January 21, 2014 - Twenty Miles Off the Coast of Chile

January 16 to January 21, 2014

Thursday, January 16. This is our second day in Lima. Our plan to visit the Peruvian Market on the pier and then take the shuttle to Miraflores was soon abandoned. We walked down to the market. It was crowded with passengers from both Prinsendam and Amsterdam. We realized that this was the market where I had purchased a very nice leather belt two years ago. We made our way through stalls selling sweaters, scarves and hats as well as jewelry and trinkets. At last I saw some belts. I picked out 3 black belts, each with different engraved patterns All were better quality than I have found at home of late. Those are more like cardboard. They fall apart in less than a year. These three appeared to be as substantial as the one I bought last time. The price started at $10 and ended at $8 each. These should last my lifetime.

Next we sat down to try the free internet. My login was finally accepted, but the message said I could not join the network at this time. Try again. I did. And I did. And I did, again. All to no avail. There were just too many logins. The Amsterdam was to depart in an hour, so passengers were taking there last opportunity to get free internet before leaving. Their next port is Easter Island, many sea days away.

It was almost noon, so Alice and I decided to scrap Miraflores for today. We went back onboard and watched the Amsterdam cast off, haul anchor and leave. There was much horn tooting and waving as we bid each other farwell.

After lunch we watched a large RO-RO (Roll On – Roll Off) Dock in the space vacated by Amsterdam Within an hour and a half the crew was delivering 3000 new cars. The ones I saw being driven away were new Jeep Cherokees.

Dinner rolled around too soon, and then it was off to see the Magic Fountains. This tour left at 7:30 and was not due back until 11:00. We started with a repeat of yesterday’s city tour. This time it was dark and we got to see the buildings illuminated. This new perspective was enjoyable.

Finally we made our way to a park with many fountains. Some were artistic in their fountain displays. Others were designed to allow participants to get wet. One had a broad arch that we could walk through, while getting only a little  dripping form the water passing overhead. The centerpiece fountain pumped out a curtain wall of water with a multicolored light display. Promptly at 9:30 music began to play, the lights went off and a laser show began to play on the wall of water. This evolved into various movies intertwined with the laser show. After twenty minutes of marvelous spectacle, the show ended to much applause.

A slow ride through heavy traffic brought us home to Prinsendam. We had missed an onboard folkloric show, but were happy to have seen the Magic Fountain display

Friday, January 17. We went to Miraflores by shuttle. The drop point was the Marriott hotel, the same as 2012. The “”mandatory” visit to H. Stern for a map and viewing of current jewelry stock was brief. We are not in the market at this time.

We proceeded upstairs to the Marriott lobby. As we tried to join the internet, a very cute bartender came over to take our drink order. We declined, and asked if the internet required a password. She gave us the password, walked away and did not approach us again. We were online for about two hours.

With the internet need satisfied we decided to venture outside. Amist was rolling in from the ocean. It only penetrated inland about one block, but it made everything very grim.

Out shuttle escort pointed us in the direction of a drug store. I have been suffering with an upper respiratory malady for about 8 days, and want to give Alice (and me in the process) some relief. No one in the store spoke English. The clerk asked me to write out what I needed, cough syrup. She indicated that they did not have any. It later dawned on me that she was probably hoping to get a name brand. Oh well.

We ventured into the mall across from the hotel. This descends three stories down the Cliffside. That does not even get it close to the sea below The tenants consist of clothing and shoe stores with a large number of restaurants interspersed. There seemed to be a large turnover since our last visit.

With the poor weather we decided to forego any further walking around, and returned home. The shuttle ride was horrendous. This bus seemed not to have any shock absorbers. The journey over the many speed bumps planted in Lima’s roads seemed like a rocket launch at times. We always landed with a thud.

At 6:00 we departed Callao/Lima and headed south toward Arica, Chile. Tomorrow is a sea day.

Saturday, January 18. We spent this sea day in lectures and classes. The time is passing quickly. This is a result of the activities being so diverse and interesting. We often have to eliminate something we would like to do  in hopes that it might be offered again. The new lecturers  are interesting and good presenters. I have even stayed awake after lunch.

Meal times come too quickly. Dinners at our table are always enjoyable. Breakfasts and lunches provide the opportunities to meet other travelers. We look forward to these events, and have not met anyone we would not like to sit with again.

Sunday, January 19. We arrived at Arica, Chile. This small coastal city is surrounded by hills and then the Atacama desert. That is the driest place on earth. Since the tours to the desert required long coach rides we opted to stay in the city and do our own walking tour.

The first thing we noticed was the large number of birds roosting in the palm trees. The second thing was the bird droppings all over the pavement. The walks in the square were being scrubbed by hand to keep them clean.

Clean is a byword for this place. Everything is very neat and clean. We passed the craft stalls in the square and headed to for the obligatory visit tot the cathedral on the square. There were many steps leading up to the church. I noticed a sidewalk next to the church that led to a side yard of the church. Using this, we were able to reduce the stairs Alice had to climb to just two. The church was very nice. After a short visit we headed off to the pedestrian street.

On the way we passed an internet café offering one hour for $1. That buys us just 4 minutes on the ship. Walking along, we passed many restaurants and shops. All of these were closed. It was 10:00 on Sunday. We did not know if they would be open later. We kept on walking. There was quite a bit of graffiti. Some of it was quite attractive. As we neared the end of the walking street, we spied a large store that looked like a department store. It was. When we rode the escalator up to the second floor (or is it the first floor) we discovered the electronics and furniture departments. The prices for TV’s and computers seemed reasonable. Furniture prices were inexpensive, yet the quality seemed good. The selection of entertainment centers was very contemporary, and we found ourselves saying we would definitely buy from this selection if available at hom,

We kept on walking into the neighborhood when the pedestrian way ended. Our view of the major hills overlooking the city changed with every new block. Soon we were running out of sidewalk, and we were outside the hospital. Just looking. No visiting. We turned to head back downtown.

We meandered through the neighborhoods to either side of our original route before returning to the walking street. We got back to the waterfront parkway and checked out a museum, a narrow gauge locomotive and the craft stalls.

We were satisfied with what we had done in Arica. It struck as a clean, well organized town with very friendly people. Our only regret was that it was Sunday and with the shops closed the activity level was low.  This would be a nice place, if it was jumping.

Monday, January 20. This sea day brought more interesting lectures and a wine tasting. The guest wine consultant introduced us to some Chilean and Argentinian wines. They were very good and moderately priced. He told us where to look for them on shore. The evening was formal with a very nice dinner menu. The latin dancers who entertained us were very good. A great day at sea.

Tuesday, January 21. Another sea day! This provides for some leisure time. The highlight was the Mariners’ award ceremony and luncheon. Alice and I were presented with silver medallions for 300 days on Holland America ships. Lunch was very nice with free flowing champaign.

Tomorrow we arrive at Coquimbo, Chile. We did this on our own last time. This time we are taking a tour that will Get us out to a valley outside town.