**Near-Live Blog of Zaandam Inca and South America Cruise 24 Sep - 3 Nov 2018**

[0bnxshs]

Day 31 (10/23)

 

Punta Arenas, Chile

 

This morning represents a milestone for us on the cruise; we are now down to single digits remaining until we'll be kicked off the ship.  Hopefully not before Rio de Janiero though.  So we are both sad and happy.  It also represents the longest Roger has been on a cruise ship (actually yesterday) and ties my longest time on a cruise ship with a 2013 TA and Baltic cruise with my DW and some great friends made here from Cruise Critic (they know who they are!) on Prinsendam.  I'm not tired of it yet.

 

The morning is quite chilly at 34f but is clear and sunny.  Today's high is expected to be around 50f and the skies should remain clear to only party cloudy.  Punta Arenas is known as an area of winds and ever changing weather and it's rare for it to get much warmer than 60f to 65f.  Days are getting longer here as summer is approaching; at it's longest, a day will last 18 or more hours here and the sky never quite darkens completely.  Winter is the opposite of course with the sun sleeping in until nearly 10 AM and shuffling back to bed by 4:30 PM.  It's definitely an area of extremes here that few of us deal with routinely.

 

We have a tour today but it's long past our arrival hour of 6 AM.  Our last Chilean port again requires us to carry our affidavit form and to undergo an inspection of our bags for forbidden items as we stroll off the ship and into a container designed for this purpose.  I check ahead to make sure the container is open at both ends before entering even though I carry no bag.  In the shadow of Zaandam and the chill air even the light breeze draws a few gasps from several passengers waiting to enter the container as we exit it and hustle to our waiting bus.

 

The bus is also a bit chilly as we board; the overhead display at the front of the bus reads 4c as we watch it and quickly calculate (simple manner is to double the celsius number and add 30 to get the rough fahrenheit number) and figure it's about right at 38f.  Then the time is displayed and it's something like 2 hours and 18 minutes fast, so we become suspicious of the whole display.  Not long after getting underway, driving off the small pier.... and onto land the temperature jumps to 20c and we have to guess maybe that's the inside temperature.

 

We are on a HAL EXC Tours excursion called "A Voyage to the Past: Magellan's Discovery" and is to be 3 hours long.  The first stop is at the private Nao Victoria Museum just up the road from Zaandam's dock.  On the way there we encountered a bit of traffic created by the currently ongoing strike of truck drivers here, blocking traffic with their rigs and not delivering fuel to stations where long lines could be found of waiting vehicles, but we get around it and continue on to the museum,  Here we get to clamber around on exact replicas of the Victoria, one of the 5 ships that sailed with Magellan nearly 500 years ago, and the HMS Beagle, which sailed through this area a few times and has a channel named in its honor too.  Wandering around on the ships really gives an impression of the men who sailed on these vessels.  How brave they must have been!  I wouldn't trade Zaandam for one of them.  And, who knew that the Beagle actually had a figurehead of a beagle?

 

Be prepared to hear Magellan's name pronounced in the Spanish manner here: "Mag-a-yan-es" is about as closely as I can phonetically spell it.  It might catch some off guard if they aren't expecting it and you'll end up wondering what's going on, who's this new person?  Sometimes, his first name will be found or said as: "Hernando".  On the whole, I got the impression that most people here are very proud of their heritage and how Magellan was able to find his way through the convoluted waterways here to open up the eastern Pacific Ocean for the world.  But, they too are well aware that a native population was here long before westerners "found" the "new world" who was quite happy with the "old world" as they knew it.  For that, we next travel to a regional museum for some time there.  However, it's a very static museum without any interactive displays or even films that provide an overview.  Seems that the most important thing the museum has to offer us is free WiFi, which many take advantage of.  Also, free banos are here for those in need.

 

Next, we head off to an overlook of the Strait of All Saints, where Magellan himself is said to have stood to get his bearings and look for a couple of his lost ships.  Later, the straits are renamed in Magellan's honor.  Finally, the tour takes us to the Plaza de Armas of Punta Arenas where we have some free time to shop and touch (or kiss) the foot of the Native American on the monument to Ferdinand Magellan situated on compass; this is said to bring you luck and a return to Patagonia.  You can choose to stay here and take a shuttle or taxi back to the ship if you like also.

 

Overall, I was disappointed in the tour.  Our guide, Patricia, did the best she could with the limited time and resources she had and provided a very thorough overview of the city but I had in my mind a bit more indepth look at Magellan and his accomplishments in the area.  I will admit that I may have expected more than was described in the description of the tour, but unless you want to ride from spot to spot in the city you might want to look for something with a little more activity.  There was a free shuttle from the dock to the Plaza de Armas from which you could do a nice bit of walking during the long stop we had here.

 

We were back a little past 1 PM and headed to lunch.  Tonight's show is a presentation of "BBC Earth: Frozen Planet" put together especially for cruises.  This combines the video footage taken at the Arctic and Antarctica and live music performed by members of the ship's musicians, the show band and Adagio.  I'll be sure to attend.  I also noticed that, in answer to the question "'stromer" had about the performances done on board, there might be 6 to 8 performers at most on stage at a time.  I think this may be due to the limited space on the stage which appears to have about 28 feet of usable linear distance between edges.  So, while the performances are live with multiple people, there aren't going to be 10 or more at a time on stage, simply due to limited space.  "Frozen Planet" is very dramatic but I will say it was a bit difficult telling the live music from the sound track itself but it was so easy to see that the musicians were playing along with the soundtrack at the same time.

 

Tomorrow is Ushuaia, Argentina and we are looking forward to that lovely town at the end of the world, or 'fin del Mundo'.

 

Punta Arenas in the morning:

 

The small dock here isn't even as long as the Zaandam:

 

The Nao Victoria, an exact recreation of the Victoria from Magellan's journey.  The chains at midship on the open deck are actually the restrooms.  Sailors would hang from them and do their business:

 

Exact copy of the HMS Beagle:

 

Apparently, right down to the "beagle" figurehead:

 

The overlook of the Strait of All Saints, or Strait of Magellan:

 

The Magellan monument in the Plaza de Armas.  At the bottom right of the monument is the Native whose foot is polished brightly by kisses and touches:

 

Jim, or Paphatson, and Rich at dinner in the Lido Market:

[WisRiver]

Your story of your trip to Manchu Piccu maded me tired.  Four years ago when the Zaandam repositioned from Buenos Aires to  Boston via Patagonia, Chile and the Panama Canal, we decided to do Manchu Piccu on our way down.  We flew from the US to Lima and on to Cusco.  Our seven day trip (including Manchu Piccu) cost about the same as the two day HAL excursion.  We had time to experience the Sacred Valley and Cusco.  On our way back to the US we had a great two days in Lima.

[erewhon]

Thanks for your update, interesting about the Beagle.

[AryMay]

1 hour ago, 0bnxshs said:

There was a free shuttle from the dock to the Plaza de Armas from which you could do a nice bit of walking during the long stop we had here.

 

Did the shuttle start running right away in the morning? Any other details? How often? How late?

 

We are on the Zaandam in January and have a private tour booked in Punta Arenas and will need to get downtown. It would be nice to have a shuttle instead of getting a taxi. (BTW...did you notice if there were taxis available when you left the dock?)

 

Did you talk to anyone that did the tour to Magdalena Island? 

[kazu]

Love the pics, Rich.  I didn't know about the beagle either!

 

Magellan's first name - Spanish for Ferdinand is Fernando so with the accent in Chile it could easily sound like Hernando.  

 

Glad you are still enjoying the cruise now that you have surpassed your previous longest time cruising.  I'm not surprised though as, IIRC you said you could have stayed on for the 3rd segment when we got off the Prinsendam.

 

Jim is fabulous.  Nice to see a pic of the two of you too 🙂

 

My morning is always off to a great start when I see you have an update to read and enjoy 😄

 

 

 

 

[TiogaCruiser]

14 hours ago, erewhon said:

Thanks for your update, interesting about the Beagle.

I’m scratching my head, wondering how I missed that figurehead.

[TiogaCruiser]

It must just be Darwin Channel photographs as black and white. I’ve been through twice, once in beautiful sunny with clouds and once a bright stormy day and both gave me photos that looked like they had been desaturates to black and white with a few dull color accented subjects. (I have one of me in my purple jacket in a black and white photo).

 

Captain Bos told us the ship wreck occurred due to a misunderstanding: an order was given to turn to toward port, it was confirmed/questioned “right?” And confirmed “right” and the helmsman took the ship aground to the right. Since then, orders as “port” and “starboard” are standard. 

Captain Bos also told us a lot of the fish farming is for the Japanese market. I think he said it was his brother who had a farm outside Chacabuco. He pointed one out.

 

Loving your thread, and you are inspiring me to finish off my video from March.

Edited October 26, 2018 by TiogaCruiser

[CruiseMGM]

On ‎10‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 6:11 AM, AryMay said:

Loving every word of this review!!

 

<snip>

Thanks so much for sharing this journey with us.

 

 

I have to say DITTO, I've really enjoyed reading your blog, thank you so much for writing it. Mike and I will be on the Zaandam Santiago-to-Buenos-Aires+Antarctica in January (along with AryMay and SusieKIslandGirl!), so all your pictures and information have been extremely interesting. I especially loved your Machu Picchu story and am so glad you and Roger got there after all. I read the posting to my husband during a long drive and I got a bit teary eyed over your prose. While we aren't going to go to Machu Picchu via a cruise, we've booked a trip for just about a year from now, a land based tour to Peru, so some of your experiences (with the train, etc.) will likewise be ours. I really can't thank you enough for your wonderful stories and comments and information. I'm currently about 2 pages behind on the blog, but hope to catch up soon. Very best wishes and hoping that the rest of your trip is absolutely fantastic.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I always look forward to your reviews.

 

Great pictures.

[0bnxshs]

7 hours ago, kazu said:

Love the pics, Rich.  I didn't know about the beagle either!

 

Magellan's first name - Spanish for Ferdinand is Fernando so with the accent in Chile it could easily sound like Hernando.  

 

Glad you are still enjoying the cruise now that you have surpassed your previous longest time cruising.  I'm not surprised though as, IIRC you said you could have stayed on for the 3rd segment when we got off the Prinsendam.

 

Jim is fabulous.  Nice to see a pic of the two of you too 🙂

 

My morning is always off to a great start when I see you have an update to read and enjoy 😄

 

 

 

 

 

You are absolutely right about Magellan's first name being Fernando, or Fernão in Portuguese, and that with the accents in this part of the world can make it sound like "Hernando". No argument from me.

 

That being said, there's a monument to him in Lapu-Lapu City, on Cebu in the Philippines. It is very clearly to "A Hernando de Magallanes" and there are numerous references to him using a given name of "Hernando", including the monument to him in Punta Arenas. I wish I'd gotten a better photo of it.

 

A mistake? Maybe, who knows. 

 

Thanks for the encouragement, Jacqui. We are very much enjoying our time on Zaandam.

[0bnxshs]

1 hour ago, CruiseMGM said:

 

I have to say DITTO, I've really enjoyed reading your blog, thank you so much for writing it. Mike and I will be on the Zaandam Santiago-to-Buenos-Aires+Antarctica in January (along with AryMay and SusieKIslandGirl!), so all your pictures and information have been extremely interesting. I especially loved your Machu Picchu story and am so glad you and Roger got there after all. I read the posting to my husband during a long drive and I got a bit teary eyed over your prose. While we aren't going to go to Machu Picchu via a cruise, we've booked a trip for just about a year from now, a land based tour to Peru, so some of your experiences (with the train, etc.) will likewise be ours. I really can't thank you enough for your wonderful stories and comments and information. I'm currently about 2 pages behind on the blog, but hope to catch up soon. Very best wishes and hoping that the rest of your trip is absolutely fantastic.

 

Thanks for the kind words.  I just know you will so enjoy seeing Peru. Will you be going to Machu Picchu on your trip there?

[0bnxshs]

3 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

I’m scratching my head, wondering how I missed that figurehead.

 

It took me awhile before I saw it and just had to ask them about it. I was assured that the real Beagle sported the same. 

[CruiseMGM]

24 minutes ago, 0bnxshs said:

 

Thanks for the kind words.  I just know you will so enjoy seeing Peru. Will you be going to Machu Picchu on your trip there?

 

😀 Why, yes, we are! The tour we're taking includes an overflight of the Nazca Lines (MY obsession) AND a trip to Machu Picchu (Mike's obsession), so we'll be hitting two BIG items on our list. We'll start with a little time in Lima for the first night, then Paracas (1 night), another night in Lima, 2 nights in the Urubamba Valley , then Cuzco (2), Puno (2), and a final night in Lima before we fly home. I think it will be a whirlwind tour, but we're definitely looking forward to it. The company we've booked with (not sure if I am allowed to give names or not, so will avoid at the present) has "optional" tours you can add on, to augment your included sightseeing and travels, and I think we'll book a few of them, but will not try to do everything (as we've done on other tours). We love cruising, but also really love getting a feel for a country with feet on the ground for longer than a port day allows.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to wax enthusiastic and hijack your blog. We finished up reading today and eagerly await additional entries. Thanks again, and best wishes!!

[kazu]

44 minutes ago, 0bnxshs said:

 

You are absolutely right about Magellan's first name being Fernando, or Fernão in Portuguese, and that with the accents in this part of the world can make it sound like "Hernando". No argument from me.

 

That being said, there's a monument to him in Lapu-Lapu City, on Cebu in the Philippines. It is very clearly to "A Hernando de Magallanes" and there are numerous references to him using a given name of "Hernando", including the monument to him in Punta Arenas. I wish I'd gotten a better photo of it.

 

A mistake? Maybe, who knows. 

 

Thanks for the encouragement, Jacqui. We are very much enjoying our time on Zaandam.

 

I don't think it's a mistake in Chile.  Their Castellano is as far away from regular Spanish as you can get.  The last time we went there, DH had to research their slang and struggled (and you know he speaks the language).

 

He remembers they substituted certain constantants and vowels - in both spoken and written word.

 

They speak fast and with a lot of slang and while every Spanish area can have a slightly different dialect, Chile's is recognized as the hardest  to get to know.

 

Just a little bit of trivia 😉

 

So glad you are enjoying your time on the Zaandam.  It sounds like you are having a fabulous time.  I'm sorry though, that you are coming down to single digits.  I'm really going to miss your posts every day.  They add a lot of joy to my day.

 

I am now, officially afraid to do another LIVE thread.  Yours is amazing.

[0bnxshs]

27 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I don't think it's a mistake in Chile.  Their Castellano is as far away from regular Spanish as you can get.  The last time we went there, DH had to research their slang and struggled (and you know he speaks the language).

 

He remembers they substituted certain constantants and vowels - in both spoken and written word.

 

They speak fast and with a lot of slang and while every Spanish area can have a slightly different dialect, Chile's is recognized as the hardest  to get to know.

 

Just a little bit of trivia 😉

 

So glad you are enjoying your time on the Zaandam.  It sounds like you are having a fabulous time.  I'm sorry though, that you are coming down to single digits.  I'm really going to miss your posts every day.  They add a lot of joy to my day.

 

I am now, officially afraid to do another LIVE thread.  Yours is amazing.

 

Oh no... Yours are masterful. So many will be disappointed if you don't.

 

Yes, friends of mine lived in Chile for several years. She's from El Salvador and struggled with the "Spanish" spoken in Chile.

[0bnxshs]

35 minutes ago, CruiseMGM said:

 

😀 Why, yes, we are! The tour we're taking includes an overflight of the Nazca Lines (MY obsession) AND a trip to Machu Picchu (Mike's obsession), so we'll be hitting two BIG items on our list. We'll start with a little time in Lima for the first night, then Paracas (1 night), another night in Lima, 2 nights in the Urubamba Valley , then Cuzco (2), Puno (2), and a final night in Lima before we fly home. I think it will be a whirlwind tour, but we're definitely looking forward to it. The company we've booked with (not sure if I am allowed to give names or not, so will avoid at the present) has "optional" tours you can add on, to augment your included sightseeing and travels, and I think we'll book a few of them, but will not try to do everything (as we've done on other tours). We love cruising, but also really love getting a feel for a country with feet on the ground for longer than a port day allows.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to wax enthusiastic and hijack your blog. We finished up reading today and eagerly await additional entries. Thanks again, and best wishes!!

 

I just spoke today to a passenger who overflew the Nazca lines in Peru this trip.  She loved it. She mentioned the airport was brand new there in fact. 

 

You'll definitely love your upcoming trip then.  Both the Nazca lines (I've only seen in photos) and Machu Picchu will enchant and possess you.

 

Do enjoy!

[kazu]

32 minutes ago, 0bnxshs said:

 

Oh no... Yours are masterful. So many will be disappointed if you don't.

 

Yes, friends of mine lived in Chile for several years. She's from El Salvador and struggled with the "Spanish" spoken in Chile.

 

Yours are better than mine, Rich 🙂 

 

I'll probably give it a shot but I could never live up to your masterful blog.

 

Enjoy every moment of the few days you have left. 😄 

[DianeNZ]

On 10/22/2018 at 1:38 AM, 0bnxshs said:

 

For one, the Gold package was something like $1200 per person more expensive, even after our missed port and the reduction in price of $600 p/p.  So, some might say "fleeced" (I would not) but I didn't hear anyone complaining who was on the Gold package.

Hi, would it be out of line to ask what the cost of the HAL Gold & Silver Machu Picchu tours are? Two of us will on the Zaandam next year and I'm not sure yet if work and/or family obligations will preclude additional vacation time after our cruise, so want to get an idea of what we might be facing $-wise. Cheers, Diane

[TiogaCruiser]

11 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I don't think it's a mistake in Chile.  Their Castellano is as far away from regular Spanish as you can get.  The last time we went there, DH had to research their slang and struggled (and you know he speaks the language).

 

He remembers they substituted certain constantants and vowels - in both spoken and written word.

 

They speak fast and with a lot of slang and while every Spanish area can have a slightly different dialect, Chile's is recognized as the hardest  to get to know.

 

Just a little bit of trivia 😉

 

 

And they drop off some consonants and word endings, too. At about 100 miles an hour.😱😯

[0bnxshs]

5 hours ago, DianeNZ said:

Hi, would it be out of line to ask what the cost of the HAL Gold & Silver Machu Picchu tours are? Two of us will on the Zaandam next year and I'm not sure yet if work and/or family obligations will preclude additional vacation time after our cruise, so want to get an idea of what we might be facing $-wise. Cheers, Diane

 

Originally, the Silver package cost was $2499. With the alteration of the tour we were refunded that entire amount and subsequently charged $1900. I think adding $1200 to these prices gives you the Gold package price. All are in US dollars.

 

I believe these prices vary some based on time of year and demand in Peru.

[0bnxshs]

16 hours ago, CruiseMGM said:

 

😀 Why, yes, we are! The tour we're taking includes an overflight of the Nazca Lines (MY obsession) AND a trip to Machu Picchu (Mike's obsession), so we'll be hitting two BIG items on our list. We'll start with a little time in Lima for the first night, then Paracas (1 night), another night in Lima, 2 nights in the Urubamba Valley , then Cuzco (2), Puno (2), and a final night in Lima before we fly home. I think it will be a whirlwind tour, but we're definitely looking forward to it. The company we've booked with (not sure if I am allowed to give names or not, so will avoid at the present) has "optional" tours you can add on, to augment your included sightseeing and travels, and I think we'll book a few of them, but will not try to do everything (as we've done on other tours). We love cruising, but also really love getting a feel for a country with feet on the ground for longer than a port day allows.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to wax enthusiastic and hijack your blog. We finished up reading today and eagerly await additional entries. Thanks again, and best wishes!!

 

Not at all, happy you've contributed and enjoyed!

[0bnxshs]

On 10/25/2018 at 9:48 PM, AryMay said:

 

Did the shuttle start running right away in the morning? Any other details? How often? How late?

 

We are on the Zaandam in January and have a private tour booked in Punta Arenas and will need to get downtown. It would be nice to have a shuttle instead of getting a taxi. (BTW...did you notice if there were taxis available when you left the dock?)

 

Did you talk to anyone that did the tour to Magdalena Island? 

 

I think I can safely say that, since we docked just before 6 AM, the free shuttle was not running then. I heard that it started around 9 AM and ran every half hour until 4 or 5 PM.

 

A few taxis were available when we left on our tour on land just as we left the dock, a short walk away. Fuel was in high demand due to the truckers strike and lines at the stations were reminiscent of the 70s back home. This may have limited the number of taxis available.

 

Those who went to see penguins all seemed to be happy with what they saw.

[Copper10-8]

Zaandam tendering off Puerto Montt, Chile on Saturday, 20 October 2018. Keep up the good work Rich! 

 

[1of4]

Superb in every way.  I love reading your review.  I just came in from final winter yard prep in the snow.  Tink enjoyed the snow. Strange dog!

 

keep enjoying...I sure am!  Thanks again for sharing.

[erewhon]

7 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

Zaandam tendering off Puerto Montt, Chile on Saturday, 20 October 2018. Keep up the good work Rich! 

 

 

 

Thanks for posting the photo.