ANDES SOUTH AMERICA CRUISE PART 2. MARCH 12-31
THURSDAY MARCH 12.
Thu, 03/12/15Puerto Montt, Chile Tender Required wheelchair Access Limited8:00am –
Puerto Montt, Chile- March 12, 2015
Puerto Montt is your gateway to Chile's magnificent Lake District. Here, snow-capped volcanoes gaze down on alpine valleys nestled among low hills. Glaciers carved out this terrain, leaving the jewel-like lakes in their wake. The Lake District was a magnet for German immigrants, and their legacy can be seen today in the manicured rose gardens of Puerto Varas, in Chile's "German Villages" like Frutillar and in Puerto Montt's gabled homes with elaborate balconies.
Despite a population of more than 130,000, Puerto Montt retains the feel of a small town. For a simple introduction to the city, walk along its waterfront road lined with tempting artisan's stalls and small cafés.
Note: Puerto Montt is an anchorage port. Transportation from the ship to shore will be via the ship's tender service.
Frutillar & German Settlers Museum
PMC200A | Puerto Montt, Chile
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Adult Subtotal:
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$178.00
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Earlier I make much of greeting John on the treadmill since he made much in our group of my seeming to ignore him the previous morning. It’s all in fun. Then Lauren the instructor compliments me on my Indonesian batik trousers as we begin.
Stretch class allows me to briefly recount my tale of the erupting Indonesian volcano. Check weight--gained about 5 pounds (156 with sneakers--don't forget those weighty heavy sneakers). And back just as breakfast is delivered to our cabin. We have to get ready and be on time for our tour of the "Frutillar and German settlers museum and uphill walk to visit the main house". Nodding off as we wait, Bob's excuse being that he didn't sleep well last night--unusual for him.
God how long do we have to wait here. I guess when tenders are involved it's more complicated. 45 mins. 9:15 out. Long tender ride. Sitting in comfy bus at 9:40.
9:50. Yolanda is our guide. Fires around the city today. Cars and busses trapped by smoke. 3 1/2 tour, 15 regions + Santiago, Porto Mont has 300,000 inhabitants. We’ll also visit Porto Varas. $1 is 600 pesos.
Porto Mont is one of main ports in Chile. Mont was president of Chile in 1853 when it was established. It’s 12 hours by bus to Santiago. End of Pan American from Alaska and Porto Mont.
Cathedral built with alesso wood. 90% of population catholic. Indians were friendly to the German settlers.
People live in houses built of wood partly because of the earthquakes. In 1960 there was a 9 degree earthquake which destroyed the buildings.
Children start classes this week. January and February is the summer vacation. Looking over brightly colored houses. Belonged to fishermen who used same paint as their boats for their houses. Use wood to heat houses. Gas to cook.
Porto Mont is growing very fast.
Heavy traffic today.
Passing through Alerce. Bedroom of Porto Mont. All work in PM. 60,000.
First stop after Yanquis lake. Comes from snow melt. Very large.
German settlers established the Lutheran church., then Catholic Church built in black Forrest style. Tourism big here. Looks prosperous.
There in the distance and mist at the far end of the lake are the two volcanos, hard to photograph directly into the sun. The artisan shops don't sell, da noive, snow globes but actual charming craft things of minimal interest to us. Very touristy. Radissons and the like. And we're back on the bus before our allotted half hour in Puerto Varas.
When volcano has a hat on top of it people say it means it’s going to rain, ring around it means good weather. Cultivate wheat, corn and sugar beet. Cattle. Fishing. Chile is one of the biggest producers of salmon in the world. Also have fish and shellfish canneries.
Lumber-4th economic activity. Paper. 50% to Japan.Tourism is 5th. 49 cruise ships this year in Porto Mont. Rainy area. 200 days of rain especially June and July. 1845. Rich soil. Chile sent an invitation to Europe. Europeans worked the land. Got 72 squares of land. 12 squares more for each child. Gave them a doctor, a cow, and wood for their houses. Had to cultivate 4 squares in a year. 95% did it. Have Pumas, mountain lions, wild boar, condors. Don't have poison snakes or spiders.
Next to Frutillar. (Means strawberry in Spanish.)in February there are 2 weeks of classical music. Built theatre by the lake for that purpose.
The museum. Pretty gardens. Water mill. Pretty views out over the gardens to the lake to the volcanos. Bob. "This is a worthwhile trip." In our 45 minutes we see the water mill, the blacksmith's shop and simple house, and a farmer's more prosperous late 19th c. house plus a little museum.
Chiloa second biggest island in South America. People that live there are a mix of Indian and Spaniards. 1/2 hr. from PM. Known for a dish cooked 2 hours over hot stones and covered with leaves. Chicha is the typical drink. Empanadas are a typical Chilean meal. Pisco Sour is the main Chilean drink. Wines important; grapes from Central Valley near Santiago.
Back to Porto Montt.
Lunch. Cottage pie, trout, minute steak.
Swim at 4 pm. 70 lengths. 1 or 2 others join me but it’s a wide pool. Then of course there's a jacuzzi followed by sauna. I get a glimpse of Fernando working out in the gym. But I modestly avert my eyes. (Ha.)
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| CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD |
Since we decide we'll go to the 8;15 production show before dinner we and a phalanx of other elite/Platinums remain to drink and watch the marvelous scene while the staff says "bye bye".
Ok I confess to being woozy as we sit awaiting the "British Invasion" show we've seen before but so what. Bob opines that it's going to be very popular given the number of Brits and Aussies on board. I think that it's a homage to the 60's and hence to its audience.
Actually the show is fabulous, Princess' best. Turns out two male dancers were missing and the other two were working like crazy. Wow.
Dinner. B and R. Cream of wild mushroom soup, sun blushed Roma tomatoes. (Good though not sure we taste those sun blushed tomatoes), Strawberry sorbet intermezzo. Who can complain? Main course B. Cocoa spice-rubbed pork tenderloin with natural jus. Eggplant and zucchini ratatouille, truffled mashed potatoes. (Very good)
R. Trilogy of lamb pin chop, braised veal breast and chicken kibob with piquant sauce, garlic sautéed spinach, cherry tomatoes. B. “There's certainly something to be said about sitting down to a lovely dinner and in the end not having to pay (although we do)." This is the "chef's dinner" for the first segment only passengers. “Tomorrow night,” says Bob, “they'll do silly things." And then the enablers press us to have dessert. We desist. Brave souls.
FRIDAY MARCH 13.
Decent night's sleep but a constriction in my throat ("sore") making it difficult to swallow enervates me. And I'm not exactly gung ho at stretch/abs class with charming young Alan.
At breakfast the special is a scramble with asparagus and Swiss cheese
accompanied by creamy potatoes. Excellent as is the 6 grain bread. Camomile tea helpful for my sore throat. Yes. It's happening. I’m probably picking up, as is our tradition, Bob's cold.
Back to the internet room to learn that only PDFs and word files will open, not whatever our seller is sending us.
Catch the last part of napkin folding--never know when that will come in handy--or hanky.
Executive chef Andrea, Otto chef de cuisine, Ariel pastry chef, the M'aitre d' and Lovely Fernando hosting and translating.
Cooking 3 dishes.
Papella rustica, Pasta and Tira misu
German chef preparing Italian dish.
Joke about being stopped by cabinieri in Audi Quattro. 5 in car. One needs to get out. Speak to your supervisor? He's talking to the three in the Audi One.
We don't really know what's going on but it's fun watching the food being prepared. The mixing, the adding ingredients, the colors, the smells--we're sitting up front so there is pungency.
Shrimp fra diavolo
Tira misu means pick me up (for honeymooners).
Spanish. Regular verbs. Shall I repeat this course with the excellent Matius in the next segment?
Lecture. La Serena, Chile. Coquimbo is the port. 11 or 12 km from Serena. Flag blue for the Oceans, white, the mountains, red for those who fought. 1/2 million people.
1543 Spanish conquistador founded the city. Fought the indians, destroyed their village. Recovered from earthquakes.
Tourism big here as are the copper mines. Fairly prosperous area. rchitectural museum in center of town. Best in Chile.
Plaza de Armis. Courthouse and cathedral there.
Church of San Francisco.interesting. La Recova--Shops. Japanese gardens.
Coquimbo. Important port in 19th c. Tower of the cross there. Views. Mosque. Fort. Observatory. One of largest. Telescope known as big mamma.
Elqui valley. Fantastic. Grow pisco grapes. Village of Pisco there and Enchanted Valley. Rocks 5000 years old. 3 hours round trip.
Pisco plus lemon plus egg white. (In Peru add lime.) Pella popular, mainly fish.
Lunch upstairs at 2:15. Seafood stew (wonderful--has a kick) and roast beef plus salad. Bob has a blinz "surprisingly good" and a chicken pineapple salad which he greatly likes.
Astronomy Lecture. Fraunhofer invented spectrograph. Measures intensity of light. 1814 discovered dark lines in spectrum of the sun. His assistants in 1950's found that every element had a unique spectral signature. Then astronomy became astrophysics.
Edward Pickering graduated from Harvard. Director of Harvard observatory. Henry Draper took 1st photos of the moon and 1st photo of Stella spectrum (Vega).
So Pickering built on the work of Draper. Developed technique to take spectra of many stars at same time. Draper's widow funded the catalogue finished in 1924.
Harvard set up observer station in Chile.
Annie Jump Canon. Encouraged to study what she wanted. Wellesley and grad studies at Radcliffe, then hired by Pickering. Analyzed spectra of stars. Determined surface temp was fundamental property. Classified 500,000 stars. Cecilia Payne used her data in 1920's.
Our star is a G2 type star. O-type are the hottest, largest and brightest stars. M-type stars are the coolest, smallest and dimmest.
Henrietta Leavitt part of Pickering's harem too. She found precise relationship. So now we can see how far stars are away.
In 1920 Curtis and Shapley debated the nature of the universe. Shapley said earth and sun are not at the center of the Milky Way and that the Milky Way was the entire universe. 1923 Hubble photographed Andromeda Nebula. Found new stars.
Including a variable star. Too far away to be in our Milky Way. 1M light years away.
Our Milky Way Galaxy. Can meet upstairs by 8:45 by Sanctuary putting green tonight to see small and large Magellanic Clouds. Other galaxies.
Foundation of our current understandings of stars and universe made by women.
How many galaxies in universe? Billions. We're on an outlying part of the Milky Way. Next: Frustrations continue to ensue with the internet of course. Relieved only by sunning on our balcony. Yes it's warm and sunny out over the blue seas of the Pacific.
Meet Don and Paul and then the Doctor/nurse guys from Atlanta who are leaving tomorrow at the end of segment 1. Much chatting over a couple of martinis but the music becomes too loud to hear.
Wonderful tango quintet. These guys are amazingly good. They look Argentinian, refuse to speak English, and play tunes reminiscent of post bellum South America (or what one imagines it to be.)
Din din in the dining room. Why not? As I Say to Bob, it's nice because Things come to us. (They greet you effusively, lead you to your table, pull out your chair for you, place a napkin in your lap and that's for starters.) B. Watermelon and feta cheese salad. (Likes) R. Hearty Philadelphia Pepper Pot Soup. So good. One wine after another is out of stock--much apology from the captain--so Puerto Viejo 2013 is the default cab--not bad after all. B. Steak. "I'm a little disappointed," R. Linguini ala vognole. In clam sauce. Has nice fish taste but very few clams and not brilliant. We must order dessert, of course. Ice cream "Bombe" diplomate with chocolate sauce. (It's a baked Alaska, you can't fool us--a staple of a cruise last night which this is for some people, Not Us!)
The service is brilliant. Wonderful to observe the choreography. Everyone knows exactly what to do. Bob says they get less than minimum wage. I say they get food and board and have enough saved for those back home. "We don't use the word Exploitation."
Sat, 03/14/15Santiago (valparaiso), Chile Check-In 1pm - 5pm.5:00am –
Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile- March 14, 2015
A bay bordered by steep hills, stately old Victorian homes, cable cars - no, it's not San Francisco, California. Welcome to Valparaiso. Populated in 1536, and named after the birthplace of conquistador Diego de Almagro, Valparaiso is Chile's oldest city. It is also the gateway to Chile's central valley and the capital of Santiago. With a population of over 5 million people, Santiago sprawls at the feet of the snow-capped Andes. The Maipo Valley, Chile's internationally renowned wine district is a short drive to the south.
Valparaiso, Viña del Mar & Fonck Museum
VAP200A | Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile
SUNDAY MARCH 15
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$90.00
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La Serena (Coquimbo), Chile - March 15, 2015
The port of Coquimbo is the gateway to La Serena, founded in 1544. Located in the transition zone between Chile's austere Atacama Desert and the country's fertile central valley, La Serena is a popular holiday resort. The nearby Elqui Valley is an agricultural center famed for grapes, papaya and cherimoya. The region was also home to the pre-Columbian Diaguita and El Molle cultures, noted for their fine ceramics and jewelry.
La Serena's central Plaza de Armas is home to superb colonial buildings and a 19th-century cathedral. La Recova - the artisan's marketplace - features copper and silver jewelry, glass works and ceramics.
City Drive & Archaeological Museum
COW200A | La Serena (Coquimbo), Chile
COQUIMBO (LA SERENA). City Drive and Archeological Museum.
We're being instructed by the Princess tour leader how to disembark to get to our tour, something about turning right at the nearest crane. As always we'll follow the crowd. And the exodus is pretty expeditious this morning.
Nice loud south of the border style music blares at us as we board our busses. At least we're being greeted at this very pretty port.
Bob loves our guide Magdalena even before she speaks; she's an English teacher. When we chat with her says she lived in Laguna Nigel, California. 
In Commom with Peru: Pisco sour--but preparation different. Peruvians add egg whites; Chileans Add lemons. Doctors here are experts on hips.
Horseshoe Bay is where the richest people live.
Mon, 03/16/15At Sea
MONDAY MARCH 16
What's this coughing thing? Impossible to be an entirely healthy human being on a cruise ship even if you Purell your hands every time you pass the nasty little dispenser and wash them for 20 seconds at a time like a Lady Macbeth manqué. Cough cough.
Nevertheless I get up with a start at 6:30, pleased that I don't awaken Bob who as we later agree "deserves to be a lazy good for nothing" and I crawl unshaven and unkempt upstairs to the treadmill, where the ritual is to say good morning to John who is a treadmill loyalist, and stretch this time with Irish Alan and his "one two tree".
The news is about this Robert Durst who apparently killed lots of people and keeps getting acquitted--maybe not this time that he's been heard confessing on a documentary.
Mother's favorite compote (not my mother's I tell our Indonesian server--it's my mother's he replies--not likely) is a favorite breakfast starter with kadota figs (I remember playing the
Indian chief in Little Mary Sunshine,
My first word was Kadota--a funny play on Dakota). Breakfast brings up
Memories. So do lunch and dinner at this age but those are another matter.
Bob really likes his scrambled eggs which I, invited to taste, agree are lovely. He doesn't eat all his bacon saying he's not hungry. At a certain point in a cruise, I discover, food seems less enticing because perhaps it's so available and one has had so much of it. I say, I've decided to eat half a plate from now on. What will you do with the other half he reasonably asks. "I guess I'll eat that too."
10: Lecture. Pisco (San Martin)- Peru.
Constitutional republic. 30M Population. We're going to Ica region. 32 provinces in Peru. San Martin is the port for Pisco. Nothing to see. Pisco 140,000 pop. Greatly Affected by 2007 earthquake. Known for Pisco sour. Dispute with Chile about who can use that name.
Plaza de Armis. (Most cities have that plaza name.) Not much there.
But Pisco has natural reserves.
Rock formations along the coast--La Catedral. Candelabra formation. Mystery. Can be seen from the sea.
Island. Galapagos of Peru. Humbolt Penguins, sea lions, turtles, boobies. (And that one's the tour we booked. I hope we're not boobies for doing so.)
Tambo Colorado. Preserved 15th c inca fortress.
Pisco Valley. More impressive than Chile's.
Some fly over carvings in the ground.
Galapagos 29000 pop.
7 wonders of the world:
Machu Pichu
Taj Mahal
Coliseum
Petra
Great Wall
What are the other two?
Pisco sours- have lime. Chile - lemon.
Shuttle bus to village of Chaco. Can get boats there. Porpcos national park.
11: Lecture. What's New In the Cosmos? Shelley Bonus enrichment lecturer. A character. She has chopsticks dangling stars embedded in her hair. Works at the mt. Wilson observatory. She's the telescope coordinator there. 1908 discovered our galaxy in the Milky Way. Hubble discovered with 100 inch telescope that we're not the only Galaxy. Universe is expanding. Einstein came to Mt. Wilson Hubble in 1931. Realized that he shouldn't have repudiated his original theory of expansion. E=MC squared and all that jazz.
Astronomy tells her to "get over it". The universe is too big and we're only here for an instant.
Sun 93 billion miles away. Sunspot drawings. Found biggest since 1947 this year.
Shelley Went to Morocco. Taught royal family children. Impressed with the Queen there. Modern.
We are recycled stardust.
The universe emerged from "the singularity" some 13.8 billion years ago.
Might be mutiverses. (Didn't the other astronomy lecturer say that there were as many universes as grains of sand?) The Universe started with a Big Bang. In the beginning there was nothing. Infinite point of density--singularity--all things emerged. (Not a bang, an emergence.)
Expansion is increasing In speed. To the observable edge.
Dark energy. A repulsive force.
Astronomy is a field where he who has biggest and best toys win. Women were not allowed to be astronomers until the 1960's.
Greek myths. Zeus and baby Hercules suckled at Hera's breast. She pulled him off and her squirting milk became Milky Way.
Incas saw an absence of stars in the Milky Way. They Named the constellations after animals. Llamas were honored as a constellation.
Hopes to see stars closest to earth. Alpha centuri (young star) and proxima centuri.
Large Magellanic Cloud--stellar nursery. Small Magellanic Cloud is 1/20th size of the universe.
Light is energy. Both a wave and a particle.
We will arrive at Pluto in July.
White light really a mixture of colors.
Star spectrum is the fingerprint of a star.
"We are stardust," said Carl Sagan.
12: She goes on a bit long so I'm a bit late for a second round of Spanish class (since the first round didn't really take).
Pick up Bob for lunch in the Donatello dining room. R. Ice cold Spanish Gazpacho with classic condiments. It's really spicey. Aha that's what they mean by "Spanish". It's code. Both of us--Caesar salad. Bob loves it especially the dressing which I find too strong. Actually I'd intended to order the chef's salad. Oh well, next time.Our server from India cannot believe that Bob is having only the salad. That's all? No dessert? We've done pretty well with not overeating at this meal and only one glass of wine from our bottle sent to be cellared.
Our stateroom is cold necessitating bathrobes. This is a problem on this ship-- spaces are either too cold (the norm) or too warm. Bob lets me know we can adjust our temperature on a thermostat. We'll see.
Back up to the Internet room to see if we have the important mail, the condo appraisal and the lender docs to sign. Not yet but there are other business communications to deal with and considering how slow the satellite is more minutes to buy--we will have spent $1000 on the Internet on this cruise and that's after receiving 1000 free minutes as platinum members-- I suppose "that's the cost of doing business" but yikes. And Bob has asked more than once that we don't buy property when we travel--well that's one promise I might be able to keep. Might.
Since the passengers are dressing for formal night now, I'm able to steal a swim in relative peace though the famous jumping boy and negligent dad do make an appearance at my last few laps after which I find a free jacuzzi by the open air pool just as a Movies Under the Stars concert--Maroon5 with Adam Levine--serenades me. I am thinking this is the good life.
Refurbished and refreshed, We meet our now old friends John and Wally at the Wheelhouse bar joined later by the newlyweds Doug and Connor looking resplendent in their wedding tuxes. We understand that Doug and Conner don't realize that they are in the country of the old where people talk about their ailments and as it turned out for them about their dead children. Dinner conversation that can occur if you "share" a table which We don't.
An hour later of pleasant conversation we excuse ourselves to go to dinner--no sharing thanks. They've got the Princess through the years menu that we had the first formal night of the first segment of our cruise. 60's and 70's Duck terrine apricot preserves brioche and porcini mushroom cappuccino soup. That's a mouthful and it's Damned good.
80's and 90's--panache of greens, balsamic and walnut vinaigrette.
We notice how dashing the waiters look in their tuxedos.
Malabar peppered beef tornadoes. Roasted onion tart (really good).
Tue, 03/17/15At Sea
TUESDAY MARCH 17. St. Patrick's Day.
Confusion on the morning. We were instructed to set our clocks ahead an hour but instead of 6:15 our wakeup call occurs at what we think is 5:15 confirmed by the telephone time service. However The TV Shows 5:15 and the desk confirms that the time is an hour earlier "sorry we have to fix it." A lot of zombies will be walking around and bumping into treadmills (including this late nighter) not to mention into buffet counters.
Actually get a little snooze and I'm late I'm late for a very important date no time to say etc. As I rush accompanied by next door neighbor John who slept badly and was up in the Internet room at 3 AM (as I should have been) to the gym where Loren to her surprise officiated over a 25 person exercise class.
Breakfast. Ludmilla (love her Ukrainian accent) is our server. Jimmy her assistant. Busy morning for them. Usual camomile tea for me though Bob had ordered tea and coffee in our cabin. Oatmeal with almonds and bananas and fruit cup. All Bob wants is whole wheat toast and peanut butter (his favorite at home breakfast).
Frustrating time in the Internet room. Juan from Chile can only open a read-only file of our docs so we can't print them. We're hoping it's only about the heavy fog and that it will lift-- our spirits.
But next to my typical 3 hour (10-2) schoolroom morning on sea days: port lecture, astronomy enrichment lecture, Spanish class.Julio loves Peru. (And Vietnam--only two countries he can bend down to talk to people-- joke. He's short.)
31M pop. Flag red and white. Red blood spilled for freedom. White is peace. Callao is port of Lima. 9 1/2 M pop. Of Lima. Founded 1535. Became capital. Francisco Pizarro made owner of Peru.
Indians before Incas who incorporated them into their culture. Pizarro defeated Incas. Built walls around the town to fend off attacks. Earthquake destroyed town. Spain and Portugal focussed on Napoleonic wars and left Argentina, Chile and Peru to their own devices and they declared independence early 19th c. 1940-1980 growth too rapid. Lima divided into two parts historical and commercial.
Plaza de Armis where city founded. Colonial style buildings. Gov palace was house of Pizarro on main square. Cathedral main church--destroyed in 18th and 18th c. Earthquakes. Town hall. Archbishops palace. Ministry of Foreign Affairs palace. Calla Allaga. Fantastic museum. $10 admission. 3 solis to $1. Congress palace.
San Martin Square.
Gold museum. 7000 gold things there. 5 km from center.
Commercial area is Mira Flores area. Seaside. Great views from Love Park. Indian market. Can buy alpaca (don't buy cheaper llama).
Water Park (parque Fe Reserva) we've seen it. Crossing street? Go to a monestary and hire a nun for a few hours. I think I remember this joke from an earlier transatlantic cruise.
Port is 12-13 km from Lima. Shuttle bus to exit of pier. Wi-fi. Don't walk outside pier. Doesn't recommend busses or underground. Taxi must have white and red sticker. No meters. Tell them to drop you by exit. $20 to plaza de armor.
Traffic very busy. Pisco sour (egg white and lime). Or Chica.
Traffic. Use traffic lights for ornamental reasons.
Lecture. Astronomy.
Voyager 1 discovery. Sent a recording of earth history. Headed for interstellar space. Changed our view of solar system. Approaching heliosphere. 
New Horizons spacecraft heading to Pluto.
Launching an international space station with Kelly for 1 year. Twin brother on earth. Monitoring. Astronauts see 16 sunrises and sunsets every day.
Iridium satellites launched from Australia.
Everything we know about astronomy and the universe comes from light.
A planet is an object that orbits the sun. Round or nearly round. Cleared its neighborhood of debris .
Exoplanet. Potentially 1800. Has water for life to exist. Goldilocks zone where life can exist.
By tip in light curve of transit star can determine of exoplanet.
Kepler telescope. Discovered 715 exoplanets--outside our solar system where life can exist. Orbiting 305 different stars. Small planets.
Found planet outside of our solar system with ring system that is much larger than Saturn. J1407B. Has moons.
Alma telescope array here in Chile. Twin in Arizona. 66 radio telescopes.
10 x sharper than Hubble. We think our solar system formed from a giant cloud nebula. Dust sticks together to form planet. Allma sees birth of a million year old planet, HL TORRE.
Milky Way is our galaxy.
Power of 10 video out from sleeping man to beyond universe than back into his body.
Next: black holes.
Gotta love the way each presentation introduced and accompanied by appropriate music, in this case Spanish music that I recognize from my zumba classes. Shelley's all kinds of eclectic songs about space discovery.
Lunch. R. Leek and potato soup (a winner) and tuna melt sandwich. (Good) B. Chimichanga (very good) and Greek salad. (Good) A glass of red and white for the usual suspects.
We're both napping. I actually forgot we have a wine tasting at 3. Seated at a table for eight. Couples from Canada, Sweden, Chile and the Republic of California (us).
Interesting conversation with the Canadian guy. All the Venezuelan's there in Calgary. Fled Chavez and his less charismatic successor.
Wine is grapes (fruit juice) with a kick.
Champagne 3 grapes chard pinot noir pinot menuire. 45 million bubbles in a bottle. (See my notes of March ).Champagne Nicholas Feuilatte. $60. A full bodied robust sparkler. Goes well with strawberry and caviar.
Sauvignon Blanc (a lighter grape) Sancerre Mollet Maudry-$44. Grassy and mineral flavors with hints of apple and melon. We don't care for it.
Chardonnay Traversa Vinos Finos-$42. Smooth ride of white fruits and cleanliness, while the mouth pulsates with pear, green bananas and toasted walnuts. From Uraguay. Soft, sandy and dry soil best. We like this wine.
TempranilloLa Montessa-$36 Deep colored wine with characteristics of strawberry spice and fresh tobacco. From Spain. Granache Tempranillo and Rioja. We like.
Meritage Mount Veeder-$51 full-bodied has bold mouthfeel with further notes of vanilla and dark chocolate on the palate. 2005. We like.
Where grow wine, food pairs well with the wine.
Meritage Overture. Rich, full-bodied with generous fruit and soft, subtle mid-palate. 80% cab. What's not to like.
B. Chicken salad, (quite good) Thai soup, vegetarian dish. R. The carpaccio, (very pretty looks like a flower, tasty, most having that)tai soup, scallops. Ken eats organic, has allergies and has the captain and waiter in confab to accommodate him. 
Conversation. John's impending retirement. Ken initiates sun signs. John and Wally's real estate investments, our internet problems, John's health problems (his shoulder), my Facebook aversion, and Doug and Conner's trip tomorrow to Machu Pichu.
Yes, no internet signal. At our wits end?
Wed, 03/18/15Pisco (san Martin), Peru 7:00am –
WEDNESDAY MARCH 18.
Pisco (San Martin), Peru- March 18, 2015
San Martin is your gateway to the quiet colonial town of Pisco and its fertile coastal valley. For thousands of years, pre-Columbian societies thrived in river valleys such as this. Utilizing sophisticated systems of irrigation, they transformed the harsh coastal desert into productive farmland. The legacy of these ancient people, from their giant geometric etchings on the desert floor to their ancient burial grounds, continues to draw curious adventurers from around the world. San Martin is also your gateway to two other mysterious marvels: the Inca palace complex at Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Archipelago.
Islas Ballestas Wildlife Cruise
PIO640A | Pisco (San Martin), Peru
They do make the best scrambled eggs. This even said of the buffet version, Bob having insisted, quite wrongly, that I've not given us enough time to get to our tour after my morning exercise classes with Alan and I'm not allowed to have a leisurely breakfast in the dining room. Can you tell I'm pissed. Let it go. Bigger fish to fry-like the returning of docs debacle that is intruding on our seaborn holiday.
Lesbians. Vivacious, outgoing "Not your conventional old ladies" I tell Bob. From Alaska. I ask if they can see Russia from their backyard. They say yes but Putin has no taste in curtains. They like my joke, "But he likes iron curtains".
Guide Matco. Port city imports salt to us. Almost no rain. Basically desert. Peru has 84 ecosystems out of 170 in the world. Protect ecosystems. Desert part of the national reserve. Haven for migratory birds. Where we are going the island is a mhaven for local birds. Today we will see the sea lions babies, bull with his harem. When Spaniards came here--piqueros --called them bobos (stupid) became boobies. We will see only kind of penguins in Pero, the Humbolt. We will have a speed boat for our bus. Ballestos island known for its rock formations. Barracks civilization here 1000 years before Christ were discovered.
24 states in Peru. Quetchuan is 2nd language of Peru. Paracas means rain of sand. All activity here is about tourism. Jose San Martin gave liberty to Argentina, Chile and Peru. Ica is the cradle of Peru's liberty.
Beautiful day at the port. Warmth. Yea. 10;30 in our speedboat we embark. 25 minutes to reach the Ballestros island. Everyone in great spirits. We take photos of one another in our life jackets. Look ma I can float.
Island with Cormorants (largest birds live 20 years) and Pelicans.
La Catedral figure 420 feet long by 220 ft wide. Carved in a soft rock. Can't date it. Remarkable.
Bob notes the dunes are reddish. Hence Colorado.
Fishermen catching anchovies, sea lions around.
Approaching Ballestros Island..
Maternity beach. Bull protects harem their guano is harvested. 2 rangers take care of guano collected every 5 years. Say goodbye to Tyson biggest bull.
 |
| GOOD TO BE THE KING |
Ica means water from the ground. 60% of asparagus for Peru from Ica. Differences Pisco and grappa. Pisco just juice of grapes, grappa with skins.
Long lines at the buffet so we opt for pizza on the open deck--weather being lovely--Marguerita, Hawaiian, and pepperoni (the best of the lot) and bud lights. The eccentric astronomer who looks like an astrologer was sharing her enthusiasms with fellow Al fresco dining enthusiasts.
At last after much travail we discover we can receive faxes. So let them fax the damnable docs! We decide to celebrate this good turn of fate with a couple of martinis. Discuss today's great tour. I regret we didn't see turtles or that the boobies just perched on the rocks didn't do their walk for us and I say that we'll see them in the real Galapagos. They're there all the time. B. But what do they do for a living? R. They're in the tourism industry. (As just about everybody is in this area.) We did see the Humbolt penguins sunning themselves. They and the other creatures are nurtured by the Humbolt current which creates the vegetative conditions for the propagation anchovies that they feed on. (If memory serves.)
Returning Bob 2's cal inviting us to cocktails at the Elite lounge and dinner I sort of beg off.
After a swim--goggle less--where are they?--and the usual post swim ritual we find the guys are not upstairs when we arrive at 6:20. Tsk. Tsk. Shiv our Indian waiter says we're missing the sunset--actually we caught most of it on our balcony--and points out the diminishing Rays. Our favorite high top, the drink of the day, Bressa Marina, tanguaray, lime juice, and feta cheese on toast points. I say I'm not sorry we'll be on the Golden for our Austro-South Pacific cruise.
The setting here never fails to amaze and delight especially as it gets dark. It's reminiscent of my favorite design era (from the movies) the thirties. And I cite not Buck Rogers but my heartthrob Flash Gordon (theme of Skywalkers is the celestial--there's even a mural of planets and stars and more). This brings us to a discussion of when I saw that schoolboy erotic specimen in his serials on TV, bob for the 123rd time (we've been together a long time) how hid family didn't have a tv(bring out the violins). I do a Yiddish shtik (gotta wonder what the German couple next to us are thinking) about how in 1949 we had s good year in the store. " A TV in die kitchen; a new stove in die living room. )we think it's funny. And Bob again brings up his school fried Albie Schneider whose family had a delicatessen and once he was invited upstairs to their lavish Jew apartment.
Stop in to Wheelhouse where John, Wally and Ken are gathered to let them know we're snonkered and won't be joining them for dinner and that we had an incredible tour. ken apparently did it on his own "at 1/3 the cost." But it doesn't sound as great with an add on of the boring city of Paracas. We decide to meet them at 9:30 for the shuttle into town; strength in numbers. We exchanged our 1st day Lima on Your Own for a more pricey architectural tour on the 2nd day. I said to the tour lady are people dropping this tour because they are afraid. She dutifully said We dong want to scare people just warn them. I: we were scared.
The Princess Theatre by 8:30 is full to swelling for the Caribbean show we will be seeing for the 2nd time. Nevertheless it will be fun.
THURSDAY MARCH 19 LIMA
Lima (Callao), Peru- March 19, 2015
In 1535, Francisco Pizarro labeled the open plains where Lima now stands as inhospitable. Despite the verdict of the great conquistador, Lima became the center of imperial Spanish power, a "City of Kings" where 40 viceroys would rule as the direct representatives of the King of Spain. With independence in 1821, Lima became Peru's capital. Near Lima, one of the world's most desolate deserts is home to the famed drawings of Nazca. These drawings inspired Erik von Daniken's best-selling book "Chariots of the Gods." With mysteries seeming to be part of Peru's history, perhaps these "drawings" are in fact "the largest astronomy book in the world."
Lima On Your Own
CA2185A | Lima (Callao), Peru
Wt. 152.8
Good Boyz having abstained from dinner--oh the cruiser horror--last night.
Breakfast in the dining room offers R a favorite the Lumberjack (steak--doesn't cut like buttah because as Bob explains its a minute steak not a half minute steak- and eggs) plus a compote of fruit (I notice grapefruit is never included in these things. Is it because a majority of passengers are on statins?) delish with lime squeezed on it--and 6 grain bread. Bob ham and cheese omelette 6 grain and a pastry from the pastry server. Yes there's a pastry server.
Waiting in Bernini to catch the shuttle bus that is supposed to drop us off at a mall in Lima where will behave like teenagers and mill about. Leaving at 9:55. This is the most on our own we've been. John, Wally and their friend Margie from trivia arrived later and will be on another shuttle,
As we wend our slow way along the dock realize that Callao is a very busy port, the inevitable containers, and rows of shipments of new cars.
The city of Calao? Lots of car showrooms. Casinos. Discos. It's a little seedy. Unpleasing apartment complexes in sullen rows.
Mall is like an American mall 5 floors except the manikins have better bodies and though most Peruvians are maestisos Indian mixes the images are Anglo.
My camera doesn't work. What's going on? We figure it out. Takes two. Actually liberating wandering up and down the stupid mall. For once we're not part of something organized.
We spend $43.06 in a Target like store for vodka, wine, corkscrew, socks, shaving blades, deodorant and then in a Home Depot type store we find a mesh bag to carry our stuff. And they all take AMEX if you show your driver's license. Fun.
Then after usual frustration in the IR Internet room) we have very marginal success (at least seeing what we can't open) in the bar on the 7th floor where we at least have some chardonnays while we wit for communication from the outer world.
We're in the Princess Theatre for a 2 pm film The Giver. Ya take your chances. It's with Meryl Streep how bad can it be. Famous last words. Listen to singers doing that modern vocal fillip. Bob rightly notes that it's like baroque ornamentation which gives me new, albeit limited, respect for these vocalist parvenues.
45 of us waiting for the damn film. Frantic Tagalog spoken in the projection booth
FRI MARCH 20. LIMA.
Up early enough to do some weights a neglected activity this trip. Alan particularly good today at putting us through our stretch/ab paces but a little over exuberant so that I need to leave early--our tour leaves--well waits--at 8:15. Bob very tense at how short I'm cutting it (slurp up my raisin bran, fruit and tea in two minutes) but when I shower and dress in 5 minutes he's very loving so I secretly decide to be late more often.
I don't see any gay men waiting with our house tour group. Huh? Could we have made a mistake, misread the description? (John, ever the wag, says we're going in order to get ideas for our new kitchen.)
LIMA Through Time is the provocative title. We've got the last row seats on a smaller bus for our smaller tour. Pretty SONIA is our guide, born in Lima. Speaks good English. Callou. Independent province. Means rocky beach under cloudy skies. 2 well defined seasons. Middle of summer now. Well visit 3 houses 1st in historic zone. 2nd in Mille Flores. 3rd in financial district.
Traffic terrible. Don't take siesta break here. Callou is base for Peruvian Navy and high security prisons. Place to Salsa.
Humbolt current makes water cold. High humidity. Need to keep washing their buildings.
President elected every 5 years. Voting mandatory until age 70. If don't, fined, can lose civil rights. Mayors every 4 years. Propaganda on walls. Banners.
Many ficus trees. Bougainville bloom all year round. Also hibiscus and honeysuckle. Most green spaces concentrated in the San Ysidto district in Lima which we'll visit. Street vendors sell breakfast in morning. Quinua mixed with soy bean milk with maca vegetable.
Boticas--pharmaceuticals. Poor and limited healthcare by state. Historic zone protected by Unescp. Still graffiti.
2nd most important square to honor Argentinian general. San Martin. Plaza San Martin. Lady at base of statue with llama. (Impressive square--official buildings.)
Main square is our drop off point. To Aliaga house owned since 1585. The wood used came from Central America. Bolas de Flores is stock exchange house.
Square. 4 powers four sides of the square
Next Mille Dlores district. House. Younger architecture. Also snacks. 2 sisters own house. Mostly used for receptions. 1932 last restoration. Style like presidential palace. Neo colonial style.
Diet. Breakfast. Oats.bread culture. Quinoa. Soybean milk. Lunch. Potato culture. Stir fried fish. Rice culture too. Part of Asian influence. Not hot food but like spices like cilantro. Main meal. Starts late. Dinner occasion on weekends.
Pass private technical schools. Teachers are poorly paid. Education needs reform. Police into corruption. Average income Lima 700-1500 a month. Teacher 500. Top fields energy, mining, telecommunications, construction. No welfare for unemployed. Not many beggars. But street vendors. Performers. Many young people work part time and go to school. Graduate older than in rest of Central America. Save money to attend. Public universities free. Few places. Private universities. Pay per month $300-600.
Most transit police officers are women. Women less susceptible to bribes. Peruvian flag. Animal is vicuña. Quinine Tree (Peruvian contribution to medicine). Cornucopia shows abundance of gold.
We're now in San Ysidto district. Most expensive apts go for $500,000-2M.
Luna house. Goes back to late 50's. Only outdoor shots. Private collection of nativity sets.
Of our group wonderful mandarin lady says my favorite shop in China had a sign "made in USA".
So Bob says you collect stuff for 30 years. Turn it into a museum and make a little money on the side. 2500 sets in total. Family of four. Dr. Luna is an architect involved in government.
Well get Chicha Morani drink at the house, typical Lima drink--non alcoholic--made from blue corn.
Limaians addicted to sweets. So many tooth problems.
Garcia Alvarado family. Descendants of Spanish nobility. House built 1910 finished in 1932.b AT last Pisco sours and a cookie that tastes like a knish. A cookie from the maids tray as we exit to tide us over until lunch. Looks like any number of New york beaux arts buildings says Bob as we wait for our bus which glad it's airconditioned 'cause it was getting warm out. Aim attraction of house that it's a mini replica of the presidential palace. We meet Ana one of the 2 sisters. Only house of that style and era in Miraflores.
Driving along the coast 8 or 9 miles. Cliffs that line the road can slide because powdery. Protected by netting.
SAT MARCH 21. AT SEA
BOB wakes me up at 6:30. Fine though it's a rush to the gym because a man needs his zzz's.
A turn around the upper deck in the lovely sunshine and then a reconnaissance to locate poolside phones for my possibly impending reporting of the terrible jumping child et pere. "The readiness is all."
Pass by the astronomy lady in an even more bizarre outfit then usual; her smile is genuine, a recognition.
No army. Progressive on human rights and environmental issues. Plans to be first neutral carbon country by 2021. ticos and Ricans males and females. Less than 5M population. We're going to #6. Flag. Red sacrifice made by people and warmth. White joy and happiness. Blue sky and free thinking.
1st aborigeNs north Nahuatl. Bolla used masks. And Talamanca. All Used gold and silver. Reason Spanish conquistadors came here. Took it back to Spain. Then lost interest. Not enough indians to work in the haciendas.
Rich soil. Didn't need to fight against the Spaniards. Part of Mexico empire until 1938. 20th c civil wars. Army abolished 1949.
San Jose is capital. 70 miles from P A. 2 hours by taxi. Largest city 1/2 M in country. One of safest countries in the world. (As was Montivideo) have more teachers than policemen.
Theatre is finest historical building in SJ. Museum of culture. In Back of main square. Plaza of Freedom. Gold Museum. Metropolitan Cathedral is opposite the Central Park. Hereda village. Or if gardens. Pisa Volcano. Coffee Plantations. Village of Sarchi. Make chairs and carts. Have largest cart in the world.
Aerial tram. Gondola for six plus guide. Active volcano Arenal. Mahony park--birds. Snakes. Joke. 5 or 6 people missing on way back. Bob says Julio is really jacked up today. PuntArenas 6-7000 people. 1st port. Other is Porto Limon. National flower is orchid. Robin is national bird. Lot of macaws. 525 colons to US$. Round to 550.
Thru the power of the 100inch telescope know Milky Way not only universe. No center to universe. Dark energy "my ex boyfriend. A repulsive force." Wt. And mass are not the same. Astronaut can be weightless but not massless. March 20 Autumn/Spring Equinox. Axial tilt (23 1/2 degrees) is responsible for seasons. Uranus is tipped over on its side. 40 years of summer/40 winter.
Celestial equator Longitude degrees going earth Greenwich. Satellites: heavens-above.com To site need to put in lat and longitude Iridium flare--sun shines on the aluminum. Milky Way. 26000 light years away from the galactic center. Black Hole. Place of most impotent density. X-ray telescope detects X-rays. Ours is Sagittarius A. Point of no return. Hawking says no event horizon. Is 4M times the mass of our sun. 3 kinds of black holes.
Medium firms after super nova star explores. When a star implodes, gas and dust remnants--a white dwarf--like white hot ember of star that lived. Can form new star. White dwarf will explode.
2009 discovered Ice in South Pole of moon in its permanently shattered craters. (So does Mercury.)
12 people have walked on moon.Otto titslinger invented girdle. (Hmm.) Sun is boring. That's Good for us. Sun spot (cooler regions on sun) levels dangerously high. Have 12 year cycle. (She was born in 1947 largest sun spot) strong magnetic fields. Studying sun at mt.Wilson.
Spanish. Numbers (again). They're hard. Needs practice.
Lunch. Anya is the hostess. Since we see her everyday, remember. R. Hungarian beef goulash soup with potatoes, cabbage (very good) We both have gyro style pork sandwich in a pita pocket with Apple compote, onion rings and French fries. good but that slightly funny pork taste is ameliorated with some of the apple sauce. "Not something I'd order again," says Bob. Our server seems distressed that we're not having dessert
Actually it is a time for revisiting. Tomorrow we cross the equator. We expect certificates. Mine will be a companion to the one I have from my 1969 crossing when I was concert singer on the MS Gripsholm. (Not everyone can say that . . . thank God.)
"The ocean is certainly placid", says Bob, a lovely trail of sun's rays leading up to our balcony where we are enjoying our cocktails with the olives and cheeses Bob has foraged from the pool bar and the Horizon buffet. My man the Hunter! Gatherer?
It's almost sunset. Bob notices a lone boat in the distance. He says how clear the sunsets have been. I say, "it's beautiful. There's so much beauty in the world--if you can afford it."
R. Appetizer. Chicken liver tartlette with fried onions, sautéed liver tossed with Madeira juice. I like it a lot. Not the sort of dish Bob would. Alaskan style seafood soup. With whitefish, salmon, mussels and crustini.? Superb. Main. Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Incredible. So much meat. (Im thinking doggie bag. But um no.) Perfectly cooked. The carrots and potatoes are wonderful. Dessert. Decadent drambuie soufflé. I think it's brilliant (bob doesn't like that kind of dessert he declares after his taste. Huh?) And the usual camomile tea.
Sun, 03/22/15At Sea
SUN MAR 22.
Time to do some weights this morning before stretch and abs with Alan. An old fat Russian lady bitches to a young Asian-American girl putting her mat down prior to the ab segment. Always entertaining. "Can't we just get along?"
We're early and see Julio going over his notes. We wonder if he'll put his jacket on and become an authority figure. (He does. He will.)
LECTURE. SAN JUAN DEL SUR NICARAGUA. He does a bit of a pre-lecture stand up routine.
Immigrants established businesses. First thought of Nicaragua for the canal. But in 1914 the canal opened in Panama.
SJDS. Popular place. 19,000 pop. Over beach looms the Christ of Misericordia. It's a Small village with a Church and bright colored houses. Monkeys. Don't feed them. Park. Reserve for turtles. Fee 200c. Rivas is a large town 30,000 pop. Nice market. Anthropological lmuseum. Granada. Founded by Córdoba. 1st Eiropean city in Latin America. Cathedral. Convent. Inca statues there. Lake Nicaragua. Fresh water lake some sharks. 2 volcanos. Archipelago with 670 islands. Masaya. Nice market. Leather goods. Lake Apoya.
MARS LECTURE. I am Wearing red as directed to celebrate Mars. Bob doesn't have red but looks interested, which is the point. Shelley, the lecturer, wears a red mumu. Hopes her "dark energy" ex boyfriend will go on a Mars expedition. Planet Venus above moon tonight at 7:30.
Mars much smaller than earth. Can only send missions to Mars when it's in opposition to earth. Need to stay there two years. Elon Musk billionaire on travel there. Says we'd be the stewards of life there. Has contract to supply ISS (international space station). Mars is 300M miles away. Takes 7 or 8 months. To get there. 1/3 of earth's gravity. Has 2 moons. A day on Mars is called a sol. 39.5 minutes longer than an earth day. Mars year is 669 days. Maven is a spacecraft studying Mars and its shift from nice planet to arid planet. Had serious dust storms. Home to biggest volcano in solar system. Olympus Mons. No plate techtonic. Also has biggest canyon in solar system. Big as distance from California to Chicago . Reddish brown dusty soil. Can clog spacesuits, restricting movement. Makes communication difficult too.
Spacecraft Curiosity. 14 minutes for signal to reach earth. 7 minutes of terror. Landing. 1600 degrees. Supersonic parachute. Robot. We look for water on Mars. Once held more water than the artic ocean. Formed an ocean that was 20% of the planet's surface. Over billions of years lost the heat to sustain an ocean which Froze to form polar icecaps. India in 2014 sent orbiter MOM to Mars. Only 75M $. Nasa's budget 671M.
Then the ceremony. With King Neptune (the Future Cruises guy) and Aphrodite (Shelley our astronomy lecturer) demanding "Kiss the Fish" og passengers "guilty" of lust and gluttony (no argument there).
In Wellington we can still have a pub lunch. So both choose the chicken curry with Strongbow Ale about which bob says, "We love Strongbow. Remember that." But That's what blogs are for. Indian waiter serves the curry announcing "an English dish!" No silverware so I announce "is the custom to eat it with your fingers?" He says "if you've never tried it it's the best way." Not the best curry--not bad-- but goes very well with the Strongbow. Dessert--bread pudding. Ok. Comforting. "The kind of things that encourages one to keep spooning it in," Bob notes.
f free martinis.
There's John and Wally with their Trivia friends, one older lithe woman looking really grand in her black spangly gown. And then meeting the other boys in the Wheelhouse. There are two new guys with bling and tuxes (it's formal night) who monopolize and are monopolized by Doug and Paul. Sensing that, we surmise, John pulls out the stops and is particularly funny.
Dinner at 7:45. R. Appetizer. Cognac-flamed Cajun-style crawfish in Bol-au-vent, newburg sauce presented in a puff pastry case with lobster cream sauce. (The pastry is light and fluffy the ingredients tasty. Not sure what the creature lying there is. Bob says " it looks like a great big roach." Definitely gourmet category. Soup. Roasted corn and sweet potato chowder. Ok. Not to die for. Main. Broiled lobster tail (I ordered two) sublime! with the drawn butter I asked for and Louisiana style crab cake. (Just Okay.) Bob. Appetizer. Prosciutto. (Quite good) in Cold cheese flan (not loved). Green salad. Chateaubriand "the meat is wonderful, embarrassingly good."
MON MARCH 23.
Rather (too) early to the gym lets me exhaust myself on the treadmill, the butch one of the lesbian ladies is beside me also tuned to MSNBC which makes her even more of a kindred spirit. Bending and twisting seems harder than usual and suddenly at the start of the abs segment Alan magically replaces Lauren who is seen running off. Yet another mystery on a ship containing myriad mysteries.
Mt. Wilson 100 inch telescope. Huell never used word Galaxy. Weight and mass are not the same. Talk about a planets mass. At is force of gravity upon a body based on its mass. She loves third graders. Film. Asks all the right questions. . . . Light is Energy. .. info from our spacecrafts goes to deep space networks in goldstone USA, cranberry Australia, MADEIRA Australia-- aging. . . Need DSN's. . . . What defines a planet? Orbits sun. Round or nearly round. Has cleared neighborhood around its orbit of debris. . . . Mercury Venus (closest in size to us) Mars Jupiter. Mercury deep impact craters--closest to sun has ice. Wrinkled planet. Gravity on Mercury same as Mars. Mercury very dense. Day on moon is nearly two earth weeks. So can be very hot day. New evidence for ice on craters on Mercury. . . . Venus. Named after goddess of Love. Most toxic planet. Sulfuric acid. Atmospheric pressure 90 times earth. Hot enough to melt a car. Not going there. 900 degrees f on surface. Venus' volcanos short. Expel water. Has a vortex. Venus express will have death dive into the planet. Working on inflatable aircraft that might cruise Venus's sky. Earth is a planet too. Secrets of evolution is Time and Death. We are each of us a multitude, a compilation of cells. 70% of earth's surface is water and life needs that to survive. Active planet, volcanos and earthquake. . . . Where did water come from? Analyzed comet, did not come from that. Asteroids? . . . NASA's redirect asteroid mission. Orion will travel to asteroid on 2020's. . . . As to finding where water came from, vast water reserves may have an underground ocean in earths mane 440 miles deep. Trapped in layer of ringwoodite.
Is it possible for life on other planets? Finding incredible things under ocean in Antartica. Antifreeze proteins in ice fish. Tube worms on Africa. So perhaps such organisms in Jupiter and Saturn. . . . Tardigrades earth's scrappiest animals. . . . Keep earth. Reuse. Recycle . . . Blue Moon. (JULY 31,2015) A misnomer. 2nd full moon in any calendar month. New moon in old moon's arms. Earthshine. Moon is only a quarter million miles from earth. If hold rt hand up and can hold moon--waxing. Left hand waning. On moon the more craters in landscape, the older it is. . . . April 4. Can see Total eclipse all over the world.
Thank you for being waiting, says the captain as we are seated. R. Stuffed calamari with pepper and garlic mayonnaise. Main. Paella Valenciana, Spanish rice dish with squid, shrimp, mussels, pork, chorizo and green peas. Quite nice. Lotsa ingredients. B. Chicken broth with spinach and rice and italian panini with country salami, tomato, and artichoke hearts. "A little rushed. They needed to press it a little longer". Actually the kitchen seemed slammed. The waiter came by apologetic saying something incomprehensible about the fries. Blame it on the fries I guess. Later on as we close the joint he explains that a woman kept asking him about the ingredients of dishes she's considering ordering and that prevented him from getting our orders in. Ok ok.
We talk about strategy with the new condo. Will we have funds to do all we want to do with our rental property? Then about Tom and Bob's invitation to dinner tonight, logistics. Then about whether to reserve a LA/Hawaii to round trip next January on the Ruby. All issues sort of resolved.
Both he and Tom have been married to women before (Tom has a 24 year old daughter who is traveling in Europe), and have always had partners, Bob once again expressing how grateful he is to have the younger Tom in his life. Tom apparently does freelance speechwriting, doing scripts for video presentations. He says he spends only 8-10 hours a trip on his work and that they had an image consultant make changes like lightening his hair and creating his Dali mustache so that he appears younger to the Silicon Valley 20-something's with whom he works.
Strange. It's kind of a relief not to feel any pressure whatsoever to talk about ourselves.
After dinner--scallops for me and prime rib for both of us, medium well for Bob 2. Tom salad and a fish. We can't resist that "brilliant" Black Forest cake with cherries on the side- we follow our dinner companions to the sparsely populated Explorers Lounge and are captive audience with a few others for Tom's performance. He follows an Asian man who painfully and lengthily does his set accompanied by the band, which is the idea, and then Tom performs country singer style, good voice, a Presley like ballad which ends with an on-the floor flourish. Hugs. Congratulations. (Gotta admire his flare, vivre and cujones.) And good night. Set the clock back and we're only one hour ahead of San Diego.
Tue, 03/24/15Puntarenas, Costa Rica
7:00am – 7:00pm
Puntarenas, Costa Rica- March 24, 2015
To Spanish explorers, the rumors of gold and vast riches could only mean that this section of Central America was the costa rica - the "Rich Coast."
Hailed as the Switzerland of the Americas, Costa Rica occupies a unique position, lying between two oceans and two continents. On both coasts, tropical rainforests rise to the mountains of the interior, many of which soar over 13,000 feet above sea level. In the west, a seemingly endless succession of brown-sand beaches forms the nation's Pacific coast. Puntarenas is your gateway to Costa Rica's wonders - and to its capital city of San Jose.
Rainforest Aerial Tram, Nature Walk & Lunch
PA4200B | Puntarenas, Costa Rica
TUES MARCH 24.
Virtuous itself. Up at 4:30 AM to compose an email to our agent. Any concessions? Will it hurt to ask? Then downstairs by 5 am to the Internet room as the security people are preparing for disembarkation to Puntarenas. That's the time to do one's communicating--my iPhone is almost fast. And up at the gym for a longer elyptical session, even a few weights before five of us (far cry from the 25 on sea days) are taken through our paces by Alan. Bob has Breakfast delivered while I shower though first they've forgotten the bowls for our cereal and then back again with my hot water for tea. Room service is delightful, well meaning, and deeply flawed.
On the pier we see the wounded male dancer on crutches being escorted with his luggage into a van. Hope it's just the end of this tour with Princess not of his career.
Christian is our guide. PuntArenas plus an hour fifteen minutes to our private reserve destination.
Aerial tram lunch walking tour depending on logistics. Aerial tram 50 minutes, 25 minutes each way. We'll see 1 waterfalls. 8 to each operator. Walking tour is 45 minutes, heliconia garden, medicine plants, (used to cook and treat), serpentarium, frogs. Natural, diurnal and poisonous. 139 different species of snakes 22 poisonous, mostly vipers. Insects 300,000 types of insects. Traditional Linch, rice, beans, salad, fruit--Casado dish. Pineapple good here. Rain and dry forests. We're in the middle. Nicolla Forest dry. The private reserve. 230 acres 25% of country protected by law plus private reserves. 25% of country is covered by forests. Neighbor is Panama. 20,000 sq miles. In middle Central Valley where most of population, 2+ million. 4+'million population.
He shows us a fruit which we try to guess. It's a cashew, nut on top. They eat the sweet stem, same family as poison ivy.
Most people have mango and cashew trees in their backyard. Coffee is not native from CostaRica, but from Ethiopia.
Orapina town. Called fruit city. Mango trees. People sell fruit by the side of the road. . . . 2 seasons. Rainy May- Nov. Dry season. Weather is unpredictable, instead of hurricanes get rain. Lucky. . . Catholic religion predominant. . . . "Living fences." . . . Taxes 13% sales tax. No income tax. Retirement is 64. . . . 112 volcanos. 5 very active.
Passes around a mango. Call tiny ones mangoes. Mangas are big for families. Serve with salt and lemon.
. . . Buttery garden. Stages. Egg. Larva. Pupa Cocoon. Adult.- Frogs. Snakes. Smell a cinnamon leaf off a tree. Bats main animals in rain forest. Spread seeds. Make rents for either sleeping or eating.
Lunch. Soursop Guanabana is the drink, The fruit as promised is delicious. The beef chewy. Bob likes the rice and beans and the sweet fried bananas (nice).
 |
| BATS ARE NICE! |
Apply limestone to the base of trees to keep insects away from the top of the trees. . . . Bars on windows not necessarily for protection but for decoration. (Hmm.)
Wed, 03/25/15San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua
Tender Required wheelchair Access Limited7:00am –
WED MARCH 25. NICARAGUA
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua- March 25, 2015
Nicaragua is the largest Central American nation and has stunning landscapes, vast cultural treasures, and an intriguing history.
Until recent times Nicaragua was unfortunately known for the civil war (Sandinistas and Contras) that raged from the late 70s through much of the 80s. Today, the soldiers and guerrillas have given way sightseeing in a beautiful country. From strolling the cobblestone streets of colonial Granada on Lake Nicaragua, to exploring one of the many volcanoes, Nicaragua has something for even the most seasoned traveler.
Note: Due to time constraints in port, some tours may not be available on every voyage. Please refer to your Cruise Personalizer on princess.com for a complete list of tours available during your cruise. Tour content may vary based on the amount of time in p
Granada, Parque Central & Shopping
SJ1100A | San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
San Juan Del Sur. Lovely harbor entrance. Another country and I think it's one neither of us had visited before.
Back in the Princess Theatre clutching our health migration papers--Nicaragua wants to keep all of those of us with Ebola out out out--and awaiting the tortuous process of proceeding to get ready to board tenders which will take us to busses where we hope the ride will be damned scenic because it will be damned long long long.
As I say to the guy next to me, "This is painful." We're waiting over an hour and 20 minutes in the Princess Theatre. Beware tender days! Wind picking up. "Thank you for your understanding." We don't.
Last ones on the tender so we are relegated to upstairs where I think poor Bob doesn't like wind and spray which there is aplenty as we speed choppily to shore. I love the rough stuff though. Pass through a gauntlet of musicians playing an uptempo Spanish melody tinky tinky.
Pan American hwy past lake Nicaragua to Granada, the oldest American city in the Americas.
Tourism, agriculture, factories--Levi's, clothes. Many monkeys.
A lot of jails. Everyone worried. Need good lawyers. Police and army work to keep people on good behavior.! This is next to APRIL which is the hottest month. 42 degrees centigrade. Very dry.
Drug free. 5 years in jail if they find drugs. This year caught 2 tons of cocaine. 27 Codobas is 1 dollar. 200 is $8.
Had dictatorship for 45 years. President reelected in 2007. Ordered electric power--none before. 15 cities in The country. People had to have own generators 2005-7 when every 4 hours the electricity went on and off.
Caravash looks like an apple. Cut to use as spoons and bowls. Seeds delicious with sugar unless at wrong time. Then you'll throw up.
Pass Rivas.
The population of Nicaragua is 6.2M. Most drive motorcycles. 700,000 vehicles. Rich families make $500 a month. If you a nurse $500-600. Doctor-surgeon $2000. Teacher $500. Government worker $290. Min wage $220. For low skill work like Construction. "If you don't work, you just die." No welfare. Each neighborhood has a leader who offers the indigent person a minimum wage. If he has a diploma without connections then $400. Guide $1000 in the brief high season. High gov workers $3000. Tax is 5%. Plus 3% over the minimum wage.
1st and 2nd billionaires were a dictator and the current president (!) third is the Pelas family (owns that hotel that benefits from the new canal--the plot thickens).
Free education now with new government. Not mandatory. Military service is not mandatory as it was in 1970's. 1st dictator was killed in the 1950's.
Tourists can invest in Nicaragua, buy houses.
Domestic violence crime 2 years. Not before. "If your wife loves you you can live your life like a bird, happy."
Zapatera island.
His friend baseball player makes a million a year in the US. Here he was paid $500 a month. (It's clear our guide is ambivalent about this school friend and fellow teammate's luck.)
70% of Nicaraguans are overweight. Eat a lot of fried foods. Like rice and beans. Rainbow bass is the national fish. Love Fried plantains.
Perfume for men to catch women and gain control. Witchcraft. Bird feather, raccoon bone. Must know woman's name. "She's gonna smell you she's gonna like you." (He grew up next to the "witch town" so he knows these things.)
Witch asks woman the exact size of her husband's member. Can make husband impotent with other women. These Witches have herbs to relieve pain. Can do good and bad things.
Export a lot of cocoa, coffee, tobacco. Schwarzenegger smokes Nicaraguan cigars, was here, had a lover from here. Tourists number 2.3M each year. "Costa Rica is getting worried."
Grenada in the 15th c. was one of the most Important cities in Central American, the main port for all of Central America.
Today 120,000 population. 71% catholic.
We stop in Granada at 11:45.
It's also on Lake Nicaragua.
It's cool here because the walls are very thick, up to 45".
This museum was a convent built in 1529. Indigenous people were protected in the convent by the priest who was from Spain. Spanish destroyed carvings ( which we see in the museum) of ancient beliefs. Most discovered on the 2 islands on Lake Nicaragua that we passed.
Pots from 800 BC.
We see models of dancers spinning and praying around the God in the middle for water.
First restoration was in 1854. But the civil war of the American William Walker and depicted in a large painting destroyed it. Restored in 1874.
Bob persists in pushing the Cathedral's doors but they won't let him in. We do a sweep of the square, the stalls of colorful handicrafts, stopping in the art galleries which are certainly not interesting for the art but for the colonial structures which house them. And we walk through the hotel lobbies off the collanade "for when we return," jokes Bob.
57% of the country is catholic and there are also Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons.
Ruins of the old hospital. Pass that rich people's cemetery where 13 of the 43 presidents are buried.
We see people along the road making a pilgrimage to a church, Jesus of Rescue, in Rivas to celebrate and worship during a 10 day holiday.
The indigenous leader was Nico. Hence the country's name.
Men Give 24% of their money to their mothers.
On the Caribbean Side they speak creole English on top of Spanish.
Here we are in our favorite campy Elite Skywalker's having Chairmen of the Board special drinks and Reuel scoffing down the appetizer of the day (it's free!) salmon and toast points. We wonder what Carnival Cruise Line will do with this space when it goes shortly to dry dock. it's a treasure--a time capsule of the 60's. But there are steps and steps to negotiate after the moving staircase entry and the Elites are of necessity old and some are infirm and . . . We'll see. We're on the Golden in Spring, 2016. We'll see.
We know Shiv. Lokesh is the other Indian server who's also short.
We're downstairs at the Vista Lounge at 6:15 just seconds before the Japanese invasion, to be indelicate, and get end row seats. The horrifying thing is that a half hour early for the show most of the premium seats are gone. Note!
At least we're treated to a medley of Cole Porter tunes. "If baby I'm the Bottom. You're the Top." Bob is not sure if he's seen this show on the first half of the cruise. Surely I have.
Bob. The Pate and for his main the Classic Caesar Salad. He's delighted that they grilled the chicken breasts. "The other thing about it. It's immense." And he can recommend it.
Our server is Garrie. He sold us our last wine tasting and pursues.
Garrie gets us to Sign up for the next wine tasting. Twisted arms. Ahem. He gets time off for sign ups.We order sacher torte with ice cream. Oy. Bob says "Better than the Sacher torte in Berlin. That's the best Sacher torte I've had. The pastry chef is amazing." I am tearful.
Tikl Tok from Bangkok (nelly server) passes by and says hello.
Thu, 03/26/15At Sea
THURS MARCH 26. AT SEA
On his way out from the gym, John looks crestfallen. It is the news that a co-pilot crashed that German Wings plane into the Swiss Alps. As a flight attendant, he tells me his company's protocol is for a flight attendant to accompany a lone pilot--kill him with an axe (or vice versa) if necessary and that now flight personnel will regard one another with suspicion. Interesting perspective. On to some weights before the classes.
Breakfast. Since the special is a favorite, the minute steak with fried eggs, that's an easy choice along with the Assorted Melon Cocktail "drizzled with tangy lime juice". Why resist?Bob does and orders a mushroom omelette.
We both agree that this is a rare day indeed after 41 years. I admit that I'm not the easiest person in the world to live with. And though he is not the saint with a crown of thorns that our own Rocco has dubbed him, he has been patient with me.
We having devoured the contents of the ship's kitchen, Bob suggest we walk around the deck. Slightly windy, a little overcast. Pass those folks who have cage-like balconies on the deck. Looking in at the monkeys or rather fine examples of aging humanoids pretending their observers don't exist. And then there is the coven of crewmen huddled in one of the lifeboats. Taking a break? Planning mutiny?
Time to order flowers (roses) for our new friends and next door neighbors John and Wally who will be celebrating their 40th anniversary on March 29.
Up to review the day's schedule and catch further input about the crash. Always interesting to see how news outlets handle speculation: they speculate.Chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate truffles.
It's come to this. We watch stupefied as the chefs mix and pour the oozing brown liquid.
1:30 Port Lecture: Cabo San Lucas. Theatre. Crowded. People searching for seats, We'll be there only until 2 pm. Mexico 11th most populated in the world. 31 states. 4 main cities in Baja Cal. La Paz. San Jose del Cabo. Cabo San Lucas. 20 miles one to other.
Excavations. Pericruz indians. Irrigation systems. Hunters. Own language Happy until Conquistadors came 16th c. From western Spain. Ferdinand Cortez. Became rich.Cabo did well. Trade with Phillipines and China thru Veracruz and Acapulco. 17th c. Jesuits came and established 17 missionaries on Baja Ca. Spaniards expelled zjesuits from Ca. Then Brotish came and took over. Canon grew in 19th c. Fishing. Now tourism is main industry.
The arco at entrance. Playa de la mar. Grey whales come here to Sea of Cortez. Can get close to the whales. Can arrange for a boat at the pier.
Sam Jose del Cabop. Colonial town. Mission is now a small museum. Hotel California.
Local transport. Very busy road. Bus 40 minutes between the two towns. Taxi--can use dollars. Tell them not to go too fast.
Tenders. Less than a mile from one side to another of harbor. $1 = 50 pesos.
Julio doesn't have that much to say about Cabo (wonder why) so after assessing the line at the international cafe we rush up to Horozon for some mini-sandwiches and a mini sugarless chocolate cream pie to take to our cabin for a picnic with the remnants of our wine bottle.
Today's astronomy: 2:30 What's your sign? Difference between astronomy and astrology from a scientific point of view. The 13th zodiac is Ophiuchis. Nov 30-Dec. 17. 88 constellations. 44 in southern and northern.
IPnenof 88 officially recognized star patterns that divides the celestial sphere.Indigo bunting birds recognize star patterns. Head to Big Dipper.
Orion important to Egyptians. Pyramids built to it.
Constellations are not real. Optical illusions. All different light years away from each other.
Thought pharaohs would escape thru cents of pyramid and rule from heavens.
All cultures have their own astronomy. Science needs to know Greco-roman constellations. All cultures have Orion the bear.
Big Dipper is not a constellation but an asterism.
Babylonians inventors of constellations and astrology.
Chinese constellations system of 284. Depicted Chinese life. Such as emperor and courtiers.
Follow the drinking gourd slave song to go north with Big Dipper.
Stars rise 4 minutes every night. Can use her sky as a calendar.
Astrology an art form. Astronomy is a science.
Classical astrogical zodiac is what is used.
Short lecture ends with a very young Viola Davis singing Age of Aquarius from the Hair movie.
I sun on our balcony while Bob naps within. Swim 100!
Bob in his robe greets me. In room martinis. MSNBC watching. Chris Hayes tried to explain what's going on "there" Sunnis vs. Shiites. What a miasma.
7:30 movie. FOXCATCHER with Steve Carell B. "Controlled." Not an Oscar worthy performance.
Utterly dreary. R. "Depressing." B. "Ponderous." Story of a rich, delusional DuPont who murders one of the wrestling brothers under his control. Just doesn't cohere.
We're in the dining room at 9:45 but they're not alacritous in taking our orders not that we're exceedingly hungry. Italuan night which means that the servers are all dressed like gondoliers. Mixed greens for starters. R. Brasato di manzo. Let's face it a stew and not the best choice, a rare miss. Funny tasting sauce. Bob likes his shallow-fried breaded chicken breast with mushrooms however though not his too-sweet peppermint ice cream. My Hazelnut Semifredo with praline crunch and caramel drizzle dessert works for me, not for Bob who tastes the Semifredo part and is not fond of its texture.
Darn we're not the last couple but the 2nd to last couple to leave the dining room. We've got to do better next time. Interesting that passengers are just not late diners.
Fri, 03/27/15At Sea
FRI MARCH 27.
It's a crowd scene up at the gym.
Breakfast accompanied by a message from our (and Their) agent Susan offering a lower price if the appraiser doesn't move. Looks like we're moving to a certain condo across the street one way or the other.
Julio. "We're an hour back today. If we keep going like that we're going to run out of hours."
Origins of Carnival. 12th c. Pope with wealthy Roman citizens suggested a break and the killing of animals and a good time. Occurs Just before Ash Wednesday plus fast leading to Easter. Lent.
Carnivale in Italian. By 15th c very popular in Europe. Masquerades. Mixed with traditions in South America (and Asia). By 19th c civic events celebrating newly formed governments. Contests for best performances. Africans and American indians created colorful rituals combined with religion.
Brazil. Started in 1600's. Called Entrudo. Became more violent. People threw oranges and bananas then stones. Then banned. 1641 incorporated music and games. Lasted 3 days in Rio. 18th c some politicians killed. Then banned. Then incorporated. Then it was 5 days. Celebrated indoors and outdoors. Masquerades and hoods.
Samba Music goes with Brazilian carnival. Samba schools where learn how to dance samba. 1928 1st samba school. Like companies. Have headquarters where rehearse. Some help low income communities.
Too. Week leading to Lent. Takes place in Sambaro. Built stadium for it. Elite grop of 12 Samba schools. 15 axis schools parade before the elite group. They compete to be in the elite group.
Lady leader and a protector. King nominated and declared then the parade can start. Parade of children. Then axis group. Then elite. Can cost $2-300 up to $7-800
Meet Bob at Donitellos for lunch. We both have creamy Edam Cheese soup with ham (Really good) and the grilled chicken salad over mixed greens. Light. Just right. Dressing fine. How can you not say this is the good life with liveried servants attending to your wishes. Bob says "it's going to be hard going back to canned soup and whatever I can find in the refrigerator."
In the elect Skywalkers we are greeted as old timers and offered "your table", a hightop fronting the vast darkening ocean. Noting that Bob sits away from the ocean, I offer a seat facing it. He says he wants a last look at Skywalkers before it is no more. (The anticipated dry dock remodel.)
As I put my iPhone away I note Bob's eyes rolling. I say I look at him occasionally to see if vast disapproval of my obsession registers. He says he's floating away. I reproduce Namaste. He says "Not that. I don't believe in that." I say I do. He says "Of course, you're in theatre." I can't stop laughing at a cost of looks and stares from the amply rewarded frequent travelers.
Thankfully they laugh. Then we see Ken on his way there and explain we're off to the mentalist show in the theatre.
B. Goat Cheese souflet. Lovely. The Intermezzo sorbet. Chicken breast. He quite likes it, and like the salmon, it is on the anytime dinner menu. So he can have it every day!
Time for the Love Boat Disco Party on the upper open deck--great fun. Bob and I --joined briefly by John-- dance to the 70's era hits--including Fernando leading the Village People's YMCA, all the moves to which Bob knows having learned it at . . . The YMCA. Burn Baby Burn, Saturday Night Fever and on and on we dance, dance, dance, no battery left to take photos but maybe that's not the idea.
Sat, 03/28/15At Sea
SAT MARCH 28. AT SEA
Up at 5:15 time enough to work out a timeline of activity--and there's much to do if we are moving to a new home, readying our unit for rental, until we leave for Puerto Vallarta June 6. Organize for our land tasks.
Breakfast. No less than four servers seat us. One to place the napkins on our laps. Another to offer pastries. One to pour the water. And the waiter ready to take out order. Could the vaunted Chrystal cruises offer us more? Bob suggests that there they prostrate themselves when they reach our table. That would work.
We're in the abandon all hope the who bite on it phase--the countdown--of our journey so I have a yummy pastry with a jam center before my fruit slices, designated for my oatmeal but rather much. Add walnuts and raisins and it's amazing. Bob enjoying his ham and cheese omelette is incredulous at my concoction.
TIP: Specify larger pot of camomile tea.
Bob notices that the servers have a special technique for slicing a banana. Take off top half and slice the banana still nestled in the bottom half. Clever. Future home breakfast tip.
She always starts early.
Re. Kelly brothers monitoring after a year in space. Scott year in space. Mark remains behind as control. Genetically identical. According to Einstein's theory of relativity, twin on launch should age faster. Science.nasa.gov Www.heavensabove.com
APRIL 4 total eclipse of the moon. (She repeats things.)
Babylonians divided sky into 12 signs. But sun spends more time in some constellations because different sizes.
All the stars we see in the sky are bigger than the sun. They're all in our galaxie. The Milky Way. Dark sky can see the next Galaxy, the Andromeda.
The secret of the stars: e=mc sq. Energy turns into mass.
The darker the night the brighter the stars.
Neighborhoods need low pressure sodium lights.Star patterns change every day/month. Can see changing of seasons that way.
As travel faster, time slows down.
Sun we honor because can't live without it but it's puny compared to other stars. Only 93M miles from earth.
We are made of stardust. The iron in our blood made from supernova explosion. First stars born fast died young.
Sun is now middle aged at 5 billion years (will live total of 10 billion). Becomes red giant and like people gives up. Implodes and becomes planetary nebula (cloud).
Oh be a fine guy kiss me.
The colors of stars tell us about their ages.
O stars are the hottest. M stars the coolest. Our sun is a G2 star.
Annie Jumpcannon devised the temperature classification of stars.
Women not allowed to be staff until 1967. But did all the measurements.
Stars twinkle because of the atmosphere we're looking through.
Anecdote about her 3 yr old granddaughter's science lesson. Grandma your boobies are down to the floor. "That's gravity".
"Party hearty. You can sleep when you're mad."
Always like Veuve Cliquot. We like the Underraga Sauvignon Blanc. Silverado Chardonnay. Having it with lobster. Nice. Then the Corvina Zeni Amarone.
Meritage Vall Liach Embuix. $44.we likee.It's Goliter Sebastián who introduces the Super Tuscan Luce Della Bite. $115. Excellent. (Learning the cast of characters, the dining room captains. There's Larry who is Philliino, Paolo from Portugal and Sebastián from Romania.) All are terribly sophisticated men of the world, droll, profess abiding love of wine , and are not to be trifled with.
Our perfectly congenial table mates ask which wine did you like the best. I answer. The most expensive of course.
Anyway it's time for the 6:30 LGBT group. There's Ken, looking a little dissatisfied, what's going on? Is it that he doesn't drink and everyone else does? Is it that he doesn't like the personalities, the conversation? There's Paul and Doug from Palm Springs. Pardon me, Rancho Mirage.
And a new gentleman enters the scene, David from Melborne, of interest to Paul and Doug who, as it happens canceled the trip we're scheduled on the Golden to Australia in favor of a gay Pied Piper cruise on Celebrity. With its perks of complimentary drinks, tips and onboard credit. Bob2 and Tom, John and Wally pop by briefly. Much talk of cruise ships and itineraries. In retrospect a little too much dissatisfaction with the ship and this and that when a little more gratefulness and appreciation is in order.
After We absent ourselves, a dining room dinner seems not all that appetizing. So room service club sandwiches and a bottle of Woodbridge cab (complements of AVOYA travel) hits the spot as we watch the universally debased Maleficent, with Angelina Jolie, (amazing makeup accenting those amazing cheekbones) a pleasant enough diversion on the small screen. She's the reluctant fairy godmother of a Princess (Elle Fannning grown up) on whom she puts a curse--kiss of true love will awaken her--and which she later repents when she's battling the forces of real evil. A little Snow White plus a little blow em up makes for a mediocre accomplishment that nevertheless goes down well with a club sandwich and a bottle of red wine.
Sun, 03/29/15Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Tender Required
wheelchair Access Limited7:00am –
SUN MARCH 29. CABO SAN LUCAS
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (Been there. done that so we'll probably tour this one on our own.)
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (Been there. done that so we'll probably tour this one on our own.)
Millennia ago, Cabo San Lucas was part of the Mexican mainland. Then a massive rupture of the San Andreas Fault sent the waters of the Pacific crashing into the newly formed depression, creating the Sea of Cortez and the Baja Peninsula. Lying at the very tip of Baja, where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, Cabo San Lucas - or "Cabo" - is one of the premier resort destinations in the Western Hemisphere. Swim in the transparent waters, marvel at the wealth of marine life, relax on one of the white-sand beaches or try your hand at some of the finest sportfishing in the world.
Note: Your ship will anchor in Cabo San Lucas and use launches to transport all passengers ashore.
Approaching Cabo is lovely, the rocky promontories and the city nestling beyond.
After I've had my stretches etc. post a brief internet stop to contact the new mortgage holder for our rental property, we chat with John across our adjoining decks. And as we head for breakfast see the attendant delivering the Anniversary flowers we ordered for them.
"A Caribbean Sunrise in Mexico," says our server. It's got a yogurt dip which is nice. Bob,s content with his peanut butter on toast. We've begun to recognize folks entering and leaving the dining room. The young guy with curly blonde hair. Will he and his chatty Asian American wife go bicycling in Cabo as is their wont? There's the fat flirty (with women) Architect with his pal couple. Etc. And the back stories we weave about them.
Actually a very pleasant ride considering the topography that can be surveyed along the way. I've got a window seat. Don't know where Bob is. Did we leave him ashore?
Bob says he's going to get a little bell because he keeps losing me. I say we just passed the souvenir shop and he can find a bell there.
I'm wearing my Oxford t-shirt. A vendor says I've been there. Bob says didn't you get a D-Phil from there? I: "I got a D there."
Ya gotta love Mexico. There's a fish restaurant, El squid roe.
We meet John and Ken, who really does look amazing for age 65, in our long meanderings around the central town, the oceanfront tourist part.
John says when they received the roses we sent he had tears in his eyes . . . "when I told Wally you never give me flowers like that." John is a very funny man. We watch the Pelicans waiting to be fed. When the guard at the entrance to the tenders looks at my card and says Princess, John says, "They always identify you."
At the buffet (of which I have an enormous and satisfying selection of everything--curse of the buffet concept) we sit with John and Wally and then wander together upstairs to deck 16 to take in the magnificent view.
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| DOUG PERFORMING |
At the captains party (free drinks).
John to tik tok (from Bangkok) How can you control yourself with all these good looking men sitting here. "Actually not."
Escargot. Great. Tomato soup. Ok. Bob. "Very very good." (Accentuates the 2nd very.) Loves his beef Wellington (John also has) and I (as do the others) have the lobster tails and giant (they are) prawns in drawn butter. Mm. And after the photos of the anniversary guys and us, John bringing down our flower tribute as a centerpiece, drinking the champagne that Doug won at the Mr. Legs contest and brandishing the card that Doug and Conner walked 3 miles to the Walmart on Cabo to buy, the banter, the serenading by the waiters that Ken initiated, we all try the marvelous dessert.
(Ken has a couple of salmon and his usual giant bowl of string beans.)
"Wasn't that a charming little picture?" This (Bob) of PADDINGTON THE BEAR with Nicolle Kidman as the villainess who wants to stuff Paddington and Hugh Bonneville (of Downton Abbey) as head of the family that rescues him and takes him in. Wonderful satire (as fable) of British mores and its imperialistic history. Keeps us up till midnight after a marvelous day and evening of celebration and a bit of revelry.
MON MARCH 30
On her last day of exercise class for this cruise, Lauren steps up her game. That's ok. Bob uncharacteristically in bed when I get back. Where's the ambition, the drive? Could we be winding down? It's packing day so I'll cut him slack.
"Two Germans cooking pasta." The chef and the maitre d hotel. Woman next to us laughs hysterically at every tiny quip and there are many. Not sure what they are doing but it's funny (maybe not as funny to warrant that lady's howls.) Prepare Farfalla alla rustica. (Not on the handout nor is the 2nd dish). Tells story again about the dead donkey. Why do they change color from white to red? They're embarrassed.
chef; marinara sauce just fancy word for tomato sauce just like maitre d hotel is fancy word for chief waiter. Almost 500 staff.
Gallery Tour.
Last Spanish class (regular verbs) I am not fluent yet. It's regular verbs. Rolphe and I sit together. Discover he's in sales for Air France (I know his husband is a doctor--medicin.) He lives in the northeast part of PARIS and draws for me a diagram of the 1-6 arrondissements--Maret is the 4th--where we should stay. Hasta Luego.Today space tourism modeled after cruise experience. Swiss plane. Solar impulse 2. Biggest solar plane attempting to fly around world, solar powered. Began 3/9/15.
MarsOne. (1972 humans last on moon.) Crew will stay and live on Mars. Media spectacle.
Suppliers have been enlisted. Privately financed. 2018 rover will be sent to Mars. 2020 more supplies settlement for human arrival. 2025 crew departs. 7 mos later will land.
In us 10 billionaires made investments in 6 cos. Space theillionaires. Blue origin and dragon send supplies by contract to NASA.
Since Apollo 17 only 542 pp have seen earth from space, 12 walked on moon.
Who owns space? Outer Space treaty. No country can claim space. But nothing about private cos.
Country responsible for its own satellites. Not cleanup.
Mark Kelly blasted off in a Soyuz capsule. Cost 70M a ride.
Branson farthest in creating a group experience. $250,000 for 6 minutes. Virgin Gallactic. Branson plans to be first himself. Spacesuits need to be redesigned. MIT doing that.
NASTAR CENTER for training.
For $1990. Cos. Will send your ashes into space. Point to point travel. NY to Sydney in an hour.
Balloon flight to stratosphere for $75,000.
Space Adventures books space travel. Sarah Brightman 52M for 10 days.
Suborbital space flight. Can book.
The vomit comet. Boeing 727 200. Fixed gravity aircraft. Simulates feeling of weightlessness.
We need to say goodbye to Skywalker's since who knows what a dry dock makeover will do to its irreplaceable 60's charm. Appears all the other nabobs have the same idea. Our high top is taken so we take seats at the bar facing the departing spume and all of South America we visited in the last month. Shortly thereafter Don and Paul (Rancho Mirage) join us. (Cosmos for all since it's the drink of the day except for me with my usual martini.) We won't see them on the Golden's Australia/South Pacific cruise since they've canceled but they are nice guys and we hope to see them in Palm Springs. Bob2 and Tom also having had drinks, I think with their Trivia companions in Skywalker's, stop by to say goodbye. We will see them, however, next year on that Australia trip.
Funny. Internet reveals everything this last day resolved. Appraisal on our new condo-/guess we'll be buying it--comes in at full value and limo confirms they're coming for us.
Though hunger is a distant concept, we've paid for food and food we seek in the Bernini dining room, quickly seated as it is sparsely occupied.Our young Indonesian waiter efficiently serves us our fine watermelon and feta appetizer. Bob likes his Caesar Salad. My burger is well done, not rare as requested, and not a good choice. However the iconic baked Alaska that Bob insists on having remembering it as he does from his Columbia press conference days (probably the same conference I attended--conversions of lives) at the Waldorf Astoria is always the essential happy topper to a great vacation.
Tue, 03/31/15 Los Angeles, California Ship @ Port Of San Pedro7:00am Tue, 03/31/15
Adult Subtotal:
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$78.00
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Child Subtotal:
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$0.00
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Total Price:
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$78.00
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| HOME AGAIN. JIGGITY JIG. |
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