thefouramigosblog

I woke early enough to capture a sunrise heading into our last port today, Aruba.

All was quiet on the streets except for the noise from our approaching ship.

We enjoyed coffee on our balcony. It’s a big balcony but it could use some maintenance.

We decided to walk around the town and not do too much. We were here last year so it wasn’t important for us to spend a lot of time. There were a lot of vendors selling Aruba souvenirs.

Once you’ve seen one shop you’ve seen them all.

We looked for a cafe or bakery and all we could find was Starbucks. We had a strawberry smoothie and shared a pound cake.

We went by a Protestant Church but it was locked up.

Then strolled past an area with swings and outside seating. Someone asked to take our picture.

Afterward, we thought, he could have taken my phone and run.

We stopped in a art gallery where they use plants and other materials to color objects. The process looked very interesting. A small piece ran about $50.

There are very high end stores in Aruba and for the life of me I don’t understand why anyone would go here to shop in them. I guess you really have to like to shop.

Some of the interesting sites about town!

Before we returned to the ship, we sat in the terminal so Bruce could use the Wifi. It works really well in the Aruba Port Terminal and they supply ample seating.

All in all, Aruba is very clean but I like places that are a little more exotic. We’ve been here before and swimming in its gorgeous waters are probably the best.

Leaving port, another beautiful sunset!

#aruba#tour#wifi#starbucks#smoothie#louisvuitton#cartier#souveniers

The Panama Canal was originally started in the late 19th century by the French. When they gave up, the United States began construction in 1904.

The Bridge of the Americas was completed in 1962 and spans over a mile.

We traveled through the Miraflores Locks and Miraflores Lake.

Next we went into the Pedro Miguel Locks.

Centennial Bridge opened in 2004 is located 9 miles south of the Bridge of the Americas.

And the last Bridge, the Atlantic Bridge, was completed in 2019. This bridge was designed for the passage of huge containers.

A cruise ship the size of Holland America Oosterdam, pays roughly $250,000 to go through the canal.

After construction, the canal and the Canal Zone surrounding it were administered by the United States.

In 1977 President Jimmy Carter signed the Torrijos-Carter Treaty which turned control of the canal over to Panama for a fee of $1. In 1999, Panama gained full control over the canal.

If you are really interested in the Panama Canal, The Path Between The Seas by David Mccullough is a great and very informative read.

#panama#pananacanal#brideoftheamericas#centennialbridge#atlanticbridge#davidmccullough#pathbetweentheseas#mirafloreslocks#pedromiguellocks

We arrived in Panama this morning which brought about some bitter sweet memories. I could see the bridge in the distance near where we stayed almost nine years ago.

It was when I started the Four Amigos blog and when we traveled with my sister, Linda, and Stan. We were the four amigos. My sister died last October and being here just brought some tears. We had plans to travel far and wide and we had many memories. My heart feels full with cherished memories but sometimes the sadness over powers that.

It looks like a beautiful morning to head to the monkey and sloth sanctuary.

We met our tour guide from Monkey Adventures at the terminal. It was a 6-hour tour to Monkey Island on Gatun Lake. We stopped at the Gamboa Raingorest Reserve briefly to use the facilities. What a spectacular view.

We arrived at Gatun Lake and boarded our boat.

The white-faced Capuchins came down to our boat. A little fellow took a grape from my hand.

We saw howler monkeys in a tree but couldn’t get a picture. I was kicking myself for not bringing my Nikon. Then we saw this cute little monkey called Geoffroy’s Tamarin.

He really liked to eat banana.

The yellow-flowered trees are Araguaney, which is the Venezuelan National tree. It only blooms for a short period of time.

Our tour guide took us to a sloth sanctuary.

These gals were rescued and will never live in the wild. One of the sloths kept pulling the blanket over her head so we couldn’t see her.

There was a butterfly garden with hummingbirds.

And a poison dart frog area.

It was a fun trip with Monkey Adventures and 10 other passengers.

And at the end of the day, a magnificent sunset!

#monkeyadventures#whitefacedcapuchins#panama#tour#sloth#geoffroystamarin#monkeyisland

Today our port of call is Manta, Ecuador. I wasn’t sure if we would stop here due to civil unrest but it appears that Holland America thinks it’s ok. The Brits received emails that they should not go off the ship. The US has Ecuador as a threat level 2. However, Manta seems a distance from where the demonstrations and violence are taking place.

Before we retired, Ecuador was the country Bruce wanted to retire to. With all our traveling and 9 years later we are finally getting here.

Our view today is not very pretty. All we see is this huge cargo ship. This morning, hundreds of cars were driven off this ship.

If I look around my balcony, I can see the water. This was the first time we were on the wrong side of the ship.

It was brutally hot. Maybe only in the high 80’s but the humidity made it a scorcher. Bruce and I decided to go to the mall.

On our way, vendors were selling Panama hats. Did you know that Panama hats are really made in Ecuador? Teddy Roosevelt made the Panama hat popular and at that time, everything exported from South America went through Panama. A town in Ecuador, Montecristo, is where they are made. An authentic Panama hat takes approximately one year to make. They are waterproof and can be folded tightly to fit inside a ring. An authentic hat costs about $500. The vendors sell knockoffs for under $50.

There used to be several hundred people who were skilled in the art of making the Panama hat. Now there are only about 20 artisans remaining.

These are knock offs but kind of cute!

Bruce and I stopped at a Baskin Robbins for ice cream.

It was a huge mall with its teenage girls walking in pairs. A sort of cloned Best Buy, nail salon, and food court all made this look like a US mall.

The beach was right across the street.

It was too hot for bakery today so the ice cream had to suffice.

I think that’s about all I have on Manta for now.

The barge just left and now we have a view.

Now we are off to meet up with friends for coffee!

#ecuador#manta#icecream#panamahat

I’ve been under the weather the past few days – everyone on the ship has been hacking away. I went to a pharmacy in Paracas and ran into a fellow traveler who was getting antibiotics. You can buy them over the counter in South America. I brought some which I started taking. It’s probably just viral and the antibiotics won’t help but I am feeling a tad better. Just lying down gets difficult because of the cough. I can’t imagine I have Covid. I just had it a month ago so I should still have antibodies.

I don’t usually do ship tours but it was easy not having to figure out what to do and this tour sounded good and reasonably priced at $109 per person. I have to say the ship tours in South America have been very expensive. Another reason not to do them besides feeling like cattle being herded onto a bus.

After a 15 minute wait in the theater, we made it on the tour bus!

Our cruise director, Ed, said that right outside the gate the neighborhood was extremely dangerous and we should not walk there. As we drove by the area, we could see the impoverished neighborhood was expansive. Many of the buildings did not have roofs because without roofs they could not be taxed. How sad for these poor people that they could not even use tourism to help them out of poverty.

In the distance, we could see a church.

As we neared the yacht club the neighborhood seemed to improve. The yacht club was small but there were several boats to accommodate our adventure. The tour company was Mar Adentro Excursiones. We donned our life jackets and were off!

The writing on the mountain was Peruvian Coat of Arms. It was put there by their military and they used plants for the lettering.

The guide called this Moai, after the same face like sculptures on Easter Island. If you look closely at it you could see 3 faces. He said this was used by fishermen as a guide.

It was a beautiful ride to Palomina Island.

We finally saw a group of penguins.

Then we reached Palomino Island, the home to thousands of sea lions.

The smell was horrendous. We were warned but I had to keep breathing into my hand until I adjusted to the smell. The water temp was 64 degrees. Since I’ve had a cold, I decided not to swim. None of the sea lions approached the swimmers so I was glad I decided not to get wet!

After spending time with the sea lions we headed back to the yacht club.

A submarine given to Peru by the US is in the harbor. It is used as a museum.

A few pelicans gathered on the rocks!

It was a fun afternoon spent looking at the wildlife if Peru!

In the evening we were treated to a Peruvian musical company! They were fantastic!

What a great day!

#marsadentroexcursiones#moai#peru#sealions#pelicans

We are now in Peru. Some passengers have left the ship to do a two-nighter to Machu Picchu. It was very expensive, over $3000. It’s on our bucket list so we will return to Peru to do this trip at another time.

From our balcony, we see a lot of dirt or sand – mountains plus sea.

I have the same cold Bruce had two weeks ago so I’m not feeling great. We decided to wait a while and then take the free shuttle to Paracas, a resort town for people living in Lima. Vendors were selling their wares on the pier and one man was working on a loom.

The drive to the town was like driving through a desert but with ocean all around.

Off the bus and into the town our first stop was at MillaCero. We had a light lunch of fish ceviche and mango drinks.

Aguaymanto is a tiny Peruvian fruit. It came with our mango drink. I ate it before I even looked to see what it was. Now that’s bold!

I couldn’t find a church but did find some beautiful street art.

And some beautiful boats in the harbor!

And I can’t forget the friendly pelican! He was posing!

Is it a giant candlestick, pitchfork, or trident? This etching in the sloping hill is called “the Candelabra of the Andes”. It’s approximately 600 feet from tip to base, dependent upon the section measured. In appearance it is a large central line from which two arms branch out to form an overlying U shape. At the top of the main, or middle, line there are smaller lines resembling antlers or candle holders that reach from either side of the main line. These additions also appear on both of the outer arms as well. Overall, the figure has the appearance of a giant candlestick. addition to the main lines of the Candelabra, there is also a second set of tracks from the main lines sent out to support the large, branching arms. Another interesting feature is the lower set of lines looping the sides of the branching arms. The Candelabra was literally etched into the earth and dates back to 200 BCE. It is very similar to the more well-known Nazca lines but at this time nobody knows the purpose.

Our new Captain, yes our former captain left for vacation, detoured so we could see this.

It was a short but pleasant trip to Paracas!

#peru#paracas#pelican#candelabral#andes#millacero#cerviche#streetart

Another early morning rise. I am not sure why this is so difficult except that we have been luxuriating in the slow-to-start mornings. But sometimes we have to suffer through this if we want to see a port. Our view this morning was much nicer than yesterday in San Antonio.

We met our tour guide Sergio at the terminal. The company is Turismo Cochiguaz.

On the way to our transport, we saw pirate ships in the harbor.

Our trip today was to the Elqui Valley. On our way, we drove past the Puclaro Dam and through the Puclaro tunnel through the mountain.

The native indians called the Elqui Valley the trumpet of the Andes. Along the way we saw many vineyards. However, water is very scarce here.

Papaya is known as the tears of the Indian princess. The area has 320 days of clear skies making it an ideal location for astrology.

Our stop to lookout over the Elqui Valley.

Incas taught the newer tribes how to cultivate and farm the land using a diagonal approach on the hillsides.

We stopped at Aba Pisquera to learn how they make Pisco, an amber or yellow colored alcohol beverage made in Chili. It is made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof drink and it was developed in the 1700s. It is very strong around 30-50 proof.

We next visited Vicuna, the city where Gabriela Mistral won the 1945 Nobel Prize for literature. She was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

We visited the Immaculate conception church in Vicuna. The ceiling was painted by a Chilean college student.

The Bell Tower located around the city square was built in the 1800s and was the city hall.

We went for lunch at Entre Cordillera. The owner showed us how they cook with solar.

I had a salad, rice and steak and Bruce had rice and chicken.

La Serana is the second oldest city in Chili, founded in the 1500s. This was our last stop on our tour. We visited the Cathedral De San Bartolome De La Serena which was built in the 1800s.

Santo Domingo Church was built in the 1600s.

The last photo op was the lighthouse which isn’t a lighthouse. Those of us who have seen many of the real things, were not impressed.

And I can’t end today without some of the beautiful street art!

And we made it to the ship without a minute to spare!

#entrecordillera#catedraldedanbartolomedelaserena#laserena#vicuna#elquivalley#pulcarodam#gabrielamistral#tours#ship#santodomingochurch#coquimbo#southamerica#turismocochiguaz

We signed up for a tour going to Santiago with a guy named Steve, who I chatted with on Cruise Critic. I usually like CC tours because there are fewer people, so it’s more personal, and they are usually half the price.

We woke early to meet our group at the terminal building. 12 people were on time and we waited 45 minutes for the other couple, who never showed.

Sergio was our guide for the day and works for Tac Turismo a local tour company.

We had a 1-1/2 hour ride to Santiago and our first stop was a gas station where I found the cutest dog! She posed for me. How precious!

Our first stop was Santa Lucia and Castillo Hidalgo, which is a castle-like structure built in the early 1800’s. Entrance is free and worth a visit.

The steps were quite a hike up but we kept hearing the view was worth it! In the distance you can see the Andes Mountains.

The terrace is called Caupolican Terraza and there is a statue of Caupolican who was a great warrior of the Mapuche people who fought against the Spanish conquistadors.

Our next stop was the Plaza de Armas where we saw the Mayors House, the central post office and museums.

And of course the Cathedral Metropolitana.

We just caught the end of a local dance pair on the plaza dressed in native costume!

There were many historic buildings and it was a quick trip. I wish I had more time to get a feel for this city!

We also caught a demonstration in front of the Government building.

I did have the opportunity to find some street art!

And of course a visit to any city would not be right without a visit to a bakery!

So all in all a good day – not quite enough time to catch the real flavor of a place but just enough to peak my interest!

We are back on the ship, watching the sunset! Life is Grand!

#chile#santiago#sanantonio#plazadesarmas#governmentbuilding#hidalgocastle#caupolican#mapuche#santalucia