December 15 to Miami. A day full of challenges. We had had to catch a very early flight to Barcelona from Alicante, this due to Vueling changing the hours of the flight originally booked,. Thus the alarm was set for 4:15 am but failed to go off. Luckily Chris was awake by 4.30 and got up and checked the time. So we were bundled out of the house well before five and set off for Alicante airport. Unfortunately, the GPS on the car had failed to register both Victoria parking and Alicante airport the previous evening, but we thought we would be alert enough to get there okay. This was not the case and we suddenly found we had overshot the airport turn off and it took us about 15 minutes to manage to get back to the airport. Luckily once there, Victoria parking had a coach available immediately and we managed to arrive at the check-in for the 7 am flight with 10 minutes to spare. Once a Barcelona airport we were unable to check in for our level flight before 11 am so had two hours to pass . Once checked in we went up to a booked lounge which was fairly empty and nicely arranged and the food was adequate We successfully boarded our Level flight and established ourselves in premium economy: very comfortable seats but not really connected one to the other due to their orientation. The plane Set out for its takeoff slot , only to find it had a mechanical problem aboard and it had to returned to the stand. Engineers came on board and in to the cockpit and spent over an hour fixing the, to us, unknown fault. So we were two hours late eventually taken off but the pilot made up most of this Time. We had ordered our food in advance and this were certainly better than normal Iberia food but did suffer from being on plastic plates with plastic folks and paper cups for the wine. We both slept a reasonable amount and watched television that were happy to get to Miami Before 9 pm their time, this being 3 am Spanish time. US emigration was dry quick with no queue at all. Our phones did not work on arrival and it took some time to contact the shuttle us to the EB hotel where we were staying a large spacious room but without too much character . The end of a 24 hour day.
Monday, the 16th of December. Miami to Fort Lauderdale. A good nights sleep and we woke up with an errant alarm at 7 am but thoroughly refreshed. During the morning we had a wander round the hotel and a chat to a Venezuelan marketing manager of the euro buildings hotel company, this being one of the few hotels it owned outside Venezuela. We put our heads outside to ascertain the temperature and had a look at the non-inviting swimming pool. At 11 am, we went down to pay the bill and found that the hundred dollar deposit they had taken off the night before would not be returned for around 10 days. We were unimpressed by this and had a long chat to the manager: this resulted in her promising us that she would not charge for the room-this remains to be seen! We then took an Uber to the apartment in Fort Lauderdale. David was very impressed in the Uber was a Tesla. The driver was very happy with his car and informed us that he just had to pay $38 a month for unlimited recharge in his home. This seems so reasonable to us. We arrived at the Villa Venezia at midday and as we expected the apartment was not ready. So we left the suitcases and walked the 30 minutes down to the sea. This was a long side the canals the main feature of this area. We stopped at the café Delmar for a ham pizza which was Very edible, accompanied by an apersol cocktail. There were a lot of additions to the basic bill like a cover charge local taxes and 18% service charge. We then stopped and bought two bottles of wine and tried to buy food in a convenience store, but found it difficult to find things like cheese. But we bought some yoghurt fruit salad, fresh fruit and then later on to expensive croissants in a so-called bakery. Back at the villa we had to wait a little while to find the manager to show us in to a very nice apartment which was on the first floor with a lovely balcony overlooking the canal. By this time it was raining on and off and I did not get a swim until about 5 pm. We read quite a lot and had a glass of wine and nibbles at 6 pm, followed by a supper of a croissant, fresh fruit salad and yoghurt and later followed by coffee.
Tuesday, December 17. Fort Lauderdale A quiet day here. We had a pleasant breakfast on the balcony and then I had a swim before we set off on the walk down to Boulevard Las Olas,, This being in the opposite direction from the beach and a little bit nearer. The weather was a little bit iffy but we were spared too much rain. There were various art shops down here, plus a few dress shops and lots of restaurants. We eventually stopped in a Mexican restaurant and had a boritto A sort of Mexican pancake with various fillings, between us and David had a margarita and I had a glass of sangria. During the day, David worked hard on his new Rayban glasses with artificial intelligence and was delighted to find that they would read printed text for me. He also took lots of photos with them After that. we just read on our iPads and sat on the balcony. I also had an afternoon swim and we went for a wander down remainder of our road, which wasn’t very far. On our outing we had stocked up at the 7-Eleven convenience store , the main item purchased in 12 eggs because they did not sell six. So we then had scrambled eggs for supper and will have more of scrambled eggs in the next two days.
Wednesday, December 18. Fort Lauderdale. Non-eventful day here. We woke up to heavy rain and breakfasted indoors but by 11 am the skies had brightened. We read and experimented with “Hey Meta “ for the morning and went out soon after 12 to the beach. We walked along the beach for a little while and then came back to the same restaurant, café Del Mar ,where we had eaten on Monday. Once again we enjoyed cocktails and the jamon pizza and also a chat with the waitress. Once back at the apartment, Chris went for a swim. At 6 pm, we enjoyed wine and Tapas, then at eight more scrambled eggs And pizza. During the three days we had here we were mesmerised by aircraft taken off in various directions, particularly at night when the lights shine bright. There was hardly any movement of boats along the canal, but we did see the canoe this evening. 🐷 my overriding memory of I stay here will be how expensive food and drinks are at the moment in the US.
Thursday, December 19. Fort Lauderdale to boarding the silver ray en route to Lima. A lazy morning at the apartment which we were allowed to keep until 1 pm Chris had two swims during the morning and we got an Uber after 1 pm to Port Everglades, where the Silver Ray had berthed. The boarding experience was good and we found that we have been upgraded to the owner suite, Suite No. 8053 which was three times the size of the cabin we had booked. Congratulations to Carmen. There was a full-size Christmas tree in it plus plants, flowers ,fruit , full bottles of Gin, vodka whiskey et cetera, a wine fridge and coffee and tea machines. Also a chess set , two loungers on the balcony and a huge bathroom. The only downside side was that there were two doors that were difficult to open, one into the bathroom and one between the bedroom and the living room: however the Butler provided to chucks to keep these partially open at least. Once aboard we had lunch in the marquee restaurant and then retired to the suite to unpack and get the iPads and phones working with the ships Wi-Fi. David had to go down to reception for this as they had input Chris‘s date of birth incorrectly onto their computer and for reasons best known to Silverseas, we needed her date of birth to get on the Wi-Fi. After this we went down to the arts café for a cake and a coffee: these were fine but not quite the choice that we have been expecting and also the area was fairly dark for Chris. Later we went to the Dolce Vita for cocktails and canapés here again it was fairly dark But we were delighted to find Alfredo playing the piano there we dined in La Terassa and this was very impersonal and nothing like the Terassa on the smaller expedition ships . At 9.30 we went to the show lounge for a show where the cruise director, Ricky, introduced himself and told us the composition of the 660 odd passengers aboard, two of which were Irish , 60 of which were from the UK and approximately 330 from the US. And after this we retired to the panorama lounge for a coffee and grappa. . An interesting day.
Friday, the 20th of December. At sea en route to Aruba. A good night sleep and a swim soon after 8 o’clock, very enjoyable despite a splashing man the pool was really only wide enough for three swimmers at the most. Then breakfast in the lovely surrounds of the marquee. Service was a bit dubious but the food, full of wellness, was really good At 11 o’clock I had an hours bridge lesson. Could not really see the examples given but I still think I learnt a little. Back to the suite and then lunch in the Japanese restaurant: this was not really me as I’ve never been that keen on Japanese food but it was still a nice experience. This was followed by a slice of poundcake/chocolate covered pineapple and coffee at the arts café. At 2 pm there was a bridge tournament for two hours. I ended up playing with Anne and did not do too well I think. We were expecting the Butler , Evan to bring us canapés in the suite at 4:30 but gave up waiting at 4:50 and went to the arts café and brought back some scones to the Suite. We enjoyed these with a glass of pink champagne. Later on the canopies appeared whilst we were out of the suite and the Butler later asked us if we’d enjoyed them! We dined in the Note restaurant this was a lovely atmosphere with jazz being played and sung and we thoroughly enjoyed our small portion meal there, talking to people from the states and from Portugal on either side. We then went to the captains introduction of his crew followed by a show, various spectaculars that I could not see very well. A really pleasant relaxing day despite the lapses in crews performance.
Saturday, the 21st of December at sea en route to Aruba. Another day in paradise I slept really well and went for a quick swim before breakfast: this was again in the wellness marquee area and was most enjoyable. At 11 I went to the intermediate bridge lesson again And enjoyed this. Then lunch in the Atlantide restaurant which we enjoyed although they claim they had no fresh fish available! This was followed by coffee in our suite before the afternoon bridge tournament at 1:45. Despite having expressed doubts to Beverly about my previous partner, I was again paired with Anne from Florida. Yet again, I was unable to get my system agreement out of her and felt slightly frustrated during the afternoon. Back in the suite I watched the archaeological lecture from the previous day, this being on Northern Peru. At 4:30 on the dot, our butler managed to deliver our canapés on time. And we drank some pink champagne with these on the balcony. I then had a shor siesta before going down to the Venetian lounge at 6:30 for a show which turned out to be an homage to Whitney Houston, but it was far too loud and we left after 15 minutes. So we went up to the dusk bar and had a Pisco sour before going in to the grill around 7:15 pm. Service was exceptionally slow there and we had difficulties extricating ourselves by 9:30 pm to go to the magic show of comedian Mark Merchant which, surprisingly I thoroughly enjoyed.
Sunday, December 22. At C. Another day in paradise. I went up for a swim but there were several people in the pool , so I went on further to the Jacuzzi for five minutes or so. Returning the pool was almost empty, so I did a few lengths in that as well. Then another wellness breakfast at the marquee restaurant before a lecture at 10 am on the forts of the Caribbean. This was very interesting although the lecturer was not superb in her presentation methods. At 11 I went for a bridge lesson again and then lunch in the marquee, fish of the day. We then went down to the arts café and got some cheese and a biscuit to have with a coffee in the room. For the afternoon Bridge tournament I played with Sasha but she was not much better than Anne although it seemed more eager to learn: but she disappeared very quickly at the end which worried me slightly. We went down to the arts café and had a sandwich and a pastry before buying a mohair cardigan for me for $435 with our free funny money. We also stopped and had a chat with James the future cruise consultant. Then back in the suite we had a glass of Chardonnay and sat on the balcony for awhile before a bath and dressing up to go to the SALT kitchen for their expensive meal there, albeit that this was complimentary for us! There were about 14 people there and some 10 to 12 courses. The food was mostly of South American origin. Thoroughly enjoyed it although not rating either of the food and certainly not the wine as exceptional, but the general atmosphere was very pleasing and we had good chats with our neighbours there. Then a comparatively early night, ready for an early start ashore at Aruba in the morning.
Monday 23rd of December. Aruba. We had a very quick breakfast in La Terassa at 7:15 before going to shore soon after eight for a four hour tour of the island , there were eight coaches. First of all stopped at the butterfly museum: this was picturesque with gorgeous blue butterflies that we had seen years ago in Venezuela. After this we visited a site that has had a spectacular natural volcanic arch in it up till 25 years ago when it had collapsed. Here we had a pleasant walk alongside the dramatic shore with large breakers breaking. With that we went on to the aloe Vera production site where we were shown how the jelly like interior of this plant was made into cosmetics and other products, then back to the capital Oranjestad. En route we saw a hideous new multi story hotels having been built. We had lunch in the marquee restaurant and then went to shore again for a walk around the town but there was not that much interesting there and it was hot and humid. Back a board I went for a swim, very pleasant and no one else in the pool then we had coffee and some cakes from the arts café in our balcony. After this a siesta as I had suffered severely from a cramp the previous night. At 7 pm, we went for a cocktail down in the dolce Vita bar where Alfredo played, but I found this quite dark and not nearly so uplifting as other bars. We then ate in the silver note and again had a very pleasant meal, although there was a hiccup with the second round of starters which proved to be identical to our first round of starters: the waiter dealt well with this, but the maître day less so. Later we went to the show, but this proved very loud and the lights were far too bright for me so we left and came and sat on our balcony for awhile.
Tuesday, December 24. Curacao. A slightly more leisurely start to the day with breakfast in the marquee. Then off for a 3 to 4 hour outing at 9:30 am. The bus was full with 40 people and the first stop was at the Curacao Factory where they produced their liqueurs. The visit was done on the cheap with just a small screen showing a silent video on how the Liqueur was produced and then a tasting of three minute portions of the blue Curaçao, 35% proof, and also the tamarind and chocolate varieties which were approximately 20% proof. David thought that Silverseas should have provided a far more upmarket version of this tour. We then progressed to the Haka caves which were above ground and necessitated 49 steps to get there and several more steps down inside. Here again there were about 42 of us , far too many for one guide to take care Of. But the caves themselves were impressive. The next stop was the photo stop for flamingos from the bus. Then finally to the Curacao Museum, this been the highlight of the trip for me. It was housed in an old military hospital and furnished with period furniture in two of the rooms. Also a wondrous musical instrument that I had never seen him before something like a Callahan. The local born guide that we had on the bus made the whole trip very informative and worthwhile. We got back to the ship at 1:30 and walked straight into town via the old Fort and the swing bridge which opened on demand. We enjoyed the walk round town and back through the fort to the ship by soon after 230. We went to the marquee for lunch as this was the only restaurant still open, but we had a big problem there as no food arrived within half an hour: this was blamed on the new chef, but the waiters could’ve kept us informed on what was happening The maitre d’ smoothed it all over in the end and I enjoyed my filet minion. Then I had a swim , with more people in the pool then on other days. Back to the suite for a coffee and a read on the balcony before indulging in several cakes from the arts café around five, smoothed down by a glass of white wine. We watched the beginning of the Carol concert from Westminster Abbey on the television before going down to the atrium to listen to Christmas carols aboard: this was quite magical. Afterwards we returned to the cabin for another hour before going down to the lower bar for a glass of champagne. At 8:40 we ventured in to the Atlantide main restaurant for a Christmas Eve dinner of goose and Christmas pudding. Unfortunately, the Russian restaurant manager was quite rude to us which rather put David off the restaurant and she tried to seat us on a terrible table. But eventually we were shown to a delightful round table and the waiting staff themselves could not have been better. The evening was rounded off by a delightful Christmas show in the Venetian theatre - a really good Christmas Eve.
Wednesday, December 25 Christmas Day at sea en route to Cartagena. I rang Hazel before going for a swim and a Jacuzzi. Then breakfast in the marquee followed by going to see Santa at 10 am delivering presents to the children aboard down in the Shelter bar. This was followed by a bridge lesson at 11 and then lunch in the marquee where we tried a pizza for the first time. After a coffee on the balcony , there was a bridge tournament at 2 pm where I partnered Joe, the director of the bridge lessons. Back at base we went on an obtained three Christmas cakes. All delicious but no actual British Christmas cake or mince pie. We had these on the balcony with a glass of white wine. At 7 pm, we went up to the salt bar for the first time and I had a caramel cake cocktail there which was a bit like a Baileys. Then the Christmas Gala dinner in the Terressa where turkey plus accompaniment followed by Christmas pudding and chocolate lunch on the menu. The food itself was good but the Terraza deco had little to attract us by. We then went to the show of three divas, but this was all somewhat on the loud side and David left me there and I could not really blame him. Back in the suite we discovered that the boys had received a Christmas panettone and they were at last satisfied that Santa had been after all.
Thursday, the 26th of December, Boxing Day. Cartagena We were docked at Cartagena container port . Before this, I had gone up for a swim, but the pool was closed having been refilled so I just enjoyed a Jacuzzi. Then breakfast at 8 am prompt in the marquee before setting off before nine for our classic car tour of Cartagena. The guide, Louis, on this was Mr Shouty and we could not understand most of what he was saying particularly on the bus where his microphone just echoed. He did not mention the classic cars in his resume of what we were going to do for the next four hours but this did end in lunch. However, when we got off the bus he confirmed that there were classic cars. We walked through the city gate and had a 30 minute walk which ended in a restaurant, an extremely nice restaurant, but here lunch was served by soon after 10 this seemed very very odd but it was a superb Plate of Colombian delicacies which we really enjoyed, plus a beer. We then set off walking again and eventually found the classic cars. Four guests squeezed into each of these and set off round the outside of the city walls for a 50 minute drive. We were extremely hot in the direct sun for 99% of this time. Our lady driver, West charming , although her car was difficult to drive with a clapped out engine and gear box and David has his suspicions on the state of the brakes. After this, we were eventually walked back to the city Square outside the restaurant and told we had 30 minutes free time so we had a little wander and sat in the cathedral for 15 minutes or so soaking up its atmosphere with a service going on. Then back to Mr Shouty who by this time collected only about 15 of the original 40 punters to escort back to the bus pick up. We were dropped off one side of the garden which backed onto the port and then had a 10 minute walk through these and the subsequent distance to the ship where we arrived by 1.40. We changed quickly from our wet shirts and went up to the Teresa exterior for a salad lunch which was most enjoyable. During this time, we could see the huge queue that had developed outside the celebrity ship, beyond, and thanked our lucky stars that we were not aboard that. During the afternoon we watched the archaeologist who specialised in northern Peru on the television, a recording of the lecture he had given a few days earlier on the ship. This was most interesting and we will watch it again before we arrive in Peru. Chris also had a siesta and then went for a swim soon after five. David join up on deck 10 and we enjoyed a Curaçao Cocktail up there. We went on to the panorama lounge for a drink at 7:30 to hear the band playing there, but it was rather too loud and we soon adjourned to the gorgeous area just outside. Then we went to the Terrassa and enjoyed our meal outside there although it had been where several dry tables. We ended the evening up at the dusk bar in the hope of hearing the saxophonist, but she did not seem to be playing this night.
Friday, the 27th of December Cartagena. After breakfast and a wet marquee restaurant breakfast , we ventured in Cartagena around 10 am. We got the shuttle bus from the ship to the port entrance and then got soaked particularly underfoot, as we walked through the miniature zoo . Once at the dock gate, David ordered an Uber to take us to a shopping centre where we hoped to get a lead to charge his mobile phone, having left the lead in Fort Lauderdale. Once at the shopping centre we tried two Samsung outputs plus a department store that was recommended with no luck for this lead. But then on the way back through the centre, we found a small counter in the centre of the passageway that sold all sorts of leads and we were able to buy not one but two leads for his phone: this was due to the fact that there was a minimum charge before they were able to use a credit card and we had no local currency so buying two solved the problem and they were not expensive! We then walked some distance from the shopping centre to the old town. The rain have stopped by this time, but it was still very wet underfoot at times. We spent an hour or so wandering around the old town before summoning another Uber back to the ship where we arrived well before 1 pm. We had lunch in the Terrassa outside. This was very pleasant then I went for a swim before watching the recording of a lecture on Northern Peru. At 4:15 pm we left the ship for an evening outing. Cartagena by night. We had a good guide Carlos for this and had a short walk along the wall before enjoying a cocktail on the roof of the Sofitel hotel. This was very pleasant and there was also three tapas which were pretty so so. After this, we boarded the coach again and drove through thick traffic for several minutes to get to the convention Centre. Here again we went up onto the roof and had a margarita and two very good Tapas but unfortunately the volume of the music was even louder than at the Sofitel and it was impossible to have a conversation. but even so this we considered a successful outing. Back at the ship by just before eight we changed hurridly and went down to the Atlantide restaurant for a quick meal before the ballet performance in the Venetian lounge. But this apparently had been cancelled with nobody telling us and was in fact a violin performance, very enjoyable except for the lighting which was just too much for my eyes. A really nice day aboard the Silver Ray.
Saturday, the 28th of December . At sea between Cartagena and the Panama Canal. I went for a swim before breakfast in the marquee for my açai bowl of fruit yoghurt and seeds as delicious as ever, plus the glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. We then watched a replay of yesterday’s lecture which I had missed. In the suite before going to a new lecture given by a lady on the cultures of the Caribbean at 10 am , then a bridge lesson at 11 am and then a winetasting which David procured at the last moment for me as a spectator: this was in the Dame at noon And included a delicious meal that were only seven other people there and David chatted with a couple who were from Woodford and with Patty who had been on board for some time and did not get off until April 1-she was very disillusioned with silver sea but had travelled about 2000 nights with them I had to rush from the lunch in La Dama to the bridge tournament at 1:45. Here I played with Lily from Canada who had not played bridge for many and moon and was most reluctant to say which cards she was playing for me. I had done very well with Joe in the previous tournament getting 68%. Back in the cabin we went down and got a tart from the arts café and had this with a coffee in the cabin after I had washed my hair. At 6:30, we went to the Venetian Society reception which was a great disappointment: it consisted of a mini show and then a few presentations for 100 days cruising. People had been on board for 2000 nights and an 11 year-old had already been on board for 100 days. We had dinner in the salt restaurant with Rico, the Cruise director. David was dreading this but we had a very nice chat to him as just a threesome, others have refused his invitation . Then at 9:30 we went in to the Venetian theatre for a comedians show, we did not find this particularly funny. Then to bed With the thought of getting up early the following morning for the entrance to the Panama Canal.
Sunday, the 29th of December traversing the Panama canal. We got up at 6:30 am to see the ship approaching the first bridge over the canal. We went up onto deck 11 and watched as we went under this and into the first lock. We indulged in some Danish pastries and took them back to the cabin to have with a coffee on our wondrous balcony. Breakfast in the marquee restaurant as usual and then another walk round deck. Then sitting on the balcony yet again. Around 10:30 am I went for a swim and then back to the balcony. Lunch was in theTerressa Hey Mehta, when did the silver endeavour cruise? , sitting outside in the afternoon I played in the bridge tournament this time with Charles who was a reasonable player. And then had another coffee and cake on the balcony and then I read through the account of our trip through the Panama Canal in 2019 on the silver Explorer. As a result of this I rang up Adrian And had a lovely chat with him: he was now living in Malta and we could’ve seen him when we’ve been there in October and November this year. He had been on the silver endeavour when it had lost some glass in a storm around Greenland, around the time when we had boarded the endeavour on our Northwest passage trip in August. We received a lovely overseas Ted from Rico and also a new gingerbread house to replace the one that had removed from the cabin around midday. We went up to the dusk bar for a couple of, not so good, cocktails before dining in the Teressa outside. This was quite magical although there was a tremendous noise from the wind which seemed inexplicable. A really pleasant meal apart from the cheese which was a bit substan
Monday, December 30 at sea en route to Ecuador. A very overcast morning and a torrential shower after eight laps of the pool. Breakfasted in the marquee and the lads were hard at work mopping the floors from torrential rain. Then went down to deck 4 to make an appointment with James the future cruise manager. At 10 we went to a lecture on the anchor road system, but this was given by the useless lady lecturer who knew more about arms and her than anything else and had given the pathetic commentary on the transit through the canal the previous day. A bridge lesson at 11, then back to the cabin to be interrupted by the captain as soon as I started listening to a podcast. Later I learnt that we should not have to listen to this captains diatribe of 15 minutes every day meanwhile announcements on short discussions were only delivered to the corridor and had just about finished by the time we had run to the door to listen to them. Then lunch outside at Terrassa , we both had the roast. At two I went for the bridge tournament whilst David went at 3 pm to the champagne wine tasting: that was just seven others at this and the somellier knew little about the champagne let alone organising sufficient customers for his testings! I went and chatted to James the future cruise consultant at 5 pm to see if, by chance there were any cruises that might interest David in the future, that David was very disillusioned with the costs cutting all the time by the bean counters in Florida and I think this is a useless hope. At 7 pm, we went to the salt bar for a drink and then into La Dame for our special meal. This was a seven course tasting menu which was very pleasant but not exceptional. What was really nice was nchats we had with several of the waiters. I was slightly disappointed that there was not a soufflé to end with as we had once had a marvellous one in the dumber on one of the expedition ships. And so to bed very exhausted.
Tuesday, December 31. Manta, Ecuador We went off for our excursion to.Cerro Jaboncillo at 8:30 am after just a cup of coffee in the suite. We had another happy shouter as a guide but not quite so bad as the previous one we suffered. But he did talk all the time in the coach until we reached our destination, which was about an hour away from Manta. At our destination, there was a very expensive fairly new museum. We had a guided tour by the museum director but this was not very successful as he had to be translated into English by the happy shouter and the result was not comprehensible really. I did have a chat though with the happy shouter’s assistant who wanted to practice his English and I learned quite a lot from him about the kapok tree which, as I thought ,was related to the baobab tree. We then got back on the coach and drove for five minutes on an unmade road to the bottom of a hill. There were two or three small houses constructed like that of the.matoses, They thought they lived here between 900 and 1600 A.D.. We then climbed up to a viewpoint . After this, we drove to Viejo, for the sole reason of having a snack in a restaurant. This snack was most unhealthy, though maybe it reflected the local diet, apart from a good glass of blackberry juice. Then back to Manta, we had to leave the coach at the gates of the port, wander through their shopping area and then board a transfer bus back to the ship. I had a siesta and then a swim and then we had some thoughts from the arts café back in our room with a coffee on the balcony. At six we went to the dusk bar to observe the sunset and the town growing dark. There were a few fireworks but nothing worth watching. Earlier en route we had noticed many. stuffed animals and people which would be burnt at midnight. We dined in the silver note and listen to the singer and the pianist who doubled us a flautist We went up to deck 11 to look down at the party on deck 10 just before 11 pm but decided we did not want to join it to see midnight in instead we went back down to our suite and finished watching a video on drones happy New Year one and all
Wednesday, January 1 2025. At sea en route to Lima I went for a swim at 8:30 after a bad night sleep due to tremendous coughing. The ship was stopped near Guadalupe and David realised that there must be a medical emergency: this was announced several minutes later And a lady was taken off with +8 suitcases plus husband plus drip in her arm. We went to talk on catapults throughout history at 10 am and then I went to the intermediate bridge lesson I once again complained about the captains message coming into our cabin at full blast volume it got little satisfaction. After lunch in the Terrassa and coffee on our balcony, I then played bridge and this lasted for three hours as it was a complicated movement. I played with Beverly. Then we collected two tarts from the art café and went up to the area outside the panorama lounge to eat them with a peach shake. Then a visit to the boutiques where we spent the remaining $195 of our funny money on a T-shirt for David and perfume for Chris At 6:30 we went to the show but this was far too loud and we retired at 6:45 to the shelter bar to await Diana and Bruce who we were meeting there at seven for dinner. This was a pleasant occasion in the Atlanta restaurant but Chris was feeling very much under the weather and was glad to get to bed by 10 pm.
Thursday, January 2. At sea en route to Lima I had a really bad night coughing incessantly and decided that I was not in a fit state for a swim. David went up to breakfast and brought me back a dish of porridge and a fresh orange juice. Then I dozed until 11 when I went to the bridge lesson but found it difficult to concentrate .David went to an interesting lecture all about music composition. We went up to lunch at 12 in the Terassa and I managed a little roast beef. Then another doze until the bridge tournament at 1:45. But once there for five minutes or so before tables had been finalised, I felt really ill and made an excuse and just managed to get to the nearest washroom. So back to bed for the afternoon David went to a lecture on the Nasca lines. Soon after seven we went up to the marquee and I managed a little supper. The atmosphere up there was magical although it was a trifle cold. Then back for more dozing.
Friday, January 3. Lima the port of Callao I woke up feeling much better and we had breakfast in the marquee although the service was abysmal. I started packing before we went off for our 9:15 am tour, a cultural one visiting to archaeological sites. The first was in Lima itself: Mateo Salada? and was not terribly impressive and we had to insist on going up to the top of It, as a guide, Maximo did not want us to go up there. We then drove toMiraflores and the private site of Wacker Kuliana. .?. This was much more impressive being a temple built of millions of Adobe bricks around 100 A.D. the other site had been modern and was of 1100 A.D. so we enjoyed the second site but we’re not allowed to wander off by ourselves at all. Then back to the ship for lunch in the marquee where we had a pizza for the first time. Back down to the suite and some serious packing for an hour or so. Then I went for a swim and we enjoyed coffee and a cake on our balcony watching the containers being lifted off the rusty ship beside us. On the other side of us was the ship from Belfast that was doing a world cruise with people buying apartments on it for the three years. They had been stranded in Belfast for some 5 months, while the engine was repaired. David had problems with reception not wanting to except the $9 we owed but them wanting to keep $200 for a month or so to guarantee this was paid: what a palava, eventually he paid the $10 in cash. Then a final cocktail in the salt bar which was surprisingly empty before dinner in the marquee with its magical lights. This was followed by a Peruvian show. After this, we completed the suitcases to get them outside the room by the 11 P.m. deadline. During the afternoon we had a long chat with happy Harry our Butler who was a bit like a puppy dog and wanted so much for us to give him 10 out of 10 in our rating.