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Cruising Around South America for 45 Days Part 3
Cruising Around South America for 45 Days Part 3 Our love of traveling has taken us to 38 countries of the world and every state in the United States. Meeting interesting people, is our major delight on our adventures. Learning about their customs, culture, and heritage is a major motivator for our extensive travels. Who knows what the future holds for our next vacations. One thing we do know and understand is that we will contact Celebrity (http://www.celebritycruises.com/) and Royal Caribbean (https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/) cruise lines for their assistance in planning an itinerary. We generally book future cruises while still on board ship. There are two reasons for this. First, cruise lines will give you discounts as a loyal customer on your next cruise. Second, as members of the Celebrity's Captain's Club and Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Club, we are allowed to board and disembark from the ships with very few problems, thus avoiding long lines. There are special events you are invited to participate in; gifts you are given; and up grades in your stateroom as well. Please remember when you travel internationally to check your passports, are they current; and do you have the proper visas for the countries you will be visiting. Check the government web site (http://www.cdc.gov/travel/) for the most current information about travel documents and health warnings. We booked a series of cruises that totaled 45-days around South America through the Panama Canal all the way up to New York City while on our Alaskan cruise. The ship, the Zenith, was being repositioned from its South American itineraries; its new itinerary would be to cruise from New York City to Bermuda for the summer. The season for these South America cruises would be ending because winter was approaching for this region even though we were cruising during the months of March and April. When a ship is being repositioned, you will find the itineraries are beneficial to a trip like the one we were taking; and the price is sometimes better. The company's theory is you might as well have passengers on the ship instead of moving it to its new location with only the crew on board. We try to pack items for a long trip that can be hand washed and can be dried overnight; therefore, we carry many silk items. They are light weight and generally look wrinkle free. We always bring an empty suitcase to pack everything we buy.
The first cruise was completed. The departure port was Buenos Aires, Argentina and the ports-of-call included Montevideo, Uruguay; Portobello, Brazil; Rio de Janerio, Brazil; Buzios, Brazil; and Ilhabela, Brazil. This cruise ended in Buenos Aires, Argentina; thus we made a complete circle, heading north to Brazil and returning south to Argentina. Our second cruise, also, departed from the port in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first port-of-call was Montevideo, Uruguay. Puerto Madryn, Argentina, was our second port-of-call. We then curised around Cape Horn, Chile, Tierra del Fuego. The ship was headed north up the coast of South America. Ushuaia, Argentina named the end of the earth, and Punta Arenas, Chile, were our next stops. Finally, we reached the Straits of Magellan and viewed the Skua Glacier. We sailed through The Chilean Fjords. We stopped in Puerto Montt, Chile; and ended this cruise in Valparaiso, Chile. Thus, the second part of the 45-day South American cruise ended. It is customary to tip the service personnel on the ship at the end of the cruise, and wee are glad to do so because they work long hours. The third leg of our cruise vacation began in Valparaiso, Chile. It was sunny and cool. This city is of historical importance to Chile, and was a main stopping point for ships going around the horn to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans before the Panama Canal was built. There are a large number of hills surrounding the harbor that makes the port so beautiful. On our tour we saw many unique buildings. Their architecture is a mixture of 19th century housing styles. Valparaiso has an unusual system of highly-inclined cable cars. The Chilean Congress meets in this city. We enjoyed exploring the city on our own after our tour. Pack clothing that will keep you warm in March and April when traveling in this area. For several days, we were at sea; and we enjoyed relaxing and meeting new people as well as participating in the many activities that are available on the ship. Arica, Chile, was our first port-of-call on this part of the cruise. It is the northern most city in Chile very close to Peru. We took a guided bus tour to the famous hill known as Morro de Arica. From this hill, you can see an amazing panoramic view of the entire city. While traveling up the hill, at one point, we thought the bus might slide off the hill. It was a steep, dangerous climb to the top. We were glad it was a sunny day; because if it was raining, the bus would have certainly gone off the hill. Our city tour included the following historical buildings: Saint Mark’s Cathedral, the former Customs building, the former Government House, and the old railway station that joined the city with La Paz, Bolivia. Today it is a museum. Additionally, outside the city, we toured some of the archaeological sites around the Valleys of Azapa, Lluta and Codpa, they have geoglyphs, petroglyphs and pictograms, and ancient mummies. It was an interesting, eventful tour. The next day we were at sea again. We were so excited; we saw whales in the Pacific Ocean.
Our tour guide for Lima and Callao, Peru, was Carlos. Our bus driver was George; we were accompanied by an armed police officer named Martin. Martin was ready to protect us if necessary. Almost one-third of Peru's population is located in Lima which is the capital and largest city in Peru. It is the cultural, industrial, financial, and transportation center of Peru. Its port was built on a bay in the Pacific Ocean, and the port is named Callao. This was where our cruise ship was docked. The city includes most of the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area according to the guide. Lima faces the Pacific Ocean, while the foothills of the Andes Mountains is at its back. On our tour, we saw many beautiful churches and museums. The guide was proud to mention the history and contributions of the Inca Indians in the area. Manta, Ecuador, was our next port-of-call. Manta has some of South America's most beautiful beaches. Manta has one of the better economies in Ecuador. The main industries include fishing, and the canning and processing of tuna. Many cruise ships come to this port, so tourism is important to the city. After touring the city, the guide was excited to tell us that the original and official "Panama" hats are made just outside of Manta in the town of Montecristi. Montecristi is a small town, founded in the early 1600s. Its colonial architecture was interesting; this small town is best known for its wickerwork weaving, and the original birthplace of the Panama hats. Panama hats are the favorite souvenirs among the tourists. Part of our tour, of course, included going to a market where we were able to purchase these world renowned hats. You definitely had to bargain to get the right price; we purchased four of them. In Ecuador they have a product called Tagua which is Vegetable Ivory. It comes from a nut of the Tagua Palm Tree. They make beautiful vegetable ivory carvings. Buttons on your clothing are made from this.
The ship was now heading to the Panama Canal. We were lucky our ship could fit in the canal. Many newer cruise ships are too big. There was a presentation on the history of building the Canal. It's a very intricate process in how a ship goes through the gates to be raised to the next water level of the locks. In the beginning, they used mules to pull the ships. Now they use trains to pull the ships that they call mules. We understood these were the original trains still in use. It took us 12 hours to get through the Panama Canal. We were so fascinated; we stayed glued to the window in our cabin as well as going out on deck to watch the whole process. Here the sun rises in the Pacific Ocean and sets in the Atlantic Ocean. This is the only place this happens. Aruba was our next port-of-call, and it was Easter Sunday. Families were out in the parks picnicking and celebrating the holiday with Easter egg hunts. We toured the island by bus. It is very dry and sandy, and there were many cactus plants. There was a bridge made of rocks at least hundred feet long over the ocean. The tour group visited an aloe vera plant. We could buy some of these wonderful products in there showroom. The guide said they called garbage sushi in Aruba. The ship stopped in St. Thomas, the US Virgin Islands. We had been here before so we didn't take a tour; we walked to downtown Charlotte Amalie. It was a warm day, but it was cloudy with some rain. After a little shopping, we headed back to the ship to pack. Now we were on our way to New York City, and the end of our 45-days of cruising. |
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This intel was contributed by The MUSEUM
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May, 2012
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