Month: February 2019

February 7, 2019 – at Sea

We continue through the South Pacific towards Easter Island. The seas are about 7ft swells according to Captain Mercer. Just a pleasant roll.

Easter Island was discovered  by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen in 1722. You will never guess which Sunday he arrived. Yes, Easter Sunday it was.

After doing quite a bit of research, I decided to rent a car. We booked it back in October. The rental place is a short walk once we are ashore. Holland America offered a tour for $299.00 per person. Unlike South America, we feel quite safe on Easter Island so we are passing on the $600 trip and going for the $209 trip. The rental car is $49 and the entrance to the Park (most of Easter Island is a park) is $80 per person. We will spend some money on gas but the island is very small. It is about 7 miles wide and 15 miles long. Since HAL outlined the trip already, I decided to do the same tour by car.

One interesting fact I picked up in the research is the lack of insurance for the cars on the island. Everything has to be covered by the driver. I also learned that the rental company tries to claim all kinds of damages when cars are returned. How would you like to be charged for a missing jack and a flat spare tire? Would you even think to check for one in a rental car? I plan on spending a lot of time with the rental agent and I will take lots of pictures.

I don’t think there will be a lot of traffic. Many more wild horses and dogs than drivers of cars. It will be a Sunday and I think the island will be quiet.

We were a bit short on team trivia today. Jerry and Joann were out sick. Jerry has a sense of logic that we needed. “Which suit in a standard deck of cards has a one eyed king?” They are getting easier, aren’t they?

We decided to see a movie today since it was a bit windy and cloudy on deck. “Point Break” was showing at the Wajang Theater at 3pm. Great filming in the movie. Too bad it lacked a real plot. It featured extreme sport athletes. Watching them surf 80 ft waves or jump off a huge mountain and fly to the bottom in a special suit was amazing. You just had to keep asking “Why are they doing this?” Sometimes, after an event like this, I wish for a refund coupon that says “Refund: 110 minutes of life; previously wasted”.

We ate dinner at the Lido so I didn’t feel the pressure to do my hair. Lot’s of variety. I don’t think I have had anything twice yet for dinner.

The evening entertainment was Annette Wardell. We are not real fans of opera but we thought we would give her a try. The band started playing “Tonight” from West Side Story. Not an easy tune for all parties involved. She started singing off stage and hen made her entrance. I would have stayed off stage. She was off from the get go. She did not communicate with the pianist to try and save herself. This tells me that she didn’t realize she was off. The band hung together the entire tune. Somehow I think the morning rehearsal went the same way. Her voice is fine but I don’t care for the exaggerated vibrato that opera singers use. Just a matter of taste. The second tune, Habanera from Carmen was not much better. She is obviously used to looking at the conductor in the pit at the opera house. I’m sure her conductor sweats a few bullets when she enters. He probably owns a sweatshirt that says “savior” on it. On this stage, she and/or the pianist are the conductor. She was off again on this great tune but made no effort to communicate with the band. If she did, they would have help her. I seem to remember a few of these folks in my past. No, they weren’t high school students. She did do a piece that was almost entirely a-cappella. Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Here she did much better.

She finished her performance and we were happy to leave. I looked for another coupon on the way out. No luck.

Friday night we turn the clocks back to Eastern Standard Time. Who would have guess that Detroit and Easter Island are in the same time zone?

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February 6, 2019 – at Sea

I’m not sure what I expected to find in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Maybe some rougher water? It has been quite calm. The ship sways just enough to give you a bit of help on that last inch on the bench press. You just have to wait for it. Almost as good as the help a spotter would give.

There is so much food available that it would be very easy to pack on some extra pounds during a 4 month cruise. I have been sticking to Cheerios and blueberries for breakfast. Terri usually has oatmeal or an egg. The coffee is the one disappointment. Coffee service for 1600 means less than gourmet. There are few places to purchase a better cup but I decided to put up with the mud. I overheard someone on the elevator say that he has learned from past world cruises and he brings his own.

I have noticed that a persons’ waist size seems to correlate to the line they are in at lunch. There is a line at the salad station and one at the ice cream bar. People seem to have different waist sizes here.

I was knocked out in the first round of the table tennis tournament. Thought I had it but lost two points in a row. The early loss meant I was in time for team trivia. We all sound so smart when we discuss a question but rarely are we sure of an answer. Since I am the scribe I usually ask what percentage of confidence a team member has on the answer they have. Low or none is usually the response. We finished with a 6. Winning team had 11.

The internet was very slow today. Bad satellite connection possibly? Couldn’t do much online other than texting. Wall Street Journal would not download and I had to settle for the New York Times satellite edition printed by the ship. I want to scream when I read this. I did hold this paper in high regard at one time in my life. Probably in the 70s. The journal is nothing like it used to be but is still a bit better. The Detroit News and Free Press became trash after the joint operating agreement back in ’86? Remember Charlie Manos? Pete Waldmeier, Joe Falls? Now I am impressed when journalists can actually put a sentence together in these papers. Every article has a political slant to it along with the poor grammar and spelling mistakes.

We had dinner in the main dining room. A couple from Florida joined us. Barb and Jim were originally from Queens. I told Jim I was surprised because I detected no accent. He had no problem reverting to genuine queens vernacular as a demonstration. This was their third World Cruise. I would refer to them as “newbies”.

The entertainer for this evening was Tim Abel from England. Great pianist. He did some ragtime, boogie woogie, blues, classical, and jazz. His final number was happy birthday played in 10 different styles. It was hilarious. Great show!

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February 5, 2019 – at Sea

The morning started with breakfast and then the gym. Treadmill. Fascinating workout with the ship’s motion.

A bit better with group trivia. Very tough questions. Some of them provoke no response from any of the members of our group. I did know that c was the speed of light in E = mc² but who would of thought that none of us knew the atomic number of potassium? Each of us has our specialty. Music questions are always thrown my way but they are always popular music questions and I never know the answers. How many symphonies did Beethoven compose? Piece of cake. In the song recorded by Bananarama who is waiting? – no idea. I am better at the science questions, Terri fields chemistry. Jerry knows a lot of history, Skip is good at literature.

I decided to try the Dive-In for lunch. Good idea! Nothing beats a hamburger and fries.

When you are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, celebrate Chinese New Year!

The Lido Market was decorated in honor of the year of the pig. The menu consisted of all Chinese dishes. I tried order a “number 5” but it got me nothing. I asked Salvia for a fortune cookie. She had to check with management and she came back empty handed.

We have been listening to the group “Adagio” after dinner. Violin and piano. Very nice sound and great repertoire.…

February 4, 2019 – Arica, Chile

Today we arrived in Arica, Chile. We did not book any tour and instead chose to do this city on our own. Today we planned to hike up El Morro de Arica. This hill is close to the port and rises up to 139 meters rather quickly. Spectacular views are promised at the summit.

This hill was an important stronghold to the Peruvian Army during the War of the Pacific (1879 – 1883). Chili defeated the Bolivia and Peruvian alliance and now this area is a monument.

Almost to the top. Time to bust out a few tunes.

We didn’t expect “touchdown Jesus” at the top, especially after last night’s not so super game.

We did our climb early to avoid the heat. Most of the folks on the ship took a taxi or tour bus to the top. The climb was rather steep but was paved. We went into the downtown area afterward. Shops opened at 10 am and our timing was perfect. Plenty of stores and outdoor markets selling fruit and other food. We did need a few items and stopped in a drug store. Our limits of Spanish were tested as we tried to use our credit card. I had a flashback to a time we were in Normandy, France at a little grocery store. We did not have chip credit cards in the US yet and Europe had been using them for years. The cashier was getting frustrated that the card was not working. I gave her my best “Parlez vous anglais?” She responded with slower and louder French. I was puzzled at first but then thought of the many times we were sure that all people would understand English if it is spoken slow enough.

It all worked out. Terri is a great communicator. She will even do a little acting if necessary.

After out tour of the town we went back to the ship for lunch. It would have been nice to try some authentic Chilean food but after we passed the McDonalds in the middle of town we decided that the Lido deck is where we wanted to be.

We spent the afternoon on the deck and then watched a group of dancers give us quite the sendoff.

The evening entertainment on the MainStage was Liam Cooper from Australia. Liam did a tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John. His Billy Joel was very authentic and he had interesting stories about why Billy Joel composed some of the tunes he did. His Elton John was not as well done. His range couldn’t handle some of the notes and he wisely took a few notes down an octave. His falsetto was a bit rough. All of the musicians on stage were obviously born after these artists. I expected a bit more from the guitarist on Rocket Man. He has great chops but if you are doing a tribute, you will want your playing to mimic what was done on the original recordings. I’m sure this was probably a one rehearsal gig but the house band is capable of more. Overall a good show. …

February 3, 2019 – at Sea

We really needed a day at sea to rest up from the three tours we did in the last two days. We look forward to a stop in mainland Chile and then the long haul out to Easter Island. Isla de Pascua is the Spanish name to this Chilean territory if you are looking for it on a map.

Ship life has been great and we have really fallen into a routine. No meals to prepare, no dishes, no laundry, no need to leave for entertainment. If you are reading this and wondering about taking on this kind of adventure, I can offer only one piece of advice. Do it. We are amongst the healthiest and most active on the ship. We have no problem managing but then again, the older, not as healthy, don’t seem to have a problem either. They get plenty of help from those aboard the ship. Our shore excursions are much more challenging than most. Some folks do not even get off of the ship.

We slept in a bit and went up for breakfast. We read some and then headed to team trivia. We have a nice group and we enjoy talking to each other. We finished with a 6 out of 16 but felt great. The winning group only scored an 8. Questions are getting tougher each day. “What color is a tigers skin?” If you answered with a color, you would be wrong. Our cruise director, Hamish, is from Jamaica. His pronunciation of some words is interesting and makes it even more challenging. Most aboard are Americans or Canadians. There are some Brits and Aussie’s.

Lunch gets more interesting each day. I have yet to try the hamburgers and hot dogs served at the Dive In by the pool. I’ll get to that soon.

We sat outside and wondered why it was getting cooler but then realized that we are heading south. Cooler weather is in the south. We did see a pod or two of dolphins off the port side of the ship in the calm seas. When we reach our next port in Chile, we will be 2 hours ahead of Detroit time. I didn’t realize that we would be heading so Far East before we begin to circle the globe.

We started to prepare ourselves for the Big Game. We decided to watch it on the 5th floor next to the casino. The casino is small and gets very little use. People who take these kind of cruises are generally not gamblers. I have to feel sorry for the black jack dealers. They stand at their tables ready to deal but there is never anyone playing. The area with the large tvs has many oversized chairs and loveseats. There may have been 20 people watching with us.

We made it almost to halftime. Not much happening other than popcorn and peanuts. I was called in for another match of scrabble. I beat the master this time. Re-match soon.

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February 2, 2019 – Lima, Peru

Our stop in Lima, Peru is one of the few times where we are in the same port for more than one day.

Another hot day here. We are docked in a very busy port. Cranes are busy unloading shipping containers. It is fascinating to watch. Along side the ship are numerous vendors who set up shops to sell goods to passengers. A musician is playing for tips over a PA system. He is very talented and plays numerous wind instruments. Many I have never seen before.

Out tour today is another archeological site. This one was discovered in the 1980s.

This site was discovered in the 1950s

Two different cultures living at different time periods. One thing all of the cultures in this area seem to share is human sacrifice. It was considered to be a privilege to be sacrificed. In these cultures they sacrificed only women. Usually young girls. 8 – 12 years old. These were hard working people that didn’t realize that the good things that they had were from their own hard work. The earth god provided a place to live, the sun god provided warmth and light. It was necessary to pay these “gods” with the most innocent among them.

It was blazing hot out today and we were glad to get back to the ship.

I took this babe to the Main Dining Room for dinner. Bob and Brenda were our guests.

The entertainment was a stand up comedian. We didn’t think he was very funny. I won’t mention his name but we walked out midway through. Not everyone has it. …

February 1, 2019 – Lima, Peru

We are docked in an industrial area and are about 20 mins from downtown Lima. Today we have two tours scheduled. We are to see penguins and sea lions out on the Ballestas Islands and then see Lima at Night.

Humboldt penguins live and breed along the Pacific coastlines of Chile and Peru. A current of the same name pushes water up from Antartica. The cold water drops to the bottom of the ocean and pushes nutrients up from the floor. This makes the area ideal for many kinds of fish and sea creatures. It also makes the temperature of the ocean about 60 degrees here in the middle of summer.

We enjoyed watching the Sea Lions and also the boat ride back. We got back to the ship in time for dinner and then went on our next tour, “Lima at Night”. Friday night traffic was awful. People can’t drive here and the police don’t seem to care. Our destination was the center of the old colonial section of Lima. We didn’t get off of the tour bus here and it was difficult to take pictures through the windows. We did see many people out enjoying this area.

Close by was the Magic Water Circuit Park. Below is a video of the show we watched. These fountains sprayed up in a fan like fashion and then a show with music was projected on to them.

Lot’s of families here enjoying a warm Friday night. It is Summer vacation here until March.

We returned back to the ship at about 10:30 pm …