Nov. 8, 2011 - Puerto Montt, Chile

This morning, I got up early to write yesterday´s blog update and to watch as we docked in Puerto Montt. Dorothy and I took a shore excursion by bus to Esmealda Lake and the city of roses,Puerto Varas. We went to the National Park and saw the Petrohue Falls. Unfortunately it rained very heavily while we were at the falls and we got soaked. However I still got some pictures and hope they turn out, despite the rain. This area gets a lot of rain so it was not unusual that it had to rain today. By the time we got to Puerto Varas the rained stopped and we were are able to see the Osorno Volcano. It was very beautiful as there was a Llanquihue Lake in front of it. There were many stores in Puerto Varas, but we did not find anything that interested us except postcards.
Puerto is a pretty town with most of the houses built of wood as wood is very plentiful in this area of Chile.
I hope that it will clear by the time we leave today so that we can see more volcanos that are in this area.
After today we have 3 sea days and will be seeing more volcanos and glaciers as we head south.

Petrohue Falls

Another view of Petrohue Falls

Downstream from Petrohue Falls

Lamas on a farm

Osmo Volcano across the Llanquihue Lake at Puerto Vares

City Square in Puerto Varas

City Square in Puerto Varas with a large hotel in the background

Calbuco Volcano at the back of the city of Puerto Montt

Nov. 6, 2011 - Valparaiso ( Santiago ), Chile

I was working on my blog early in the morning as we were coming into Valparaiso. It was a magnificent site with the night lights on the hills surrounding the habour shining on both sides of the ship. We docked early and left on our shore excursion to Santiago at 7 AM. The ride to Santiago was fast on a 6 lane limited access highway with maximum speed of 120 KM. The trip was very interesting as we passed the coastal forests near Valparaiso, the the valleys in between the coastal hills that grow the grapes for the famous Chilean wines, and finally in a dry region before Santiago.
Santiago is a city of great contrasts with buildings from the colonial past and modern high rise office, condominium and apartment buildings. We passed Club Hipico that is the famous manicured horse racing track and went downtown to the presidential palace where we were fortunate to see the changing of the guard. We went to the city's main square where we saw the very large Cathedral as Sunday mass was in progress. We followed the Mapocho River for some time and saw the bohemian Bellavista district. Then for lunch the bus labored to the top of San Cristobal Hill where we had lunch and had a magnificent view of the city and the snow covered Andes Mountains. I took great pictures from this place.
After lunch we visited a market that made Dorothy very happy. We returned back to Valparaiso in short order as we we going down hill all the way as Santiago is 520 m (1,706 feet) higher than the port of Valparaiso. We also passed through 2 very long tunnels that were built to cut over an hour on this journey.
We had a great day. Tomorrow we will have a sea day and travel south to the beautiful city of Puerto Montt, Chile.

Houses built on the hills that surround Valparaiso

Fertile farmland growing mainly grapes in the valleys between Valparaiso and Santiago

Space like monuments on entering Santiago

The palace of the President of Chile

Tall telecommunication tower in downtown Santiago

Changing of the guard ceremony at the back of the Palace of the President

The Cathedral of Santiago

The tallest skyscraper in South America under construction in Santiago

View of Santiago from San Cristobal Hill

View of the snowcapped Andes Mountains

Nov. 5, 2011 - Coquimbo and Serena, Chile

Our ship arrived early so we were cleared of customs and our shore excursion started earlier than scheduled. We first drove through downtown Coquimbo where our ship docked. Then we went south of Coquimbo to the very beautiful harbour, La Herranura where we took some pictures of the harbour. In the harbour was a ore loading facility that handled iron ore destined to Japan. We doubled back through Coquimbo and drove north about 15 km to the very pretty city of Serena. This city was established by Captain Juan Bohen in 1544 to provide a refueling place for the Spanish ships going from Santiago to Lima. We were taken to viewing spots high up on the hills to view the large harbour that both Coquimbo and Serena are on. Coquimbo is on the sheltered side of the harbour so is now being used as the port. Serena on the other hand has the beautiful beaches that are lined with many condominiums, apartments and hotels that are used by vacationers to enjoy the beaches. On the shores of the Serena beaches is a most famous landmark - El Faro lighthouse.
After a delightful day in these two cities, our ship left at 5 PM for the port of Valparaiso that services the capital of Chile - Santiago.

The port of Coquimbo

Con at the beautiful harbor and beach at La Herradura (south of Coquimbo)

Very impressive looking government building in La Serena

The market in La Serena where Dorothy and Con bought their el pacos sweaters.

View from a hill overlooking La Serena

Colorful looking military barracks.

Dorothy and Con before large old cannon that once protected the El Faro Lighthouse

Dorothy in front of the El Faro Lighthouse

The large cross over-looking the town and harbor of Coquimbo

Nov 3 & 4, 2011 - General San Martin, Peru to Coquimbo, Chile

We have been at sea for 2 days covering the 1030 miles between General San Martin, Peru to Coquimbo, Chile.
It has been a great time to relax and catch up on reading, enjoy some of the many activities that they have on the ship and do some exercise to try to reduce some of the pounds we are gaining from all the delicious food that is being served. The Pacific Ocean that we are crossing is far from peaceful. We are getting heavy rollers so the ship is rocking considerably although we are not into a storm. The winds are about 25 miles an hour. So Dorothy and I have been doing a lot of walking on the promenade deck that is on the same deck as our cabin.
We have been on the ship for nearly 3 weeks and the time has passed so quickly. We have met a lot of nice people from the US, Canada, Australia, France, England, Germany and Holland.
We are in good health and enjoying ourselves.

Nov. 2, 2011 - General San Martin

We docked ahead of schedule this morning and were able to catch an early bus to a small town called Paracas that is near the town of Pisco. This town was wiped out by an earthquake several years ago and now is in the process of rebuilding. However the shopping stores and restaurants had reopened and were doing a lively business with the passengers from the ship. Dorothy went shopping and I took a 2 hour trip on a small launch to Peru's Galapagos - the Ballestas Islands. Here I saw hundreds of thousands of birds on 2 rocky islands that have no vegetation. The birds must live on the fish in the surrounding sea. The islands are protected so no people are allowed on the islands. We also saw many seals on the islands. The weather was warm and was much pleasanter than the cooler weather we had in Lima although this place is further south of Lima. The area was very sandy and looked more like the Sahara Desert. We enjoyed our short visit to Paracas.

Con has a life jacket on and is seated in a launch waiting to go to Islas Ballestas to see the birds

The launch passes the Veendam at the port of General San Martin.

Con is impressed at seeing one of the land markers of the alleged space travelers from outer space

Small penguins are among the birds.

Thousands of birds cover the rocky islands.

More pictures of birds

More birds on the islands.

As well there were a number of seals.

More seals

Restaurant and shop area of Paracas

Nov. 1, 2011 - Lima, Day 2

Today is all Saints Day and it is a holiday in Lima and a parade is being held in Lima to celebrate this day. We have two shore excursions planned - Dorothy is to go on a Shopper's Delight excursion and I am going on Archaeological Day in Lima. My excursion started early at 9.30 AM.
First we went to visit Huaca Huallamarca located in the district of San Isidro. This was an oracle center that was used for 1200 years until the Spanish Conquest of Peru. This consisted of a large Adobe hill and a museum. We climbed the monument and had a great view of the rather upper class neighborhood. At the top we saw where there were burnt remains of previous sacrifices. Next we saw Huaca Pucliana which is another oracle monument in the Miraflores district that was active between the 5th and 6th centuries. However we could not go on this monument as we could with the previous one as it was still being restored and protected by a large fence. This monument was much larger than the previous one and also was in a upper class neighborhood.
Our last visit was to a the National Museum of Anthropology which has the largest collections in Peru of artifacts from the pre-Hispanic cultures. This museum had exhibits that include Chavin stone sculptures, textiles from Paracas, Nasca and Mochica ceramics and Chimu metal works.
Dorothy went on her shopping excursion and came home with many nice items for herself and for gifts for Christmas. We both had a great day and are really enjoying our cruise.

Huaca Hallamarca pyramid

How the oracle was buried in a sitting position.

Con at the foot of the ramp of the Huaca Huallamarca pyramid.

Huaca Pucliana pyramid in the process of being restored.

Statue of Simon Bolivar who help the Peruvians to gain independence from Spain.

The National Archaeological Museum

Mummies wrapped in a sitting position.

Model of a famous Inca settlement.

Original pottery items that are over 2,000 years old.

Gold ornaments for one of the rulers of Peru.

Oct. 31, 2011 - Lima, Peru

Our ship was a little late in docking at Callao so we caught our excursion bus a little later than was scheduled. Callao is the port for Lima and is not far away from the center of Lima. The first place we stopped at was the Church and Convent of San Francisco. This church is considered to be the most important religious monument in Lima. It was a beautiful place but we were not allowed to take pictures inside so I will have to tell you about it when I get home. Next we walked to the Main Square in the heart of Lima. This square was surrounded by the Government Palace, the Town Hall, the Bishop's Palace with its beautiful balconies and the Cathedral of Lima. We went into the Cathedral and saw the choir stalls, the Churrigueresque Chapel of the Immaculate, the main altar and statue of Christ made of carved ivory. Also we saw the crypt with the remains of the conqueror Francisco Pizarro. After this we drove by several colonial squares, churches and mansions. We stopped at a beautiful park on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean and saw the surf rolling onto the beaches with a background of islands in the distance. This was a magnificent site and was near the modern districts of San Isidro and Miraflores. What impressed us was the very wide streets and how clean the city was.
Yes, Lima is a very beautiful city.
We will be staying overnight in Lima and tomorrow I will be on a shore excursion visiting the Archaeological sites in Lima. Dorothy has elected to go on a shopping shore excursion.

Beautiful statue on a column in a square surrounded by purple painted buildings.

Statue in the main square of Lima.

Church and Convent of San Francisco

The palace of the President of Peru next to the city square.

Beautiful flowers and lawn in the city square.

The Cathedral of Lima next to the city square.

The city hall next to the city square

Rough sea on the beaches at Lima

The sea and beaches looking in the direction of Callao that is the port for Lima.