Day 34 - Tuesday 10th February 2015 - at sea (Easter Island)

Day 34 - Tuesday 10th February 2015 - at sea (Easter Island)

Our day started as usual with walking, stretching/ gym, and breakfast. JL then went to see his speaker talking today about a historical mystery, while I went to line dancing. I then went to my Knit and Natter group (now working on the back of my bear!). 

At noon everyday the captain comes on the tannoy to make an announcement about how far we have traveled/ weather forecast etc, and today we all listened carefully as we wanted to know about precise arrival times at Easter Island which we would be sailing past in the afternoon. We got a shock when we listened though - the captain told us that there was a passenger who was critically ill in the medical centre, and after long discussions with the ship's doctor and the maritime authorities, it had been decided that he needed to disembark ASAP to receive further medical attention. We would therefore be sailing at full speed from now until the island where we should arrive by 3.00, and the passenger would be taken by tender boat into the main town of Easter Island, then either taken to the island's hospital or taken by air to Valparaiso (the nearest big town, 2182 miles away) if necessary. He announced that the slow sailing past the island was therefore cancelled. 

We had lunch feeling very strange - it must be immensely scary to be so ill so far away from land... I felt so sorry for the man and his wife :-(

I had my pedicure from the day before booked for 1.30 so I went along to that as planned, and now have pretty turquoise coloured toenails. As I left the spa I could already see people congregating on the open decks so I went up to find JL already there as we were sailing past the island on our way to the town. Even though we were going at full speed, there were still wonderful views of the landscape. The island is volcanic and there are a number of peaks all over it. It is most famous however for the large stone moai statues which were carved by the inhabitants between 1100 and 1680 AD which are scattered all over the island. In doing this they cut down almost all of the island's trees to use to transport the statues, and this large scale deforestation led to the extinction of various other natural resources, and eventually internal warfare broke out, significantly decreasing the population. By 1877 there were only 111 people left on the island (from a previous population of 15,000), after visiting sailors brought diseases which killed many, and other islanders were captured for the slave trade. The population has recovered in recent years and there are now around 5,800 inhabitants.

The ship took us quickly to just outside the bay, where a boat was sent from ashore to meet and guide our tender boat with the ill passenger on board. The main town is right by the island's air strip the longest in the Southern Hemisphere as it was a back up landing strip for the space shuttle and we were told by the captain that a plane was soon to be arriving from the Chilean mainland to take him there if necessary. In the meantime he would be cared for at the hospital on the island.

We stayed just ashore of the town for about an hour while the transportation took place, which allowed us to look at the shore using binoculars and camera zooms. Around the bay were a group of 5 moai statues (one of which apparently has eyes if you are able to see it from the inside of the island) and a single one in another place. The town seemed very small and spread out but many houses were visible. 

The tender boat came back before too long and we were told that the passenger had been safely transferred to the island hospital. The captain then said that because we were ahead of our original schedule, we would be able to go back and do the original slow sail by of the island, going closer to the shore than previously. He got the port presenter up in the bridge so she could narrate to us what we could see. She had a map which showed a large number of moai along the southern shore where we would be sailing. After a while though we discovered the problem was spotting them! There are 887 moai statues on the island, which is only 63 square miles in size. You would therefore think the the statues would be all over the place - I certainly imagined them lined up along all the shores! Instead it was more like a treasure hunt game! Those people on deck with the strongest binoculars had little groups of followers round them, trying to find any statues! Every tree, bush, and water cooler was inspected, and shady patches of ground were looked at even more closely to see what was hiding there, but to no avail. Even the captain and the port presenter were flummoxed! Eventually we sailed past the quarry which is where the stone for the statues originally came from, and at last we could see statues (and parts of statues) all over the hillside (where they were left when the islanders ran out of wood to transport them to their eventual destinations). I took photos with my camera at its maximum zoom level but sadly they do not capture the amazing detail on the moai, many of which have carved faces and elongated ears. It was still an amazing experience however, and as the captain turned the ship round we had a good look from all angles. There was not a great deal else to see on the island, other than a flock of sheep and lots of hills!

We then headed back on our original course, past the biggest volcano and two small land masses just off the main island, one of which was used by ancient tribesmen as a challenge - they had to jump into the shark infested water and swim to it and capture a bird's egg, before swimming back to shore. If they won, their clan would rule the island for a year!

We took a few more photos and then waved goodbye to Easter Island. We realised we had been up on deck for over 3 hours, and when I went back and looked at myself in the mirror I realised that the sun lotion I had put on a few hours ago had not quite been enough!  (I certainly have some colour now mum!)

I just had time for another day's abs challenge before going to dinner. After dinner we went to see the Headliner's Queen tribute show again as it was so good the first time! We then went to the theatre to see a guy called Marc Paul who is a mind reader. It was very interesting but I am very skeptical and didn't quite buy in to any of it! My favourite bit was the start when he got members of the audience to pick a 2 digit number and then proceeded to fill in a grid of other numbers when each row/ column/ diagonal/ group of four all added up to the given number - it was amazing!

Day 33 - Monday 9th February 2015 - at sea

Day 33 - Monday 9th February 2015 - at sea

Normal start to the day today -  I took a wonderful photo of the sunrise over the Pacific which was stunning (it will be on Facebook tomorrow), then walked round the decks, stretch class/ gym, then breakfast. I then went to line dancing with a different instructor who worked us really hard - I was exhausted at the end! JL went to the pool for a while and then he went to see one of his speakers talking about Mars and what we know about the planet. I went and carried on with my knitting - I learnt a new stitch today! My teddy now has the start of a head!

We had lunch and then went to the library so JL could use the Internet (please note anyone who needs to get in contact with us - he checks his emails once a week while I check mine daily!). He then went to see his other speaker who was talking about the history of the British Police Force.  He then returned to what will be his favourite place for a few weeks: the pool and the jacuzzi.

I read in the cabin for a while, did the next day of my abs challenge, and then got ready for my first treat of the cruise - a spa package (thank you mum for the Christmas voucher!). I had been looking at the various different offers in the daily newsletter over the past few weeks and had picked a great one - Unwind and Relax, which comprised a 30 minute back/ neck/ shoulder massage, a 30 minute facial, and a 30 minute pedicure. I went along at 4.00 as planned but found they were running a bit late. In the end I postponed my pedicure until the following day or else I would have been late for dinner (and JL would not have been amused!). But I had a glorious massage in a room with a beautiful sea view, and then a soothing facial. What a lovely way to spend an hour!

I quickly got ready for dinner, after which we went to the next classical concert by the duo of pianists. This time they played some excerpts from Porgy and Bess, as well as some pieces by Bizet and Debussy. We sat near the front where we could see their hands at work and it was incredible watching how they coordinated with and stretched over/ under each other to reach the keys! 

After that we went to the theatre to see the singer Bruce Morrison who was performing a selection of Andrew Lloyd Webber hits. He was fantastic and I enjoyed singing along to some of my favourite theatrical songs, and hearing some stories about some of them (for example did you know that I Don't Know How To Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar originally had different lyrics about Kansas birds?! It was very bizarre!)

We then went back to the room to watch the port talks for the islands we will be cruising past over the next few days - Easter Island and Pitcairn Island. I'll fill you in on the details when we get there!

Day 32 - Sunday 8th February 2015 - at sea

Day 32 - Sunday 8th February 2015 - at sea

Another lovely start to the day - sunrise walk round the decks, stretch/gym, and then breakfast. I then had line dancing (back indoors this time), followed by my knitting class where I started knitting my teddy's jumper - the stitches are definitely looking more even as I continue!  Meanwhile JL went and enjoyed the pool and the sunshine.

After lunch JL went to his two lecturers - Diane Janes speaking about arsenic poisoning (!), and Ed Derbyshire talking about space technology. I had a lovely Internet chat with my family, then read my book, did some exercise (I am working my way through a '30 day abs challenge' on the days when I can't make the 5.00 exercise class - it's starting to get quite tricky!), had a quick cup of tea, and then made my way to the cinema to watch the afternoon's film - The Grand Budapest Hotel. It is a very odd film but I really enjoyed it!

We had dinner together and then went to see the first of the evening's concerts - a man called Michael Grant who plays the saxophone and clarinet as well as piano and several other wind instruments. He played a great range of pieces, accompanied by the Aurora orchestra, including Rhapsody in Blue, and The Entertainer played on a mix of all his 6 instruments! A very talented guy. 

They have started repeating some of the Headliners theatre shows, but most of them have been so good that we will be going to see them again! Tonight's was the fantastic Destination Dance, with dance numbers of different styles and from different countries. It has a great Lion King song in it with very cool costumes and scenery.  [JL: can't believe we haven't had any heart attacks yet among the male spectators.  But we did see two nurses at the back of the theatre with defibrillators during the Abba show two days ago.  They think of everything...]

As these sea day blogs are getting rather short and repetitive, I thought I'd add an extra bit here to tell you about some of the other activities which can be done on board that we don't do (through lack of time or interest or because you have to pay!). So you can also do: tennis, religious services (Christian, Catholic, Jewish) [JL: unfortunately I can't fit them in my busy schedule!]. Pilates, yoga, boot camp, health talks, spa talks, cribbage, bridge (lessons and games), whist, shuffleboard, deck quoits, art classes, scrabble, ballroom dance classes, Spanish classes, iPad lessons, camera club, quizzes (on paper and live, including Battle of the Sexes), get-togethers for different groups (people travelling alone, Rotarians, people of different nationalities...), choir, cricket, casino (slot machines, blackjack, 3 card poker, roulette), bingo, golf simulator, amateur dramatics, craft sessions, live bands/ cocktail pianists in the bars, discos, dancing, shopping, behind the scenes tours, and wine tasting events. Plus a library full of books! I defy anyone to say they would get bored on a cruise ship!!  [ JL: And it's Easter Island tomorrow !]

Day 31 - Saturday 7th February 2015 - at sea

Day 31 - Saturday 7th February 2015 - at sea

We started the day with our usual walk around the decks, watching the beautiful sunrise, then stretch for me and gym for JL, followed by breakfast.

JL then went to watch some football (luckily the satellite signal was ok!). There was a cookery demonstration in the room where line dancing usually takes place, so today they had moved it to one of the outside decks. It was quite warm and sunny and made a pleasant change, although at one point we thought we were going to be drenched by the black clouds which appeared overhead - luckily they passed by! The ship was rather rocky so it was another one where people were falling all over the place, which makes it all the more fun!

I then went to my knitting group to learn how to join my teddy's two legs together, while JL went to see his new speaker talking about murder at sea and how to dispose of bodies!!!

After lunch I went back to the bonkers Party Dance class and got another good workout, while JL went to see the satellite man talk about the use of satellites to look at the planet. I then went to a circuit training class which was great fun, then got ready for formal night in record time! It was another Marco Pierre White night, so JL enjoyed two lobsters and I enjoyed the chocolates they give out at the end!

There was no early show tonight, so after dinner we came back to the room to watch the port presentation for our next stop (Tahiti!) on the TV. We then went to the theatre to see the Welsh comedian Lloyd Davies who was my best comedian so far! He did some well known songs with his own words, as well as the usual stand up routine.

Day 30 - Friday 6th February 2015 - at sea

Day 30 - Friday 6th February 2015 - at sea

We woke up this morning to find that we had finally left Valparaiso! The captain came on the tannoy later to explain that there had been two large ships who had priority over us to leave, and then the port authorities had wanted written confirmation that the ship was fit and prepared for its forthcoming voyage of ten days at sea (yes, ten days!). This letter was written in English and then they decided they wanted it in Spanish, which was duly done. We finally left at some point in the night (by which point JL and I were fast asleep!).

The weather was still quite cool but not too windy and so I decided to do something I've done very little of this cruise - go for a run. I set my iPhone running tracker app going and ran 10 laps which I think equates to 2 miles. I looked at my phone and it told me I had run 6 miles! I then realised that it must take into account the distance the ship has travelled also! 6 miles in 20 minutes - London Marathon here I come! :-)

I did stretch class while JL went walking in the gym. We had breakfast and then I went to line dancing while JL went to see his new speaker - a guy called Ed Derbyshire who was talking about satellites and what they are used for. 

I had decided that because we were going to be at sea for such a long time I should take up some more activities, so today I went to my first 'Knit and Natter' session! [JL: all women, so mostly natter] checked in advance that I would need no knitting skill or equipment and they confirmed that was true! So I have now learnt the very basics of knitting and have started making a teddy bear! So far I have half of one leg! The bears are then going to be donated to the next Macmillan fundraiser that they do onboard. It was actually a little bit freaky seeing a group of people with bear skins in varying degrees of completion hanging off their needles... But maybe that's just me!

We met for lunch and then JL went to his next speaker - a lady called Diane Janes who was speaking about famous mysteries such as the Loch Ness Monster and the Bermuda Triangle. Meanwhile I tried my next new activity - the Party Dance class! It's run by the cheesiest member of the ship's entertainment team, and was done to the cheesiest music ever, but was good fun! Someone described it as like a crazy version of Zumba! It certainly gave a good workout!

I then went and chilled out in the room for a bit to continue my knitting, while JL went to investigate the pool - only to find that it was still too cold and windy for his liking. At 5.00 I went to a mixed stretch/ abs class (because the daily newspaper had accidentally printed that both classes would be on at the same time, so they did a compromise!)

We went to dinner and then to the first of the new set of classical concerts - this time by a duo of pianists who play on the same piano! It was strange at first, and seemed very loud, but we really enjoyed it.

We had planned to go to more shows, but by this point I was exhausted after all my activities so we went back to the room and I watched a film on the TV (The Bounty Hunter with Jennifer Aniston) while JL had an early night. 

 [JL : the good news: in the middle of nowhere but the satellite feed works! :-) now the bad news: Arsenal lost at Spurs ;-( ]

Day 29 - Thursday 5th February 2015 - Valparaiso

Day 29 - Thursday 5th February 2015 - Valparaiso

We got up at 6.00 this morning to find we had almost arrived already in Valparaiso, the second biggest town in Chile. It was still dark so we could see all the city lights over the hillsides - it is called the city of 42 hills, and we could see this clearly already! We got ready quickly then went up on deck to find it was rather cloudy still and a little chilly, but we were sure it would warm up as nearby Santiago was always around 30 degrees minimum.

We met in the theatre at 8am for our tour - Valparaiso in Depth. When we went ashore we first had to get a shuttle bus to take us through the port to the terminal, as where we were docked was in the middle of a busy working area full of enormous containers, cranes moving them, ships dropping them off, and lorries collecting them. At the terminal we had to go through security which was mainly to check no one had brought any agricultural products ashore. They did this using X-ray machines but also sniffer dogs who were let out into the line to check for any sneakily smuggled bananas! There are large fines and you can even be imprisoned for carrying any food items ashore, which means for the first time I had come off the boat with no food whatsoever - my first stop was therefore the small snack shop in the terminal to buy some biscuits to keep me going throughout the morning!

We then boarded our coach and met our guide and driver. The guide, Luis, was young and enthusiastic, and announced that he was going to make this the best tour we had ever had! We set off through the town, passing lots of brightly coloured, intricately designed and decorated buildings, and pretty squares with palm trees. At one point we stopped at some traffic lights and a juggler appeared and started juggling in the middle of the road! I assumed he was then going to come and ask for money but when the lights turned green he just wandered off - our guide said the are lots of artists like this in the city who just perform for the fun of it! 

We drove up one of the many hills to the Paseo 21 de Mayo where we stopped to admire the city from the high viewpoint and saw the imposing Naval Museum. Next we stopped at the main square, Plaza Victoria, where we saw some gorgeous hotels and official buildings, including one which had the facade and columns of an old building but with a modern glass structure built inside it - since the city has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, they are not allowed to knock down any of the older buildings so had to adapt it instead! We also saw some local artists painting the outsides of the buildings - we have noticed that there has been a lot of graffiti in most of the places we have visited in South America, but here they seemed to be turning it into a most respected art form, as there were intricate paintings all over many of the walls.

Our next stop was at the entrance to one of the funiculars (cogwheel cable car elevator things). These are essential for the city's residents to get up and down the steep hills. The one we stopped at looked like it was at an angle of about 80 degrees! Eek! The carriage only held 9 people so a few of us got in and then waited for the carriage at the top to fill up as well. It then juddered into action for the scariest 20 seconds of my life!! At the top it paused for what seemed like an endless length of time (it reminded me very much of the pause at the top of the Tower Of Terror in the Disney theme parks, just before the lift plummets back down!!) Thankfully eventually the door at the top opened and we were let out!!!

We then had around a 45 minute walking tour of some of the upper neighbourhoods of the city, which was absolutely fascinating. We saw loads of beautiful houses, hotels and shops, some churches, views all over the city, and painting painting everywhere! There were huge murals painted on many of the walls, on the streets, on the lampposts, on the plant pots, and on the steps (one staircase had multicoloured steps, another was painted to look like a piano!). We even saw a couple of dog kennels which were part of a huge scene, and another side wall painted with a Van Gogh montage. I nearly ended up losing the tour group as I kept stopping to take so many photos!

We picked up our coach again which this time took us to visit La Sebastiana, which is where the Nobel prize winning poet Pablo Neruda lived, and has now been made into a museum about him.  It is a beautiful house, on 4 or 5 floors, and has a fascinating collection of furniture including a carrousel horse, a couple of stuffed tropical birds, and a entire room devoted to a bar! It also had wonderful views over the city.

Up until this point the tour had run very smoothly, but the guide made one fatal mistake at this museum - he didn't give people a meeting time to be back out of the museum. This meant that some people were in and out in no time, while others took their time looking carefully at all the exhibits and listening to the audio guide and watching the information video. I realised at one point that I couldn't see anyone else from our group in the museum so I headed back outside, to find most of the group and the escort (who is one of the port presenters from the ship) waiting there looking a bit grumpy. Despite our predictions about the weather, it had actually turned out to be rather chilly and a bit drizzly, and JL was freezing in his shorts and T-shirt! The guide was nowhere to be seen, one woman could no longer find her husband, and the escort was getting frustrated. She went back to the museum to try and find the guide and the missing passengers but realised she couldn't get back into the museum as she didn't have her ticket (the guide had them all!). Some people started getting rather grumbly, but then the guide eventually emerged and tried to do a head count with people moving all over the place, people from other groups joining us, people going wandering off, people announcing that some were already back on the coach... He concluded we were still two people short so headed back into the museum to look for them while we continued waiting in the cold and some passengers started moaning more and more. Eventually he emerged with the final two gentlemen, who got a telling off from their wives, and we got back on the coach. It was now 12.00 and we were due back at the ship at 12.30 but had one more stop to make - at a local restaurant for some refreshments, which no one wanted to miss.

We drove towards the restaurant and from what we could gather, the driver (who spent 50% max of the time watching the road, and the remaining 50% waving at other drivers, pretty women, and babies in other vehicles!) missed the turning. They drove on, urgently discussing in Spanish an alternate route to the restaurant through the various winding and often one way streets, and in the end decided it would be easier for us to walk. The driver therefore reversed around a corner, knocking off his wing mirror in the process, and then stopped in the middle of the street to let everyone out, much to the disgust of the van driver who was trying to get past him. When the last person got off, he drove back forward to let the van though, knocking over a street sign in the process!

Our guide then announced we would be walking four blocks to the restaurant (he didn't specify how long a block was...) but not to worry because only one of the blocks was uphill! We headed off through many of the narrow streets, and having survived the uphill climb we then walked downhill for a very long time before finally getting to the restaurant. I loved it, as we got to see lots more pretty houses and got a bit of extra exercise, but many of the group were not amused! They calmed down a bit when we got to the restaurant at about 12.30 and were offered a free drink (more of the lemony alcoholic 'pisco' drink) and a snack (a huge empanada filled with meat, cheese and vegetables). JL managed to get himself 2 glasses of wine instead! The escort was getting rather agitated though as one couple were on another tour in the afternoon so were supposed to be back in port by 1.00! Someone from the restaurant then came out and apologised as they had run out of empanadas (I think they had dropped a tray or something) so the final table didn't have any - they were offered a cheese sandwich instead, but managed to negotiate a glass of wine as an alternative! 

We finally left the restaurant just before 1.00, with our guide who seemed to have bought his lunch there and was carrying it in 2 huge bags, and our ever more stressed escort, and had to walk to find our coach again. We came to the top of one of the funiculars and the guide said "Right, we are now going to catch the.... Ah. It seems it is out of order. Sorry. We'll have to walk down a few stairs then..." We then proceeded to walk down the longest staircase I have ever seen from the top of the huge hill to the bottom, with people groaning and grumbling and shivering all the way. At the bottom our coach was waiting (thankfully or else I think there would have been an uprising!) - we hopped on and he drove like the clappers back to the port, through several red lights, waving at a few more women on the way, until we screeched to a halt at the terminal at about 1.20. The couple going on the afternoon tour rushed from our bus into their next bus which luckily hadn't gone yet, the escort got out red faced filling in her complaint form already, and most people got out grumbling. I however gave the guide what I think was his only tip, as I had certainly had one of my most memorable, unpredictable, and fun-filled excursions for a long time, plus we got an extra hour for free! :-)

I found a shop in the terminal selling postcards, stamps and magnets. We then proceeded through the various security arrangements in the terminal, joined a queue alongside lots of new passengers who were joining the ship today, got the shuttle bus back to the ship and went for lunch!

I didn't have the energy to go through all that again to get off the ship for the afternoon so instead we chilled out on board, I bought another Internet package as there was a a special offer today, wrote some postcards, spoke to my dad, had some afternoon tea (mmmmmm!) and got ready for dinner. We went to the Crows Nest for a while as we had hoped to watch the sailaway. JL had a cocktail and I did some of the jigsaw they have there while we were waiting. By 7.00 we'd had enough of waiting for the ship to set sail so we went to dinner, where an announcement was made that the departure was delayed and we'd be there at least another hour. After dinner we went to the Welcome on Board show for all the new passengers which introduced the speakers and activities for the next sector of the cruise (JL and I are both excited about some of the upcoming events), and then went to bed exhausted! The ship was still in port when we went to sleep - more on that tomorrow!  

[JL: we are heading into the Pacific to Easter Island and Tahiti, and will be at sea for the next 10 days, so the Internet may be less reliable, also the satellite feed to the English Premiership :-( ]

Day 28 - Wednesday 4th February 2015 - at sea

Day 28 - Wednesday 4th February 2015 - at sea

My phone battery died overnight so my alarm didn't go off this morning, meaning we were too late to walk our mile - shock horror! Luckily we still had time for stretch for me and gym for JL though!  Line dancing wasn't on as the room was being used by the theatre group for rehearsals :-( 

JL then went to see his policeman Ian Brown talk about the trial of Kenneth Noye [JL: this top copper has given 8 fascinating talks about crime and the life of the criminals involved.  His take on Kenneth Noye was mind blowing as he was in the front line of the hunt, the arrest as well as subsequent events which followed.  His views on British justice and British judges I'd better not mention here but to cut a long story short Noye got 30 years and no parole for the M25 murder...  He will be released this year and Danielle Cable (she now has a new name, is married with one little boy) will, once again, have to look over her shoulder every day once again] 

Meanwhile I went to do the laundry. Or at least I tried to do the laundry - all the machines were full so after lugging my heavy bag of clothes to two different rooms I gave up and came back to read.

After lunch we watched the port presentation for Valparaiso where we are visiting tomorrow, and then I tried again at the laundry - thankfully I had more luck this time! I read a lot of my book while I was waiting! Meanwhile JL went to see Dr Yan Wong talking about "What is life, and where did we come from?!" After exhausting his brain on this he went and relaxed by the pool.

I went to an abs workout class later (ouch) and then we had an early dinner. We then had an extravaganza of evening entertainment! First it was our classical guitarist playing his last show before he sadly leaves the ship tomorrow - another amazing one. Then it was Gary Ryan (who did the Neil Diamond tribute show the other evening) who sang a selection of sixties and seventies hits. At the end of his show we ran to the other end of the ship to get good seats for the Headliners show which tonight was a medley of ABBA songs - fantastic dancing and fantastic costumes as always!