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Published: February 24th 2008
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Val Pariso
most everything is up on the hills and the houses were very colorful Well it's been a week since they kicked us off the ship kicking and screaming. I've added photos and videos to the previous entries (it works better from home with the faster link!).
Our last sea day was busy as usual but we weren't ready to leave so hung onto every moment we could. After our final dinner most of our table stopped by the Explorers lounge for a last drink (ok so Hugh and I did check out the chocolates too!). Just after 11 decided I really did need to go down and finish packing and that took me till after midnight but I got the bags out before the 1 am deadline. I did a bit of shopping on the ship that last day including buying a Lapis necklace with some of the credit from the canceled Port Stanley tour (at least that's what I told myself)
Our table was all scheduled for the same tour on Sat so were going to try and get on the same bus again. I grabbed a quick breakfast in the Lido then waiting in my cabin for red 4 to be called. They were running late so instead of 8:30
Goodbye Rotterdam
The ship was just below us and near the funicular since I watched that and the containers being loaded while waiting for my number to be called we were called at 9:30. The gangway was just down the hall from me on Dolphin Deck so I was off pretty quickly and then into the lines waiting to be checked out by the Chilean officials and dog. They are really strict about bringing in fruits and vegetables so not sure if that's what they were looking for or drugs. If the dog liked you or your carry-ons you got pulled out for special handling but he didn't like me. I got out there and Anne and Hugh were waiting by the buses moving back as they filled up. I'd seen Theresa and JoAnne in the line across from me so figured they'd be out shortly. We did all get together on the last bus and it was a great tour. We drove around Valpariso first with a stop on top of the hill for some nice views and a bit of shopping. i bought a small painting. We then headed over to Vina Del Mar and a stop at a museum that had some artifacts from Easter Island. We were able to see the ship several times while driving so we kept waving goodby. We then headed toward
Funicular
one of the funiculars in Val Pariso the Casablanca valley to a Ranch for lunch. It was a wonderful place and we learned a lot about Chilean ranches. There were traditional dances and music and a rodeo after a wonderful lunch. It was nice to have another meal with my tablemates and a wonderful way to spend the time before heading to the airport for very late flights.
We dropped some people off at the Shereton in Santiago including Theresa and Joann and then headed to the airport arriving about 6:00. My flight to Atlanta was scheduled for 10:40 but it took 2 hrs to get thru the check in line (the only real problem I ran into), then we had to go thru Immigration and security. Their security was not as tight as we're used to. No shoes off, no taking laptops out of bags, no taking liguids out of bags, etc. By the time I got to the gate there was only about 2hrs to wait so not too bad. Had a snack and talked to others from the ship on the same flight. the flight was better than the one down and I may actually have dosed off a few times. We arrived
Marketplace
An interesting statue in the city plaza in Atlanta about 6 a.m. so it was pretty quiet going thru Immigration and Customs but a pain to have to get the bags and then check them in again since there weren't any porters. By the time I got to my next gate it was only about 1 1/2 hrs till my Dayton flight and that went fine. The only problem in Dayton were there were no porter in the luggage area so I had to get a cart and get the bags out to the cab area myself but managed and was home by 2 that afternoon.
So this week's been all about catching up on laundry, mail, and work and missing Table 42. Guess it's time to plan another cruise.
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