Castro on the Island of Chiloe (2-2-19)

Saturday, February 2 - Castro, Isla Chiloe
Weather:  86º F, Sunny

Founded in 1567 by the Spanish, Castro is Chile’s third-oldest city and home to roughly 29,000 people. Castro is know for it's colorful wooden stilt houses (palafitos) and the yellow San Francisco church on the town square with its distinctive wooden interior.

I was in no rush to get up and as I laid in bed, I could hear the tendering platform being lowered right below our cabin. We had arrived in Castro yesterday afternoon after skipping Puerto Montt. Many people had gone ashore when we arrived, but we stuck to our original plan of visiting today.

Bob and I went to breakfast around 8 am and Kent and Laurel came a little later. By the time we were ready to go ashore, tender tickets were no longer required. Having the tenders loading right below our cabin was convenient...both leaving and returning later in the day. We had no tour booked and no real plans other than to explore the city.

Free wi-fi was available at the port building near the tender dock in Castro. Lots of folks were trying to get on which in turn was making the connection very slow. Kent & Laurel were able to at least check their text messages. No wifi needed for us thanks to T-Mobile service. We picked up a city map and walked to the Plaza de Armas via a very steep hill. On one side of the square was the San Francisco church with its ornate wooden interior.

Kent stopped to buy sunglasses from a street vendor in the plaza...he had left his at the pool yesterday. (They did show up at guest services several days later.) We stopped at the information center in the square and using our very limited Spanish, we asked where we should go to get a good view of the stilt houses.

Model of the church inside the information center.

Taking time to smell the roses. 😉

There was a small craft market next to the church and we walked through the various stalls. I was looking for some yarn for my daughter-in-law who does weaving and was hoping I could find some alpaca yarn. I found some that looked interesting and when I asked if it was alpaca the lady said no, it was oveja. I didn't understand so she picked up a small toy sheep and started baa-ing at me. Ah...oveja means SHEEP! Most of the yarn was very bright colors so I waited hoping to find some that was more neutral in color.

Beautiful hydrangeas...such a treat to see in February!

Wool yarn from oveja (sheep!)

This man was sitting in the plaza weaving a basket.

Using the map we followed the directions to the stilt houses and came to a park on a hill that overlooked the bay where the houses were located. It was low tide at the time and the houses were all surrounded by a large expanse of mud. Directly below the overlook we could see where several boats were being constructed.

Interesting building.

Overlook to palafitos (stilt houses)

Low tide.

Zoomed in view.

Red roofed houses on the hill behind the palafitos.

Boat building

Down below where we stood were artists sketching/painting the view of the stilt houses.

Bob saw there was a cemetery on the map not too far from where we were and thought it would be interesting to see. Earlier we had noticed stands selling flowers near the port and judging from the number of people walking to the cemetery carrying bundles of flowers we assumed that was where they must have purchased them. There was also a flower shop right at the entrance to the cemetery.

Paramedic Bob and the obligatory ambulance photo.

Murals we passed by on the way to the cemetery.

Some of the graves were quite old.

Leaving the cemetery we headed back into the main part of town...Laurel and I were needing to find a restroom. We stopped at a small cafe with only a few tables and each one was occupied by one or more Chilean men. The waitress asked one of the men to move so we could have his table. We each ordered Cokes and Bob also pointed to an empenada in a display case. The waitress kept trying to tell us something about the empenada, but we weren't understanding. She was using hand gestures to try and explain but in the process she knocked over Bob's coke, spilling it all over the table. By this time everyone in the small cafe was laughing at the gringoes. I handed the waitress my phone and indicated that she should write what she was saying on the Google translate app. That didn't make sense either...something about Manzanillo which as far as I knew was a city in Mexico we had visited on our last cruise.

Bob bit into the empenada and discovered it was filled with apples. At that point we realized that was what the waitress had tried to tell us...it was an empenada de manzanita (apple)!  Most of the men in the cafe were drinking very large bottles of beer but our cokes were teeny tiny...less than 300 ml. The cost of our two tiny Cokes and one empenada was 3300 pesos or about $5 USD. My guess is the prices might have been inflated for tourists but it was worth it to use the banos.

Walking back towards the waterfront, we passed a small booth where a woman was selling yarn and many knitted items. I found exactly the type of yarn I was looking for and purchased a large bundle for my daughter in law for 4000 pesos (~$6).

Headed back down the hill to near the tender dock.

Very typical...the wiring looked like a pile of spaghetti!

Not far from the tender docks was a large...very large...craft market. Walking through the maze of stalls, Laurel and I managed to get separated from Bob and Kent. They both were carrying cell phones but our attempts to text didn't help...neither one even checked their phone. After a long time we did find them...and neither one even realized we had been looking. (Men! 😠)

I would have been more interested in the woolen ponchos if it hadn't been so hot!

We debated about getting something to eat at one of the food stands near the craft market, but we were so hot and tired we agreed to just go back to the ship for lunch. During the afternoon I spent some time backing up photos and taking a nap...Bob played pickleball (do you sense a pattern?)

An interesting food stand getting set up.

The Zaandam left Castro while we were having dinner and it was amazing to watch as the scenery slowly changed from rolling hills and fish farms to snow covered mountains. It was almost like watching a video as the view from our window changed from one scene to another.

What a view!

An interesting wave pattern as the ship turns.

More empanadas! These short rib empanadas were the "regionally inspired" appetizer on the dinner menu.

The four of us decided to skip the evening show to stay outside and enjoy the beautiful views until sunset. (We did manage to catch the last few minutes of the flutist, Andrea Amat in the main theater when we went inside however.)

It was hard to believe how hot it had been during the day but yet so chilly on the moving ship. 

A golden glow as the sun sets.

Andrea Amat...the "virtuoso de Valencia"

No Puerto Montt...On to Castro (2-1-19)

Friday, February 1 - Puerto Montt (Or it SHOULD have been)

During the night I noticed the rocking of the ship had stopped...well almost. I had two alarms set and was startled awake when the backup alarm went off on my phone at 6:35 am. Bob informed me that the travel alarm had also gone off at 6:30 am but I had slept through it. (He got a good scolding for not waking me!) Puerto Montt was our first port and I wanted to get an early start.

We dressed and went to breakfast in the Lido buffet. I stepped outside by the aft pool and took some photos of Puerto Montt as we approached. Tender tickets were to be handed out beginning at 8 am but at 7:30 there was an announcement that the ship had been cleared and tickets were already available at the Ocean Bar.

The four of us plus another couple from Australia were booked on an all day tour with Denis Purtov from Puerto Montt Excrusiones. I had met the other couple, Peter and Paula, at the Cruise Critic meet and greet and we had made plans to meet at the Ocean Bar to get tender tickets so we could go ashore on the same tender. Here is a description of the tour we had booked online:

Your tour begins in the port and industrial city of Puerto Montt. This city is also known as the "northern door to Patagonia", because many trips through the south of Chile to Patagonia start here. The first settlers came to Puerto Montt and neighboring areas from Germany more than 150 years ago. Here we'll visit the main square, the cathedral and the scenic lookout Manuel Montt, which has a panoramic view of Reloncavi Bay and the city. From there we'll visit the city of Puerto Varas. At this time Puerto Varas is the most popular tourist center in the south of Chile, with German-influenced architecture and summer activities. It's located on the shore of Lake Llanquihue, one of the largest natural lakes in South America. Next we'll follow the shoreline of Lake Llanquihue past the foot of Osorno volcano to Vicente Perez Rosales National Park, where we'll visit Todos los Santos Lake and the Pertohue rapids. These rapids were formed when the lava from volcanic eruptions blocked the river's course. Then we will continue our journey to the Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon), where we will stop to take pictures. Next stop we'll make in a restaurant on the shore of Lake Llanquihue to have lunch. After it we begin our return to Puerto Montt. Passengers may ride directly to the port or remain at the Angelmo Handicraft Fair. This market is famous for local handicrafts and fresh seafood, and is a five minute walk from the port.*In good weather there's an optional trip up the slope of Osorno volcano to a ski base located 1300 meters above sea level. From there you'll have a panoramic view of the whole region, including Calbuco volcano and all of Lake Llanquihue. (Extra charge applies)

We hadn't even finished eating breakfast when another announcement was made that the tendering was being suspended due to large swells. When the captain's voice came over the speaker a short time later we knew the news would not be good. The swells were already washing over the tender platforms and the weather was to get worse later in the day. Puerto Montt was going to be skipped.

The shoreline as we sail away from Puerto Montt.

Paula called our cabin and said she had an internet connection and would let Denis know that we would not be able to take the tour. Since we did not pay for the tour in advance, no money was lost...at least on our part. I feel bad that the tour operators suffer a great loss on days when the ships miss a port. I did hear others talking later who had not gotten refunds from private tours booked through agencies such as Viator. 

The cruise director scrambled and got activities planned to fill up the day and a new "When & Where" was to be delivered to our cabins later in the morning. A lecture on seals by EXC Guide Scott was added at 11 am which we attended.

The captain was making his noon announcements as we were walking out of the theater following Scott's lecture. We just caught the tail end of his comments but learned that the Zaandam was proceeding directly to Castro and we would be able to tender ashore until 9 pm that night. The ship would stay docked in Castro overnight and we would still have our planned day there tomorrow.

Laurel was very disappointment that we had to miss Puerto Montt, but an unplanned sea day was OK by me. I took a nap in the afternoon while Bob and Kent worked hard to finish the daily crossword puzzle available at guest services each day. Later the three of them played pickleball.

A disappointed Laurel. She was looking forward to a much closer view of the Osorno Volcano.

I was up from my nap in time to watch as the ship sailed into Castro.. I thought the hills and shoreline coming into Castro was so scenic. The ship passed by many shellfish and salmon farms in the water. Checking my phone, I had a signal (yay T-Mobile!) so I sat in a lounger by the aft pool enjoying the warm afternoon and did some texting and emailing.

Castro on the island of Chiloe. 

A zoomed in view of the church in Castro. Yellow and purple...the colors of the Minnesota Vikings football team!

I met Bob back in the cabin close to 5 pm and I suggested a swim on the ship rather than going ashore. Kent and Laurel also decided to join us but there was a little miscommunication and they ended up at the mid-ship pool instead. Eventually we all got together and had a nice time enjoying the warm water in the pool.

After showers it was definitely too late to make it to the dining room so we ate at the buffet. I had short rib and mushroom lasagna with a delicious salad from the salad station.

We cut it close, but were able to get to the theater by 8 pm for the production show, Variations, which had been postponed from the previous night when the ship was rocking so much. It was a show that had been performed on our last Zaandam cruise and I quickly recognized the music and costumes although it was a new set of singers and dancers.

It was a bit cool, but after the show we sat out on the promenade deck watching the sunset over Castro.

Bob wanted some ice cream, but between 8:30 and 10:30 pm there is no food to be found on the ship. We each had gotten a $25 beverage card as a promotion when we booked the cruise so I suggested he go to a bar and get a smoothie. He also stopped by guest services and picked up a couple of DVD's. (Each cabin has a DVD player and the ship has a library of hundreds of DVD's that are free to watch.) The berrie smoothie Bob got was delicious but neither of the DVDs worked (which was pretty common.) Instead he watched the ending of the movie "The 33" about Chilean miners who had been trapped underground. The movie had been shown in the Wajang Theater the day before and then played on TV today. That seemed to be the pattern throughout the cruise.

A bedtime smoothie!

Sea Day #1 (1-31-19)

Thursday, January 31 - Sea Day

I woke up several times during the night and when I peeked out the window I could see the huge waves illuminated by the ship lights. It felt as if we were hitting the swells head-on and the ship was rocking from front to back as we crested the waves.

Bob and I had breakfast in the buffet by ourselves. I went from there to the Crow's Nest for "coffee with the cruise director" at 9:00 while Bob went up to leave a note on the pickleball court. He had taken on the role of "pickleball organizer" and wanted folks to know that there was no chance of playing with the windy conditions.

Coffee with cruise director, Bruce Scudder

Bob then joined me in the Crow's Nest for a bit but was starting to feel queezy. The ship's movement in the Crow's Nest (Deck 9 at the very front of the ship) was really exaggerated so he returned to the cabin.

I also went back to the cabin after the coffee chat and began backing up some of the many photos I had taken in Santiago. I don't travel with a laptop, but discovered the Ravpower Filehub travel router which will transfer files between my phone or SD card onto an external hard drive. I made daily folders on the hard drive before leaving home and during the cruise I planned to back up my photos daily for piece of mind.

At 10:30 the job still wasn't finished but I left to attend the Cruise Critic meet and greet back up in the Crow's Nest. Bob was still feeling sick so he stayed behind. We had already met some of the folks from the online group at the hotel but this time I was focused on meeting a couple of people who we were sharing tours with.

It was fun to get to know some of the other Cruise Critic members and it was lunch time by the time the meet and greet broke up. I went back to the cabin to check on Bob and he said he felt well enough to join us for lunch...but he didn't eat much.

Bob and I had a lot of fun at trivia on our Panama Canal cruise on the Zaandam and wanted to give it a try on this cruise. The trivia challenge began at 1 pm but unfortunately it was also in the Crow's Nest...the worst place for Bob to be when feeling sea sick.

A father and daughter from Australia joined the four of us (Kent, Laurel, Bob and I) to make a team of six. Cruise Director Bruce announced that he prided himself in choosing difficult questions so when we got eight correct answers I was surprised. (Although to be honest the Australian guy contributed the majority of the answers.)

Bob left quickly after the scores were tallied and stayed in the cabin for the rest of the afternoon. I had warned him to be proactive and take some motion sickness meds BEFORE he got sick but he is stubborn and waited until it was too late. He has only gotten sea sick a handful of times on our many cruises, but each time it has been in the Pacific. Be warned!

Kent, Laurel and I went to the first port talk on Puerto Montt, Castro and Puerto Chacabuco with the EXC Guide, Kevin. The talk was interesting, but I HAD been cautious and taken some meclazine so nearly fell asleep. I knew better than to try and make it through the next lecture on earthquakes and volcanoes and went back to the cabin for a nap.

The port talks were very popular and required getting to the theater very early to get a seat.

EXC Guide Kevin had very useful maps and encouraged everyone to take a photo of the screen
with their phones for reference.

After my rest I felt like I needed to get some fresh air. I walked three laps around the ship (3 1/2 laps = 1 mile). As I walked I watched the horizon rise and fall as the ship went over the swells. When I got back to the cabin a second set of tickets had been delivered for the tour that we had already booked, only the tickets were for an hour later. I went to the shore excursion desk and they were just as confused as I was. At first they insisted that we were going to have to change to the later tour but eventually things got resolved and we were back on the earlier tour.

The lower promenade deck was a popular place. After hot weather when we left San Antonio the day before,
walkers were now wearing coats and hats in the brisk wind.

Bob decided some fresh air would also do him good so he walked a bit while I showered and got ready for our first gala night in the dining room. I had registered to have access to the Holland America "Navigator" app on my phone where we could see our online account, activities taking place on the ship and the menus for both the main dining room and the Lido buffet. Most days I saved a copy of the menus for reference but for some reason I didn't get today's. Although we are adventurous and like to try new foods, I'm not one to keep track of everything we ate or post photos of our food.

The Captain's welcome toast was held at 7:45 in the Mainstage Theater. Champagne, pop, and juice were available as we walked into the theater. Captain Chris Norman did a short little spiel and then we watched the evening entertainment, a comedian named Martin Beaumont. Originally a production show was on the schedule, but it was postponed due to the rough seas.

While we were waiting for the show to begin, I checked our onboard account on my phone and saw we had been charged for another tour. I thought it might be related to the mix-up earlier so went to guest services and found we were being charged for a penguin tour in the Falkland Islands. Hopefully the charge will be removed without any further problems.

No late night for us. It was back to the cabin after the show ended to get ready for our day tomorrow in Puerto Montt. The waves seemed to be a little less but we were still going to be rocked to sleep.

Santiago to San Antonio...Let's Cruise! (1-30-19)

Wednesday, January 30 - Embarkation Day

I woke excited to know that we would be boarding the ship today...but also aware of what friends and family were facing back home. Compared to a wind chill of -68º, Antarctica was going to feel about 100 degrees warmer!

After another delicious breakfast we brought our luggage down to the lobby. Others from our ship were waiting on their pre-planned private shuttles to arrive but we were picked up by a taxi van that the hotel had arranged to take the four of us to the bus station. The fare was 14,000 CLP (~$21 USD).  It was 10 am when we arrived at the Terminal Alameda. Bob and Kent waited with the luggage while Laurel and I bought the tickets. It was a little confusing, but we found one person who spoke English and we managed to purchase our tickets for the 10:20 am bus. To make things easier, I charged all four tickets to our Visa credit card for a total of $25.19 (~$6.30 per person)...much, much less than what a private transfer would have cost.

They directed us to bus number 11 and within a few minutes a man had loaded all of our luggage under the bus and we were sitting in our assigned seats in the front row.

These are "we are on vacation" smiles!

The route from Santiago to San Antonio

The drive took us by vineyards and fields with other kinds of crops. It was interesting how at times the homes on one side of the highway looked like upper middle class dwellings while the opposite side was shanties.

The bus stopped two or three times to let people off along the way and eventually pulled into the bus station in San Antonio around noon. Someone had written online that their bus driver actually dropped them off at the port, but in their case half of the bus was filled with cruisers. Today it was just the four of us. There were three employees outside the station who said we could take a shuttle to the port for $5 per person. Again I had read different accounts that said the shuttle was free or possibly $3 so this took me a little by surprise. Not that it was expensive, it just seemed weird to pay $6 for a 70 mile bus ride and then $5 to go a couple of blocks!

The shuttle dropped us off right at the terminal. It was 12:15 when we walked in and right up to the registration area. We handed over our passports, got our photo taken and then walked a few feet to where they were scanning bags. No sign of the usual pre-embarkation health forms.

When we exited the building we could see the Zaandam just on the other side of a tall mountain of shipping containers. But because this was an industrial port we were loaded into a bus and transported the very short distance to where we boarded. There were only a few empty seats and Bob ended up sitting next to the female tango instructor and I was with her male partner.

I checked my watch and by 12:45 we were unlocking our cabin door! (I will include photos of our cabin in an upcoming blog.)

It was nice to have the cabins ready so we could drop off our carry-on bags before heading up to the buffet. On the way we stopped at the tour desk and had them cancel the tour we had previously charged to our credit card and reschedule us using our onboard credit instead.

Our kids had introduced us to a new app for our iphones before we left...Marco Polo. It is basically a way to send video texts. Since we still had cell service in port, I made a couple of videos to send them. I thought our grandkids would be interested to see the ship docked next to us. It must have been some sort of ferry because cars were driving off the ship onto the dock.

The buffet was crowded and at lunch we shared a table with a lady who had just flown into Santiago that morning. The airlines had lost her husband's luggage...what a nightmare when you are just beginning a 22 day cruise! (We found out later that the luggage was located and loaded onto the ship when we were in Castro.)

Very few activities were listed in the When & Where daily newsletter for the first day...except pickleball at 2:00. (Bob, Kent & Laurel are avid pickleball players.) None of us really expected anyone to show up but we went up to the courts after lunch to find a crowd of nearly 20 people! Bob, Kent and Laurel stayed to play and I took advantage of the situation to do my unpacking...so much easier to do when I was alone in the cabin. It also gave me the chance to grab all of the nice hangers before Bob got them. 😂  Our room steward, Deni, stopped by and I asked him if he could get us some extra hangers for Bob.

Bob came back shortly before the muster drill and afterwards did get most of his unpacking done before dinner. After spending over 3 weeks in a similar cabin on the Zaandam it was easy to know where we wanted everything to go.

A few months ago our travel agent had sent me a diagram of the upper level of the dining room on the Zaandam. (Open seating was on the lower level.) I had looked it over and asked her to try and get us table #23 for the early traditional dining. That is exactly where we were assigned...a table for 4 by a huge window. The ship was late leaving port so we watched the sail away as we ate.

The Welcome Aboard Show wasn't until 10 pm so we went back to the cabin to finish getting settled in before we went to the theater. The show featured all of the ship musicians. The expedition staff who would be giving educational lectures during the cruise were also introduced.

The ship was really rocking when we went to bed. It was interesting to watch the sea from our cabin window down on deck 1. The lights from the ship lit up the waves as we went through the swells. At that low level the waves were quite impressive!

Santiago Markets and Santa Lucia Hill...My Feet Are Killing Me! (1-29-19)

Tuesday, January 29

The room was still warm when we woke up...the AC was definitely not working like it should. I felt guilty for complaining though when I checked the weather back home and saw this:

When we went down to the lobby for breakfast, I stopped and made arrangements with Sebastian at the front desk for a van taxi to take us to the bus station the next day. He was also nice enough to show me on Google maps where we were to meet our tour this morning. Our directions were to go to the "little green police station" near the Mercado Central which was a little vague. I also mentioned that our room wasn't very cool.