Valparaiso to Fort Lauderdale aboard the Celebrity Infinity: A Photo Review

[polySeraph]

I have just returned from a two-week cruise aboard the Celebrity Infinity. We met the Infinity in Valparaiso on March 15th and disembarked in Fort Lauderdale on March 29th. Along the way we called in Arica, Chile; San Martin (Pisco), Peru; Manta, Ecuador; Colon, Panama; and Cartagena, Colombia. Our cruise also included a full transit of the Panama Canal.

 

My focus in this review will primarily be on the ports. When I was researching these ports a year or so ago, I wasn’t able to find as much as I had for some of the ports on some of my other cruises. I’m hoping that the information and photos I provide will help someone plan for a similar itinerary in the future.

 

Of course, I would be happy to answer any questions. :)

[polySeraph]

This was our second time to cruise in South America. In 2010 we sailed from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso aboard the Norwegian Sun. We thoroughly enjoyed those two weeks, and to this day, it ranks as one of our all-time favorite experiences! We discovered that South America was a beautiful, fascinating continent and we felt that our first cruise had only scratched the surface. When we disembarked in Valparaiso, it was with the feeling that we had left some loose ends untied.

 

So we decided to return to Valparaiso and pick up where we left off. This time we would be aboard the Celebrity Infinity. We would continue our journey north up the coast of South America, through the Panama Canal, and across the Caribbean to our home in Florida.

 

I overheard my husband, Cruise Critic member ComputerTravelGuy, describe it to some of our shipmates aboard the Infinity as a “B2B separated by 5 years”.

[dallascruiser]

Thank you so much for your review I am doing the B2B beginning in Buenos Aries and then picking up your cruise in Valparaiso in 2017. I will be eagerly awaiting your review and posts!

 

Linda

[polySeraph]

We arrived in the Santiago airport on the morning of March 13th. We had arranged ahead of time for Sergio Aldunce of Perfect Day Tours to meet us at the airport, give us a full day of touring before dropping us off at our B&B in Valparaiso. Sergio and his assistant Annaliese had both been a pleasure to work with. All my emails were answered promptly and in easily understood English. Sergio was happy to customize the tour to our preferences. I was able to use Paypal to send the deposit.

 

The first stop on the tour was to the home of poet and Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda in Isla Negra. Sergio helped us obtain the tickets and an audioguide (in English) to the home. While we waited to enter the home, we had time for a cup of coffee (thankfully, very strong) in the small café on the grounds. It was a beautiful sunny morning with just hint of a cool breeze.

 

 

This side of Neruda’s home that faces the Pacific Ocean.

 

 

 

Some of Neruda’s collection of glass bottles can be seen in the window on the right of the photo.

 

 

 

Imagine waking up to this view every morning.

 

 

After we finished our tour of Isla Negra, it was time for lunch. Sergio suggested a vineyard with a small restaurant. The food was very good, and wow, what a view! I was sure that I was dreaming and would wake up any minute to discover that I was still contorted like a pretzel into that economy-class airplane seat.

 

[polySeraph]

After lunch it was time to get back to the hard work of sightseeing while sleepwalking. (Actually, I had gotten about 5 hours of sleep on the plane, but ComputerTravelGuymhad gotten less and was blinking and yawning.) The next stop was another vineyard. This one used organic methods.

 

 

Sergio pointed out the plants and used and told us how each was used to deliver a quality product without the use of pesticides and other chemicals.

 

 

I wish I remembered more of his explanation - it was very interesting - but it was after lunch and I was working on a sleep deficit. I do remember his saying that they used the llamas after the harvest to eat the weeds in the vineyard and supply fertilizer.

 

 

After leaving the vineyard, we headed to Viña del Mar to spend the remainder of the day driving through the scenery before Sergio dropped us off at our B&B in Valparaiso. I was able to get a short nap and awakened just as we were entering Viña del Mar.

 

The Famous Flower Clock.

 

 

Another great view of the Chilean coast.

 

Edited April 2, 2015 by polySeraph

[polySeraph]

Our sightseeing now complete, Sergio headed for Valparaiso and what was to be our home-away-from-home for the next two days. Hostal Morgan was located in Cerro Alegre, an area of Valparaiso filled with restaurants and clubs. Our hostess, María Morgan spoke excellent English and had been very responsive in all our email communications. Sergio had dropped others off here before us and as we pulled up in front, we could see a sign saying that the B&B was full. Sergio said that every time he'd been there, that sign had been on the door.

 

 

 

We thanked Sergio and Annaliese for a wonderful day. María, our hostess, met us at the door and escorted us to our room. The whole house was furnished in wonderful old antiques.

 

 

 

Our room came with a double bed (with a firm mattress) and a private bath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a roomy old wardrobe in which to hang our clothes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the view from our window looking down the street. The smoke you see in the photo is from a fire burning on the outskirts of Valparaiso. There was also a very nice view directly across from our room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We loved Hostal Morgan itself. María was a wonderful, gracious hostess. The house was lovely and her breakfasts were very nice. We even enjoyed the impromptu fellowship with our fellow travelers that developed in the breakfast room every morning. The price (when we visited it was roughly $90 US, depending on the exchange rate) couldn't be beat.

 

 

 

On the other hand, the fact that it was located in an area with lots of restaurants and clubs was a double-edged sword. The location meant that it was easy to find a great place to eat, but there was also potential for noise in the streets late at night. Another concern for some is that there is no elevator, and while we had no trouble schlepping our bags up that beautiful, antique staircase (María was very willing to help), it could be an issue for someone with mobility concerns.

 

 

 

Keeping all the above in mind, Hostal Morgan is an excellent choice for value-conscious, heavy sleepers (or those willing to bring ear plugs) with no mobility concerns.

Edited April 2, 2015 by polySeraph

[polySeraph]

Thank you so much for your review I am doing the B2B beginning in Buenos Aries and then picking up your cruise in Valparaiso in 2017. I will be eagerly awaiting your review and posts!

 

Hi Linda, I'm hoping you will find the info to be useful. I'm looking forward to sharing a great experience!

[polySeraph]

The next morning ComputerTravelGuy and I went down to the breakfast room for coffee. Before long, María appeared and supplied us with copious amounts of coffee and a full breakfast. At the table adjacent to ours were two Australian couples embarking on the Golden Princess that day. We leaned over, introduced ourselves, and began an animated discussion. As I exited the breakfast room to prepare for the day, I could hear that the discussion had turned to weightier topics such as whether the early European mapmakers had, in fact, drawn the world upside down and who was really in danger of falling off the world into oblivion.

 

I had just finished tying my shoes when I heard the doorbell ring and the sounds of hustle and bustle in the hallway below. We had planned to spend the day with old travel friends that we had first met on our South American cruise in 2010. I grabbed my shoulder bag and my parasol and headed down the stairs. There they were, larger than life and looking even better than five years ago! After hugs all around, we headed out into the sunshine.

[polySeraph]

Our tour guide that day was Juan Victor of Perro Tours. During the booking process, Juan Victor had answered all emails completely and thoroughly. I used Xoom, a secure transfer service, to send the deposit. Everything was handled professionally.

 

Our primary objective that day was to walk around and experience the various facets of Valparaiso, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our friends asked Juan Victor if it would be possible to work in a visit to La Sebastiana, another one of Pablo Neruda’s homes located in Valparaiso. Juan Victor (who turned out to have an encyclopedic knowledge of Valparaiso) thought about it for a minute and said, “Sure, no problem. We can do that.”

 

To be honest, I don’t have a clear idea of where we went that day. We followed Juan Victor and when he said “Turn here,” we turned. We went up and down hills, through alleys, down and up more steps. For the steepest of the hills we rode ascensors up and down, and we took city buses to travel large distances quickly. For part of the day we had a canine companion which we called "dude".

 

So on to the photos. . . .

 

This streetscape was not too far from our hotel. I like the seascape painted on the second building.

 

 

 

 

If we ever became tired of looking at the street are, all we had to do was lift our eyes and look at the city itself.

 

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"Dude," our canine companion, was just outside the frame trying to be friends with the cat. The cat is clearly having none of it.

 

Edited April 3, 2015 by polySeraph

[polySeraph]

This mural appeared to be brand new. Notice how bright and fresh the colors are. The church in the upper left of the mural also appears in one of my earlier photos.

 

 

I like this photo because what it depicts is so typical of what we saw that day. Real people living real lives surrounded by a living, evolving art museum.

 

 

This is one of the ascensors we used to travel up and down the steepest hills. One car is going up while the other is coming down. ComputerTravelGuy, a lover of engineering history, must have snapped 50 photos of the ascensors, including all their motors, gears, and the like.

 

 

Before we knew it, we were in a different neighborhood with a different style of building. I think the painted retaining wall adds a nice touch.

 

 

Colorful homes and beautiful flowers were everywhere in this part of Valparaiso.

 

[polySeraph]

For lunch we stopped for a quick bite to eat at the café near La Sebastiana. While our friends toured Pablo Neruda's Valparaiso home, ComputerTravelGuy and I sat in the shade of a large tree on the grounds and conversed with Juan Victor. It was fun and informative to get to know him a little better. Then it was back to discovering more about Valparaiso.

 

If you look closely at the stairs, you'll see a tiny mural painted on each riser.

 

 

Even cruise ships are subjects in Valparaiso street art.

 

 

A two-story mural, a beautiful old house, and in the background, one of the hills. Note also the rather interesting electrical wires.

 

 

By now, it was late afternoon. Juan Victor showed no signs of slowing down but we were beginning to feel the effects of all that walking up and down hills. We took a quick vote and decided to call it a day. Our friends caught a bus back to their B&B and we rode with Juan Victor on a different bus back to our B&B. We invited him in for a glass of cold water, introduced him to María, and thanked him for a great day.

[polySeraph]

The next morning, after another great breakfast from María, we packed up our things and prepared to transfer to the cruise terminal. María called a taxi for us around 11 AM and by 11:15 we were unloading our bags at the cruise terminal. The taxi ride cost around $8,000 CLP with tip.

 

After dropping off our bags, we saw some passengers holding slips of paper with numbers on them. We asked one of Chilean port employees whether we needed a number as well. She said that passengers had been arriving at the cruise terminal since 8 AM and there was no one available to check them in when they arrived. The passengers had been given numbers on slips of paper to assure them that they would be first in line once the check-in opened up and it was okay to sit down and relax until then. She said that now that check-in was up and running, we didn’t need a number; we could just go and stand in line.

 

The check-in process went reasonably smoothly. We received our key cards and receipts for our passports and were on our way. They had not started boarding the ship yet so we browsed some of the kiosks in the terminal building while we waited.

 

One of the kiosks was offering free samples of wine. We had some time to kill so we wandered over and sampled a Carmenere and a Cabernet Sauvignon. They tasted nice so ComputerTravelGuy and I decided to get one bottle apiece to take aboard with us. ComputerTravelGuy reached for 2 of the bottles displayed on the kiosk and was directed instead to another kiosk owned by the same group. We paid and received the wine nicely packaged in a cardboard box with a handle.

 

A couple of days later on the ship, when we opened the wine, we discovered that the Cab and Carmenere in our nicely-packaged cardboard box were much older than the samples we had tried at the kiosk. The wine was still drinkable but it was definitely past its prime and tasted nothing like the wine we had sampled at the kiosk. ComputerTravelGuy laughed and said that at least the guy didn’t have to worry about repeat business when he sold the wine to cruise passengers on their way out of town.

 

Had the guy in the cruise terminal intentionally “baited” us with the good stuff and “switched” it with inferior, older stuff? Really, I have no idea, and I generally try not to speculate on the motives of others. I will suggest, however, that if you are ever in the Valparaiso cruise terminal and you buy wine from this guy, please be sure to check the vintage of the actual bottles that you are purchasing. Better yet, buy the wine before you get to the cruise terminal.

Edited April 3, 2015 by polySeraph

[polySeraph]

It was finally time to board the ship. We headed through security and out the terminal doors where we boarded the port shuttle. After a 5-minute ride through the port we arrived at the Infinity. Our cabins were not ready when we boarded so we ate lunch, attended a shore excursions presentation, and walked around to learn a little more about our home for the next two weeks. Finally we heard the announcement that our cabins were ready so we headed up to Deck 7.

 

 

 

We had chosen 7003, an ocean view cabin located on the bow of the ship. We had known from our research here on Cruise Critic that this cabin was one of those one-of-a-kind cabins that turns a weird corner of the ship into usable space. 7003 was larger than the typical category-4 ocean view cabin and it had a window overlooking the bow which we hoped would come in handy during our upcoming Panama Canal transit.

 

 

 

We opened our cabin door and were very pleased to see how spacious and well laid-out the cabin was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was standing in front of the desk shown in the previous photo when I took this photo (below). You can see the closets and the door to the head. To the right of the head there was a small entry area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo, taken a few days later, shows that our view was slightly obstructed. . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . . .but with some help from the zoom on my little point-and-shoot camera and some creative cropping, we were still able to get decent photos through the window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo (below), taken during our Panama Canal transit, provides a pretty good idea of what we could see from our window while we watched the transit in air-conditioned comfort.

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2015 by polySeraph

[polySeraph]

It was good to be back aboard a ship in the port of Valparaiso getting ready for the second leg of our “five-year B2B”. We spent the next hour unpacking and putting away our clothes. Our suitcases fit nicely under the bed and there was plenty of storage under the sink in the bathroom for our toiletries. I was also pleased to see the clothesline in the shower. We attended the muster drill, took a nap, read over the Celebrity Today, and got ready to meet our friends for dinner.

 

Our first South American cruise in 2010 had been one of our most memorable travel experiences. When we booked it in late 2009, the economy was a little shaky and NCL was offering some great deals on their South American itineraries to fill up the cabins. We had a great cruise, and five years later, it is still one of our all-time favorites.

 

If you would like to read the review for that 2010 cruise, click here. The review takes up about 80 posts of a much longer thread about NCL’s return to South America. Tapatalk users may need to navigate to post #41 – or, page 3 - after clicking the link.

[polySeraph]

After two days at sea, we arrived in the port of Arica, Chile at 7 AM. We hoped to spend the day seeing Chile’s Altiplano and Lauca National Park. Since this was a long excursion that went some distance from the port, we opted to take the excursion through the ship. After grabbing an early breakfast, we met our tour group in the Celebrity Theater and proceeded ashore to board our bus. Ronny, our tour guide, was a full-time English teacher in Arica. We left the commercial port area and drove through the small town of Arica. Before long, we were heading east towards the Andes.

 

 

 

We were only a few kilometers east of Arica when our bus pulled over to allow us to take a look at this geoglyph on the side of the hill. Ronny described the people who had made it and discussed the methods they used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we continued east and gained in altitude, Ronny let us know that we were in the Atacama desert. With average rainfall of less than 15mm (.6 inches) per year, the Atacama is considered to be driest place on Earth. The air is so dry, Ronny explained, that any rain that falls usually evaporates before it hits the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These candelabra cacti survive by extracting moisture from the air around them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at a scenic overlook to see this fort (in the lower left of the photo), built by the indigenous people who inhabited the region before the Spanish arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the bird in at the bottom of this photo. I wasn't focusing on the bird; in fact, I can't remember what I was trying to capture. I don't even know what type of bird it is. Moreover, the photo is a little blurry and will certainly never make the cover of National Geographic. I like it anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we climbed higher and higher into the clouds the scenery began to change. Notice how green everything is in this photo.

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2015 by polySeraph

[polySeraph]

Our journey would not have been a good choice for anyone with a fear of heights. The two-lane road wound steadily upward through the Andes in a series of vertiginous switchbacks. Since the road was a major artery between the Port of Arica and landlocked La Paz, Bolivia, there were lots of trucks laboring up the slopes. This did not dismay our driver in the least; he simply PASSED THEM on the winding two-lane highway whenever he got the chance. What's more, the other buses on our tour seemed to take every opportunity to pass our driver who would return the favor and pass them right back. I looked over at our guide. Ronny did not seem concerned in the least, so perhaps, everything would be all right.

 

 

 

We were over 3,000 meters (roughly, 10,000 feet) above sea level when our bus pulled into a roadside café. This was to give us an opportunity to purchase a cup of herbal tea used by the local people for centuries to mitigate the effect of altitude sickness. Those who sampled the tea reported later on that it tasted pleasant and it seemed to help.

 

 

 

In the photo below, we were over 4,300 meters (14,000 feet) above sea level. The name of the volcano in the photo is Parinacota which means “flamingo lake”. According to Wikipedia, Parinacota has an elevation of 6,348 meters (20,827 feet).

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is another view of Parinacota. If you look closely, you can see llamas, alpacas, guanacos, vicuñas, and yes, flamingos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just before we arrived at the Lauca National Park visitor's center, Ronny let us know that we were passing through the highest altitude of our journey: 4,600 meters (15,000 feet) above sea level.

 

 

 

As we pulled into the parking lot of the visitor's center, Ronny cautioned us to move slowly and avoid excessive exertion. Not to worry: at that altitude most of us had very little energy to spare. I made a herculean effort to haul myself off the bus and hike the incredible distance of 100-200 feet to stand in the queue for the washroom. By the time I had reached the front of the queue, I had rested enough to complete the return trip to the bus. Ronny handed out our box lunches (two sandwiches, a granola bar, and a banana) and bottles of water. We viewed the incredible scenery and wildlife, purchased handicrafts, and took one last photo, – all in slow motion – before returning to the bus for the trip back home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bus was quiet during the return trip. Several people had low-grade headaches and a couple of people needed oxygen. Someone sitting near me reported some nausea. ComputerTravelGuy and I both had mild headaches but were otherwise okay. After a short nap, we awakened to find that we were driving downhill through the Andes in fog. As we continued steadily downward, our headaches eased and we began to feel more energetic. Eventually we descended out of the clouds and had an uneventful return to the ship. We arrived back in the port around 5:45 PM.

Edited April 3, 2015 by polySeraph

[polySeraph]

If you would like to read the review for that 2010 cruise, click here. The review takes up about 80 posts of a much longer thread about NCL’s return to South America. Tapatalk users may need to navigate to post #41 – or, page 3 - after clicking the link.

 

 

Let me make a minor correction to the above. My 2010 review takes up 40 posts - not 80 posts - of a much longer thread. Sorry for the confusion.

[polySeraph]

Final thoughts on our day in Arica. . . .

 

Arica is one of those ports that is best experienced by doing a little research ahead of time – even if you are simply planning to take a ship’s excursion, as we did. If you arrive in port without a plan and you are not interested in a ship's excursion, there is a shuttle bus that will take you from the (commercial) port area to the small town where you can walk around a bit, get a bite to eat, and find low-cost wifi.

 

There were several private tours organized through our roll call for this port, including one tour that went to Lauca National Park. I spoke to one of the participants on that tour. He said that they had had a great time and had returned to the ship by 5:30 PM, well over an hour before the all-aboard time. A quick search for ‘Arica’ on our roll call thread should yield more information about third-party tour providers for this port, if anyone is interested.

 

I was impressed with the Infinity’s shore excursions desk and felt that they did a great job of managing shore excursions. (This is high praise indeed from a diehard lover of small, private excursions.) Unfortunately, not everyone on our excursion to Lauca National Park heeded their advice on how to prepare for the tour. Most people on our bus (including the two of us) showed up, dressed in layers, to better adapt to the changes as we climbed into a chilly, wet, and windy environment. A few showed up in tank tops and shorts and then said, “nobody told us. . . .”

 

Celebrity lists several exclusory health conditions on its website for this excursion. I had none of these conditions, but as a year-round resident of Florida, I live roughly 48 feet (15 meters) above sea level, so I asked my doctor for his opinion on the high-altitude excursion. We discussed several alternatives for mitigating the effects of the high altitude, and he gave me some valuable advice that, I feel, resulted in a better experience.

Edited April 4, 2015 by polySeraph

[polySeraph]

The port of San Martín, Peru was a recent addition to our itinerary. Two weeks before embarkation, one of our roll call members posted that she had received an email from her travel agent notifying her that our port call in Lima had been replaced with a port call in San Martín. Our arrival in Manta, Ecuador (two days later) had been also changed from 9 AM to 10 AM. Several of us contacted our travel agents for confirmation, and a day or so later, I received a call from Celebrity notifying me of the change.

 

It was such short notice that I had no time to research and plan for this port. I was deep in the throes of my pre-cruise countdown, and my To-Do list was already discouragingly long. I had arranged a private tour in Lima (more on that later) for 12 roll call members that I now had to cancel. What’s more, I also had to contact my private tour provider in Ecuador to revise the itinerary for that day’s excursion.

 

I decided that it was time to "know when to say ‘when’”. ComputerTravelGuy and I agreed that we would see what the ship had to offer and take the excursion that we liked the best. A couple of days later, Celebrity had posted shore excursions for the San Martín port call. This was a great help. By the time we boarded in Valparaiso, we had already decided that we would take the excursion to the Ballestas Islands and we booked the excursion shortly after embarkation. We are glad we did because we heard later that it had sold out.

Edited April 4, 2015 by polySeraph

[jlajr]

Great review so far, and stunning photos!

 

Thank you for taking the time.

[woodley]

Really enjoying your review, can't wait for more!

[polySeraph]

Great review so far, and stunning photos!

 

Thank you for taking the time.

 

Really enjoying your review, can't wait for more!

 

Thanks to you both for the nice words. I'm pleased that you are enjoying the review.

 

Most of the photos on this cruise were taken with my trusty, old point-and-shoot Canon. (I edited them some with Photoshop Elements). That camera has accompanied us all over the world and we were heartbroken when the old dear started misbehaving towards the end of this cruise. We discovered this just after our shore excursion in Colon. Fortunately, the photo department on the Infinity was able to read the chip and give us a disc with the images so we didn't lose anything. We used our iPhones in Cartagena.

[polySeraph]

As we had done in Arica, we awakened early in San Martín. After a quick breakfast upstairs in the buffet, we headed down to the Celebrity Theater to meet our tour group. We disembarked the ship and boarded buses for the 15-20 minute ride to the marina in the tiny town of Paracas. Pedro, our outstanding tour guide, had a remarkable grasp of the English language.

 

Once we had arrived at the marina, we took photos, visited the (very clean) restrooms, and milled about smartly in the hot sun for 30 minutes as we waited for our boat to return from an earlier excursion. (I got the impression that this earlier group wasn’t sponsored by the ship.) ComputerTravelGuy used the opportunity to apply sunscreen and offered some to me. Eventually we saw our boat pull into the marina and discharge the passengers from the earlier group. Pedro announced that it was time to board.

 

Our boat was large enough to hold everyone from our tour bus (around 45-50 people), but it was a tight fit. We stepped up on the gunwale and then down on a seat before walking up the aisle to find somewhere to sit. The bench seats were fairly close together and after putting on our life jackets, it was tight. After warnings to hold on to our hats (and other valuables), our driver put it into gear and off we went!

 

 

Our first destination was a scenic location just off the mainland. Pedro gave us some interesting information about the area and pointed out several pelicans on the port side of the boat. Everyone on the port side immediately leaned out of the boat and started snapping photos. Everyone on the starboard side immediately stood up and started snapping photos (mostly) of each other's hats. A few minutes later the driver swung the boat around to allow those of us on the starboard side to view and photograph the pelicans.

 

 

From our location on the water, we could also see a geoglyph known as "The Candelabra". Pedro explained that opinions were divided on who had created it. Some thought it was made by the same people who had created the Nazca Lines, while others thought that it might have been pirates (yes, pirates) or even General San Martín himself.

 

[polySeraph]

We left The Candelabra behind and headed towards the Islas Ballestas, sometimes called "The Poor Man's Galapagos" due to the incredible diversity of wildlife. The islands are protected by legislation and have no permanent human residents. There are, however, temporary residents on the island from time to time to harvest guano for fertilizer.

 

As we approached the islands, we could see several other tour boats ahead of us. The drivers, for the most part, did a fairly good job of keeping out of each other's way and we had a fantastic time observing the wildlife in its natural habitat.

 

 

 

The birds with the red beaks and feet are, I believe, Inca terns.

 

 

Note the starfish clinging to the rock just above the water line.

 

 

A male and female sea lion can be seen on the rock in the center of the photo. The large bird flying bird is either a Peruvian booby or, possibly, a pelican. Any bird lovers out there who would know for sure?

 

 

A mama sea lion teaching her baby to swim can be seen in the center of the photo. The structures on the island behind the sea lions are part of the guano-harvesting operation.

 

[polySeraph]

Everywhere we looked was another breathtaking photo op. I actually had to force myself several times to lower the camera and just take it all in. I remarked to someone sitting near me that I was in danger of seeing the Ballestas through my viewfinder because everywhere I looked, I saw another spectacular view! She laughed and agreed and then added, ". . . and you know what? This is one of those places that no amount of photography will ever be able to capture adequately. We'll get home, look at our photographs, and be a little disappointed, no matter how great they are."

 

I couldn't have said it better. . . . and you know what? She was right. I've been organizing and editing my photos over the past week, and I'm astounded by how much they fail to capture the majesty of this place. I'm glad I was able to put the camera down.

 

 

There is a group of Humboldt penguins on the rock up near the guano line.

 

 

On the beach behind these rocks is a sea lion nursery full of mother sea lions and their babies.

 

Edited April 4, 2015 by polySeraph