Cruise The World With Us

Sunday – February 9, 2025

Today got off to a less than optimal start. Our scheduled arrival time was 8:00 am. The Valparaiso pilot was to board the ship around 7:00 am to guide us to our docking spot. We were to assemble for our excursion at 8:00 am in the Royal Theatre. First sign there might be trouble was looking out the balcony. What we saw is the featured image for today – we saw nothing because the fog was extremely thick! We made our way to the theatre and when we arrived there was an announcement that the pilot had not yet boarded the ship. This meant at least an hour’s delay. We were told we should be docked and ready to take our excursion at 10:00 am. So we waited in the theatre. Then there was an announcement from the bridge that the pilot would not be aboard until later in the morning. So our excursion assembly time was pushed back to noon. Most people left the theatre but we decided to stay and jockey for seats closer to the door so we could be near the front of the line when it was time to leave.

Staying in the theatre not only gave us a better starting point for the excursion but it also gave us a chance to meet new people – Stephanie and Penny – sisters from Hawaii and North Dakota who joined the voyage in Argentina. We had a good time talking with them about a wide range of topics including very bad customer service from a well-known financial group with the initials “AE” and the slogan “Don’t leave home without it.”.

At noon people began to fill seats in the theatre expecting excursions would begin soon. NO! The pilot had still not boarded the ship. Eventually the pilot did come aboard and the ship made its way to port. Rumors for the pilot’s delay included him being drunk and not showing up for work on time. Next hurdle was we weren’t given clearance to leave the ship by Chilean authorities. Haven’t heard any reasons for that delay.

Shortly after 2:00 pm they called our excursion. We were in group 1 but ours was not the first group to be called. We snaked our way through the ship to disembark and reached our shuttle bus around 2:30 pm. You have to use a shuttle bus to get from the ship to the excursion bus because this is a working port with containers and other heavy equipment moving all around. After a short ride and an inspection by Chilean authorities (for food being brought into the country and radiographic inspection of carry ons and backpacks) we arrived at our excursion bus and were ready to learn about Valparaiso.

Our tour guide today was Ronald. He lives near Valparaiso in the city of Vina Del Mar (which we would visit during our tour). He started by saying our tour would take 4 hours and he expected to have us back to the shuttle buses by 7:00 pm. This was not really good news because our dinner seating is 6:00 pm which means we would be eating in the buffet this evening.

Ronald began by giving us some basic information about Valparaiso. It was not originally set up to become the city of 400,000 it is today. It was supposed to be an extension of Santiago, Chile’s capital. As such, there were no building ordinances established. That is why you find such a variety of construction types, shapes and colors for the buildings on Valparaiso’s 44 hillsides. Valparaiso grew to become an important South America port because any ship traveling East to West would stop at the Valparaiso port – the first major port after rounding Cape Horn. During that time the city thrived. That changed when the Panama Canal opened in August of 1914. The general condition of the buildings degraded and between earthquakes and fires, many buildings and lives were lost in Valparaiso.

As we drove Ronald pointed out that Valparaiso has 2 types of taxis – those that will take you within the city limits and those that will take you outside those limits. The latter are called “Yellow Collectives” and are – you guessed it – yellow. We drove past Victoria Plaza which was of significance with its 4 statues of women and because it was the execution site of criminals when the military was in charge. If you committed a capital offense you were brought to Victoria Plaza and executed. Across the street is the Valparaiso cathedral. Ronald said that Chile is considered a Catholic country but that most of those Catholics are not practicing – they are in name only.

From the area of Victoria Plaza we began driving up into the hills – which is quite a feat for a tour bus considering the width and curves of the streets. Kelsey and Jan were on the side of the bus facing the multi-colored houses so thanks to them for those up-close photos. I was on the side facing the street art – which was quite colorful and unique. Ronald said some people hire artists to provide a personalized wall of art for their homes. You can see that in some of the stills of that artwork. During our trek in the hills we came across Plaza Bismark – named for the German who helped Valparaiso at one point in its growth. We also came across one of the routes used by the Redbull Cerro Abajo. This is a world-famous downhill mountain bike race that has been held for over 20 years. This year it will be held on March 2nd. You can find an interesting video explaining the history of the race on the Redbull website. I found it fascinating. Bob – I think you’d like the video if you aren’t already familiar with this race.

Valparaiso, and for that matter, all of Chile is noted for flea markets. Sunday’s are when these flea markets are in “bloom” and since our excursion was on Sunday, we were able to see them. There was one such market in the main square of town named Sotomayor Square. I’ve included several photos showing the tents set up for the vendors. Also in that square was an impressive monument to the Heroes of Iquique, where the remains of Arturo Prat lie. You’ll need to look that up on Google – I don’t remember the details. There is an extensive flea market set up on one of the main streets in Valparaiso. Ronald said they sell everything there and create a big mess (i.e., don’t clean up after the market closes). I included some video showing the trash that was left. The next day when we drove the same street it was clean – taken care of by the city.

Next we drove to the city of Vina Del Mar which is a short distance North of Valparaiso. This is a modern city which DOES have building codes so you won’t find the wild color combinations or architecture types of Valparaiso. Vina Del Mar is home to a famous flower clock that was given by the Swiss to the city when they were one of several host cities for the Soccer World Cup. The clock has been damaged several times over the years but is in fine working order and keeps time using GPS signals.

By the time we reached Vina Del Mar the fog was gone, skies were bright blue and the temp was just below 70. Ronald explained that a “normal” day in Valparaiso begins with a little fog that dissipates by noon so today was quite unusual. While in Vina Del Mar we drove past the only sanctioned casino in Chile – gambling is illegal in Chile – at the Hotel Del Mar. Following a short stop at the hotel we were off to the Fonck Museum which features artifacts from Hanga Roa (Easter Island). One notable artifact was a moai positioned near the entrance to the museum. There is an effort underway to bring back this moai to Easter Island. I believe Ronald said there is another moai at a museum in England.

The Fonck museum was the last stop of our excursion so we headed back to the shuttle bus for our return to the ship. As noted earlier, we had missed our dinner time so we dropped our backpacks in the cabin and took the elevator to deck 13 and the buffet. Jan really liked her key lime pie so I included a photo of it. When we returned to our cabin I took a couple photos of the hillsides to give you an idea of the overall effect of the color/construction schemes. Also gives you a chance to see the Chilean Navy vessels docked near us. I included several video clips as we were driving during several parts of our excursion so you can see what it was like and hear Ronald’s comments

This evening the entertainment was from a group of local musicians and dancers. They presented traditional Chilean music and dance with a backdrop of visuals from various locations in Chile. There are many clips but none are long.

Couple things we learned about Chile and Valparaiso. All firefighters in Chile are volunteers. No school in Chile in January and February (so we are tourists just as they are this month). Valparaiso hosts a New Year’s Eve fireworks show that drew 1.5 million visitors this year.

For starting the day over 6 hours behind schedule the sights we visited more than made up for the wait. We now have an understanding of how Valparaiso features in Chile’s history and its importance as both their major port and relationship to the capital, Santiago. Oh, by the way, I neglected to mention that each Thursday afternoon in both Valparaiso and Santiago there are riots – you know, break windows, loot stores – that kind of thing. They started some time ago with students and have taken on a life of their own. Shopkeepers close up their businesses Thursday afternoon because they know they won’t have business. Many of those shopkeepers have had to close for good due to the damage to their buildings and merchandise. From these vendors’ viewpoint, the anti-Israel/pro Hamas protests by students in the USA probably didn’t look that bad!

You’ll find the video and photos from today here.