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Around the Horn in 80 days.

rafinmd

By rafinmd,
in Holland America Line

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DeeniEncinitas

DeeniEncinitas

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Good morning Roy!

the pictures of your little break over the horizon in the morning and the red sky at night was wonderful. I love each day in my life seeing sunrises as a new start to a first new day.

when we were there it was so foggy and 

muggy. Glad you were able to take a shuttle into the plaza. 

Have a great day Roy!

Enjoyed my coffee too

Denise😊

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Thank you Denise, Krazy Kruizers, and Erewhon.

 

Day P9, Sunday, January 13, 2019, At sea, MS Prinsendam


I was up at 5 and on deck about 5:30.  I had planned to walk more than the previous sea day but found it quite windy and quickly scaled back my plans to 6 laps.  When a few years younger I might have bulled on despite the wind but not anymore.  In any case I finished the 6 laps and it was still about 10 minutes to sunrise so I extended to 8 with a plan to detour through the lido for a second cup of coffee on the last lap.  As I was heading up the front porch stairs to deck 9 the sun was almost ready to climb above the clouds but not quite.  Up the interior stairs and out to deck 12, then up a couple of steps towards 13 and the sun was right where I wanted it.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dawn0113.jpg


It was a very busy Sunday morning starting with the interdenominational worship service at 9. Linda had a coffee chat with Paul Pappas at 9:30 in the ocean bar and I caught the tail end of it.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/coffee13.jpg


Tim Calvert had a pictorial introduction to Peru in the showroom at 10 but I skipped it for a little bit of free time in my room.  Not much though as there was a galley tour at 10:30.  The galley on the Prinsendam is split between decks 4 and 7 and this was the deck 7 part (I saw the deck 4 galley on my first Prinsendam cruise).  After the 2014 Ebola crisis it became standard to require health questionnaires when embarking on a cruise but that hasn’t happened the last year or so–until the galley tour.  I was required to fill one out before starting the tour.  We got an overview of the long, narrow galley as we entered.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/galley7.jpg


We saw a number of service areas including dish washing, hot and cold food areas, and a station where a crew member had almost finished forming a nice pastry alligator.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/pastry.jpg


There was a small section devoted to the Pinnacle Grill at that end and we exited through the Pinnacle Dining Room.  


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/pinnaclegalley.jpg


We are still quite close to the Equator but I think we are starting to feel the effects of the Humboldt Current.  Captain Jeroen indicated in his noon update that the temperature was 79 but it felt cooler than that and he indicated a high of 75 for Salaverry.  Around noon we passed the western bulge of northern South America, the westernmost point of our cruise (About the same longitude as Cleveland Ohio).

I had a 12:30 lunch reservation at the Pinnacle Grill and it was very quiet this early in the cruise.  I think I was the only one for a while but another lady appeared, I think a walk-in, about 1.  I opted for the Pinnacle Burger with a dish of berries for desert.  It was delicious but a huge meal.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/pglunch.jpg


I could ALMOST hear the 1PM trivia from my seat in the Pinnacle.  After my meal I walked through the Ocean bar and was surprised at how crowded it was with a number of people using folding chairs.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/trivia.jpg


My afternoon was less busy than the morning but Heather had her talk on Matarani and Iqueque at 3.  The afternoon tea was Royal Dutch tea with Adagio playing the music and the penguins sporting orange vests (The Netherlands Royal color).  Sadly, I did not have my camera when I passed it.


We had our second meal missing our tablemate now in the Gallapagos.  I had a relatively light meal with a fruit starter, oven roasted chicken, and blueberry sundae.  There was a special set menu in the Canaletto.  I’m not sure whether it was the only menu there for the evening or an addition to the regular Canaletto choices.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dishes0113.jpg


The featured entertainment was Broadway singer Natalie Toro.  I thought she put on quite a good show.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/toro.jpg


When I boarded the Prinsendam it was pretty much full moon.  After the show I stepped out on deck and got my first look at the moon for 2019.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/moon0113.jpg


As my parting shot I turned out to be one of the few members of my congregation at an actual worship as our interfaith center was closed due to a rare for Maryland blizzard.  I know the local schools are also closed on Monday.  May the recovery be quick.

Roy

 

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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6 minutes ago, Happily@Sea said:

Roy,

 

Did you catch the update on NS's slow leaving yesterday? She still beat Conquest to Nassau. So either Conquest was lolly-gagging around or NS put the pedal to the metal.

 

Carole

Thanks.  I did.  It's only about 10 hours at 18kt, so unless NS was there a long time before Carnival I expect it was planned that way because of the docking locations of the 2 ships.  I'm a bit surprised NS didn't return to port for the evacuation.

 

Roy

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Happily@Sea

Happily@Sea

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1 minute ago, rafinmd said:

Thanks.  I did.  It's only about 10 hours at 18kt, so unless NS was there a long time before Carnival I expect it was planned that way because of the docking locations of the 2 ships.  I'm a bit surprised NS didn't return to port for the evacuation.

 

Roy

 

Just ahead of Conquest with Jewel of the Seas right behind her.

 

Carole

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DeeniEncinitas

DeeniEncinitas

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Just came back from shopping trying to get ahead of our rain that is due today and for the next 5 days! Grabbed my coffee and opened up my IPAD to a beautiful sunrise the best so far Roy! Just loved it. Glad you were able to get in 8 laps👍 Hope your foot is doing much better. Just asking could it of been a bite of some sort or spider bite? Sounds like all is on a mend. Isn’t it amazing how much food you get for lunch at PG?

Just like KK we have then gone back for our dinner there same day and I’m stuffed😳

Have a great day.

Denise😊

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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4 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

I hope the penguins are still around when we board!

 

Roy, I have a quick question - did they check your Brazilian visa and yellow fever papers when you boarded in FLL?  

They did not make an issue of checking the visa but they did hold my passport and the visa (the old one, don't know about the electronic one) is a big sticker that's glued in it so they likely did thumb through the passport and find it.  I was not asked for my yellow fever card but I think some people were.

 

Check also on Scrapnana's thread and likely both she and scluvsrain will chime in.

 

Roy

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Scrapnana

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7 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

I hope the penguins are still around when we board!

 

Roy, I have a quick question - did they check your Brazilian visa and yellow fever papers when you boarded in FLL?  

Besides collecting my passport, they took a copy of the Brazilian visa which I had run off.  They gave me back (it had been placed in my passport with a rubber band last year on Amsterdam) the yellow booklet with my yellow fever shot info in it.

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0bnxshs

0bnxshs

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On Zaandam, our passports were collected in Seattle (returned to us for our Machu Picchu overland tour and then returned to guest services) and kept until after our stop in Punta del Este in Uruguay.  I'm sure during that time our Brazil visas were verified.  Although we had our records, there was no check of our Yellow Fever certificates.

 

Truly enjoying your blog, Roy.  Nice sunrise photo!

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Thank you everyone.

 

Day P10, Monday, January 14, 2019, Salaverry, Peru


Salaverry is a small coastal port with little of interest but is the gateway to Trujillo about 7 miles inland and a number of archaeological sites.  I was here on the Crystal Symphony in 2016 and the Zaandam in 2017 and took tours both times but this time there was no tour that really caught my interest.


Trujillo is mostly a cargo port and there is no cruise terminal.  The When and Where indicated you could not walk to the port gate and I think that is wrong as I never saw a port shuttle.  The shuttle that was offered went into Trujillo.  I think there must be a silt problem because there was quite a bit of dredging going on.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dredging.jpg


I was on the first shuttle into town.  I thought I remembered Trujillo but had it confused with some other port and I still can not remember what port that was.  We did pass through Salaverry which I had walked into while on the Zaandam.  The town appeared safe but not attractive.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/salaverry.jpg


The shuttle dropoff was at a small plaza a block from a soccer stadium.  There was a small statue in the plaza and the attendant on the bus gave us maps of the downtown area which were quite useful.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/shuttle.jpg


It was a 3-block to the main plaza and only when I got to it did I realize how mistaken I had been about being there previously.  What I found was a large and very open plaza.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/trajilloplaza.jpg


The Cathedral was on the corner where I entered.  There appeared to be something going on inside but I stepped to the door for a peek in.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/cathedral1.jpg


There is a large statue (The Freedom Monument) in the center of the Plaza, celebrating the battle by which Trujillo became independent of Spain in 1820.  There was also a McDonalds and I went in and got a cup of coffee.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/freedom.jpg


I have become very fond of Inka Cola in my visits to Peru (starting with a 2007 river cruise on the Amazon) and picked up a couple of bottles.  I had arrived at the plaza on the street closest to the shuttle stop but while exploring the plaza found that the next street over was a pedestrian walkway and I used that for my return to the shuttle.  On my return I saw a store and on a whim found something to be used on one of our future Gala nights.  Buying was a bit of a challenge as the staff didn’t speak English and they wanted some extra documentation to go with my credit card.  The ID I carry readily accessible was not sufficient, and when they said passport (my passport book is in the safe at guest relations) they accepted the passport card I carry in a more secure relations.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/pedestreantrajillo.jpg


There was a bit of a wait for the return shuttle (there were benches in the little plaza) and the half hour return to the ship got me back about 11:45.  I generally don’t find time to read on cruise ships and do most of my reading on airplanes.  I do not anticipate flying again until November but realized I had my IPAD with me and took advantage of the shuttle ride to finish the chapter I had started on the flight to Ft. Lauderdale.  As I approached the port I was on the ocean side and noticed the beach along the coast at Salaverry.  I didn’t actually go there but it looked nice both from the street and from the top deck on the ship.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/salaverrybeach.jpg


I had a quiet and relaxing afternoon on the ship.  Kathi (Scrapnana from Cruise Critic) joined us for dinner.  She normally uses late seating but had a very busy evening coming and took advantage of the opportunity for an early dinner.  The sun had not been in evidence much but did appear briefly as it set outside our window.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dusk0114.jpg


Most of the table chose the Chicken Cordon Bleu.  They all loved it but most had had a late lunch and found it a lot of food.  I opted for the fiesta chicken soup, strip loin steak, and peach crisp.  All went down well.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/dishes14.jpg


The featured entertainment was singer/comedian Russ Stolnack.  He was pretty good.


https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/stolnack.jpg


My parting shot will be a word of thanks to the Canadian Air Traffic Controllers buying pizza for their American counterparts.


Roy

 

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