South America Cruise Dec 2014 Day 10 Day Out From Lima

        We are on our last day of the transit from Costa Rica to Lima where we will be off ship for 3 days. We did manage to sleep in this morning – well until 8 anyway. We spent the day as a usual sea day on this trip. I think that we have been taking it easy for days! By the time we were up and had breakfast (no cronut today!) it was time for the enrichment lecture which we seem to look forward to every day. Today it was on the use of DNA analysis in anthropology. It was called the life and death of the Pharoes. He traced the search for the identity of some of the unknown mummies. Another interesting lecture that made the hour go quite quickly. After that there was a session with the singers and dancers and their journey to become part of the cast. This troupe is on a 3 term contract. 5 months on one sip, a month off and then another 5 months on another ship. It was very interesting to hear their backgrounds. Most have always wanted to be dancers.

        We decided on a walk around the deck – about 30 minutes worth. Surprising although we are not that far south of the equator, the temperature is getting cooler already. That may be a function of the cold current in the area. A British pub lunch followed – fish and chips, etc. Was a good way to have a different lunch. We are still trying to avoid the buffet as much as possible. Then it was packing for the 3 days ashore tomorrow! We are down to backpacks only which was our original goal. We head out tomorrow at around 7, as soon as we arrive in Lima. By then it was time for the wine tasting session. They really moved it along and we were out of there in about 30 minutes. It seemed that they just went through the motions but there many people around us who were talking all through the presentation. That probably contributed to the short presentation.

          We have signed up for the egg drop contest. You need to drop a raw egg from the 7^th deck to the 5^th deck. If it makes it then you may win something. We have been collecting balloons and other materials for the contest but we still don't know when it will be. We get the egg just before the drop. We have seen it done before and did it once on our way from China to Alaska. We will use a rain poncho, balloons a coffee cup and a paper bag! That is the engineering part of the contest.

      We have started to take out altitude adjustment medication. We are trying to prevent the 'sickness'

Packed!

that some people experience. It means that we must refrain from alcohol! The other thing is that we need to drink plenty of water . We know a few people going on this trip who may have a hard time of keeping that requirement!

    Tonight was country western night but we did not hurry dinner to get to it. There are more line dancers on this cruise than many of the past cruises e have been on. Every session is packed with people in the aisles and along the back of the room. Of course they always do the same dances!

      The Canadian comic Scott Harris also did a second show. Although we need to be up early tomorrow, we did attend. He talked about all the things we did as kids. Stuff like playing outside, toys we had, etc. A really good show. I will not be taking my computer with me tomorrow so it will be a few days before the next post. We hope that the weather is good for taking pictures although thunderstorms are predicted for the area. Needless I plan on taking plenty of photos anyway.

South America Cruise Dec 2014 Day 9 Crossing The Equator

      We are on our second last day of the transit from Costa Rica to Lima where we will be off ship for 3 days. Judy was up early to do the stretch class and I stayed back to try to post. The last few days the internet connection was very slow – i.e. non existent. It was working well so I took the opportunity complete the information on the last 2 days. I probably will not get anything done while we are away from the ship.

       We decided on a walk around the deck – about 35 minutes worth. We are headed due south and the wind was seems to be blowing hard. In any case we did manage to get around without loosing our hats! Each morning we need to figure the program for the day and then pick the places to eat. Today it was coffee and tea in the Atrium with a croissant/donut. They are really good! I think I could have too many every day. The port lecture was in mid morning so we did that. It is on the port that we will miss. The ship actually leaves Lima and the goes to San Martin. That is where we will catch up with the ship when we return from Machu Pichu.

Pollywogs and Jury

The Band Played On

       The event of the day was the crossing of the equator ceremony. King
Neptune and his royal court was in attendance. They inducted a few representative tadpoles (that's us) as well as a few members of the crew. It involved raw eggs, cream (whipping or shaving?) jello, etc. It was well attended under nice warm skies; the band was playing and a good time was had by all.

        After lunch we attended another DNA lecture. This one was on the lost dauphin of France (Louis 17^th) . A good tale of imposters, pretenders, etc. Line dance followed in the later afternoon. It was a practice for the deck party tonight. Lucetta said it was a practice for the flash mob event on deck tonight. Actually it was probably the best session of dance that we have had. She taught about 10 different simple things that would all be run together. We had stopped going because it was really basic as usual. The rest of the afternoon was for watching a movie and having a glass of wine.

      We did go to Skywalkers again and had a cocktail with people we have met and then went to the Hawley Magic show. He was a finalist on America's Got Talent. He was very familiar to us. He put on a terrific show. Lots of appearing and disappearing assistants. It was very professional and was probably the best show of that type that we have seen.

       

Dinner and the “Ultimate Deck Party” ended the evening. It reminded me of what they have on the Caribbean cruise and I guess since we are officially south of the equator it made sense. The band played plenty of rock and roll which is perfect for the passengers on a repositioning cruise. We also received more information about the upcoming trip to Machu Pichu. Tomorrow is the last of the multi sea days (I Think!).

South America Cruise Dec 2014 Day 8 Another Lazy Day At Sea

     After the long day yesterday we slept in this morning. We wee even too late for breakfast in the dining room. After a quick buffet visit, we sat in the Atrium have a cup of tea and doing the sudoku puzzles that they provide each day. It was turning out to be another of those quiet days at sea where we did not find much of interest. If you don't have a trivia team or listen to the many selling seminars, the pickings are thin. We did receive an interesting letter from the Captain today talking about Lima.        Apparently there are some problems with the stop in Lima. Basically there have been a number of reports about armed robbery against foreign tourist. We have never seen such a notice before. Then at the port lecture that we attended (on Lima) there was the tour director talking about some of the changes that they had made to some of the places that they had scheduled. We will be going to the airport and on our way to Machu Pichu while the ship is in Lima. The lecture was alright but as I said before he really needs to get better photos and better technique.

At The Captain's Party

Special Dessert

     There was another lecture this afternoon about DNA. This one
was on the Titanic and the identification of one of the unknown children buried in Halifax. I remember seeing the PBS show about it. He basically went into the science of tracing the name of the unknown child. The place was packed again today.

    Formal night tonight meant that we needed to be ready to receive our chocolate covered strawberries. That was followed by the Captain's Circle party. We met one of our favourite waiters and he treated us well. Every time we looked up he brought another glass of wine. Dinner was lobster tail and a special chocolate dessert. Every few days tey have another special one. It is the 50 ^th  anniversary of princess and the have created special ones for the occasion. A show by another Canadian comic ended he evening.
          The internet has been very slow the last few days.  Posts are delayed.

South America Cruise Dec 2014 Day 7 A Disappointing Day In Punta Arenas

         Our tour today was not scheduled to leave until 10. We took the opportunity to have breakfast in the dining room since we were not under any pressure. We gathered at the tour spot at 9:30 and waited about 40 minutes in line to be seated in the theatre. This was highly unusual as normally they are very efficient at getting people into the right groups. The story was that someone did not put out the seating signs in time. Later we heard from other people that they waited over an hour before their tour left. Part of the problem was that the dock was very long and narrow. Buses had to back in to were the ship was located.

At Freddo's

   We were finally off around 10:30 on our way to the volcano. The tour guide talked for 20 minutes then said “I see everybody? Is sleepy so I will continue later.” This should have been the first clue about the guide. His line was we will talk about that later. We left in warm sunny conditions for or 2 hour 30 minute ride to the stop of the mountains. Our first stop was for lunch at Freddo Fresas. We had a buffet lunch that was “ok”. The best part of the meal was the strawberry smoothies! After the hour, we finished the trip to the rim of the volcano, about 10 kilometres away. The biggest clue as to what was to come was the steady mist at the restaurant.

   

By the time we arrived at the volcano, we were in a steady rain.
As we walked the 600 meters to the rim, hope was eternal. We did have our small rain ponchos with us and they came in very handy. The view from the rim was spectacular – or at least the photo that was on the sign indicated. We could not see a foot over the railing. Needless to say a major disappointment after almost 3 hours on the bus. It was the reason that we picked this tour. We were suppose to get a tour of the small museum with the guide explaining things. He was already directing people back to the bus. We spent a few minutes looking through the very basic display.

Artisan

   Back on the bus for another 90 minutes to arrive at Sarchi, the

The Workshop

painted oxcart store. We had brief stop at an all metal church where the guide said “take a picture out the window”. Yea right, we can get a good one from out seat! At the store – the stop for shopping – we wandered through the workshop and the hand painting area. The craftsmen were quite skilled. One of the things about the workshop  is that it had an old water driving line shaft system. II did not know what was so unusual about that having worked in a shop with that technology years ago. The shop itself was probably one of the better ones that we have been through on these tours. They really had unique items and we could not find one “Made In China” label. Having viewed the carvers and painters, everything looked like it was made locally.

      Another 90 minute bus drive and we arrived back at the ship after 7! The last thing the guide said was “there's my boss, tell him what a great guide I am”. When he asked is everybody had a good time the response was muted! From he Volcano to the ship he did not talk very much. Normally you have information overload. He did explain about coffee, bananas and pineapple growing but generally it was a disappointing trip. Maybe if we had seen the volcano we would have been in better spirits.

We were back with just enough time to clean up and dress for dinner. Only 4 of us were at dinner. We have officially gone down to a table of 6. There were a lot of empty spaces in the dinning room last night and it seems that the there are plenty of spaces every night. I guess set dinning st 8 is becoming less popular. None of the entertainment interested us so we headed back to our room and watched a movie. Time change again tonight.

South America Cruise Dec 2014 Day 6 The Run Down to Costa Rica

        Today was the last sea day before we get to Costa Rica. I either lost count of how many days we were suppose to spend on this leg or just plain forgot. In any case with all the reference today that tomorrow we would be in port, I guess the ship knows. After that we only have 5 more sea days until we get leave in Santiago.

          Our routines are pretty set these days. We walked the deck for about 40 minutes and then headed for the Atrium for the small buffet. Limited choices but that was the idea. There was a digital photo seminar this morning but when he started with “this is a camera and here is the flash”, we left and went to the enrichment lecture on forensics. Today's hour presentation was on the use of generics to profile a suspect. Sometimes in hindsight it is unbelievable how the clues as to the killer were obvious. He also made the point that eyewitnesses are the least reliable at identifying as suspect. He cited a case where the suspect was a white male driving a white pick up truck. The criminal turned out to be African American driving a gold Mazda. The theatre was nearly packet again.

Was it a torpedo?

          The ocean was a bit rough today with white caps and foam all around. We saw what looked like a torpedo go by the ship. We saw all kinds of things in the ocean: birds (albatroses?), flying fist, torpedoes, etc.

         They had a South American bbq on deck for lunch. We could not find many items that were bbq'd let along South American. A little bit better line dance session followed and then we decided to take a dip in the pool. Since the ship is still rocking a bit, it was like being in a wave pool. The rest of the afternoon programme did not interest us. I sat in on the art auction and did a crossword puzzle. Princess seems to have gone completely upscale in their art offerings. We noticed the trend on our last cruise and it was confirmed today.

Sunset

           We were up on deck for the sunset which was very nice. It has been windy but we were aft in a protected area. Very nice. We followed that with a visit to Skywalkers (deck 17) for the goat's cheese hors d'oeuvers and a cocktail where we met up with some people we talk to from New Zealand.. A surf and turf dinner followed by a comedy showtime with Doug Funk, the Canadian comic. This time he did a stand up routine. He reminded us of Ron James although he is from Cambridge Ontario. He was very funny, the best part being where he did some improv.

       

The evenings seem to be better than the daytime activities. Costa Rica and the volcano visit tomorrow.

South America Cruise Dec 2014 Day 5 Off The Mexican Coast

In The Pool

     With the time change last night Judy did not make it to her abs class this morning. Instead we walked the deck for about 40 minutes. The weather was warm and sunny again . We decided to do the light breakfast today. With the program being light this morning, we decided to go for a swim and and spend a few hours by the pool. Lunch consisted of a piece of pizza and a beer on our balcony.

     We attended another enchantment lecture on forensics and History. Today's hour presentation was on the Mystery of the Romanovs. It traced the history of their last days and then detailed how they determined who was found in the first shallow grave. It detailed the findings in the second pit . It was quite a fascinating story. The theatre was nearly packet again.

     A very basic line dance followed (again). There was a workshop on Improv comedy by Doug Funk; the same comedian that had a show the other night. He went over some of the keys to improv. He had 5 people on stage but 2 of them never got it so the session was a bit of a drag.

     The weather deteriorated a bit in the afternoon. The wind picked up and we hit a patch of rough weather this afternoon. The ship was rocking more than it had since we left LA. The captain announced around noon that by 3 pm we would hit rough seas and by midnight we would be back in calm waters. I don't know how they did that but it worked out perfectly.

    The watched the tango dancers in the atrium, followed by a nice dinner. One couple did not show for dinner so we finished in a short period of time. We did take in the Rock and Roll party, something that we had never seen before because of the timing. All in all a generally relaxing day at sea. Tomorrow is the last of the continuous days at sea . Costa Rica follows that.

South America Cruise Dec 2014 Day 4 - On A 4 Day Run To Costa Rica

        Another early morning! We have started the first of a 4 day run to Costa Rica. For some reason (I can probably guess) we are dead tired at night but up early this morning. There is no Zumba certified instructor available on this cruise which is something that I was looking forward to. We have had them on the last 3 cruises! Anyway we decided that since today was going to be hot, we decided to do an early morning walk. Actually there are people up at such an early hour. OK 7 isn't that early. Just as we finished our 30 minute jaunt, we spotted some foam on the nearly flat ocean. Then again. Then the breaching whale, then the spot, etc. Actually it was not that far from the boat. It certainly made the morning special.

Tango Lesson

      After a light breakfast the morning passed quite quickly. There is a tango couple on board. They are the same ones as the last time we were here. We went to their tango lesson. The place was packed with 150? crowded into a space about the size of our living room. We did get the basic steps after a couple who knew how to tango showed. We wee so far back that we could not see the steps. They also talked on forever. In any case we did spend an hour at the lesson.

    We decided to go to the dinning room for lunch and were entertained by a recently retired professor from Michigan and an Australian couple from north of Sydney. He had been a tour guide in his youth and some of the stories were quite funny. He said that he answered the same questions many times a day and when he did not know the answer simply made it up.

      We attended a session (lecture) on solving cold cases. The first lecture the other day was on CSI shows and the techniques that they use. Today it was on how DNA testing started, how it is down, the markers that they look for, etc. He was a bit technical but it was very interesting. He then went into how they are able to solve cold cases using evidence gathered years ago, including how they are able to link murders that seemed to have been committed by different people. The oldest cold case solved was from 1967. Most of these old cases have been solved in the last 3 years.

 

At The Pool

   
A very basic line dance followed (we learned the Wobble!) and a swim finished the afternoon. We did meet up with a New Zealand couple that we had talked to before ad had a relaxing chat before dinner. After dinner we did go to a show. We have seen the singer before and she was quite entertaining. Neither of us fell asleep this time. Another hour time change was in order for overnight!