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South America Cape Horn on Emerald Princess February 28, 2018


PurpleTraveller
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I'm enjoying your trip report and photos very much. I can't seem to fine the website for Estancia Excursions. Would you be so kind as to give it to me? I would really appreciate it. Thank you.
Thank you. So glad you are enjoying them.

 

The website is

http://www.estancia-excursions.com

 

And the email is

nyree@estancia-excursions.com

 

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I just am so thankful that you posted your experience with GV Tours. They were one of the companies I was considering for Punta Arenas in January 2019. I had read some other very positive and very negative reviews and now I know to avoid them, at least in Punta Arenas. Sorry that you missed your excursion.
Thank you. While I can not recommend GV Tours for the Magdalena Island speedboat tour in Punta Arenas, the bus tours there did go ahead but I don't know whether they were good or not. I can recommend the GV Tours Promo Bus tour in Puerto Montt as we had a enjoyable day.

 

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As we left the farm we were able to look over Lake Llanquihue but we were still unable to see the top of the Osorno Volcano due to the clouds.

 

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Next stop was Puerto Varas, a pretty town on the lake. We had time to walk around the town and visit the markets. We were also able to get a view of the church up on the hill but didn't have time to visit it.

 

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Our next stop was for lunch. We stopped at a parking and picnic spot on the side of the road but as it was raining we ate inside the bus. We each had a delicious beef empanada and choice of white or red wine.

 

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Our first stop of the afternoon was at Frutillar, a lovely town on the western shore of Lake Llanquihue. Like Puerto Varas which was settled in 1854, Frutillar was settled in 1856 by German settlers. The town is very pretty and we were given time to walk around it. It was quite strange to feel like we were in Germany as the buildings were built in German style.

 

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We met up at the Theatre on the lake shore for a performance by two local dancers of a traditional Chilean dance.

 

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It was time to head back to Puerto Montt but we still had one more stop at a lookout looking over the city.

 

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We returned to the dock at 3.45pm. There was a short queue for the tenders and then we were on the 4.00pm tender back to the ship.

 

We had a very enjoyable day visiting the towns, Petrohue Falls and feeding llamas. The scenery was lovely and lunch delicious. We were very happy with the GV Tours Bus Promo Tour.

 

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Tuesday March 13 - Sea Day

 

It was a beautiful sunny day so we made sure we enjoyed our last day on board. We spent most of the day relaxing at MUTS, before we started our busy trip to Peru. At 9.45am we watched "The Hundred Foot Journey". 12.15pm was a Bryan Adams concert "Live at the Sydney Opera House" followed by Avatar at 2.15pm. Eventually I forced myself to leave the sunshine to pack. At 6.45pm was the final of The Voice of the Ocean in the theatre. A lovely final sea day!

 

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Wednesday March 14 - Disembarkation San Antonio and Santiago

 

When we booked this cruise we were originally going to disembark at Valpairaso. When Princess changed the disembarkation port it necessitated us changing our plans so that we went to Valparaiso at the end of our land tour and we went to Santiago on the way to the airport instead.

 

We left the ship at 7.25am and got the port shuttle bus to the terminal. We were quickly through security and collected our suitcases. At 7.50am we met our guide that we had organised as part of our land tour and our driver picked us up just outside the port gate. It took one hour and 20 minutes to drive to Santiago.

 

Our first stop was at the Club Hipico Racecourse. We watched the racehorses galloping in practice and were surprised that some jockeys were riding without saddles.

 

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We then drove to the back entrance of the Presidential Palace where we got out of the van and walked.

 

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As we walked to the front of the Presidential Palace we passed this very cool cafe.

 

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We got to the front of the Presidential Palace just as the Changing of the Guard started, with a band and marching horses and guards.

 

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We walked through the city pedestrian malls and stopped for a coffee at one of the stand up bars where you order your tea or coffee and drink it was while standing up at a counter. It was fun to try a local custom.

 

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We continued on to the Plaza de Armas. The plaza is lovely and there are many beautiful buildings surrounding the plaza. We visited the Cathedral which was lovely.

 

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We passed the ornate Post Office and walked through the plaza.

 

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Next we walked to the Mercado Central which has a fish market. There are also restaurants in the market building and a fruit market outside.

 

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We were picked up by our van outside the market and we went to San Cristobal Hill. We went up in the funicular and had a great view of the city from the top even though it was smoggy. We also saw the 22 metre high statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the top of the hill.

 

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After going back down the funicular we were picked up again and went for a drive through the business district with its very modern buildings.

 

We left the business area at 1.20pm and had a quick 20 minute drive to the airport for our flight to Lima. We had really enjoyed our half day in Santiago and looked forward to returning on the way back from Peru.

 

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I know this is a review of my cruise but I thought I would pop in our visit to Lima as Emerald Princess continued north and visited Lima a few days later. The traffic is crazy in Lima. Our trip from the airport took one and a half hours to go the 18 km from the airport to Miraflores on the evening that we arrived.

 

We were picked up at 9.10am by our guide and driver and drove to Huaca Pucliana, a restored adobe ceremonial centre made from mud bricks that is about 1600 years old. It was massive!

 

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We then drove through the San Isidro area then towards the city, past the Plaza San Martin and to the city centre.

 

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We got out of the van and walked through the narrow streets to Palacio Torre Tagle a beautiful palace that was built in 1735. It has ornate balconies on the outside and an elaborate portico. We were unable to go inside as it is now the Foreign Ministry.

 

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We walked up the street to Iglesia de San Pedro a beautiful church.

 

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The inside of the church is beautiful.

 

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Even the hinges on the front doors were beautiful.

 

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We left the church and stopped in at the Banco de Credito del Peru and Banco Central de Reserva del Peru buildings to look at the ornate ceilings and elaborate insides. No photos were allowed.

 

Next stop was the San Francisco Monastery and its catacombs with thousands of bones. No photos were allowed here.

 

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We continued on to Palaco de Gobierno, the presidential palace, just in time to see the Changing of the Guard with a band and the guard marching with a slow goosestep.

 

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We walked through the lovely Plaza de Armas looking at the Cathedral and Archbishops Palace.

 

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We walked on to the Iglesia de Santo Domingo which is one of Lima's most religious sites. It was originally built in the 16th century but has been remodeled a number of times since. We visited the library and walked around the courtyard with its beautiful tiles.

 

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We were dropped back at the hotel at 1.10pm. After a short rest and some lunch we walked from our hotel to the Parque Kennedy and then down to the beachfront. There was an airshow with the planes flying past the Miraflores cliffs which was fun to watch.

 

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We had a great time in Lima.

 

 

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After we left Lima we flew to Cusco and visited the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cusco and Lake Titicaca. When at Machu Picchu we met a group of ladies who were on the Princess land tour of Peru after leaving Emerald Princess in San Antonio. They reported that they were having a great time and were very happy with the hotels, meals and transport. Their itinerary was very similar to ours excepting Lake Titicaca, so I will show you a few photos of our trip around Peru in case you are thinking of adding on a trip either before or after a South America cruise.

 

Sacred Valley

 

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Ollantaytambo

 

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Lunch in the Sacred Valley

 

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After our tour of Peru we flew back to Santiago. As we had missed seeing Valparaiso when we disembarked at San Antonio we planned a day trip there.

 

We were picked up at 9.00am and drove for an hour before we had a short stop at the Rio Tinto Winery at Casablanca where we tasted a few wines. Another half an hour and we were at Vina del Mar. We got out of the van at Plaza Jose Francisco Vergara and then walked to the Fonck Museum to see the Easter Island statue.

 

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We drove past the casino and president's holiday home and along the coast and then went for a walk along Long Beach.

 

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It was a short drive to the flower clock.

 

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We then headed to Valparaiso and got out of the van near the Bibloteca Santiago Severin and then walked under the British Arch. The arch was donated to Valparaiso by the British community in 1910 to commemorate a century of the Independence of Chile.

 

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We then headed to the Queen Victoria funicular and took it up the hill.

 

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Instead of getting a funicular back down the hill we decided to walk down the stairs instead. The stairs were also brightly coloured and we passed derelict buildings as well as vibrant houses.

 

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At the bottom we were in Plaza Sotomayor the main square of Valparaiso. The square contains the Chilean Armada Building and the Monument to the Heroes of Iquique.

 

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We left Valparaiso and drove one and a half hours back to Santiago, arriving at 5.00pm. We really enjoyed our visit to Valparaiso and were glad that we had made the time to go there.

 

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When we got back to Santiago we made a quick pit stop at the hotel then went out for a walk before dinner. We visited the San Francisco Church, the oldest surviving building in Santiago which was started in 1618. The church has a beautiful wood ceiling. The organist and a singer were rehearsing and they sounded wonderful.

 

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We then walked to Santa Lucia Hill which is the spot where Santiago was founded in 1541.

 

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We walked on to Barrio Lastarria, a neighbourhood with cafes and restaurants as well as a street market.

 

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We ended up at Plaza de Arms where I liked the reflection of the old buildings in the new.

 

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This is the end of our amazing trip as we flew home the following day.

 

 

 

 

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Conclusion

 

We had a great cruise and an amazing trip to South America. We were so pleased that we were able to get to every port and while the weather wasn't always perfect we still got to see the glaciers and experience rounding the horn.

 

Emerald Princess is a lovely ship and our cabin was comfortable, quiet and in a great location.

 

The food was good in the Dining Room and Horizon Court and great at the Crown Grill. We ate most lunches at the International Cafe which we love.

 

We enjoyed the entertainment we saw, particularly Teacake Ferguson. We also enjoyed the movies and concerts we saw at MUTS. The enrichment lectures were interesting and we really enjoyed the presentation by Kirsten and Ville Jokinen. Julio's destination presentations were also great.

 

The crew were friendly and helpful and we had good service throughout the cruise.

 

We met many lovely people on the cruise and most were friendly and happy to have a chat and a laugh.

 

The best experience on the cruise was rounding Cape Horn and the Amalia Glacier was stunning but there was so much wonderful and beautiful scenery it is hard to choose.

 

The best excursion was to Volunteer Point in the Falklands with Estancia Excursions. The king penguins were fantastic to see and I had a wonderful day.

 

This was a great cruise with beautiful scenery, interesting ports and wonderful experiences.

 

Thank you for following along and thank you for the lovely comments. They are truly appreciated. Where are we cruising to next? We are sailing on Sapphire Princess to Norway - Land of the Midnight Sun in June 2019. Until then, Bon Voyage!

 

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