Adult and baby pelicans atop a fishing net.

“Sightings from the Veranda while Cruising”

A scene of Arica, Chile, from the veranda.

Last night at the nightly Captain’s Club party, we had an opportunity to meet several passengers, engaging in exciting conversation as usual. Toward the end of the two-hour party, we stumbled upon a woman that sent us reeling in awe of the coincidence.

Boulevard scene in Arica, Chile.

Here we are sailing around part of the South America continent, and we met Marjorie. She lives in a town nearby us (in our old lives) and attends the same church we attended in Victoria, Minnesota, many moons ago. 

Arica is beautifully decorated for Christmas.

Father Bob, who is still pastor at St. Victoria, married Tom and me one year after our civil ceremony after we’d had our former marriages annulled. Oh, my, what a coincidence!

Dining in the open mall area.

Marjorie shopped at the same markets where we shopped, bought her eggs and chickens from the same farmers in the area. We were shocked by the opportunity to meet Marjorie. Of course, she’ll say hello to Father Bob for us.

It was pleasant walking through the attractive town.

After our enthusiastic conversation in the Constellation Lounge, we invited Marjorie to join us for dinner in the main dining room, the Trellis Restaurant. She had planned to meet up with her sister and brother-in-law in San Antonio (the second embarkation point on this cruise), and due to bad weather in the US, they missed embarkation day.

Arica is a famous tourist town.

Instead, they had to fly to today’s port of call, Puerto Montt, to catch the cruise while it’s in port for approximately 10 hours. That could certainly be a stressful situation that occurs when passengers go on private tours and don’t get back to the ship in time for its sail away at the end of the day. We hope it all works out for them.

Walk-up McDonald’s restaurant attracted quite a crowd.

After dinner ended, it was almost 10:00 pm, and we decided to head back to the cabin for an early night’s rest.  Neither of us has slept well on the cruise, and we are both exhausted.

An old locomotive on display at Colon Park.

After another fitful night’s sleep, with both of us awakening every few hours, we’re still a bit sluggish today, hoping to take a 20-minute nap later in the day. We’re planning to get off the ship today after we upload the post to visit the town of Puerto Montt, which supposedly has some interesting history.

A colorful fishing boat.

Most likely, we’ll get on a tender by noon, spending the bulk of the afternoon in town taking photos on yet another cool and cloudy day. Much to our surprise, it has been cold during most of this cruise. 

More colorful fishing boats in the harbor.

We’d imagined South America would be hot during the time of year but were we ever wrong.  Although not outrageously cold, Temperatures have been in the 50’s and 60’s Fahrenheit (10C and 16C). 

Another outdoor cafe was hoping to attract ship passengers and other tourists.

Today, when we leave the ship, we’ll be wearing some of the clothing we purchased for the upcoming Antarctica clothing. We’re thrilled we have these warm items with us.  I’ve been wearing sweaters I’d bought for that cruise over the past several days. We’ll be adding our heaviest jackets when we soon disembark on the tender boats.   

We couldn’t determine what this white patch consisted of.  Any comments?

Today, we’re posting the final photos for Arica, Chile, and tomorrow we’ll be back with more images. How silly we were, worried we wouldn’t have enough photos to share during this cruise. We’ll be lucky to share the bulk of them.

Was this small wood building used to store musical instruments for street musicians?  We weren’t sure.

Thanks to our loyal readers such as Marie and Bill, LeAnn and Chuck, Pat and Dan, Gary and Judy, and many more who have written to us. Your messages mean so much. We love hearing from you.

A lonely-looking stray dog.

May you have a lovely weekend day during this busy holiday season!

Christmas tree in Colon Park with St. Mark’s Cathedral (San Marcos)l in the background.

“Sightings from the Veranda while Cruising”

Buses arrived at the port to take passengers on tours.

With almost two weeks remaining for this cruise, we continue to find we’ve had no problem having stories to share with so many ports of call and the opportunity to experience activities we’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

Government building in Arica, Chile, near the port.

Now that the second round of passengers has boarded the ship and become settled since yesterday’s embarkation, we’re meeting many more exciting travelers, all with their own unique stories to tell.

From this site:  “History goes that during the War of the Pacific (1879-1880), Chilean troops took the Morro de Arica in a heroic deed after only one hour of fighting against the Peruvian-Bolivian army. This historical feat took place on June 7, 1880, and ever since has marked the northern territorial boundaries of the country.  Today, over one century after such an epic event, visitors only need to go up the almost 200 meters rising from the sea to behold the enormous City of Arica. Whoever hit the summit of this morro in those days would immediately gain control of the city. There were many casualties. In a matter of minutes, almost 2 thousand soldiers from both sides lost their life.”

Another view of the Morro of Arica from the Plaza Colon, where we wandered around the park.

Yesterday, at the prearranged luncheon for the 273 back-to-back passengers, by chance, we ran into a couple we’d heard about, Nancy and Bob, about our ages, who’ve also been traveling the world for the past five years.  What a coincidence!

Statue in the park.

Like us, they sold everything they owned, but, unlike us, their choice of locations and accommodations are pretty different from ours. Those facts made our conversation about our mutual travels all the more fascinating. 

A pond in the park is occupied by dozens of seagulls.

Of course, we never expected that other long-term travelers would do it just like us. Although, many commonalities made the four of us laugh out loud during our two-hour lunch in the dining room.

We stopped to see a nativity scene in the park.

Nancy and Bob are the first couple we’ve met that have been traveling as long as we have. We’ve met many couples who are currently beginning their journey or have plans to do so shortly. 

Another view of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Arica, Chile.

We all reveled in our bravery in making this type of life possible, required by letting go of everything and everyone we all knew and loved and releasing a life of comfort and familiarity for the vast unknown.

Santa Teresita de Los Andes statue in San Marcos Church.

With no complimentary cocktail party last night for the Captain’s Club members and without the excellent companionship of Lisa and Barry, we went about meeting new people both in the dining room and later in the famous Ice Bar. 

A confessional.

It’s unlikely we’ll find another couple with whom we were so well matched, like Lisa and Barry. However, the conversations and camaraderie we see with others will continue to be a great source of quality time spent on the second half of this cruise.

The central aisle in the church.

Finally, last night, for the first night in two weeks, I slept over seven hours feeling like a new person today.  Those 2:00 am bedtimes not for the faint of heart, and I often wonder if I’m a little too old for such late nights.

A wooden side door.

Tom seems to thrive regardless of how much sleep he gets or doesn’t get.  On the other hand, I am five years older than him, making a difference to some degree.

I’m late in preparing today’s post and apologize to our dear readers for lagging behind. We attended at 9:15 am CruiseCritic Meet and Greet this morning, arriving late to begin the day’s post.

A decorative statue in San Marcos Church.

Shortly after that, once we were situated in the cafe, we became engrossed in conversation with a lively pair while working on the post; a friendly grandfather and his lovely 31-year old granddaughter. How wonderful to see them cruising together!

We have no big plans for this afternoon, another day at sea. Surely, we’ll chat with other passengers as we lounge at the comfy table for four in the cafe, an easy invitation for two others to join us. This is one of our favorites onboard activities…meeting new people along with others we’ve already met.

View the park from the interior of the church.

It’s considerably more fun than playing shuffleboard, bingo, or learning to dance the merengue, all of which are offered on today’s list of available activities. The ship’s Emporium area, packed with various shops with pricey cruise fare, holds little interest to either of us even during their 50% off sales, which seem to be conducted daily.

Tonight, at 5:00 pm, we’ll head to the happy hour in the Constellation Lounge, and by 7:15 or so, we’ll get in line for a shared table for dinner in the Trellis Restaurant. Oddly, we’re never bored and always able to find ways to keep ourselves engaged and entertained, regardless of how we spend our time aboard the ship.

May you have a lovely day engaged and entertained!