Valparaiso, Chile and Beyond

Valparaiso, Chile

We left our luxurious hotel overlooking the Pacific on a cold, grey day and headed for the port of Valparaiso which was about a ten-minute car ride. We finally caught a glimpse of the ship through the fog and were anxious to board. The boarding process took all of five minutes and we found our cabin on deck 8. Because we don’t have a balcony this cabin is huge and we are not falling all over each other as we usually do.

We dumped the stuff we had with us and headed for the town. Valparaiso is a commercial fishing port and financial center. There is really nothing to see there except containers and fishermen. We went to the central square where there was something that looked amazingly like a gypsy festival, so we held on to our wallets and headed back to the ship. This involved a round-trip on the local metro which was spotlessly clean and very safe.

Back on the ship it was time to explore the layout and the buffet. Our luggage was there when we got back to the cabin so we were able to unpack and relax before dinner. We found Ruth and Bert without any problem and we have been laughing with them ever since. There are eight of us at the table and the conversation is quite varied, all the way from investing to smuggling liquor onboard without getting caught and everything in between. Since everyone was tired the first night was an early one. Some people did not have their luggage yet and they were not happy.

Our first port stop was La Serena, Chile. The port has two sides, Coquimbo, where the commercial port is and where we docked, and La Serena, where the city is. La Serena is the second oldest city in Chile. It was originally settled by Mapuche indigenous people and the Spaniards who conquered them and miners in the gold and copper mines. The city itself is small and the people seem very polite. There is definitely a more indigenous population here in this part of the country. Not too many with European ancestors here.

It was national police day here and there was a parade and a big celebration throughout the entire city. First, all the police personnel went into the church for a blessing. We were with Ruth and Bert and the four of us followed the police into the church, of course. We met and had our photo taken with the “jefe” chief of police. We then made our way to the other side of town where we went to La Recova, the central market which sells everything from local produce to arts and crafts of the area. On our way back to the central plaza we met with hundreds of local school children, all in their different school uniforms, who bombarded us with questions about the U.S. It really was a special moment for us. They were so cute, so friendly, and most important, just children enjoying their childhood. They were getting ready to march in the police parade and were so excited that it was contagious.

We stopped at El Faro, the local lighthouse, on the way back to the ship. The cab with the four of us and the driver looked like one of the clown cars at the circus. Here were these four Americans, two of them over six feet, trying to squeeze in and out of a little Toyota. It was worth a lot of laughs.

Back on board it was time to eat again, take a nap, go to show and dinner. Tough life. We did a latin dance, won two bucks in the casino and Jerry ran out of gas.

Today is again cloudy, but not too cold. After breakfast we went to the golf tournament and I won a silver medal in the ladies division for getting the ball closest to the pin in the simulator. The medal is still hanging around my neck and I might wear it to formal night tonight. My athletic ability is overwhelming me!
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Well, I am on my way to wine tasting now. Bert is my date. Jerry is playing bridge. We will fight for the tiny bathroom later to see who gets ready for formal night first.

Now for a description of our dinner companions. First of all, there are Ruth and Bert, our buddies and fellow conspirators, who are making our cruise so much more fun. We love to make fun of almost everyone onboard and we laugh all the time. Then there are the couple from Texas. Bert gave him the nickname Chairman of the Board and it stuck. I am pretty sure she comes to the table loaded every night. They don’t talk to each other but they talk to everyone else at the table. We’ve seen them on the dance floor and they move around pretty well for older folks. Then we have the couple from California, one of the strangest couples I have ever met in my entire life. She is an unbelievable airhead who is constantly looking for compliments. He has dyed red hair and I am sure that he has had a facelift. I can hardly contain myself when they start talking because they are so absolutely ridiculous. They are completely in love with themselves. Tonight she wore a dress made entirely of gold sequins. She resembled a mermaid. She kept asking me the time every five minutes and I have no idea why. They both drink some sort of potion which they assured us makes them young and physically perfect. One of these nights I will probably choke on my food. If Ruth rolls her eyes at me one more time I will lose it!

We saw a terrific show tonight. It was called Beatle Maniacs and you would swear you were watching and listening to the Beatles. We were dancing in the aisles. It was a good day. Besides my silver medal I also won a tee shirt, three key chains and a Royal Caribbean bathrobe and I only lost five dollars in the Casino.

We are not going to the three port stops in Mexico because of the swine flu epidemic. We have no idea where we are going and that includes the captain. He is waiting for instructions from the corporate office. The passengers voted for Hawaii but that’s not going to happen. We might find out by tomorrow at noon. In the meantime, we are heading for the port of Callao in Peru, where we will be touring Lima. In the meantime, goodnight from somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.