On board the MS Zaandam

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Geo: -41.4752, -72.9521

Monday morning we left Santiago at 11 am to drive to Valparaiso. This took us along the highway and through a wine growing area. We stopped at Los Hornitos de Curacavi for a coffee break and to wait for the other Bunniks' tour group to catch up.

Once we reached Valparaiso, the bus took us on a short city tour. Valparaiso is built on the hills overlooking the sea. It is very densely populated with long winding stairways reaching up to the top of the hillsides. Everything is covered in graffiti which really spoils the older buildings. We then came down to the port.

Embarkation was very smooth. We checked in and having gone through security we went on board. We are on Deck 1. They call it Dolphin Deck to make it sound better! We have a comfortable cabin with a large window and a very comfortable bed. All you need really! We went up to the Lido deck and had some Thai food for lunch, even though it was then about 4pm. We were on the back deck as we sailed out on a lovely sunny afternoon. At 6-30pm we made our way to the Mix Bar for the nightly quiz. A number of the group joined us and we were able to come out with a tie. The tie breaker question asked how many passengers the Zaandam's capacity is. Fortunately I had read that this afternoon so we won! After that Lynn and Leo came with us to dinner in the Rotterdam Restaurant. Good food, good company and a promising start to the trip.

The next day was a day at sea. We discovered that the World T20 tournament is on ESPN on the TV in our room and starts in the morning. Bonus! Went up to the Lido for breakfast. We oriented ourselves and booked some tours for the coming ports. Had lunch at the Rotterdam and spent some time on deck. That night was the first formal night. Jesus had organised a cocktail party for the Bunniks' groups in the Explorer's Bar so we all dressed in our finery and went there at 5pm. The hit of the night was Kenn and Neil in their white Tuxedo jackets and blue ties and vests! Very elegant. Had fun with the group for an hour. Then we headed down to the quiz. Lynn and Leo joined us and again we were able to win. There is an excellent singer/guitarist, Chris, in the Mix Bar. He played Rocky Racoon much to our delight. We had another excellent meal in the Rotterdam this time in company with four Americans who were delightful conversationalists. One of them, Tom, was once assigned as Robert Kennedy's police bodyguard, fortunately not on the night he was killed. Very interesting!

Our first port of call was on Wednesday. This was Puerto Montt. We had not booked a tour so went ashore after the tour groups had cleared. We have to go via tender here. We walked along the waterfront, stopping frequently as Fletcher is still struggling with sciatica. We were able to buy an adaptor as our other one had broken on us. We stopped halfway along the foreshore to watch a large military parade that was happening. There was a number of platoons of soldiers in camouflage outfits as well as groups of Navy, commando and rifle troops. Some soldiers were being presented with medals. A military band accompanied them. There was a march past and much toing and froing. Very interesting. It was a beautiful sunny day which we were later told was one of the best weather days ever experienced there.

We reached the main part of the town and saw the cathedral. Then we found a café with WiFi and had a shared seafood platter for lunch. This was massive with pieces of white fish, salmon, prawns, chorizo and chips in abundance. Too much for us! We then walked slowly back enjoying the sunshine and marvelling at where we were, on the coast of Chile so far south! Back on board we again returned to Mix for the quiz. This time we had a team of six. Lynn and Leo were joined by Kim and Brian and we were able to manage our third win in a row! Chas, the quizmaster, tried to find different badges as prizes. There are a couple of other regular teams who are determined to knock us off. All good friendly rivalry!! Another nice meal with Lynn and Leo in the Rotterdam topped off an interesting day!

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Comments

[Christine Enders]

Hi - just thought I'd check your website to see if you'd been away again and found you on this tour! We went on the same ship on the Alaskan cruise last year! Have fun, I'm enjoying your travels