Chile

Jan 4:

Left NZ on LA800 at 5:30pm in business class. Really enjoyed the lounge and had a very comfortable flight. 8 pcs of stainless cutlery for dinner, and 6 for breakfast. Chris managed to get a chicken sandwich from 1^st class instead of the mushroom omelette so all was happy. Steak, mashed potato and asparagus for dinner.

Arrive Santiago at 1:30pm, then onto Hotel Plaza San Francisco. A bit jet-lagged so had a bit of a snooze before dinner. Had dinner at the hotel, wild boar and mutton rib – very good.

Jan 5:

Woke up and had breakfast and then started walking around the city. Went up Saint Lucia Hill with the old forts, canons and a beautiful fountain and waterfall at the front entrance. Walked on further to the San Cristobal hill with an altitude of 1450m we decided to take the funicular. Which is like a trolley with a cable that pulls you up the hill. After a bit of negotiation with the information guy we got some Chilean pesos converted from our US dollars. Decided to go to the zoo as well but wasn’t really worth it and it is so hot and humid, you don’t want to do a lot but find a shady spot. So we took the funicular up to the top and walked the last couple of hundred metres to the Virgin Mary. Really quite an amazing statue with lots of inscriptions below and candles where people can pray. Started wondering back down the hill to an amazing vista of the city of Santiago – definitely the best view in town. You can even see the Andes mountain range with the snow still on the top. I am guessing the temperature today is about 34 degrees celcius as it doesn’t take long to break out a sweat. We took the funicular back down the hill and made our way back to the hotel via the Forest Park which runs along the side of the river. The river is the water from Andes going down to the sea but it is really brown, running very fast and very dirty everyone throws there rubbish in it. They are trying to have 100% of the water treated by 2010 for a centennial of 200yr of the constitution. Santiago has lots of museums which we passed on our way to the San Cristobal hill and back again. The city is quite old but very clean (except the river) with a bit of modern architecture. We head back for our hotel situated next to the clock tower and the colonial museum. After a siesta, we found that our multi-country adapter did not work, so off out again to find a screwdriver. Turns out we walked the entire length of the Mercado, the outside walking mall – first no car street mall in Chile. Lots of food stalls, however most things were closed being a Saturday evening. No luck on screw driver, but an interesting evening none the less.

Booked on the dinner and show tour tonight to see a bit of Chilean dancing, cuisine and the city by night. Turns out we visited everything the tour showed us earlier that day on foot, but not to worry. We found ourselves among a group of 10 people, and we were the youngest by far. In fact we were essentially with a group of grandparents. An American lady was quite something, with the usual rude remarks and that nothing was good enough. A lot of hand waving and sighing. To make things more interesting, she is also on the same ship we are on Monday! Dinner was very tasty. Roast chicken, deep fried mashed potato? And tomato and onion salad. Sandy had Shellfish for her entrée and also chicken. Service was slow, however the waiters were run off their feet! The show was ok, a lot of similar dance style’s to other places of the world. Lots of impressive costumes that made arm waving look good. A hint of some Salsa, however dismayed to only have a nice looking girl flirt around a guy on stage then leave. Home around 12pm for a sleep.

Facts: 6 out of 15 million people live in Santiago

Chile is 340km wide at its widest point and 90km at its shortest.

Jan 6:

Slept till 9:30, then breakfast of buffet bacon, eggs, and fruit. Lazed around till checkout at 12pm, where our transfer was early and checkout slow. The drive to Valparaiso had lots of long straights and a long tunnel. Most of Chile consists of mountains and valleys, each valley is suited to growing different things. We passed though mainly vineyards with a few fruit trees. Landscape looked similar to Africa, lots of steep rocky hills and very dry. Most areas are artificially irrigated. When we arrived in Valparaiso, our driver did not know where the hotel was, so after talking with numerous cab drivers, coach drivers and even a van of Policemen, we finally made our way up a steep hill to our hotel. We were relieved to find a modern hotel. From the outside, all buildings look very run down, corrugated iron exterior walls, cracked concrete etc, however our hotel had an historic brick facade, and inside was very clean and comfortable. We ended up with the “Matrimonial suite” on the top floor, overlooking the entire bay of Valparaiso! Tanse and Craig were also there so spent the afternoon catching up with their travels until stomachs dictated going to find food. Not much happens in the afternoons, especially on a Sunday. Walked all the way down to the sea front, then up to an area suggested for food. Found nice place for a drink, but no food, so onto another lovely place overlooking the bay with a deck in the sun. A very strong Pisco sour for Sandy and I, followed by a delicious Chicken in Lemon, mashed potato and onion and tomato salad. The others had a Greek salad and steaks with mushroom sauce. Sandy also had a Salmon carpaccio. Everyone enjoyed the meal and had fun with trying to speak Spanish with the waitor. (Thankfully he knew some English, so with much laughter we all ate happily). Even managed to ask what the ice cream flavour was, and to my delight was chocolate! So after that and a hot chocolate, it was time to tackle the climb back up to our hotel. No one complained about the exercise as it was felt we all needed it! Craig had a pocket knife with a screwdriver, always prepared, so I fixed our travel plug J

Chill out time, looking at some Chile picture books, writing this and downloading pics for the first time. Being restrained with photo taking so far. Look forward to our boat tomorrow. Has not docked yet, so must come into port later tonight, or tomorrow. Should see it from our window.

Jan 7

Did not sleep much last night! Dogs everywhere and all barking. Windows did not close properly either, so blocking out the noise was impossible. Probably got 3hrs in total, so a little grouchy. Had breakfast and talked with Tanse and Craig in the morning till check out at 12. Got 2 taxi’s to take us to the cruise port. Taxi’s were metered and they knew where to go so no hassels there. Dropped our bags at the front of the building, got our cabin number, level 2, room 2545. Then checked in and got a bus ride along the waterfront to the MS Rotterdam moored alongside a container port. A fairly large ship, but not completely outrageous. Went and ate after going to our rooms, basically the ship is a 24hr buffet of all you can eat. Ice cream any time you want with all the naughty bits to go on top. No idea how anyone could leave the cruise less than a few kgs heavier!! I am going to have trouble. Explored some more of the ship in the afternoon, got camera envy as there are a couple of D300’s and other nice cameras around. Had a lifeboat drill, glad to know there is surplus lifeboat seats to passengers, and that all is taken seriously. Sandy managed to get the lifejacket inside out- blonde moment ! Dinner came around quick, ate at one of the restaurants so that the portions were more controlled, however as I could not decide upon which dessert to enjoy, I was forced to have both a delicious chocolate cake with a hint of raspberry, and the sweet mango sundae. Mmmmm, never mind the meccona coffee, dessert was heaven! Service seemed fast, however the meal still took 1hr and a half. A show was starting so went to see it. Some good music and talented singers, however the dancers seemed a little rusty and jittery. Off to bed as REAL tired now.

Jan 8:

Slept like a log with the gently rocking motion. Didn’t wake up till 9:30 so feel much better. After a breakfast of bacon and eggs (of course, but perhaps will not be doing this too often) and some fresh OJ, we decided to go to a cooking demonstration. Weather outside is very foggy, lots of the ships fog horn. About 15 miles off the coast, so can’t see it so have to find stuff to do inside. Watched him cook salmon and some other wheat based dish. Learnt that tomato skin is now waxed, making it less digestible, and of course the seeds are not worth eating as they pass straight through. To make a pan not stick, sufficient heat to force out the water, and expand the molecules to further seal the surface. He used an induction hob, think it would be ok at home, was a little noisier than expected, but perhaps this had something to do with the chef wearing a microphone.

Some stats just given by the captain, 315miles travelled, average speed of 17 knots, 328miles left before our next port. An average of 6mph wind equating to a force 2, with a 6ft swell. 1017mbar at 17 deg Celsius, same as sea temperature.