Photos will be coming

I finally got around to uploading all of my images and video to my main laptop so it will now be easier to add to them to my various posts - I will be editing the previous ones and adding some pics of note.

Cheers

D

On the rails to Fort Lauderdale

Crossed the border

Final sea days and San Francisco arrival March 14 - 16 2013

It is hard to believe that this long epic journey is coming to an end - in some ways I am feeling sad - will miss the new friendship which can be renewed via Facebook and in some ways glad - 49 days away from friends, a couple of minor health issues and more than I wanted stress over missed ports and excursions.

On the morning of March 14, 2013 - I got my passport back - there were returned based on your floor - lots of stamps from the countries that were visited in South America.

As is usual on the ship they are trying to sell you everything but the kitchen sink. As I already had a supply of t-shirts and jewellery means little to me the one thing that I did purchase were 4 x 6 photos showing scenes from the ports that I visited - they provided an album for the photos - what I want to do is match their photo with one of my own that in many cases is of the same subject.

Just how soon I get around to that remains to be scene as I will need to transfer those images to my laptop in order to be able to print.

I also have started to pack - I realize with the use of the self serve laundromat that I needn`t have brought so many clothes. 

The weather has also turned cooler - back in long pants.

On Thursday night I treated my table mates - Anne, Barbara and Paul to dinner in the Crown Grill - the steakhouse on the ship - while the service was a little slow the meal was delicious - I opted for a rack of lamb and it was a large serving - lamb is not something I would prepare myself so when it is offered I will often order it.

We also by now have received our disembarking details and luggage tags - I opt for a 10 AM or later disembark.

I have been in contact via email with Adele and Cliff - my San Francisco cruising friends about what to do to kill the time until my bus to the train leaves at 9:40 PM. More about that later.

One matter to be dealt with in S.F. is US Customs and Immigration - on previous visits it has been a mess but they are using the following system - based on the time you elected to leave the ship you are given a time to report to a specific lounge where you will wait until you color is announced whereby you will be given a ticket to take to another lounge for clearance. Sounds simple and for the most part it worked.

I said for the most part because it was running about 40 minutes behind schedule - the reason offered and it makes some sense is the large number of early walk-offs that had to be cleared - US citizens went in one line as there process is simpler - they are returning to their country.

Once in line it moved quickly - as all the names would have been cleared before hand it was just a case of presenting our passport and having them stamped.

There was one little glitch in the process - most cruisers were given a green I - 94 tourist visa application - well the American didn`t need them and despite our concerns the ship`s crew told us Canadians that we needed to fill them out - NOT TRUE - Canadians don`t need a tourist visa to visit the US - this was confirmed by the custom agent when I presented mine.

One thing that Princess enforces is being out of your cabin no later than 8 AM - so after clearing customs I head for the International Cafe area to wait for our disembark color to be called - mine was Gold 3.

For those who don`t cruise and who might perhaps be reading this - this process is used because of all the luggage that needs to be unloaded - when it is collected the night before it is then placed by color sequence for off loading the next morning.

I am scheduled to leave at 10:15 AM and was fairly surprised to have my color called only 10 minutes late - so while customs was a little slow at the start the disembark seemed to be pretty much on time.

I had discussed a couple of options with my local hosts - they like me are outdoor types and the weather forecast was sunny after a little morning cloud so they met me and we were off.

Next - my day in San Francisco.

Cabo San Lucas March 12 - 13, 2013

As I stated in my last post the Captain announced that we would head for Cabo and arrive around supper time on Tuesday thus giving us a full 24 hrs to enjoy this party resort on the tip of Baja California and party and enjoy seems to be what most on the ship including those who wanted the Captain`s head on a platter got.

While cruising to Cabo we had more than one Dolphin show and a few whales were also sighted.

We dropped anchor around 5PM and by 5:30 the first of the tenders were loading - in Cabo both the ship`s tender boats and a private tender take you to shore - it is about a 10 minute ride.

At the pier there is a flea market and a few restaurants and bars and about a 10 minute walk you are in the heart of the hotel and party area. The first signs of spring break are all about and there is a triathlon on Sunday that has also drawn people to the area.

I opted to have dinner on the ship and then tendered in - walked along the boardwalk to the hotel district - it is quite busy not just with the cruisers but with the people you have come here to relax, catch some sun and party.

Then returned to the pier area and purchased a couple of adult beverages and sat and talked to many of those enjoying the sites.

Most of the Aussies haven`t been here before and were very pleased with the area.

Given all the bad publicity about how unsafe Mexico is it is hard to believe you are in the same country - while there were security and police and military around - Cabo has very little crime - yes there are the locals trying to get you to by trinkets and cigars but you just ignore them.

Around 9:30 PM I boarded the tender and headed back to the ship. Many others were doing the same - it was regular tendering up to 11 PM and them limited overnight until 7 PM.

It was quite the sight seeing all the room stewards who get off shift at 9:30 PM coming ashore as I was heading back.

According to one of the desk persons at one time there were only 40 cruisers ashore and some 400 crew.

According to one of the locals there are some 10,000 Canadians who have a share in a time share in the area. I stopped a one of the many bars in the pier area and they had on the CBC and Peter Mansbridge talking about the process for the election of a new Pope.

On Wednesday morning because of a large number of ship`s excursions leaving the ship a ticket system was used for those just wanting to go ashore - had about a 30 minute wait and then it was aboard the tender and ashore.

Having been here before I had no specific agenda - the weather is sunny and unlike my last visit not too hot - I walked around the hotel and shopping area and around to a beach and then back to the mall where I had lunch at Johnny Rocket`s burger place - it was $16.00 US for the combo but I was given pesos in return which I would use to buy a couple of beer to drink before returning to the ship.

But it was only a little after noon and after a brief conversation I was on my way to the beach that leads to Lover`s Beach and the Arch featured in the photo above.

They state you can`t reach that beach by land but with a low and receding tide and one or two short headland scrambles it appears to be possible - taking off my shoes it was so nice to walk on the warm sands as I made my way towards the beach - I didn`t make it all the way as I had set a 3 PM turn around time to ensure that I got back for the tender - another 15 or so minutes and I would likely have made it - well perhaps the next time I am there I will be able to do it as I now know how to access the beach - there is a naval base and the road appears to go to the base - well it does but it is a public road and ends at the beach.

After what the Captain described as a cruise with lots of ups and down Cabo was just the tonic that was needed to get every bodies spirits lifted for the final two sea day before our arrival in San Francisco on Saturday March 16, 2013.

Next - the final sea days and arrival in San Francisco.

Punta Arenas, Chile Friday Feb 22, 2013

PUNTAS ARENAS, CHILE FRIDAY FEB 22, 2013

Puntas Arenas is our first of four ports of call in Chile – we were given a customs declaration the night before to complete and have ready to show at each of the ports.

This is a planned tender port and things should and did go much more smoothly than yesterday's experience in Ushuaia.

I have two tours planned – one to Isle de Magdalena to see the penguins and then a late afternoon city tour but once again events resulted in some changes.

Because we were late leaving Ushuaia our arrival time in Punta Arenas was pushed back by some two hours.

As I was tired and went to bed early I missed this announcement and didn't discover until the next morning about the change when I checked the daily patter and saw a notice about tour time changes and there it was - due to not being able to reschedule ferry times my trip to see the penguins was cancelled – of three planned opportunities to see them I have ended up not seeing any – Port Madryn I cancelled because of illness, Falklands the port was cancelled and now this.

In hindsight I may not have missed much – apparently at Otway Sound which is also a prime viewing area by the time the tours arrived the birds had headed out to sea to feed and there were less than 2 dozen seen from the trail.

With the first trip cancelled I spent some time on the ship and them grabbed a tender ride – explored some of the town – and there was lots to see – historic buildings etc – then I returned to the port area for my planned tour – I arrived early and was able to get on the tour leaving before mine – had the last seat which was actually right at the front which made getting on and off nice and easy.

Our first stop was at the Institute de Patagonia museum where there was a display of many of the implements, wagons, artifacts from the turn of the century that were used in this part of the world.

Second stop was the Sarah Braun cemetery – named after an early pioneer who donated the land – it is much like the one in Buenos Aires and typical of the type used in many other parts of the world.

We then stopped at a museum – a Catholic one but no cameras or video allowed – it was exceptionally well done for a smallish town – the name escapes me and I am too lazy to go to the suitcase and dig out the tour description – I did stick me head inside the adjacent church sans camera and what a magnificent structure – it and the adjacent museum were established by a religious order called the Saleists – I haven't heard of them before so might have to either Google or Wiki them and see what I can find out.

Our last stop was a viewpoint overlooking the city – clearly could see the ship and the harbour.

We were dropped off at the port but I still had some time to waste so walked some around the downtown core for a little while and revisited one of the churches that was closed earlier in the day and then went to a supermarket called UniMarc which seems to be one of the bigger operators in Chile – picked up some beer, pop and junk food.

Finally back to the ship and ready for a relaxing evening.

While tomorrow is scheduled as a sea day it will be a busy one as we cruise the Chilean version of the inside passage – the Chilean fjords and visit the Amalia glacier.

A review is coming - March 20, 2013

Just getting my feet back on the ground and taking care of things like grocery shopping, laundry, car insurance renewal, income tax etc so it will be a few more days before I post some more details of the cruise and a wonderful 24 hours we had in Cabo San Lucas.

Cheers

Dennis

Thoughts and more thoughts Tuesday March 12, 2013

THOUGHTS, THOUGHTS AND MORE THOUGHTS TUESDAY MARCH 12, 2013 PART ONE

While the cruise isn't over for a few more days and I still have Cabo to spend some time in and since today I am in a writing mood I thought – there is that word again – I would take some time and start putting some of those thoughts – stop it Dennis! - into words and into cyber space.

First off – a special thank you to some of the cruise critic people I have met on board the ship and special thanks to the following people. Anne, Barbara and Paul from south Florida who have been table mates for many dinners in the Michelangelo Dining Room and seat mates on some of Anne's tours. They are getting a special reward of a free dinner in the Crown Grill – the Steak House on this ship.

Penny and Marlene for putting up with me at morning coffee or during Trivia.

Wayne and Bonnie from Nevada – Wayne was the one who kept things flowing on the spread sheet for the past two years and Bonnie who took the time to stop and see how I was.

Don and Debra – follow Canadians – hailing from the Ottawa area – interesting discussing Canadian issues and ribbing each other about our hockey teams – me the Canucks and them the Ottawa Senators.

Garry and Nancy from the Greater LA area who while on Cruise Critic aren't very active - I had a chance meeting them in the hot tub early in the cruise and have spent time chatting with them – we are trying to arrange a dinner together before we hit San Francisco.

Tom, Joe and Mary Ellen from the Bay area – interesting conversations with them - Tom and Joe are a long time same sex couple – can't legally marry in California and Mary Ellen work with Joe as a court reporter for many years. While on the cruise Tom and Joe managed to sell their large condo in downtown S.F. For $50,000 over the asking price – since both are now retired they are moving to Williamsburg, Virginia where they also own a house.

Janelle and Phil from Brisbane, Australia – tour organizer in Lima and always willing to chat for a few minutes.

Janet and Lewis from Missouri and Clive and Margaret from Australia who often ate at the table next to me in the buffet.

Mary and Tom who organized my Fortaleza tour.

To the couple who I met on the train from Boston who I spent so much time getting to know that I haven't been able to remember their names.

There are probably others but these are the name players that have help me through this long cruise and helped cheer me up when as I have posted I was having one of my down days.

MEALS:

I won't comment on the quality of the food as that is always a subjective subject but as I like to say – ANY MEAL THAT I DON'T COOK IS ALWAYS A GOOD MEAL.

BREAKFAST – after about the third or fourth day I found a home for breakfast at the International Cafe on deck 5 – they have light pastries and a coffee bar not unlike Starbucks and at times as busy as them.

I settled into having two apple like turnovers and a chocolate donut – I became such a regular that Jhoel – he pronounces it Jonathan would see me coming and have the plate ready for me.

LUNCH – on sea days I would vary it - some times in the buffet – where I tended to over eat and other times in the Crown Grill where they offered a English style pub lunch – I would have Fish and Chips - also took advantage of the pizza slices up on the pool deck and the delicious cheese burger and fries offered at the Trident grill on deck 14.

DINNER – when I wasn't eating with Anne and company in the restaurant it would be the buffet – they varied their menu – I like potatoes – half of me is Irish – but I have never seen so many names and types of potato dishes as I have on this cruise and believe me I tried most of them.

I also was a regular at the ice cream bar – enjoying a vanilla soft cone most days after lunch.

Cookies – when I had no junk food available - were my “treat”

As for beverages – with the morning meals it was usually just water and for the remainder of the meals - water and diet pop.

For the most part any adult beverages I consumed them in my cabin while reading a book or working on editing my photos and video.

End of Part One.