3/17 - What happened to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua 3/18-19?

We sure enjoyed our down time yesterday.  Little did we know we were in the throngs of the Torres Cruise Illness cycle.

We kept a very low profile the rest of Saturday.  Only I left the cabin to briefly meet our cruising buddies.  Tony was still very content to stay in bed never even getting anything to eat that evening.  I was also tired so we both crashed early and took advantage of the on demand movies available in our room.

Sunday morning we started slow.  Tony felt much better, but not a lot of energy.  I had even less.  But we forced ourselves upstairs to have a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice, our standard breakfast this cruise.  We sat and chatted for a while with a couple at our table and then headed back to the cabin.  I wasn't feeling well.

Long story short, I spent the next two days in bed missing our much anticipated wine makers meal.  But Tony did the responsible thing and attended and represented both of us. I think I'm safe ruling out food poisoning.  We wouldn't have been sick sequentially if it was something we ate.  After 17 cruises we've succumbed to a nasty ship virus.  We've paid our dues...2 days in bed for both of us.  But we survived!  And stronger for the experience.

Tony holding court while Betty slept away.

By Tuesday, (3/19) I had rebounded and we were able to join our little travel gang for dinner at the Crown Grill.  Thank you Pat and Dean for a wonderful treat and many additional memories for this cruise.  I have a feeling the 6 of us may be cruising together again.

Tomorrow is Puerta Vallerta.   You can be damn sure I'm getting off this ship and having a really cold beer!

Good health is precious.

3-16 Puerto Caldera for Puertarenas, Costa Rica

We were scheduled to dock at Puertarenas, Costa Rica this morning.  But instead we docked at Puerto Caldera, and industrial port 28 km down the coast.  This really didn't make a difference to us.  We didn't get off the ship.  Tony is much better, but there was really nothing we wanted to see here.  So instead, we put on our swimsuits and headed to the poll.

We found a shaded corner, spread our towels and settled in for the next 4 hours, jumping in the pool for a few laps to cool down and then back to the lounge to.... rest!  And that was our day.

Back in the room I decide to do one more load of laundry.  That should do it for this trip.  Everything else can wait until we return home, which is 7 days, 12 hours, and 59 minutes.

Life is good.

3-15 Another Day at Sea

Beware, the ides of March

It wasn't a good day.  It wasn't a bad day.  It was a fairly quiet day.  Unfortunately Tony is still a bit sick.  A touch of Traveller's diarrhea, so we think.  Perhaps food poisoning?  Perhaps Norovirus?  No to the last perhaps.  He has no fever.  If he isn't better tomorrow, we'll head down to medical.

The great activity today was crossing the equator.  And of course, as tradition is, there was a line-crossing ceremony.  Although we actually crossed the equator at 2am this morning, the ceremony was held @ 11 am.  If you are unfamiliar with this ceremony, here's a brief history from Wikipedia:

"The line-crossing ceremony is an initiation rite the commemorates a person's first crossing of the Equator.  The tradition may have originated with ceremonies when passing headlands, and become a "folly" sanctioned as a boost to morale,^[2] or have been created as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long rough times at sea. Equator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are common in the navy and are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships.

Throughout history, line-crossing ceremonies have sometimes become dangerous hazing rituals. Most modern navies have instituted regulations that prohibit physical attacks on sailors undergoing the line-crossing ceremony."

I remember my father telling me the story of his "line-crossing" ceremony while in the navy.  While not all good memories, he was proud of being a shellback and carried his shellback card in his wallet until the day he passed away.

Depiction of modern day Naval Line-crossing Ceremony

So today was our turn to cross the line.  Neither of us were "true" participants in the ceremony, Tony actually stayed in bed.  It would be quite difficult to have all pollywogs (those who have not crossed the equator by ship) on this 3000 passenger ship physically participate in the ceremony.  So 15 passengers are selected to participate while the rest of us watch.  We are given the opportunity to "kiss the fish" and jump into the pool fully clothed afterwards.  I passed.  Photos of the ceremony are posted below.

Well, that was about it for the day.  Tomorrow we are scheduled to dock in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.  We've already been diverted to another port because of the size of this ship.  And the Captian Nick Nash has already announced there is a chance we may not dock because of sea swells.

Here's hoping Tony's feeling better and we're able to walk on land for a bit.

Pre-ceremony

Captain Nick Nash opening the ceremony.

King Neptune & Queen Double D

Not sure what roll the nurse had in the ceremony.  She was played by Rob & Jen's friend, Jennifer.

The first 5 pollywogs being covered in food - spaghetti, white & pink goop that looked like yogurt.

One of the polliwogs, post-ceremony

3-13/14 Sailing North

This morning (Tuesday) we are in port and still recovering from our 14 hour day in Lima.   It was a great day.  But I'm not sure we could keep up that pace.   Today we’re just chilling.  Tony’s still not feeling 100% - sore throat.  I leave the room around 8 to get some coffee and the rest of the morning we just lounge in our room and wait for our 10am sailaway.  Our departure is delayed an hour because of  passengers returning from a three day excursion to Machu Pichu.  

  Once at sea we head out for a bit to eat and then just head back to the room.  We’re really laying low today.  So its movies, napping and just chilling for the rest of the day.  In the evening we meet our fellow travelers in Vines and ahave a fun evening visiting and having dinner in the dining room.  At 9:30 we close the dining room and head up to our cabin.   

Production Show - Colors of the World

Wednesday is pretty much a repeat on Tuesday with the exception of watching an enrichment lecture on Elvis Presley and Graceland in the afternoon.  In the evening we caught the production show Colors of the World at 7:30.   Rob & Jen’s friend, Jennifer Hibulla again sang female lead in the show which was just fantastic.  This cruise has one of the best singing / dancing team members weve ever seen on Princess. 

 We finish the evening with dinner at Alfredos with our travel gang and then off to bed.

 I cannot believe it, only  8 days, 15 hours left to this cruise.    

3-12 Callao for Lima, Peru

This morning we woke up in our final South American port, Lima, Peru.  Are we really 2/3 through this cruise?  Yes!  And we've made some great travel memories.

So, about our day - as usual, we're up early, showered,  run up to the Horizon court for breakfast, and  head down to our meeting spot for our excursion.  I've arranged a private tour with Haku tours to visit Pachacamac, tour the city of Lima, and then finish with the magic water and laser show in a city park.  It's going to be a long day - 11 hours of tour plus travel.  We're booked this tour with Dean & Pat because we wanted to avoid the crowds of the Princess tour bus.  Another couple on the cruise also booked the tour last minute.  So there will be  only six of us on this tour....but hundreds of others either in front or behind us as we tour through the day.

When we were having breakfast, I ran into Pat & Dean.  Dean informs me that later in the previous evening they received news from home that a close family friend has passed away.  Dean decided to stay back on ship to make contact with others.  Pat would still be joining us.

Before I get into our day let me fill you in on Lima, Peru.  This city is huge, like 10 million people huge with all the problems that go with a city that size.  Crime, traffic, and a lot of disorder.   I'm not sure if there is a cruise ship terminal.  We were informed our ship would be docking in the middle of their commercial port - perhaps because of the ship size.  As as passenger this means we cannot walk off the ship and into the city as we do in San Diego.  Instead passengers are bussed to the terminal gates...usually.   Unfortunately in Lima the area outside the port is no longer safe for cruise passengers so we are bussed to a shopping plaza located approximately 8 miles from the port.  That ride takes us almost 90 minutes on through the streets of Lima.  Traffic is horrendous!  

After a quick potty call for a bunch of old folks we are finally seated with our tour guide in the tour minibus and headed to Pachacamac, the Wari, Yschma and finally Inca settlement of Peru. Why mention the previous tribes of this area?  Because the Inca empire lasted only a few years short of 100 before the Spanish showed up and well, you know what happened!

After another hour of travel we finally reach the ruins and set of with our guide, Pamela.  She takes us first to the museum and gives us a cliff note version of Peruvian history.  We then head out to the archeological sites via our tour bus.  It's still summer down here, so the temperatures are hot!  

House of the Chosen Women
Their choice at maturity?
Marry a chief, teach other young girls the skills of the Chosen Women, or sacrifice!

Our Tour Group

The green tent is an excavation site.  The houses behind is a shanty town built on the ruins.
By law, the houses cannot be removed.

The North Temple
The ramp was used to carry the chief up/down.

Temple of the Sun

We made it to the TOP!
Betty, Tony & Pat

Heading back down
Pamela & Tony

Back in the bus we head back to central Lima for lunch and a city tour by foot.  I'd like to say we enjoyed lunch. but the food is a bit foreign for us.  I'm able to eat the chicken soup and most of the beef with rice I selected.  But Tony ordered chicken with vegetables.  Unfortunately it had a very strong chicken flavor with no seasoning.  He did try, but just couldn't.  I think it was boiled - and not seasoned.  No worries, we're not going hungry here.  

After lunch we walk through the central city with our tour guide educating us on the history of of the European architecture of the beautiful historical buildings.  We also tour the Basilica and Convent of St. Frances built in 1673.  It survived earthquakes in 1687 & 1746, it did suffer some damage in the 1970 earthquake.  The structure was UNESCO listed in 1991.  And although we could only go through a small part of it, it was beautiful!

This building was a gift to Peru from France.  The building is currently unused.

Window Balcony of colonial homes.

Basilica & Convent of San Francisco

Basilica & Convent of San Francisco - Nave

Side Alter

Catacomb of Basilica

Catacomb of Basilica

Plaza Mayor, Lima

Plaza Mayor - Cathedral of Lima

From the Basilica we head to a local corner bar for some refreshments and tapas to hold us through the water and laser show we will be seeing at 7:15.  Did I mention this was going to be a long day?

Tappas, Lima Style - Lots of potatoes.

Tapes and soft drinks downed, Jorge, our trusty bus driver picks up just outside the door and we head a few miles or 30 minutes down the road to Parque de la Reserva.  It's so nice having a guide to maximize the time we have in the park.  At 7:15 we are lined up along the fence  to watch Circuito Magico del Agua, or Magic Water Circuit which is a 15 minute synchronized water /music show with laser projected images on the water.  After, we work our way out of the park and wait for Jorge.

Changing Colors

Changing Colors

Changing Colors

This reminds us of a bunt cake

Colors of the rainbow.

Tired tourists.

Bundt Cake??

After a 45 minute tour bus ride to the port shuttle stop and a 60 minute shuttle bus ride we hall our very tired butts on the ship, jump it the shower and then quickly run up to the Horizon Buffet to grab a sandwich and salad before we it the sack.

It's been a wonder and exhausting 14 hour excursion day!

3-11 Pisco for Tambo Colorado

We gained another hour on the clock last night.  One of the perks of sailing west - a few extra hours thrown in every couple of days.

We actually beat the alarm clock this morning.  Waking up at six when in reality it was only 5am.  Once we are up, we shower and head up to get some breakfast.  Today we're scheduled to do a Princess tour to Tambo Colorado, a well preserved Inca adobe complex.

The ship is docked at the middle of nowhere.  And when we look outside, the view confirms we ARE in the middle of nowhere!  The port is called San Martin and it is located in the Paracas National Reserve, founded to preserve the desert and marine ecosystems.   There is absolutely no vegetation because the area gets literally no rain.

Shot from the moving bus.  You can see the ship on the other sides of the bay.
The ground is baron.  And if you look at the hills by the ship, they look like there's snow.  But it's not.

The ride to Tambo Colorado is about 1.5 hours.  Just getting out of the park takes about 20 minutes.  As we get closer to Pisco & the Pisco River, the terrine changes.  Where there's water, there is life.   In 2007 this town was nearly flattened by an 8.0 earthquake killing close to 500 people.  The area we drive through is very impoverished based on our standards.  Most houses, or more specifically 4 walls are adobe with a woven mat roof.  And there is a lot of areas that are still rubbled.  It was pretty shocking.  Someone said it reminded them of India.

Our boat

Past Pisco we travel along the Pisco River which is dry 10-11 months a year.  Only in the summer is there water in the riverbed.  Close to the base of the Andes mountains we reach the archeological site and spend the next 90 minutes there walking among the rules and listening to our guide as he explains what life was like for the Inca living in the valley 600 years ago.

We're given 30 minutes to walk around on our own and then we're back on the bus heading toward the ship.  Back on ship by 1, we grab a light bite to eat and head back to the room.  Our down time included watching the movie, The Green Book which was recently added to the on demand in-cabin movies.

Around 5, the ship leaves the port.  The temperature has dropped and there is a beautiful, cool breeze on our patio.  Pat, Dean, Linda and Gordy join us for a drink on the balcony as we share stories about out day.  As the sun sets, we head upstairs for a quick bite to eat at the Horizon Court.  It will be to bed early for all of us.  Tomorrow is another busy port day in Lima, Peru.

Another country on the books.

3-9 & 10 - At Sea

I'm actually writing this on Monday, the 11th.  Why?  Well, there just isn't a whole lot to report.  We were at sea for two days and we just chilled.  We slept late, watched a few movies, ate, hung with our travel buddies, ate, and so on, and so on.

On Saturday, the 9th we finally left our cabin a bit before noon and headed up to the gym. After some time on the bike for me, I walked over to one of the exercise machines and recognized Jennifer Hibulla, the singer we recognized last week as friends of Rob and Jen.  Hesitant to introduce myself because I was an unattractive gym mess, I thought, what the heck.  She knew we were on board because Rob had texted to her husband, Neil a few days ago.  So the four of us chatted a bit and then made plans to get together for a chat when her schedule allows.

Jen & husband, Neil

After the gym we head back to the room to clean up and then get something to eat.  And quite honestly, I don't remember what else we did that day.  I know we had dinner with Pat & Dean.  But that's about all I can remember!

And as far as Sunday?  More of the same, minus the gym.  Oh yeah, it was formal night so we got all schnazzed up and met Linda & Gordy for the Captain's champaign pour and dinner afterward.  Yep, that was about it.  The next couple of days will be busy, so taking it easy felt good!

Champaign Pour

Gordy & Linda with us after formal night dinner

Can't believe we're at the halfway point of this cruise!