January 19, 2013
Today was a sea day but filled with lectures about our upcoming ports, other cruise opportunities, and a lecture on musicals and and an interesting lecture about lines in the desert. The lines that can be seen from the sky and can be seen on google maps were quite interesting as archeologists investigate what they might mean. They can be found in the Nazca Valley region and may be a directional map of some kind or pointing to somewhere that was important to the pre-Incan culture. We saw a candelabra on the mountainside as we left General San Martin last night. I managed a telephoto try and it came out.
We spent yesterday at the port of General San Martin. General San Martin is a port which is a desert. A shuttle was complimentary and took us to Paracas which is the closest town and it had some greenery and a lovely seawalk by the bay. Buildings are old here and as we travel there are many areas that are protected by the UNESCO World Heritage Buildings. Some of the buildings are 300 years old. Paracas was warm but overcast still giving a person a sunburn. The whole area was what I might imagine the moon might look like. Lots of water from the ocean and literally no vegetation makes for an interesting picture.
Tomorrow we land in Arica, Chile. This trip is so intensive with information about the history and the natural habitat that trying to remember it all is an impossibility. I have been taking pictures, though posting them is a time consuming effort and the ship's internet can be difficult as well as costly.
January 21, 2013
Today is another sea day so it gives me some time to chat about Arica, Chile. We spent yesterday in Arica as I took a tour of the highlights of that city. This whole west side of Chile is quite arrid, sandy and dry. Arica gets almost no rainfall and all their water comes from wells. There are certainly beautiful views from various lookouts around the city and even slightly overcast is quite warm. Arica is the main port for import and export from Bolivia as that country has no seaport. ( Can you think of another country in South America that has no seaport?) The War of the Pacific ( around 1880 ) occurred between Peru and Chile. Bolivia sided with Chile so an arrangement was made so Bolivia could export and import goods through Chile. This war involved a piece of land in northern Chile that is due to go through the courts in June 2013. Peru wants this northern section back as it had it before the war. Arica is about 11 miles south of Peruso if Peru gets this northern section back the residents think that there may be another uprising as Pewru might cut off Bolivia from and exporting through Arica.
The Pacific Ocean is like a lake today. There are no whitecaps of any kind. Dolphins have been spotted and some cormorants.
January 22,20
Taking a Grand Voyage is much more interesting than just taking a cruise. "How?" You might wonder. Well, first your use of the self service laundry mat is free. Also weekly we seem to get more goodies, not candy or mints but a bag for carrying things on one night, a beautiful journal, a container of medicinal items like hand sanitizer, asprin, bandaids and other interesting items. We were 1 of many that had a problem with water and air conditioning. We had no hot water for a week and a few days with no air conditioning but after they fixed everything we received a wonderful cookbook and a free Pinnacle Grill lunch. Then last night returning from a formal affair to our room we received a warm fuzzy scarf, hat and gloves so we would be ready for the cooler climates of the Antarctica.
Today a ride into the Elqui Valley from Coquimbo, Chile was a beautiful ride. We left the city of Coquimbo where we docked and passed through the neighboring town of La Serena which boasts of one 5 star hotel. The Elqui Valley lies in an arid desert plateau with the Andes as its backdrop. The narrow valley is fed by the Elqui River which starts in Argentina. A stop at the Pisco distillery and factory to learn about the making of Pisco wine which is the national beverage was also interesting. And the best part was a sample taste.
Tomorrow is a busy day as we will dock in Valparaiso, Chile. I am looking forward to a drive to Santiago the capital of Chile and seeing the Andes Mountains up close. The ship is just leaving the harbor so I will go up and take some pictures.
As I exited my stateroom I found a note from my favorite birders, Arnie and Elly, who are keeping us all apprised of the many bird species they have seen on this trip. Arnie writes - The Atacama Desert is forbiddingly bleak, unsurvivably desolate, and totally empty. Right? Wrong! Life exists everywhere in the desert, but it is usually very small, vanishingly cryptic, and extremely tough. The birds are the same except one we hoped to see. On an Off the Beaten Track trip to a remote desert valley oasis we had wanted to see a Giant Hummingbird ( yes, that is the real name ) a monster 22 cm long ( about the size of the North American Robin). They missed it, unfortunately, which might have been a good thing since that huge bird could conceivably have plucked them up and carried them away.