I leave in 10 days (but who's counting) for Los Angeles and then onto or is it into—we call that embarkation or maybe it's maize—the less than 400 passenger m/V (or is it M/v) Silver Shadow on Wednesday 9/17.
Finally I received the cruise credentials—actually a one page letter with a dashed line that says “cut here” that passes for the official documentation for entry to a costly trip on a luxury cruise ship—and am spending time this weekend reading the excursion books for this extraordinary 37 day cruise. This will be the longest cruise I will have taken. The itinerary has 18 intermediate stops (we call them ports) usually with as many as 3 to 6 possible tours offered in each one. I spent Thursday and Friday enjoying the tour book for the “Eastern Mediterranean” which was actually the book that Silversea Cruises sent with the credentials. Unfortunately, that isn’t where the Silver Shadow is going. FedEx brought the correct book late yesterday. Hope the cruise line will check the propellers, life boats, and especially the ship’s stores (primarily the whisky locker) better than they do their passenger mailings.
Although I can wait until after I’ve gotten on, uh, embarked the ship, I've decided already on an all day trip to 14,765 foot high Lake Chungara in northern Chile, (“right at the Bolivian border, high in the Andes") and an all day stay with an “included barbecue lunch” among the creepy moai on Easter Island. There are no formal tours offered at Pitcairn Island although I intend to go into town and ask for Mr. Christian. When they tell me that most of the 50 folks there have that name, I will say, "No, that's not the right ones. Do you have any others?" The excursion book mentions conspicuously, "Landing at Bounty Bay (off The Hill of Difficulty) is subject to sea, wind and weather conditions. Access to Pitcairn is difficult and often impossible due to adverse wind and sea conditions." It also says that the population on Pitcairn reached 233 individuals in the 1930s but now is down to four dozen or so. Immediately after that is the note, “Most of the islanders are Seventh Day Adventists; so there is no making or consumption of liquor.” Wonder if the Adventist missionaries first started converting people there starting in the 1930s. Spoilsports.
I remember that when I got into amateur radio in the late 1950s there was a famous radio ham that everyone worked on Pitcairn Island. I think he's name was Christian. If we can land there, I will definitely buy a tee-shirt and a stamp. Stamps from Pitcairn are a big deal as the book says they are, "eagerly collected by philatelists worldwide." No doubt this is because numismatists aren't nearly as interested in collecting stamps and also because Pitcairn has no post office to mail letters from. I guess you go there and end up collecting the stamp because YOU CAN’T USE IT to mail a letter with. The tour book lists two attractions on Pitcairn Island: 1) The remains of the Bounty which "are still visible on the seabed", and 2) Fletcher Christian's Cave “but heavy rains often make visiting it impossible.” Looks like you need to make an extra effort to see the attractions on Pitcairn if you can actually get there. No wonder people bring back stamps, if for no other reason to prove they were there. As I read the excursion books, it appears to me that the "glass bottom boat adventure" in Bora Bora will be more of a sure bet—after I take the tuk tuk to the Hilton Hilton and have pu pu's there before my mahi mahi light meal snack.
The itinerary for the cruise pictured below. The appeal of this trip obviously includes the stops. While the Mexican ports are very familiar—probably my touring in Mexico will be limited to getting off the ship and having a cerveza before the taxi drivers and trinket salesmen molest me as I try to avoid the crowds from the other (and much larger) cruise ships that invariably stop there—the remainder of the ports on the way to Tahiti are quite exotic. The description of Antofagasta, Chile includes, “The area surrounding Antofagasta is renowned for having the highest solar intensity in the world. It’s archaeological zones, desert and mountains make it a sought after place for travelers looking for unusual destinations.” Of course, knowledgeable world travelers know that the last phrase is code for don’t expect to be buying many souvenirs or stocking up on toothpaste here. This is borne out by the excursion book’s entry for shopping in Antofagasta. It gives the location and hours of the small shopping district but says only that, “the local currency is the peso.”
I’ve not been to any of the ports after those in Mexico and have only been to Tikal far from the ocean in Guatemala. If the ship actually stops at all the places listed, I will come back from the cruise having upped my lifetime total of 125 countries visited. See my earlier blog at http://cbup0.blogspot.com/ for an explanation of how I’ve been counting countries visited.
I will attempt to add entries directly from the ship if the satellite link's latency issues isn't a problem as it was last winter from the sister ship m/V Silver Whisper. Check back here for updates. I will send gang e-mails if possible when I add a major entry.
Finally I received the cruise credentials—actually a one page letter with a dashed line that says “cut here” that passes for the official documentation for entry to a costly trip on a luxury cruise ship—and am spending time this weekend reading the excursion books for this extraordinary 37 day cruise. This will be the longest cruise I will have taken. The itinerary has 18 intermediate stops (we call them ports) usually with as many as 3 to 6 possible tours offered in each one. I spent Thursday and Friday enjoying the tour book for the “Eastern Mediterranean” which was actually the book that Silversea Cruises sent with the credentials. Unfortunately, that isn’t where the Silver Shadow is going. FedEx brought the correct book late yesterday. Hope the cruise line will check the propellers, life boats, and especially the ship’s stores (primarily the whisky locker) better than they do their passenger mailings.
Although I can wait until after I’ve gotten on, uh, embarked the ship, I've decided already on an all day trip to 14,765 foot high Lake Chungara in northern Chile, (“right at the Bolivian border, high in the Andes") and an all day stay with an “included barbecue lunch” among the creepy moai on Easter Island. There are no formal tours offered at Pitcairn Island although I intend to go into town and ask for Mr. Christian. When they tell me that most of the 50 folks there have that name, I will say, "No, that's not the right ones. Do you have any others?" The excursion book mentions conspicuously, "Landing at Bounty Bay (off The Hill of Difficulty) is subject to sea, wind and weather conditions. Access to Pitcairn is difficult and often impossible due to adverse wind and sea conditions." It also says that the population on Pitcairn reached 233 individuals in the 1930s but now is down to four dozen or so. Immediately after that is the note, “Most of the islanders are Seventh Day Adventists; so there is no making or consumption of liquor.” Wonder if the Adventist missionaries first started converting people there starting in the 1930s. Spoilsports.
I remember that when I got into amateur radio in the late 1950s there was a famous radio ham that everyone worked on Pitcairn Island. I think he's name was Christian. If we can land there, I will definitely buy a tee-shirt and a stamp. Stamps from Pitcairn are a big deal as the book says they are, "eagerly collected by philatelists worldwide." No doubt this is because numismatists aren't nearly as interested in collecting stamps and also because Pitcairn has no post office to mail letters from. I guess you go there and end up collecting the stamp because YOU CAN’T USE IT to mail a letter with. The tour book lists two attractions on Pitcairn Island: 1) The remains of the Bounty which "are still visible on the seabed", and 2) Fletcher Christian's Cave “but heavy rains often make visiting it impossible.” Looks like you need to make an extra effort to see the attractions on Pitcairn if you can actually get there. No wonder people bring back stamps, if for no other reason to prove they were there. As I read the excursion books, it appears to me that the "glass bottom boat adventure" in Bora Bora will be more of a sure bet—after I take the tuk tuk to the Hilton Hilton and have pu pu's there before my mahi mahi light meal snack.
The itinerary for the cruise pictured below. The appeal of this trip obviously includes the stops. While the Mexican ports are very familiar—probably my touring in Mexico will be limited to getting off the ship and having a cerveza before the taxi drivers and trinket salesmen molest me as I try to avoid the crowds from the other (and much larger) cruise ships that invariably stop there—the remainder of the ports on the way to Tahiti are quite exotic. The description of Antofagasta, Chile includes, “The area surrounding Antofagasta is renowned for having the highest solar intensity in the world. It’s archaeological zones, desert and mountains make it a sought after place for travelers looking for unusual destinations.” Of course, knowledgeable world travelers know that the last phrase is code for don’t expect to be buying many souvenirs or stocking up on toothpaste here. This is borne out by the excursion book’s entry for shopping in Antofagasta. It gives the location and hours of the small shopping district but says only that, “the local currency is the peso.”
I’ve not been to any of the ports after those in Mexico and have only been to Tikal far from the ocean in Guatemala. If the ship actually stops at all the places listed, I will come back from the cruise having upped my lifetime total of 125 countries visited. See my earlier blog at http://cbup0.blogspot.com/ for an explanation of how I’ve been counting countries visited.
I will attempt to add entries directly from the ship if the satellite link's latency issues isn't a problem as it was last winter from the sister ship m/V Silver Whisper. Check back here for updates. I will send gang e-mails if possible when I add a major entry.
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