43. Still At Sea Towards San Antonio, Chile

Still At Sea Towards San Antonio, Chile          59 F (15C)

So far the weather has stayed cool; it’s another bum day just loafing on decks. 

Lunch was another English Pub day; this time I tried the Scotch Egg meal. A hard-boiled egg, lightly breaded and deep fried. Yummy!

I forget what Carol had, but I am sure we both washed it down with Ale.

I looked it up, today is cruise day 39, almost 2/3^rd through our trip. How do I feel?

Extremely pampered and a bit sluggish would be my first answer. 

Jean, our friend visits the gym every day; she even hired a trainer to push her through her routine. Her husband, Ross, makes sure he walks at least 10,000 steps each day, around and around the ship, up and down, keeps on walking. He checks his performance with a ‘fit bit’ wristwatch. 

Me… I drink cappuccinos and while I try not to eat too much I snack on a cookie here and there. I am more of a nerd. I walk around too but not to the point of pushing myself. I walk around to find a different point of view someplace, explore nooks and crannies, chat with people, and even visit stores I would normally not go into, like a watch store. The ship has lots of stores. I find myself missing the intellectual stimuli I would have being off ship. I read a lot on board. No, I do not watch TV but I try to solve every puzzle the ship prints out and distributes in the small library on board each day. Some are too hard to solve instantly but I do not pursue them to the end, either. I feel like I am on vacation.

Splash Pool On Upper Deck - Good Views of Shoreline From Here

The ship has a large spa facility, taking over almost half a deck. I see the people walking about in their white robes, getting tugged, pulled, pressed and rubbed any which way to try to rejuvenate them. For some it is a hopeless cause. For others the look they achieve is a new radiance. The prices of the spa prevent me from even trying to do anything for myself. So, no, I do not partake in this youth program.  

How do I feel?

When I look around, watch others I must admit that some folks get on my nerves; the pushy kind especially.

Even the crew has developed some attitude here and there and some forget that they are hired to serve. Familiarity sews contempt, I suppose.  At least that is what I believe.

Roderigo Tutti, an Italian Pianist was the show at night. Good!

42. At Sea Towards San Antonio

At Sea Towards San Antonio                               54F (12C)

Humberto gave a destination lecture on San Antonio, Chile today, but after so many lectures and listening to Humberto for 38 days, more or less, I am leery about anything Humberto tells me. 

 

We will see.

I just goofed off all day. While I attended the destination lectures I have given up on the enrichment lectures. For the first third of the voyage we had lectures on the use of DNA in investigative proceedings. I liked that, Carol not so much.

Glass Elevator In 4-Level Atrium

Then for the 2^nd leg of the trip we had a guy lecturing about early airplanes and their restorations. Well, I tried one or 2 lectures, but I am just not a fan of old machinery. Carol did not even consider it at all.

Now, towards the end of the cruise there are no enrichment lectures. Something I really miss on board, because I like to learn, like to listen to new ideas. It does not matter the subject, well, almost, but you know what I mean.

Lots of Fun Modelling - But No Free Samples

Carol still has her gemology lessons. She is now ‘almost’ part of the sales force of Effy’s. The store asked Carol to be a mannequin, a walking, jewelry wearing, real life person who models their collection. The store put jewelry on Carol and had her strut around, showing off Tanzanite. The collection Carol wore today costs about US $40,000.00. That is a lot of money for a few stones. The former Captain’s wife was also asked to model the jewelry and Effy let her wear Yellow Diamonds in the value of US $ 500,000.00.  Yikes, some people have lots of money.

Tanzanite With Diamonds, Set In Rose Gold

While in the gemology lectures Carol met Barbara. Those 2 liked each other. When Barbara, who does not drink, won a bottle of Champagne, she gave the bottle to Carol. We had bubblies for dinner that night.

Talking about meeting people leads me to their stories. When you meet new people, during lunch, dinner or in this case while sharing some interest, there are always stories attached.

Ring and Bracelet, Tanzanite With Diamonds In Rose Gold

 Barbara’s story is sad. Her daughter was murdered by her 2^nd husband and her son committed suicide after he contracted aids. 

No matter how beautiful a person looks, and she was beautiful, behind the presented front could lie a deep abyss of misery and despair. But Barbara seemed very positive and gave out a few samples from her cosmetic line.

Thai Dancing

Since it was formal night again, we had another special performance from the Ship’s crew. This time with the theme ‘Do You Wanna Dance?’

All kinds of dances, from flamenco, to rock and roll, to Irish step dancing.

Flamenco Dancers

One of the Fabulous Singers

Finale

41. Puerto Chacabuco, Chile

Puerto Chacabuco, Chile   

           

56 F (13C)     

That's the Whole Town of Puerto Chacabuco

I looked at this port from the railing of the ship, wondering if I should get off. We traveled here after leaving Puerto Montt by going south again. Puerto Chacabuco is a very small town at the end of a long fjord, totally forlorn and I have no clue why we stopped here.

Puerto Chacabuco is different from the town of Chacabuco, which is in the Atacama Desert. 

Fancy Hotel

Puerto Chacabuco has a fancy hotel but who would go here, what would they do?

The roads are gravel, well not all, some are paved. The houses, most of them are in desperate need of repair. All of them are small and remind me of grander shacks.

Why are we here?

We finally did get off the ship, walked the partial gravel road to the fancy hotel to see if we could get internet there and yes, they had it.

We were told US $5.00 for an hour; or if you wanted to sit down and have a coffee while on the internet the charges would be $10.00 for internet and coffee.

Coffee Shop With Good WIFI - At First

We went back out, walked along the tarred road and found a ‘restaurant’ that had Wi-Fi. We could sit down, have a coffee for $3.00 and the internet was fast and fairly good. Well, good until other people from the ship found this place and used their computers and then the bandwidth crashed and the connection was ‘slooow’. Carol tried again to gain access to her banking in Canada but again the message was ‘try another time’.

Coffee - Instant But Not Too Bad

So what do we do in a town time forgot? No matter where you walk, it all looks the dilapidated same. I asked the lady in the ‘restaurant’ if there is anything to see and she just shrugged her shoulders and that was it. 

After our coffee and after we downloaded the emails we walked back towards the harbor where we previously noticed someone had set up some tents that served kind of like shops. 

Carabineros de Chile

The merchandise inside those tents was home knitted goods that the locals tried to sell to the tourist trade. 

It was a clash of worlds. 

Oh, there would have been plenty of buyers had those ‘stores’ had any marketable merchandise for sale, but what they offered was of the poorest quality and totally not appropriate for the spoiled American taste.

On Their Windscreen

I felt for the sellers, even for the town, but what they needed in Puerto Chacabuco was a vision. ‘You will build it and they will come’ only works if you have something people want to see, want to buy or want to admire.

There is nothing in Puerto Chacabuco for most 1^st world countries besides quiet and yes, nature of some kind.

Town of Puerto Chacabuco

We went back on board and watched a TV movie named: Loving Vincent”.

All the scenes in the movie were hand painted, an amazing feat since most drawings were made in the style of Vincent Van Gogh. 

Dinner time was with a couple who wanted to go to Germany next and we gave them some hints and ideas on what to see and do there.

The late show was Rick Steele again, this time in his regalia and guitar…. Instead of pure country music he mixed in Rock…. Not so good!