Lima, Peru

Hi All,

Jerry is doing this posting.  Helen wasn’t able to post yesterday because the ship internet was down. 

We arrived in Lima yesterday (Fri) morning.  We were off the ship early on a private tour with three other cruisers.  The tour was a visit to the market to buy local ingredients that we would then prepare at a cooking class.  The whole day was a lot of fun.

This probably doesn’t look like the meat section of your grocery store.  All this meat must be sold by the end of the day, no refrigeration.

The fruit section.  We were given lots of samples to try.  All the fruit was wonderful.  Some of the things we tried we have never seen before.  Everyone in the market was very friendly, many wanted their picture taken with us.

 

I liked this guy!

Then it was off to cooking school. Here we are with the chef, our instructor.

We prepared two dishes.  The appetizer was a layered dish of potatos and mixed vegetables.  Each person’s presentation was judged by the chef.  Helen’s presentation won.  Mine came in last :(.  Here is Helen’s dish.  I won’t show mine, it was a mess.

The main course was a shredded chicken dish.  The chicken was served on top of potatos with rice on the side.  It was delicious.  We did all the chopping, peeling, shredding, mashing, etc to prepare the meal.

So, it was a fun day.  We returned to the ship late afternoon.  After dinner we went to a show of Peruvian music and dancing.  The performers were from a local group.  It was great.

Today we are getting off the ship early for another all day tour of the city.  Lima is beautiful, big, and hectic.  It is the second largest city in the world built on a desert.  It is bone dry.  Cairo is the largest city built on a desert (for you trivia fans).

Bye for now.

BigJer and Helen

Salaverry and Trujillo, Peru

We docked in Salaverry and took the shuttle to Trujillo. This was the pretty little square where they let us off.

There was a lovely cathedral across the street.
One of the streets we walked down.


The photo was from the front of the ship. As you can see it is very dry here. There was sand everywhere. I never realized Peru was so desert like.
Here I am with my new Inca friend. Bought another new hat from a vendor in port.
Sail away at 4PM for Lima.
We have two tours booked as we are staying overnight.

Sea Day

Another leisurely sea day as we make our way to Salaverry, Peru. 

This morning we did a 4 mile walk on the Promenade Deck. The seas have been very calm so it makes for a very easy walk.

Dr. Jay Wolff gave his final lecture of the cruise. He is Jer’s favorite lecturer so he is sad to see him go. He will be leaving the ship in Lima. His talk today was “The Story of Peru.”  He talked about Francisco Pizzaro and Pirate Extraordinaire, Francis Drake. The Incas were conquered, the city of Lima arose and the gold Spain plundered was stolen by a better thief, Francis Drake.

Lunch in the Lido and then another lecture in the afternoon.

The maritime lecturer has been Bill Miller. He also is getting off in Lima. His talk today was “Gateway to the World. The Great Port of New York.” He talked about the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the bridges and the different skyscrapers of New York. It was very interesting.

At the beginning of the cruise the Captain had a Welcome aboard reception. He mentioned the nationalities of the Full World Cruisers. Here is the breakdown.   Australia(8), Austria(2), Brazil (1), Canada (63), Switzerland (2), Germany (6), Denmark (1), Great Britain (21), Japan (17), Mexico, (11), Malta (1), New Zealand (2), USA (469).

As I said earlier, many, many, of the world cruisers have done numerous world cruises. Most travelers on here are very well traveled. We have traveled a lot, but we are novices compared to most on here.

When we get to Lima, it will be the end of the first segment of this trip. We will have five more to go. This segment was sold out and I do believe the next segment is sold out also. The next segment crosses the Pacific to Auckland, New Zealand. We will have new lecturers come on board for this segment. There will be quite a few sea days on our way across the Pacific, but we also have some interesting ports, so stay tuned.

Tonight is formal night so everyone will be out and about in their finery. Dinner in the Crystal Dining Room and then the concert pianist in the Galaxy Lounge. 

We are kind of curious about who is following our blog.  So, if you are, please leave us a comment.  Just click on comment at the of any post and leave us a note.  Thanks.

See you in Salaverry.

Guayaquil, Ecuador

The day started out very rainy, but it stopped when we got on the 10AM shuttle that took us from the port into the city. It was about a 30 minute bus ride as this is a very large city with 2 million inhabitants.

The shuttle bus dropped us off at the Parque Bolivar which is the home to these friendly iguanas. They grow to between 4 to 5 feet in length. 

The Malecon El Salado is an attempt to reclaim the waterfront for everyday use of its residents. There are beautiful gardens and little cafes and I am sure on the weekends it is jammed packed with families. It was a lovely walk even on a humid and overcast day.

This is a very beautiful cathedral outside of the park where the iguanas live. We went inside which was very dark, but the stained glass windows were amazing.

On one of the hillsides there were these multicolored homes.

We were back on the ship about 2PM and we sail at 9PM. There are some passengers that went to the Galapagos early this morning and will return this evening. There are also passengers that will leave this evening to go to Machu Pichou and will meet the ship in Lima on Friday.

Tomorrow is a sea day so will have some lectures to go to.

Our next port will be Salaverry, Peru.

 

 

Manta, Ecuador

Today we started out on our private tour with seven of us. Our first stop was at a local fish market. Manta is known for their yellow fin and skipjack tuna. This market is for the locals. The market opens at 5AM and closes by noon. We got here about 830 and many of the stalls were already closed.

Right next to the fish market they were building fishing boats. Almost all of the fishing boats are made out of wood and the sealant between the wood planks is coconut fiber.

Ecuador is famous for their handmade Panama hats. You may wonder why they are called Panama hats and not Ecuador hats. They are called Panama hats because when they Panama Canal was built the workers wore these hats, so they were known as Panama hats. This is a statue of a young lady weaving a Panama hat.

This is a picture of a woman weaving a Panama hat. She leans onto pedestal as she weaves the hat. I can’t imagine her poor back.

Of course, I had to buy one!!!!

We stopped at a cultural museum and then were back to the ship. Sail away was at 1PM. Short stop here, but there wasn’t a whole lot to see. The people were very friendly, quick smiles , and always a Buenos Dias. 

We are now off to Guayaquil. Will get there about 3AM as some folks are going to the Galapagos. They will be back for sail away at 9PM. A very long day to look at some big turtles!!!

Sea Day

Just relaxing today. Getting some laundry done and and catching up as the next three days will be in different ports.

Jer was up early and in the gym. When he came back we were off to breakfast in the Lido. Lots of wonderful fresh fruit.

Went to the lecture called “Radical Terrorists on the March.”  The lecture was presented by Owen Ullman. He talked about all the terrorists groups around the world. It wasn’t a pretty picture.

They had a special Brunch today in the Crystal Cove. This is one of the ice sculptures. The other picture was the theme of the brunch, An American in Paris. We had a difficult time figuring out why they did Paris as we are not going any where near France.

Dinner in the Crystal Dining Room was the best on the cruise so far. We had escargot, salad, sea bass, lamb chops, and the best of all, Grand Manier soufflé. Oh my, it was delicious!!!

The evening entertainment was a tribute to Edith Piaf, the French singer, so I guess that is why we had the French brunch and French dinner. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was an extraordinary performance. The lead singer was outstanding. 

We are in Manta, Ecuador tomorrow. Doing a private tour with just eight. See you tomorrow.

Panama Canal

Panama Canal, wow. What a day. We were up early again as we started our transit of the canal at about 730.

As you can see there were two cargo ships in front of us.  This is a great picture to show you how the locks work. The ship on the left is in the first lock and the ship on the right is in the third lock. You can see how much higher the ship is on the right as we have to raise up 85 feet to exit to Gatun Lake and then transit the canal.

Closing the gates once we were in the lock.

This vehicle is called a mule. There were at least three on each side to keep the ship from hitting the walls of the locks. A lot of people think they tow the ship through the locks, but they just keep the ship steady. You can see the cables that are attached.

Into Gatun Lake and then on to the transit of the canal. While we were transiting, we did a 5 mile walk on the Promenade deck. 

Cruising through the canal. It was a winding waterway and parts were quite narrow. This is the Culebra Cutand the narrowest part of the canal 

This is the Pedro Miguel Lock. This lowered us 31 feet.

We entered Miraflores Lake and then into the last two locks.The Miraflores Locks lowered us 27 feet each. Down 54 feet back to sea level.

This is the museum and observation decks at the Miraflores Locks. Thousands of people come out to watch the ships pass through the locks.

Bridge of the Americas and out to the Pacific Ocean.

What a wonderful and interesting day. Off to dinner at another specialty restaurant, Tastes. Tastes is a very casual venue that offers Tapas and small plates. 

Still having an awesome time and there is so much more to look forward to.

Cartagena, Columbia

Last night was an early night. We had dinner in the Crystal Dining Room and then we went to our room to watch a movie called, “The Way.” It was about a trek through France and Spain.

Today we were in Cartagena, Columbia. We docked about 7AM and we were off the ship at 730. Jer had set up a private tour with Marelvy Pena for a walking tour in Cartagena. There were just three of us which was a big difference from the big bus tour we did in Curacao. 

Marelvy’s daughter met us on the dock and walked us to the van where Marlvy was waiting for us. We first stopped at the Convento de la  Popa. It is a monastery above Cartagena and was quite beautiful. It is 400 years old and built on the foundation of a razed Indian Temple.

We then went to the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. It was completed in 1789, creating the largest fort to guard the city from pirates.

The tour then went to the Gold Museum, which included pre-Columbian gold artifacts. We continued to the Palacio de Inquisicion. It is a beautiful building, but there were some horrfic things that went on inside. 

There were many beautiful balconies that were covered in flowers. The streets are quite narrow so they are only open to pedestrians.

There were many street vendors. The fruit  looked awesome. We should have tried some, but we didn’t. Most of the ladies selling fruit were dressed in these colorful dresses.

We have always had such a misconception of this beautiful city. Always thought of drug cartels and mafia. Not so here in Cartagena. We felt very safe. I would love to come back and spend more time here. Just one day was not enough.

We sailed at 3PM. Louis Armstrong once again sang What a Wonderful World. It always makes us feel so fortunate.

Jer is off to another lecture on the Panama Canal. Tomorrow we transit the canal. Should be an interesting day and we are looking forward to it.

Santa Marta, Columbia

Hello Friends,

  Today Jer is doing the blogging.  You may have noticed that Helen has been doing all the posting on this blog.  I have been busy posting on a blog we are doing for just our grand daughters.  Since we are blogging for two little girlies, it tends to be a bit silly.  Thus, the blog address is top secret :).

  Today we are in Santa Marta, our first stop in Columbia.  Tomorrow we are in Cartagena, and the next day we transit the Panama Canal.  Our ship docked very near the Santa Marta downtown area.

  We took a very short ride on a shuttle to the port gate and then walked into town.  There is a nice walkway along the water from which we had a nice view of our ship.  

  We walked all around the downtown area.  A couple times we found ourselves on streets where we didn't feel comfortable with the surroundings, but overall, we felt very safe here.  The city is very busy, lots of people on the sidewalks and lots of traffic and noise.  We really enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the town.  It was quite warm, the temperatures are starting to go up as we cruise farther south.

  One of the main attractions in the town is the beautiful Santa Marta Cathedral.

  Another attraction is this monument to Simon Bolivar, the liberator of South America.  He died in 1830, but he still lives large in the hearts of South America’s people.

 

  When Helen and I decided to do this blog, we said we would not include many pictures of ourselves.  But today I must share one of me.  I’m doing what I do best, drinking beer.  But I want you to notice the “genuine” red Ray Ban sunglasses that I bought here for $5.  When I cleaned them the first time, the Ray Ban lettering came off the lenses.  What’s up with that?!

  Some of you are asking for more food pictures, so here are a few.  Last night we ate in the ship’s Japanese restaurant, Silk Road.

  The food was fantastic, maybe the best meal we have had so far on the ship.  We started with sushi and sashimi, and it was great!

  Next we had shrimp tempura. so good!

  Seafood ceviche was next.

  Then a warm mushroom salad.

  Finally we finished with lobster stir fry.

  Do you think we had enough to eat?  At least we skipped dessert.  This was a fabulous meal!

  So that is all from Santa Marta.  Tomorrow in Cartagena we have an all day tour, and Helen will be posting about that.  Bye for now.

BigJer and Helen

Another Sea Day

Last night we sailed from Curacao at midnight. We don’t usually stay  up late, but with the Curiously Curacao show, we made it to sail away. It was beautiful to see all the colored lights. Sorry I don’t have a picture.
Today is another relaxing sea day. Jer, as usual was up first. He had breakfast and then brought me some cereal and fruit. We were out on the Promenade Deck walking at 930. We walked for an hour and it was starting to get hot. One side of the deck was in the sun and the other in the shade. The sun side was getting brutal. I don’t know how people get out there in the afternoon. Way too hot for me.
Had a nice lunch in the Lido. They always have a great variety.
Went to a lecture this afternoon about the great ocean liners of the past. Bill Miller is the lecturer and is excellent. The ocean liners of the past were so elegant and were the only way to cross the ocean. Usually they had three classes of accommodations, First, Second , and Third class. When aviation came about, that was the end of the Ocean Liner era. There is only one true ocean liner today, and that is the Queen Mary 2. You don’t cruise on the QM2, you do an ocean crossing. A big difference.
Jer signed up for another spin class this afternoon. Susan, you should be so proud.:)
We are having dinner tonight in one of the other specialty restaurants, Silk Road. It is a Japanese restaurant created by Nobu Matsuhisa. Lots of sushi and sashimi. They have a wonderful Black Cod in Miso sauce. I’m pretty sure that is what I will be having.


Jer’s sunglasses collection.

Curacao

This is a picture of the waterfront from the pontoon bridge. The pontoon bridge is for foot traffic from one side to the other. When boats want to come down the canal the bridge swings sideways to let them by.

Below is a picture of the pontoon bridge all lit up. Curacao is a very colorful place.

We went on a morning ship’s excursion. The first thing we saw were these cool flamingos. When they hatch, they are white and as they get older, they turn pink.

Next stop was the Hota Caves. It was interesting and there were lots of bats flying around. Rock formations were really cool. The rest of the excursion was downright boring so we are starting to rethink the rest of our ship’s excursions. We have quite a few private excursions that Jer has set up. We may have to look into doing more of those.

 

t

Last night we had dinner at Prego, Italian specialty restaurant

This is the wonderful carpaccio that I had, paper this slices of beef with capers, olive oil. balsamic vinegar and grated cheese. It was yummy!!!

 

Jer had the Osso Buco, a beautifully braised veal shank. It was outstanding.

Tonight they had an event called Curios Curacao. On World Cruises they will do different special events and this was the first one. A lot of singing and dancing and audience participation.