. These villages are fascinating. They knit using needles from giant cactus. Can you imagine not having access to knitting needles?

We watched sunset over the Andes below the ALMA facility. The Chilean northern desert is home to the most high tech and sophisticated astronomical observatories in the world. ALMA opened in 2013 on a 16,400 high plateau. It is the single biggest astronomical project on the planet. There is no single telescope, but 50 antennae, each 39 ft tall that act as a telescope. This project is financed by the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Blows your mind. These are things that I never would have know about it if not for travel.

We had wine, cheese, and olives while enjoying sunset. The ride was quite bumpy and we sat in the back of the van so we were pretty tired after bouncing around. I was also a bit car sick. We had a very quick dinner. We didn't each much because we ate a lot of cheese and olives. 9pm is too late for us to eat and go to bed on a full stomach. We like to walk off dinner a little bit otherwise we feel sick. I don't know how people eat late and get up to go to work and school.

Loving the peace of this fascinating place. No machines, motors, or noise. Just birds. I do get a little anxious at the thought of being so remote, but it's worth it. Night.

If anyone is interested, I wrote a live thread on the HAL forum. It might give you some ideas about ports, excursions, weather, etc.

Keith, if you are out there, thanks for encouraging me. I loved it! Except the Fjord cruising was a bit of a disappointment. We could not navigate the two most beautiful passages. one due to size, one due to time.

we are now in the Atacama desert. The driest place on earth. Looking for UFOs!