As We Head South

January 27,2013
The days have been filled with lectures or tours, games and music, arts and crafts, cooking, mixing drinks and movies and last night was the Black and White Captain's Ball. Some come on a cruise to relax and for others it is a school at sea. Busy, Busy!
Chile is a country that is about 4,000 miles in length and has desert plateaus, the Andes Mountains and is far from being a 3rd world country. There is mining, farming, fishing, tourism and of course the delightful wines. The natural beauty and the many species of birds and animals make this a must see for those who enjoy the out-of-doors. There seems to be a weather pattern that is keeping those interested from doing the star gazing. Clouds seem to be in the way.
As the Prinsendam makes its way south the communities or small towns are getting smaller. On January 22 we spent a day in Coquimbo. Dick and Bobbie wrote about their day on a private tour that took them to the petroglyphs carved into huge granite bolders and the Limari Valley. Their tour was provided by TNM Corp. with a great guide and a large bus. The 16 tourists had a wonderful lunch at the Santa Christina Country House which was number 1 and they enjoyed Chilie's national drink - Pisco Sour. They also drank red wine and then headed to the Tabali Winery.
While Dick and Bobbie drank Pisco Sours I learned how they were made as our tour took us to the Pisco Brewery. We had a nice drive through La Serena and then up into the country where wild goats grazed by the side of the road. We had a very nice lunch in a small, quaint town with lots of old buildings. There are all kinds of crafts for sale in every place we have moored.
The following day we were in Valparaiso, the site of Latin America's oldest stock exchange. Valparaiso is the 2nd largest city in Chile behind Santiago which is Chile's capital. Many buildings throughout Latin America are protected by UNESCO as world heritage sights. Valparaiso has about 300,000 residents while Santiago has around 5 million. There are 17 million people who call Chile home so most of the citizens live around the capital and Valparaiso. Santiago is the 5th largest city in all of South America and they have their problems and one is the polution as the city is surrounded by mountains. The traffic is heavy and there are lots of one-way streets. But the city is beautiful in its own right if you get to see the mountains. I was also impressed with the park that separates the directions of traffic. Right through the center of town is a river and the park runs on both sides of the river followed by three lanes of traffic going one way and on the other side traffic going the other way.
January 25 we moored off the coast of Robinson Crusoe Island some 400 plus miles west of Valparaiso. That morning some of the passengers made it to the island but swells occurred and tendering became unsafe so most of the day was spent just getting people back to the boat with no injuries. As I stood on the deck looking at the island I was taken back to the reality of the Daniel Dafoe story of Robinson Crusoe. Alexander Selkirk was put off a British ship in the late 1690's and was left on the island. He survived on goat meat that the Spanish had left there on one of their trips. It is interesting to note that as the conquests of the New World occurred animals were brought to the new world so the ships crew would have food to eat as they explored. On returning to Europe they could stop and know that the animals would be there. Alexander Selirk was marooned for four years and four months until the Spanish saw his signal from a high peak. Thus the story of Robinson Crusoe. There is a small community on the island called San Juan Bautista. There are 500 to 600 people who live in the village. The government gave the island its name in 1966. There are not a lot of visitors but scuba divers come and use the German vessel SMS Dresden which was sunk in WW1.
The evening Showroom at Sea presentations have been excellent. A group of young guys from London entertained us early in the cruise with songs from the 50s and 60s and some Bee Bop harmonies. We have had a trumpet player backed by the Prinsendam orchestra, dancers and a group of three ladies known as the Grace Trio which were very good with two guitars and a violin and their voices. We have had a few magical shows and a funny man.
This morning we moored off the Island of Chiloe, with access to the town of Castro. Isla Chiloe, by its Spanish name, is the 2nd largest island in South America at 112 miles long. Castro was founded in 1567 and has survived many misfortunes. English and Dutch pirates raided Castro and an earthquake in 1960 destroyed the city. Castro is famous for the palafitos which are houses built on stilts by the seashore to accomodate the rise of the tides. Today tendering went very smoothly so lots of people wandered the main road off the ship. It is a very colourful town with buildings painted different bright colours. This island is part of the Pantagonia basically the north end. The first visible landmark one sees when arriving is the Iglesia de San Francisco, the church, a bright golden yellow and purple roof and steeples.
January 28, 2013
Today I need to give some funny experiences. At the dock in Coquimbo we were ready to leave; the side thrusters were going gang busters but the ship wasn't moving. I heard the thrusters but was not on deck to see what was going on. They called out two tugs to try and move the ship away from the dock. So people on one side saw two tugs manouvering around and people on the other side saw that the ship was still tied up. The captain had been given clearance to move the ship but it was still tied up... We eventually got under way.
Arnie and Elly write about their endemic and specialty birds. Some birds occur only in very limited ranges. They are known as endemics to that area. Others are more regularly seen in certain regions. Those are known as specialties. They have seen both over the last few days. On Robinson Crusoe Island they had the privledge to see the endemic Juan Fernandez Firecrown, a very rare humming bird. Today in Puerto Chacabuco they saw the specialty Andean Condor. Interestingly the size of these birds range from a tiny 13 cm long for the humming bird to 120 cm for the condor.
Today our shore excursion took us inland from Puerto Chacabuco to Coyhaique about 50 miles. The destination is not always the important aspect of the trip but more is the process of getting there. Coyhaique is the capital of the region with about 10,000 residents and is a small town with a big park square in the middle with some craft vendors selling their wares, and nice police on horses riding around or stationed on corners. The drive in the valley and over the hills gave us beautiful scenes of snow capped mountains, rivers and meadows with cows, horses and sheep grazing. There were 4 buses doing this same excursion and one broke down ( not ours ), one ran out of gas ( not ours) but I looked out the window to see the drivers syphoning gas out of our bus for the gasless bus. It was a funny day: an adventure in a foreign country. It ended well with a delightful snack more like a buffet meal at a well-manacured farm house/restaurant with wonderful views.
We left Puerto Chacabuco about 5pm today and made our way west through the Chilean fjords. We have our ice pilot on board so I expect he will be kept busy for the next two weeks or so as he and Captain Roberts decide which route to take to Punta Arenas which is our next stop. The seas are getting rocky again compared with the quiet fjords so we must be out or getting close to the open ocean again.
As I travel and see how others live it causes an appreciation for the rain, sun, fog, and the life I have at home. All I hope to pass along is the idea of getting out and seeing this beautiful planet that we all have a priveledge to inhabit.