Happy Groundhog Day! We even received a cute greeting card from our travel agent (via our hosts onboard) wishing all of us an early spring. Seems that is what the official groundhog “said”.
So, day two was sort of a repeat for us today. All morning we were hearing fellow passengers voice their disappointment with the transfer to the modern mall yesterday. The smart ones used the shuttle to the drop off point, the negotiated a taxi to the destination they wished to go from there. This particular port is not easy to exit, because you are not allowed to walk anywhere away from the ship’s area. The dock is so big, you would never even find the gate. And going out last night was tricky. A few friends we spoke to had to pay for a cab from the ship to the gate, because the shuttle bus would not let anyone off at the gate. Once outside the port, it is very dangerous, and for those who did go out last night wished they had not gone that route.
We overheard people talking in the elevator that they were going to write the Share Your Thoughts cards to ask why we were not taken to the Marriott in Miraflores. And thanks to a reader of our blog, we discovered later today that the Prinsendam passengers on the Grand South America Voyage did in fact have a free shuttle to Miraflores. And that was just a week ago. On the other hand, if the folks complain too much, we may not have complimentary shuttles to anywhere. The service is a very nice perk, but it is never guaranteed it will be available in every port.
As it turned out, when we arrived to the mall on this Saturday morning, we saw the best entertainment of the trip so far. The main thoroughfare, Avenue de la Marina, has stop lights that are quite long. The cars, trucks, and buses have to stop for 5 or more minutes in some busy intersections. Enough time for a group of teenage fellows to dance in between the cars. Not only dance, but perform acrobatics. Even one guy was dressed like Spiderman. He was the best. His buddy hoisted him on top of a bus, where he did poses and handstands. It was the funniest thing we saw, as he jumped down from the roof before the bus continued. Then the group worked the traffic for tips, and by golly, they got them. The thought passed by us that while we were watching the action in the street, other guys might be picking pockets. Never happened, at least to us, although, we did hear stories at dinner that some people and crew may have had problems with theft. Hopefully, they were simply rumors.
Walking through the grocery store, Wong’s, again, we did locate a pharmacy near it. They still did not carry the aspirin we were looking for, but something close. However, 100 tablets cost 58.00 nuevo sol, which computes to about $18 US dollars. No way Jose. We will wait until we reach New Zealand. At least we got a good walk in a safe place.
Before we re-boarded the ship, we checked out the souvenir stalls again. One of us had spotted some silver–clad butterfly pendants and earrings yesterday, and perhaps suggested it would be a suitable birthday present. That’s when DH went right into the bargaining mode, and within minutes made the purchase for a very fair price. So much for not needing anything…..
Lunch was back on the ship in the Lido. It has been a while since we made use of the salad bar there. It has changed to full service, which is so much better than it used to be. Customized salads are made by a server, even the dressings are poured by the staff. Adding a shared sandwich, we had a healthy meal. The waiters are very good about serving ice water, tea, or lemonade too.
All aboard was 5:30pm, and it appeared we were on schedule to leave shortly thereafter. That’s when Captain Mercer announced that a tour bus would be arriving late, and we needed to wait for them. Watching from the Seaview Pool, we spotted some officers standing at the gangway with two pieces of luggage. Guessing the delay was not a late bus, we were correct when an officer standing near us said it was a medical debark. It was close to 6:30pm when an ambulance arrived with police escorts to load a woman from a wheelchair into the ambulance. Hopefully she will be OK. So far we have counted five people that have left the ship for medical reasons since we left Ft. Lauderdale. Undoubtedly there will be more.
We stayed out back, watching the ship leave the port, visiting with friends who shared their private tours they did in Lima. As former travel agents themselves, they were able to see twice as much for half the price of the ship’s tours. And they are smart enough to plan for plenty of time to get back to the ship on time. It has already happened at least twice that an HAL tour was late, and the Captain waited. Not so for the independent folks.
We now have one day at sea, and then we will be in the first port in Chile. And the clocks went ahead one hour this evening. No one likes losing the hour, but once we begin heading due west, the time will go back every three days or so.
Tomorrow……Super Bowl Sunday!
Bill & Mary Ann
