Update to January 19th

 

Today is January 19 and we are spending a day at sea.  I hope to transmit this when we can find a connection ashore.

Picking up from our last entry we transited the Panama Canal on January 12th.  This was our third full transit and it never gets old.  However, it doesn’t get different either so let me refer you to our last transit in 2011.  You can find it at  http://thegreatadventure01.blogspot.com/2011/01/first-few-days.html   Only the name of the ship is different.  You have to double click the pictures to get full size.  I think I fixed that problem this time.  The one change is the continuing work on the new, larger locks scheduled for completion in 2014….really expect 2015.  The new locks will accommodate over 90% of todays larger ships.  A disappointing note for fellow cruisers.  Currently the larger cruise ships repositioning between Alaska and Caribbean seasons have to travel around South America as they can’t fit in the current locks.  This provides a really good repositioning price for a cruise that usually runs about 45 days.  Those opportunities will be gone with the new locks.  They will still reposition but it will be through the new locks on cruises of about 20 days.  Double darn!

On the 13th we spent the day in Manata, Ecuador.  Manta is the largest seaport in Ecuador and the primary fishing industry.  We spent a quiet day just relaxing around the town.

Fishing fleet in the harbor.

Close-up of the boats.  Primary catch is Yellow Fin Tuna using nets.  The small boat on the stern is used to put out and work on the capture nets.

After two days at sea out next port was Lima, Peru on January 16 & 17.  We were in Lima in 2011 at the end of our Machu Picchu trip.  This time we took a ride through the city to the Indian Market.

Middle class single family home.  Note the metal fence in front with high voltage electric wire at the top.  The driveway fence area is raised for the car.

There is a lot of traffic.

A lot of the city has wide roads with ecological green space.

Many of the main roads have a bike trail down the middle.  These photos are for Mark Turner.

Bike path along side the road.

The Indian Market.  For some reason there were very few people at the market when we visited.  There were three primary types of stores.

Silver shops

Religious shops

Alpaca Shops

View of the walkways.

Noreen buying a leather Peruvian hat.

and conducting international negotiations.

Some general views around Lima.

On 18 January we visited General San Martin, Peru which is only a 235 kilometers miles from Lima.  It is located close to Pisco which is a major stepping off point for visits to the Nazca Lines.  We tried several ways to get to see the lines this trip but were unsuccessful.  We’ll be back in this area in 2014 and hope to make it to the Lines then.

This picture is a panorama of our docking area.  It is the part of the Atacama desert which runs down through Chile. It is caused by moisture in the atmosphere being stopped by the Andes.  The Atacama is the driest location on earth and has a width of about 125 miles, the distance between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains.

On the road into town showing the desert.

This is a resort town with a great beach and restaurant walkway.

A lot of Hostels.

I offered Noreen a chance to tour in the same type vehicle we used in India for those who remember the Tuc Tuc story.  This one even had windows.

Having had enough of that experience she choose the Inka Express.

You can’t argue with freshness when the chickens are kept on the roof of the restaurant….

Of course, sometime during the day Noreen had to visit with the locals.

I’ll close with some excitement this morning.  The ship alarm bells sounded at (8:36 AM, I looked at the clock) without the usual prior announcement of a drill.  The Officer of the Watch announced Man Overboard on the Starboard side.  Turns-out it wasn’t a passenger, the bridge lookout thought he had seen a man in the water. The ship executed a return to reciprocal course turn to return to the location of the sighting.  They also swung out the Rapid Response boat which is a hydro jet designed for quick deployment in these type situations.

We searched for about an hour in the area.  Of course with helpful passengers all over the ship with binoculars. Nothing was found and we sailed on.