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Circle South America with Slinkie and Grumpy

Grumpy1

By Grumpy1,
in Holland America Line

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Hi Slinkie and Grumpy!

 

Glad to see that you are cruising again! Always fun to read about your journey. We agree, you are very lucky to have Frank B. as your lecturer.

 

Enjoy your trip, but watch Slinkie in those darn jewelry stores!!

 

Hi Leslie and Handler,

 

Hey, we are doing the 2009 World Cruise too. Will see you then!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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Grumpy1

Grumpy1

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January 9, 2008, Day 7, Fuerte Amador, Panama

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In response to the comments about a lack of space between paragraphs… Grumpy assures you that he does put the space in there as he writes and the spaces were still there after he did a copy/paste from Word to the reply box on the thread. He even checked to make sure they were still there after the reply posted. Now, what little gremlin snuck in and stole those spaces after he posted, Grumpy ha s no clue. He’ll go back to the old method of posting a hyphen on the blank line.

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Fuerte Amador was another new port for Slinkie and Grumpy. After leaving the Canal, the Prinsendam found a spot to anchor in the area shown on the charts as Pacific Anchorage. There were dozens of fishing vessels and a few cargo ships anchored in that area. Right next to Prinsendam was one of the Star Clippers sailing cruise ships. It looks like a very nice ship with its five masts rising about as high as Prinsendam’s mast above the sea. There were no tours scheduled for the evening, but tender service was started and a few people went ashore. Not being familiar with the port, Slinkie and Grumpy opted to stay aboard and enjoy a quiet evening.

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There should be a law against starting tours at 8:00 A.M. But Slinkie and Grumpy managed to get up and about and have breakfast before heading ashore for their tour. The bus ride took them through the countryside along the canal and into the National Park while the tour guide filled their heads with information about the past and present of Panama. They arrived at a large resort hotel where they were served a refreshing drink and given a refreshing break before boarding open air Jitneys for the short ride to the base of the tram. Each car of four passengers had their own guide to point out the various flora and fauna… well, flora anyway. The fauna seemed to have taken the day off… as they rode up through the rainforest canopy. Upon reaching the upper end of the tramway, Slinkie and Grumpy got their daily exercise by walking up.. and up.. and up the ramp to the top of the 90 foot tall tower for a very nice view of the Canal and the surrounding area. On the ride back down on the tram, Slinkie did spot a cayman in a small lake below. There were several coatimundi running around the parking lot and they provided plenty of photo ops for those that really, really needed to take pictures of the local wildlife. Yes, Grumpy took several pictures of them too. For those not familiar with ma coatimundi, think raccoon. They have a much longer snout, but behave much the same as the raccoons that are always around the picnic areas in Ohio and elsewhere.

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The jitneys then transported our intrepid travelers a short distance to the butterfly house, the cayman, turtle and fish displays, the reptile house and the orchid park. After lots of “Oohs and Ahs”, it was back on the bus again for the ride back to the ship. The tour was all on the east side of the Canal, but on the way back the bus took a side trip across the Centennial Bridge to the west side. As they crossed the bridge, Grumpy could see a Holland America funnel coming down the canal toward the bridge. Grumpy hadn’t checked the schedules, so he was surprised to see that it was the Amsterdam on their Grand World Voyage. The bus turned around on the west side of the bridge and came back across just in time to drive over the top of the Amsterdam. Grumpy was able to get a couple of decent aerial pictures of the ship through the bus windows. A little later in the day Amsterdam arrived at the Pacific Anchorage and found a spot near Prinsendam. When it came time for Prinsendam to leave, Prinsendam and Amsterdam exchanged salutes with the ship’s whistles. There were a few too many other ships anchored close by, so Prinsendam didn’t sail in a circle around Amsterdam the way she did with the Oosterdam in Puerto Vallarta in 2005. After clearing the small islands in the area, Prinsendam set a course slightly west of south for the next stop in Ecuador.

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January 10,2008, Day 8, At Sea

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Grumpy brought along a new toy for this cruise. He recently acquired a Garmin Quest 2 GPS, complete with the Blue Chart maps for the Americas. Now his map display is much more detailed. The Navigational aids, depths, rocks, shoals and wrecks are all shown. Grumpy plotted the straight line course from the Pacific Anchorage to Manta, Ecuador. Prinsendam’s navigator must have set the same course as there was seldom more than a few hundred yards deviation between the ships track and the course that Grumpy plotted. Grumpy also plotted a waypoint on his course at the equator and his GPS told him that the equator crossing would take place about 2:40 A.M. The CD didn’t think that was a very good time for the crossing ceremony so that ceremony took place about twelve hours before the actual crossing. Slinkie and Grumpy had previously been transformed from pollywogs to shellbacks so didn’t feel a need to join in the ceremonies this time. A review of the track log the next morning showed the actual equator crossing occurred at 2:45 A.M. The Prinsendam will be in the Southern Hemisphere until February 23. Slinkie and Grumpy will be enjoying summertime in the months that are usually winter for them.

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The Black and White Officers’ Ball was scheduled for that evening, so Slinkie donned her white gown and Grumpy put on his white dinner jacket with black tie for the occasion. Slinkie was able to snag a dance with Captain Gundersen and he turned out to be the secret officer for that dance. Slinkie collected a picture frame, mouse pad, Holland America compact umbrella and a key chain. Nice haul, Slinkie.

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January 11, 2008, Day 9, Manta, Ecuador

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Another new port for Slinkie and Grumpy, Manta is a major fishing port on the Ecuador coast. There were large fishing boats docked across the pier from the Prinsendam and Slinkie and Grumpy watched as a crane would drop a large net into the hold and lift it back out a few minutes later loaded with tuna which were then dropped into a waiting truck. After breakfast it was time to go ashore for the Manta and Montecristi tour. The first stop was a tour of the museum in Manta. It isn’t very large, but there were displays of artifacts from the various periods of civilization in the area. The next stop was the factory where the “vegetable ivory” or Tagua nut is processed. The tagua nut is a large, very hard white nut that is sliced with saws, sorted, cut into discs of various sizes with lathes and shipped out to be made into buttons. It is also used for carvings and there was a shop that had lots of selections for those that were collecting souvenirs. The prices were very reasonable. Small frogs, turtles, monkeys and penguins could be had, two or three for five dollars. The largest and most intricate were priced at $15, negotiable. As you may have guessed, the standard of living in Ecuador is not very high. Little kids are everywhere, begging for a dollar.

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Continuing on to the town of Montecristi, the tour guide provided lots of information about Ecuador, its economy and the current political climate. The minimum wage is about $180 dollars per month, the government provides the health care and education and there is a pension system for retirement. Interestingly, the description seemed almost identical to Costa Rica. The difference was that the tour guide in Costa Rica described everything as being wonderful. The Ecuadorian guide described those same conditions as terrible and specifically mentioned the long waits for medical care unless you could afford private coverage. Grumpy did note that gasoline prices were the lowest that he has seen since Brunei in 2005. Diesel is 1.03 USD per gallon. Regular gas is about $1.40. Ecuador has a lot of petroleum to export, but not much refining capacity. The oil goes to the US or Venezuela to be refined and the gasoline comes back to Ecuador.

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Ecuador changes presidents on a pretty regular basis. They are on their eighth president in ten years. The current president is very anti-American and pro Hugo Chavez. He wants the US Navy out of Ecuador next year. It seems that they do too good of a job intercepting drugs and illegal immigrants heading for the U.S. to suit him. Even though the money sent back by immigrants is the country’s second largest source of income, there is a lot of opposition to him and his anti- US ideas, so he may be added to the list of short term presidents too.

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Montectisti is the home of the Panama hat. Vendors were hawking them everywhere, starting at about 8 dollars. The guide had mentioned that the finest hats could cost up to $1000 but Grumpy didn’t see anything near that price being offered by the street vendors. There was a tour of a factory that processes sisal into a coarse thread and then weaves it into large sacks for coffee or cocoa beans. There used to be a large number of those factories, but it’s down to two factories. The one visited on this tour seems to exist solely to demonstrate the old methods with very antiquated machinery. The loom for weaving the cloth is operated by a man standing on two treads that move up and down like a stair stepper exercise machine. That’s not Grumpy’s idea of an easy way to make a living. Slinkie and Grumpy wandered about the town looking at all of the wares being offered and ended up buying a wool hooded parka that Slinkie figured might be that extra layer she needs to keep from freezing to death in Antarctica. The quality looked pretty decent for $22USD.

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The tour returned to the ship just in time for lunch so Slinkie and Grumpy headed up to the Lido, as has become their custom. They have been greeted by name every morning and lunchtime by Reza, aka Superboy, at the head of the line. Grumpy thinks he’s trying to replace the famous Shy. After lunch, Slinkie and Grumpy took the free shuttle from the port to the craft market. From there they walked a mile or so (all uphill, both ways) to a shopping center/supermarket that seems to be a favorite of the locals. They enjoyed looking at the goods and checking prices, but did not find any “must have” items there. Once they got back to the flea market area, Grumpy decided that they really needed a souvenir of the tagua carvings. He found a medium sized frog that was “only $6”, but the cheapskate Grumpy offered $5 and got it. He probably could have gotten it for even less, but he usually doesn’t haggle much over trivial items.

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There was still a lot of time before sailaway when Slinkie and Grumpy got back to the ship. They spent a few hours on their veranda watching the tuna being unloaded and the tuna boats being provisioned for the next trip out. Most of the tuna appeared to be about 18 to 24 inches in length, but there were several that were 36 inch or more. Some of those were pulled out and set aside on the dock. When the unloading was done and the dock workers were finished, almost every one of them left dragging a 3 foot plus tuna by the tail. A couple of crew members of Prinsendam walked across the dock to the tuna boat and returned a short time later with a very large paper sack inside of a plastic bag with a tuna tail sticking out. Fresh tuna wasn’t among the offerings on the menu, however.

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The Prinsendam left Manta about 8:20P.M. and headed down the coast toward Guayaquil, Ecuador. Manta was an interesting port with very pleasant people. The weather has been very pleasant since entering the Canal, somewhat overcast most of the time, an occasional shower, but very nice for touring and sight seeing.

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January 12, 2008, Guayaquil, Ecuador, Day 10

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Prinsendam arrived in the major port of Guayaquil, Ecuador about 10:30 A.M. and tied up at the shipping dock next to a large container ship. The Starboard side was away from the dock, so Slinkie and Grumpy’s veranda was looking out over the river. The view was much more senic, but not as interesting as it had been in Manta where they faced the dock. They did not have a tour planned so they waited until after lunch before taking the free shuttle into town. After getting their bearings, they spent a couple of hours wandering around the shopping area, but didn’t buy anything. Prices were quite reasonable, but there wasn’t anything in the jewelry stores that looked to be of good quality. Slinkie enjoyed looking, though. Grumpy enjoyed keeping his wallet in his pocket… The shuttle bus did pass one shopping center that looked like it could be interesting, but it was miles away from where the shuttle stopped. Grumpy saw a bus that was going to that mall and could have taken it for twenty-five cents apiece, but, based on what they had seen, they decided not to go. They returned to the ship and Grumpy decided to catch up on his postings while they waited for time to sail away and head for Peru.

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localady

localady

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Grumpy-

Good to hear from you! Appreciate the tip on the GPS unit, DH would love a unit that offers a program for the oceans also !! ;)

Any comments on her newly renovated bathrooms etc???

Continue enjoying the Elegant Explorer!! Safe seas......:D

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RuthC

RuthC

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In response to the comments about a lack of space between paragraphs… He’ll go back to the old method of posting a hyphen on the blank line.

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Thank you. Problem solved! :) Since your posts are always so delightful to read it's nice when they are easy to read, too.

This was a fun post. I've never been to any of these ports, and don't see a visit on the horizon. You've made me want to take this circumnavigation even more. Sigh. Maybe someday.

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Blue Eyes

Blue Eyes

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I was away from the board for a few days, so I missed your first post. So very happy to see you and Slinke back on board the Prinsendam. I so enjoy your informative post. I have been following a report from the Amsterdam and he mentioned the Prinsendam anchored along side them. Enjoy your cruise and thank-you in advance for the travelogue.

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Cristiano

Cristiano

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Hi Slinkie & Grumpy,

 

from Cristiano downunder, although you may be on the same latitude as we are at the moment.

 

It is great to see your log which brings back many fond memories of your world cruise.

 

We have been busy travelling through Europe the last 2 years, by car that is, another 4 trips and many kilometres under our belt.:eek:

 

However you both have wet our appetite ;) again and I see that Eurodam has a 25 day cruise from Copenhagen to New York this August, so I am hoping that they will have the same cruise in 2009 (does anyone know?) as this year is a "stay at home" year whilst we build our new home.

 

Well I hope that you are both well and having a wonderful time and look forward immensly to hearing about your cruise in particular the most southern part, South Georgia & the Antartic Sound area, should be spectacular.:cool:

 

I wish you both all the best.

 

Cristiano.

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fizzy

fizzy

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Last time we were together was waitng for my taxi on the wharf in Istanbul ! Does that give you a clue? A neighbor saw that you were heading out for a cruise. So, what's the scoop? How is the weather? What are the "good sights"? How is the company? Respondez s'il vous plait??

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Aussie Gal

Aussie Gal

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Hi Grumpy and Slinkie,

 

Have just found this wonderful report. So glad you are well enough and are enjoying this great cruise. I am enjoying reading your day to day activities.

 

We are thinking of doing a 24 day Transatlantic on the Prinsendam in 2009. Our last cruise on her was back in 2004. Are you happy with all the changes and is there still traditional dining? I remember our cabin (a SS) needed either new cabinets or the wood to be replaced, has that been done this time around?

 

Jennie

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GrammyPL

GrammyPL

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Grumpy - Could you please find out if the cheap cabins (the ones without balconys) still have refrigerators. Thank you--- We have signed up for the 50 Day Grand Med & Black Sea in 2009 and will be in an E-Cabin. Penny

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Grumpy1

Grumpy1

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Well, as usual, Grumpy has gotten way behind on his journal. He and his lovely bride, Slinkie, are still alive and well and having a wonderful time… guess that about brings you up to date. What? You want details? You won’t accept “What happens on Prinsendam stays on Prinsendam”? OK, Grumpy will try to go back a few days in his foggy memory banks and dredge up a few tidbits.

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January 13, 2008, At Sea, Day 11

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A lazy day at sea. Satellite reception for the AFC and NFC Divisional playoffs was good, so there were no riots on board. The broadcasts were available in cabin as well as in the Wajang theatre. Grumpy opted for the in cabin viewing. That big new flat panel TV they installed in his cabin during the last drydock was plenty good enough to watch the action. No, Grumpy isn’t saying who he was rooting for… but he was happy with the outcome of both games.

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The entertainment continues to be good. Vocalist Carla Capps was the featured entertainer for the evening and Slinkie and Grumpy enjoyed her performance.

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January 14, 2008, Salaverry, Peru, Day 12

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Salaverry, Peru is a small port that serves as a gateway to Trujillo, Peru about 8 miles north. The area has several archeological sites of interest. Grumpy awoke earlier than he had planned when the ship’s whistle sounded a fairly short blast. A quick peek outside showed that heavy fog had reduced the visibility to near zero. Grumpy’s GPS showed that they were near the port, but it certainly wasn’t in sight. The whistle sounded on a pretty regular basis after that but, thanks to modern navigational equipment, Prinsendam was able to find her way to the dock on time. Regent’s Seven Seas Mariner was in port with Prinsendam for the day. According to the Daily Program, the weather was supposed to be partly sunny with a high of 95 degreesF/35FC. Well… the Prinsendam weather guesser is about as accurate as the guy on TV back home. Instead of suffering in sweltering heat, Slinkie and Grumpy enjoyed a day of mostly overcast, a few brief showers and temperatures in the high 70’s. Not bad for being so near the equator.

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Slinkie and Grumpy had chosen a tour of the archeological sites of the area. The first site, El Brujo, was a long bus ride to an area about 20 miles north of Trujillo. They toured an ancient temple that is being excavated. The temple was built in several layers. About every 100 years the existing layer was filled in and a new temple was constructed on top of it. This makes excavation difficult, as trying to get down to the bottom layers could result in collapse of the layers above. There are some areas where they have been able to excavate several layers and the different decorations and colors used can be compared. The area is very arid so the ruins are quite well preserved. The tour guide was pretty good at explaining the various cultures and pointing out the items of interest. That always helps.

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Moving on to Chan Chan, Slinkie and Grumpy toured one of nine palaces that date from about 1000 to 1600 AD. The site was a city of about 35,000 and was the capital of the Chimu Empire. The palace that has been excavated is number 8. It is constructed of adobe brick, so there is quite a bit of deterioration, even with the arid climate. There is quite a bit of the original that has been excavated, but there are large areas that have been reconstructed. The reconstructed areas are not always differentiated from the originals, though. It was an interesting site to tour.

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The last site on the tour was the Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon. Huaca del Sol is the largest pre-Columbian structure in the Americas but has not been excavated very much. The nearby Huaca de la Luna is smaller, but has been extensively excavated and the work is ongoing. Those temples are associated with the Moche culture and date back to about 100AD. The bus parked at the bottom of the hill and the guide led the Prinsendam explorers up a long set of ramps and steps to the top so they could tour through the temple. Upon exiting the temple on the other side, they were met by a tour of Regent passengers. Noting that they did not look like they had exerted themselves, Grumpy looked around and saw that their coach had delivered them via a back road to a point near the top. Hmmmm. What’s up with that! Of course, the trip back down led through the ever present souvenir shop, but there weren’t any “must have items” to be found.

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There was a “lunch” served on bus during the ride between tours, so Slinkie and Grumpy were able to survive the 6 hour tour. It certainly wasn’t as good as the Lido lunch that they have become accustomed to, though.

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By the time that the Prinsendam was ready to leave port, the fog was rolling in again. Prinsendam delayed their departure a bit to allow Seven Seas Mariner to get out of the way. All through the night, the ship’s whistle sounded on a pretty regular basis and was answered by an unseen ship nearby. The entertainment for the evening was a performance by four of the headliners from previous shows. All were scheduled to leave the ship in Lima, but had to “earn their keep” one more time before being allowed to escape. Pryme Tyme, Jason Chase, Amy Abler and Carla Capps were very entertaining.

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January 15, 2008, Callao, Peru, Day 13

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About 7:30 in the morning Prinsendam was about 3 miles out of the harbor of Callao (Lima), Peru. The fog was still very thick and there was a constant cacophony of ship’s whistles and bells. Each blast of the Prinsendam whistle produced an echo several seconds later, confirming that the cliffs that were shown on Grumpy’s GPS were indeed nearby. Prinsendam slowed to a crawl and then came to a stop. After a while the captain came on the horn and announced that the port was closed. Prinsendam would have to wait for the fog to dissipate before she would be able to continue in to her berth. It was after 11:00 A.M. by the time Prinsendam was docked and cleared. There was a mad scramble to get the passengers that were leaving the ship and their luggage off and on their way and to salvage the many tours that were to have begun a couple of hours earlier. Some tours had to be cancelled. There was an attempt to change one tour in progress, but when the passengers realized that the substitution was a far less value than they had paid for, they insisted on cancelling and returned to the ship. Slinkie and Grumpy had not scheduled anything until evening, so their plans were not affected.

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There were several upscale shops set up on the pier just a few steps away from the ship. Further down the dock, there were several vendors of local crafts. Slinkie found a pair of Alpaca cushion covers that she couldn’t leave behind. The passenger pier is located in the midst of a huge container port so walking out of the port is not an option. Cabs were available, and there was a shuttle that ran between the pier and the gate. The large jewelry firm of H Stern also provided a shuttle. It ran from the dock to their store in the Miraflores Marriott every half hour. Slinkie looked at their wares, but everything was very overpriced. She and Grumpy wandered through the shops in Miraflores and Slinkie did find a couple of pairs of shoes that needed a new home. They returned to the ship and got ready for their evening tour, a candlelight dinner in a Lima mansion.

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Casa de Solara Aliaga is a colonial mansion in the heart of Lima. It is the oldest home in Lima that has been continuously owned and occupied by the same family, dating back 18 generations to 1535. Little of the original structure remains except portions of the basement, but the major portion of the structure dates back to about 1770. The family opens a portion of the mansion for tours and serves lunches and dinners. The HAL tour was an intimate group of eleven. There were supposed to be fourteen, but apparently three people forgot that they had booked it and had already gone to the Lido for the barbecue. Hotel Manager Frits Gehner’s wife, Frouk, was the designed shepherd for the HAL flock. The bus wound through downtown Lima as the guide described the history of the city. Lima in the evening is a very vibrant city. Their celebration of the Christmas season had not yet ended, so the squares were still beautifully decorated and lighted. The bus parked near the major plaza which is ringed by the Cathedral, the house of the Archbishop, the Presidential Palace and other buildings. It was a short walk from there to the entrance to Case de Solara Aliaga where Slinkie and Grumpy stepped through the doorway and back in time a few hundred years.

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They were greeted in the vestibule by a waiter with a tray of drinks. Although there were a few other offerings, the Pisco Sours were the overwhelming choice. Dayum, those things are good! Pisco is a very popular drink in Peru and Chile. Distilled from grapes, it is usually about 43% alcohol. It is served neat as an after dinner drink, but is most often served similar to a whisky sour. By the time the tour of the mansion was completed and the group was seated for dinner, Grumpy was on his second one and was hoping that no situation would arise that would put him behind the steering wheel of the bus. The dinner was very good. Grumpy could get used to Peruvian food if the items offered were a good representation. He won’t attempt to describe the menu, but it was all very good. A white wine was offered with the appetizer and starter courses, and a red was served with the main course. After dinner and dessert, Brandy, Cognac , Coffee flavored Pisco and straight Pisco were offered. Slinkie chose the Brandy, Grumpy enjoyed a nice Cognac. After dinner was over, the group walked through the square to the bus and returned to the ship. All in all, it was a very pleasant evening.

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January 16, Callao, Peru (again) Day 14

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The tour du jour for Slinkie and Grumpy was Lima, City of Kings, which was provided by their group sponsor, Cruise Spe******ts. It was a tour of Lima that allowed Slinkie and Grumpy an opportunity to compare the city by day to the previous night. Many of the same sights were visited, including a visit to the major plaza and a tour of Casa de Solara Aliaga. No Pisco Sours were served, though. There was a visit to a museum with thousands of pieces of pottery from the various cultures, included to one room devoted to erotic pottery. Those early inhabitants were certainly a randy bunch… or their pottery makers had good imaginations. Suffice it to say that certain acts were well known long before Bill and Monica made them a topic of discussion… Possibly thinking that there would be a need to do some soul cleansing after that stop, the tour went to a Franciscan monastery. The trip down into the catacombs was not as interesting as the catacombs in Sicily that Slinkie and Grumpy toured last summer. These catacombs were basically piles of bones, legs in this pit, arms in that pit, skulls over there. The catacombs in Sicily were mummified remains still dressed as they were when placed in the catacombs. The tour also went to Miraflores so many of the views were the same as had been seen from the H Stern shuttle. The tour was completed in time for lunch back aboard ship. After lunch, Slinkie and Grumpy wandered out on the dock for one last look around. There was a vendor offering free tastes of Pisco… and of course wanted to sell bottles of it. The tastings included the coffee flavored variety. T wenty USD for 750ml seemed a little high, though. There was a shop down at the end of the pier that was selling Pisco in leather wrapped, decorated bottles of straight Pisco for ten USD each. A couple of those found their way into Slinkie’s shopping bag.

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Prices on most local crafts seemed pretty reasonable, but fuel prices were about four times what they were in Ecuador.

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Lima is one of the breaks for segments of the cruise. Table 112 is once again a table for eight with the addition of a California couple and a Vancouver, B.C couple. The newcomers are fitting in quite well. John from California described their adventure of flying in to Lima early in the morning, not finding anyone from HAL to meet them at the airport, making their way to the pier by taxi, and sitting there on a bench with their bags for hours, staring at the fog and suddenly seeing Prinsendam approaching them sideways just yards away. He said it was really eerie after sitting there looking at nothing for so long to suddenly have something the size of Prinsendam sitting in front of you. Part way through dinner, Prinsendam slipped away from the dock and set sail for Arica, Chile.

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January 17, 2008, At Sea, Day 15

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Another anniversary for Slinkie and Grumpy… 65 months. Having gotten a late start in life, they knew the only way they would celebrate a 50th anniversary would be to count months instead of years. That milestone passed, but the tradition of counting the months continues. Grumpy considers himself quite fortunate to have shared so many anniversaries in many wonderful places around the world with his wonderful Slinkie. Today marks the sixth time that he and Slinkie have been aboard Prinsendam for their anniversary. No public celebration, though… just a quiet day at sea.

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There was a “premium” wine tasting in the Pinnacle so Slinkie and Grumpy attended. “Premium” means it cost more than the last one did. All kidding aside, though, there were some very good offerings. The emphasis was on the pairings of various wines and foods. There were samplings of several different cheeses, smoked salmon, shrimp, swordfish, steak and chocolates. It was interesting to note the reaction to various pairings. Some wines match up quite well with a variety of foods. Others are more limited in the pairings that appeal to the palette. The wines offered were Chenin/Viogner, Pine Ridge, 2005; Pouilly-Fume, Michel-Redde, 2004; Merryvale-Star Mont, Chardonnay, 2005; Barbara-D’Asti-Superiore, Villa Fiorte, 2004; and Magnificat-Franciscan, Oakville Estate, 2003. ‘Twas a pleasant and interesting afternoon.

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January 18, 2008, Arica, Chile, Day 16

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The Prinsendam arrived in port on schedule, having left the fog back in Peru. The ocean has been quite calm and the temperatures continue to be cooler than what was expected for the tropics. Slinkie grumbles a bit, as she prefers warmer than normal temps. Grumpy figures it’s always possible to put on enough layers to keep warm. Taking off enough to get cool can get a guy in serious trouble in some places…

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The tour that was chosen was another one arranged by Cruise Spe******ts. The tour did not venture far from Arica, but included stops to view petro glyphs, scenic views of the city and the port from atop the hills, visits to a produce market and a craft village, and entertainment by local dancers while sipping Pisco Sours. Although there seem to be many things that Chile and Peru do not agree about, they both enjoy their Pisco. To that, Grumpy raises his glass. Fuel prices were about the same as in Peru. Fruits and vegetables were very reasonable compared to prices back home. There was a brief stop at a cathedral, but there was also a craft market in front of it. Although the guide said there was no time for shopping, there was adequate time to shop by skipping the cathedral. Slinkie found a colorful wall hanging in one of the shops that will have a future home on her lanai.

The Lauca National Park Adventure, a ten hour bus tour to Lake Chungara at 14,000 feet above sea level, was one of the more popular HAL tours. The tour was a little late returning to the ship so Prinsendam was about 15 minutes late leaving port. With a sea day between Arica and Coquimbo, though, that shouldn’t be a problem. There was an empty chair at table 112, though. Helmut was staying in his cabin, suffering symptoms of flu. Since he was one that had just come aboard a couple of days before, it’s more likely something that he was exposed to before the cruise. The hand sanitizers have been present everywhere since the start of the cruise and the crew has been aggressive about promoting their use. It seems to be preventive measures, though, as there hasn’t been any outbreak of the Noro-virus observed. The ship’s doctor did mention treating more than normal incidents of bronchitis at the start of the cruise, but it doesn’t appear to be spreading.

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January 19, 2008, At Sea, Day 17.

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Today marks the quarter way through the cruise point. It’s going way to fast to suit Grumpy. It seems like only yesterday they came aboard the Elegant Explorer. Grumpy decided it was time to once again put fingers to keyboard and bring everyone up to date on his adventures. One reason (or excuse) for getting behind is that he has been having fun playing with his GPS and the software. The BlueChart software resides on his laptop and he can select maps to transfer to the GPS. There are charts of varying scales available in many areas and by loading the most detailed for the various ports an amazing amount of information is available. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough memory available in the Garmin to store all of the maps that are available so some of the maps of areas already passed will need to be deleted and the maps of the upcoming areas added. Tracks of the route followed can be downloaded from the GPS and displayed on the laptop maps, so Grumpy has a record of the travels. The magnetic antenna with the long cable works pretty well for continuously monitoring the Prinsendam’s progress. Once in awhile it will lose the satellites for a few minutes, but it has been pretty reliable. Grumpy has been plotting a route that looks reasonable to him from one port to the next and then seeing how the track actually followed compares. Today, Prinsendam is tracking parallel to Grumpy’s route but about two miles west. Most of the time Grumpy has been able to guess the route and the turns within ten miles.

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That pretty well gets the journal up to date. I see that there are a few questions and comments on the thread that need to be addressed. I’ll try to get to them within the next few days.

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