At the Museum with Magellan’s ship was another ship famous for bringing Charles Darwin to this area. He who claimed to have done many things while here and for this area as well as mankind in general. Dr Sherry apparently is no bigger a fan of Darwin than I as she says most of the things for which Darwin claimed credit were actually done by the captain of the HMS Beacon while Darwin was out riding sea turtles. In any case I spent all of our allotted time there on Magellan’s ship. Very harsh conditions on board as well as the weather. I still cannot fathom how the feat of charting a passage way thru these waters was accomplished. The Insignia has maps, charts, satellites, and well trained officers to navigate these waters yet it is a requirement of Chile that all ships passing thru the Straits must have an officer of the Chilean Navy aboard. Gotta believe that the original journey was made with considerable help from above. I asked Gonzalo where Magellan got his crew. The answer was “mostly pulled them out of bars and such.” Interesting.

Loved the city. Loved everything I learned here except for the truth of the demise of the original inhabitants. They had either walked here from Asia or paddled a tiny canoe across the Pacific. Either way quite a remarkable feat. Saw a replica of the canoes. Could fit both of them in half our stateroom with lots of room to spare. Once arriving here, they lived off the land as did our Native Americans. Until the immigrants came. Prior to the arrival of the immigrants and their sheep, these people hunted or fished for their food. They saw no difference in the sheep and the wildlife they had been eating. They killed the immigrants’ sheep. The immigrants gathered all these pour souls together and slaughtered them. No this is not the first inhumane treatment of human beings by other human beings I’ve heard of, but I’m still having problems with the injustice. Seems the immigrants did not believe these people had a soul. Hmm! Disturbing to me.

From this museum we traveled to the town square to view the Statue of Magellan. The square is surrounded by buildings built and donated to the city by the offspring of said immigrants. Perhaps they were trying to redeem their souls.

Today, 2/25, was spent entirely cruising the Straits of Magellan around Cape Horn to arrive at the other City at the End of the World. Seems Argentina is just as adamant as Gonzalo that their city is the real authentic end of the earth. We look forward to an equally wonderful experience tomorrow. A tad warmer perhaps?

This is SOMEDAY, enjoy it!

We docked about 7 am in this beautiful city at the end of the Continent for an excursion “Highlights of Punta Arenas” with our local guide, Gonzalo. Gonzalo was perhaps the best guide we have had to date. A proud native of this region, University Professor of Geography and Ecological studies, father of two whose English was easily understood. By the end of the tour we were also very well informed regarding the politics and history of this part of the world. Gonzalo informed us that in Chile voting is a requirement, not a privilege. If one does not vote in an election, the authorities will find you and penalize you for not voting voluntarily. Sometime next month there will be a vote as to whether to rewrite their Constitution in its entirety. This, according to Gonzalo, is the real reason for all the protests and defacing of government property and statues. While he agreed with the other guides and Dr. Sherry, our on board lecturer, that it is the students who are doing the protesting, they are being manipulated by foreigners. In his words, “What do students know? They haven’t lived enough to have formed these opinions. Definitely foreign influence.” While he did mention that the majority of Chilean exports go to China and China is buying less, the economy is hurting, his main concern was that the Chilean “social security” is bankrupt and those who have paid into the system for years (think it started in the late 70s) are now of an age to start drawing on those payments but are only getting about 30% of what they had been told they would receive. He was the second guide to mention concern for the retirees, or would be retirees. Any of this sound familiar? When asked if he thought there would be a change for the better, he shook his head and said “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” It was abundantly clear that he had no wish for Chile to become another Venazula. He further said that the current constitution was written by “the Chicago boys” in mid 1970 after the ousting of a communist regime. They were called this because they were picked by the ousting party to go to Chicago and study our economic and social systems and thus base their new governmental system on ours. The only problem I could discern that he had with this was that it made no provision for change – no constitutional amendments. I, in my own little bubble in Horseshoe Bay, was totally oblivious to Chilean problems. We have seen no protesters. We have also seen NO government property without red spray paint marring it. Pity. The statue of Magellan in the town square was no exception. Nor were the lavish homes of the founders of this city which are and now museums or government offices unscathed. The city was built around a beautiful tree lined park with colorful flowers in abundance and the Magellan statue in the center of the city block. Legend has it that if one wishes to return to Punta Arenas, he or she must rub the big toe of one of the figures on the statue. Gonzalo was of the opinion that was a death wish. No amount of disinfectant spray could sanitize that toe for him to touch it. I took his advice. Not that this isn’t a beautiful place worth visiting and revisiting, before one can revisit one must survive.

Remember, this is summer here. The sky was a perfectly beautiful crystal clear blue with bright sunshine and cumulus clouds as we made our way to the Seaside Marine Museum. Oh, I failed to mention that gale-force winds prevailed throughout the day. Nevertheless, I braved the wind to explore the length, depth and breadth of a full-sized replica of one of the five ships in which the Straits of Magellan were discovered. Fantastic experience! Fortunately for them, people were smaller in the 1500’s. Each of his ships carried between 45 to 50 men. The captain’s quarters were relatively luxurious as he had a bed and a table and chair with a bit of space in which to move around. Perhaps the whole thing was 5 X 8′. Like the mountain goat I seem to have become lately, I crawled and climbed everywhere I could from down in the hole where presumably the other 44 to 49 men slept to the upper deck or captain’s quarters. Didn’t try to scale the mast – aforementioned wind a definite factor. This wind, per Gonzalo, gets so strong in winter that ropes are tied around the sidewalks to prevent people from being blown totally off course.

Seems it is once again mealtime. To be continued. . .

As the title indicates, we are cruising the Chilean Fjords via the Straits of Magellan. Several observations: the Straits are anything but straight; it was a major miracle that he ever found his way through all these twists and turns surrounded by snow capped peaks of what appear to be volcanic rock (my geologist is attending a lecture on the area sea life-mostly penguins so I can’t confirm my assumption) without a map; it may be late summer here, but to this Texan it is cold; it is unspoiled nature at its best! No high lines. No billboards. No graffiti. No roads. We actually met another cruise ship yesterday and it caused quite a stir in the lounge. God also provided us with a beautiful rainbow. Likely the prettiest one I’ve ever seen. At one point it was even a double rainbow. Sadly, we did not capture it with our camera.

Tommy and I are apparently becoming known on board. Alternately as the “happy couple”, the dancers (up in the Horizons Lounge between 5 and 7 pm daily, the Insignia Show Band plays songs to which real people can actually dance and it is fun!) or I not by name but as the knitter. Still working on the Brio Fringed Poncho. It is rumored that our next stop is THE source for fiber. Why would it not be, it is in the heart of Patagonia! The sheep industry kept these people alive for decades. Oil has now been found, but haven’t seen any damage to the environment so far. Let’s hope it stays that was as I do like my creature comforts which oil provides.

At Santiago, the end of the first segment of this journey, we said goodbye to the first bridge instructor. For this segment, until Buenos Aires, we have a couple. This change was definitely progress! I am actually learning something from them. Possibly because they do not try to teach by intimidation as did the former instructor. We will not benefit from all their time aboard as we are taking a four day inland excursion and will rejoin the ship as they are leaving. I didn’t come all this way to take bridge lessons anyway.

Tomorrow is Punta Arenas, Chile then the next day is Usuaia, Argentina where we ride a train to the end of the world. We then are in the Atlantic and will head North after a little detour around the Falkland Islands. Still many wonders remain ahead!

Two things make me very uncomfortable, irritable, impatient and down right hard to live with. Change and uncertainty. We have been confronted with both this past week. In spades! Initially what was so intriguing about this trip was the idea of one last big hooray allowing me to see so much of the world I have heretofore only read of. Then things change. Our future destinations are as yet unknown past Cape Town. Western Australia seems to be an almost certainty followed perhaps by Auckland NZ. Then the South Pacific Islands? Not sure yet.

One thing that is certain, the World is a wondrous place. So incredibly beautiful, awesome, majestic, magnificent and any other superlative you can come up with that I am ever so thankful that we came on this trip. As Susie advised, just ride it out. See what tomorrow has in store.

This IS someday. Enjoy it.

Our day started today with an early breakfast with new found friends from Norman, OK by way of Virginia Beach. Sandwiched between a delightful omelet and fruit and our excursion was a Coffee for all those of us who are on for the Around the World trip, some 340 or so passengers. There was an undercurrent of mutterings and generally disgruntled faces which puzzled me until the ship’s First Mate took the floor. Once he started speaking it was abundantly clear what was upsetting our fellow passengers. In a perfectly understandable, logical, commendable move Oceania has cancelled all Asian and Alaskan ports. Totally understand and even applaud the move intellectually, but emotionally I confess, I am extremely disappointed. No I do not want the coronavirus, do not want to spread the germs, do not want to bring it back to the States but I have looked forward to this trip for almost 2 years with the original ports. The logistics of making these massive changes is mind boggling. Remember the 10 hours of taking on supplies I told you of several days ago. Where do we get them now at different ports? Cannot even imagine the madness going on in Miami trying to find acceptable substitutes for ports/excursions etc. Not to mention who to keep all of us happy. Give me a day or so and I’ll once again be thankful for all the wonders we are seeing. Just not there yet. Still had a delightful excursion into the Andes with the glaciers on the mountain tops, mountains that went straight up and pristine river perfect for fly fishing I’m told. Not a fisher person myself but still appreciated it for its unspoiled beauty.

Off to see a Motown show now.

Love to all.

What a fantastic day! We were up early for breakfast before embarking on our shore excursion, Ancient Forest Eco Walk & German Colonization Museum with a couple extra stops thrown in for good measure. Our guide, Thomas, hales originally from Austria but has been here over twenty years. He very possibly may be more opinionated than I. Difference being, he is getting paid for his opinions and express them he did. Really quite funny, too. After about a half hour coach ride and approximately as many opinions later we arrived at the Lahuen Nadi Forest. “Here tucked away in this natural setting…” were ancient Alcerce trees. To my untrained eye they seem to be in the California redwood family only more beautiful. They have become almost extinct because they take 500 years to grow sufficiently to harvest. They were very popular for masts on sailing ships, furniture, boats, houses, you name it as they grow straight up. Waaay UP! And the wood is beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking. Got several really good pics, but you will just have to take my word for how tall they are. The entire forest was magnificent and thankfully the government is now protecting the trees remaining. The oldest we saw was 1,600 years old. Simply beautiful.

From the forest and nature walk we drove maybe half an hour to an actual working farm operated by the descendants of German settlers from the mid to late 1800s. On the way Thomas informed us of just how Germans came to be in Southern Chile. Seems this area was more or less unpopulated so the Chilean government recruited settlers by going to Germany and enticing people to improve their situation, come to Chile and we will give you land and the necessary tools and supplies to make a homestead. What they didn’t tell them was that the land they were being given was dense forest land in the beautiful foothills of the Andes with a few volcanoes relatively close by just to make it challenging. The government then had the southern part of their country populated so other countries couldn ‘t say, “you are not using this land so we will just take it.” According to Thomas, that is. The Germans were more or less stuck as they had invested everything they had to get over here. Oh, one more requirement of them, they must learn to speak Spanish. Think he said they also lost their German citizenship.

The museum was very interesting. Took a picture for Kelli of the typical wedding dress of that period. Black. You see white was not practical don’t you know. This they could marry in and wear to funerals. How handy. The flowers surrounding the museum were striking. Had a lily pond. A water wheel, you name it even a zip line. We did not try the zip line. Within the museum shop they had some knitted garments for sale as well as nurishment. A good ole US Coca Cola was $3, a hand knitted child’s sweater was $10. Please explain the logic in that to me.

From the museum we were driven to Puerto Varas on the banks of the largest lake entirely in Chile. It too was magnificent. Very picturesque with a snow capped volcanic mountain on the other side of the lake. This scene will join my other newly acquired fridge magnets once I return home. Definitely will need a larger refridge. Puerto Varas is a popular tourist area. It was here that I found my first yarn shop. Much to my dismay, it was stocked ENTIRELY with 100% acrylic. What the . . . .

Chile has enjoyed a very healthy economy for some 30 years (to my eye the most affluent country we have visited thus far) but alas it is now suffering somewhat. Many social injustices here, per Thomas, due to the greed, corruption and incompetence of the current President, thus students for the most part are protesting. Once again according to Thomas, the current President is too stupid and/or stubborn to solve the problem. According to Dr. Sherry who has served as foreign advisor to two US Presidents, the real problem is that a disproportionate portion of their exports are to China and China is not buying now. Visible results are defaced statutes in parks and the burning of a luxury hotel/casino in Coquimbo.

Personal note. Tommy finally was successful in purchasing the seemingly world famous Pisco. After a single sip, he threatened to go back and purchase more. Haven’t tried it yet and since he did not purchase more, doubt that I will get much of a taste.

Most interesting day all around. We pull up anchor about 5 this afternoon and are off to Puerto Chacabuco, Chile tomorrow. The tender ride back to our ship was not unlike something at an amusement park. All arrived safely if not entirely calm.

Today is SOMEDAY and we have reveled in it.

The sea definitely has some motion to it today. Therefore on deck activities are discouraged, for our own safety, yet some people are complaining because they can’t use the track, etc. Really?

The chef outdid himself today! It’s been at least a month since I’ve had any of Julie’s TexMex so I was considerably overdue. We had chicken flautas, refined beans, chips, salsa, empanadas, a species of corn not available at home (Did you know that Peru has over 400 varieties of corn? I did not), and of course flan for desert. After stuffing myself with shrimp, lobster, steak, etc for over three weeks, I needed some comfort food!

We purchased some Chilean wine yesterday for our sunset toasts but have not yet dipped into it. Still almost 5 months to go. Haven’t tried the Pisco yet. Our cabbie from Coquimbo highly recommended it just haven’t had the opportunity to try it.

Not only did we exchange some passengers yesterday, they spent the entire time we were docked restocking supplies. At least four large cargo containers were lined up on the dock and 12 guys plus a drug dog, two cranes and two forklifts worked a good 10 hours loading supplies onto the ship. We had a birdseye view of the operation but couldn’t see how many were working in the bowels of the ship storing it. The dock crew were fed hamburgers by the ship so that they didn’t even break for lunch. Incredible to watch. Last time I counted, there were over 200 pallets emptied. That’s a lot of stuff!

Tomorrow’s outing (Ancient Forest Eco Walk & German Colonization Museum in Poerto Montt, Chile) promises to be interesting with the possibility of actually finding some alpaca wares and yarn perhaps? Certainly will not be eating any more of that! Speaking of knitting, I am currently working on a black Brio Fringed Poncho using Cascade’s Epiphany which is an Alpaca/cashmere blend. Much better use of the animal in my opinion.

Today is someday. Enjoy!

This beautiful city was quite a surprise to me. Guess I didn’t pay that much attention to South American geography in school. Then again, not sure we ever really studied it. In any case Coquimbo is a city of a million people stretching for miles along beautiful white sand beaches with the Andes in the background. San Francisco has nothing on Coquimbo or its sister city of La Serenia. Only difference is that here they did not feel the need to have all the switchbacks of Lombard St. Both cities were notably clean with tile streets. The harbor was dotted with yachts and the coastline blanketed with high rise hotels, condos and apartments.

We had not booked an excursion thru the ship so we hired a cab to take us to the lighthouse in La Serenia. That he did and many more sights in the two cities. The lighthouse appeared to be quite old but his English was not such that he could tell us much of the history. He repeatedly apologized for his “poor English” which certainly beat my total inability to speak Spanish. Fortunately, Tommy was able to fill in some gaps. After a drive along the beach, a photo op at the lighthouse, he took us thru some of the other main attractions of the city including a US Marine monument, several cathedrals, and parks. At one point he said “this for bad boys, they take bad boys there” It was a jail. Nice on the outside, not interested in seeing the inside. I suggested that surely he had not spent any time there, but not sure he understood what I was saying or just chose not to understand.

Upon arrival we had seen a huge stone cross atop a peak looking over the city. Before returning to the ship he managed to get us into the area and took some pictures of us in front of the cross. It also serves as a bell tower which plays on the hour 12 times a day. Then strikes a couple of times at the half hour. Didn’t get to hear the music or the bells. Alas, another trip perhaps.

We are now off to Santiago where we will lose our new found friends, The Halls. Can’t let them get away without another fine dining experience so tonight its The Polo Grill.

The sea is very tranquil. Upchuck bags have disappeared. Life is fantastic! Going to work on posting all these many pics we’ve taken along the way. Don’t worry, Donia. Tommy won’t make you wait until I’ve accomplished that for you to see the lighthouse. Maybe you can Google it for details on its history.

This IS someday. Enjoy it.

Two perceptions I have had since Dad brought home our Globe all those many years ago have been proven incorrect. On our Globe New Zealand appeared to be very near to Australia. When we traveled there, it took some 7 or 8 hours to fly from one to the other. And I’m talking Auckland, New Zealand not Christ Church. The other thing I noticed was that Chile was a long, skinny country in South America. We have been at sea for two entire days and nights since leaving Pisco, Peru and we still won’t get to our FIRST port in Chile until tomorrow morning. That’s a LOT of ocean folks.

I’ve learned a new phrase these last couple of days – “motion of the ocean” We’ve had a bit of that. Last night in the restaurant some dishes and a bottle of wine met their demise. Up chuck bags are conveniently located around the elevators and other common areas. Thus far have not been tempted to take one, just in case. Nor have I seen others. Weather is windy and a little chilly, but not bad so far. All outside activities were cancelled for today. I guess that is technically on deck activities. Yesterday was a perfect day weather wise and they made the most of it with fun, games, prizes and entertainment on deck.

We have been treated to two fantastic lecturers. One whose topic was mostly State Department, Immigration, etc is leaving us in Santiago but Dr. Sherry who knows everything on South America from food, drink, ancient history, current events and probably anything Google knows will continue. Look out friends, we are going to be So smart when we get home you won’t be able to stand us.

Apparently I missed an opportunity to purchase yarn in Lima as I was off exploring Inca ruins. Another aledged knitter (never seen her actually knitting) on board was telling me about the beautiful Alpaca yarn she purchased there, but all I saw of Lima was the airport twice and what I could see from the window of our bus so not much. It took a long time to get out of Lima but then it is a city of some 11,000,000 people. The structures/homes appear to be unfinished as the second story invariably has no roof, windows and sometimes lacking four walls. This we were told is because of property taxes. Wonder what the city fathers in Horseshoe would think of that practice?

Back to the topic of alpacas. I have now been served alpaca meat twice. First time I didn’t know what I was eating. The second time all I could think of was all that wonderful fiber that could have been. Cole asked me years ago if I really did eat yarn. I guess now I would have to say no not the yarn but that which produced it. Today for the first time ever I have given some consideration to becoming a vegetarian.

Tommy tells me it is once again dinner time. Another Ceasar salad might be in order. Fish is plentiful, as is shrimp and lobster so I will not starve.

Love and miss you all. THIS IS SOMEDAY!

The previous few days have been so indescribably fantastic I am hard pressed to even attempt it. We left the ship early Tues morning for the airport in Salaverry, Peru. Flew to Lima then changed planes and flew to Cusco which I’m told has beautiful fiber, but alas this is not a fiber oriented trip. In Cusco we did tour the Cathedral which was partially destroyed by the 1950 earthquake. Our guide, Jose Carlos (not to be confused with another of our guides Jose) was very proud to point out that the portion of the structure built by the Incas was still in tact. He spent considerable time explaining the whys and wherefores of Inca construction which I hate to admit went right over my head. Sorry Dad. It seems that 13 degree slants are awfully important. Trapizodial was also of extreme importance. You can see by my inability to spell it that it hasn’t come up in my life much sense high school math class, but to Jose Carlos it was of supreme importance. There were many, many incredibly beautiful bejeweled alters. Simply breathtaking. The artwork was somewhat different as one showed Joseph, Jesus and Mary with child. Originally there was more than a little controversy over showing Mary with child, but here it was an attempt to blend the Inca religion with the Catholic. I know, Inca means king, but he had people over whom he ruled. Never did quite catch what the name of Jose Carlos’ ancestors was. He was not overly fond of the Spanish conquerors, but did give them a little credit once in a great time. Just don’t remember exactly what at this point. On these trips I keep wishing for a tape recorder so I won’t have to rely on my ever diminishing memory. The jewels, altars, paintings and flowers were awesome.

After leaving Cusco we traveled by small coaches to The Sacred Valley. Cusco was the highest elevation we visited and naturally valleys are just that valleys. So our route was along narrow, nay very narrow switchback dirt roads. It is rainy season here now and it had rained some on Tuesday. There were no guardrails. There were sharp turns and a narrow road thru breathtakingly beautiful scenery. At critical points they had inserted clay? bricks on the surface of the sharpest curves. Suffice it to say, my time down that mountainside was spent in conversation with God.

When we arrived in the valley at a working farm, we were treated to native dancers, a Paso Horse show, and a five course meal. Upon entering there were some ladies and a young girl spinning fiber, weaving and several of their finished items were for sale. It did not occur to me that these same ladies would be the dancers so I waited too long to explore their wares. Over 80% of the food we consumed was grown on this farm without pesticides, chemical alteration, etc. The menu was designed with the digestive system in mind. Haven’t a clue what was in most of the dishes. Loved some, some were alright, some not so good – to my taste. Once dinner and performances were over we once again loaded into our coaches and retraced those switchback curves. More prayers were in order as it was now extremely DARK as well as dangerous. Our drivers performed perfectly.

Our hotel was some distance from the farm, but also in The Sacred Valley. Top rate facility. Most appreciated by me was the bathtub! It was sorely (no pun intended) needed after Wednesdays activities of climbing ALL over Machu Picchu. According to my phone, I walked 3.7 mis in 9,650 steps and 32 flights climbed. The lower half of my body would swear that it was much more! Had no problem with altitude at all. I did take some of the pills, did NOT consume alcohol, did consume mucho water. It seems the Hiram Bingham train that we were to take up the mountain was privately purchased so we were transported by lovely observation dining cars instead. As we were traveling up the mountain along side the river with steep cliffs and extremely tall trees on either side, I was reminded of the first time we took the girls in to New York City. Candace was probably 3 and small for her age so the minute we arrived in Grand Central Station she held her head back as far as she could looking straight up. By the time we arrived back home she said her neck hurt. That’s kinda how I felt. Words are simply inadequate to describe the wonders of Machu Picchu. Breathtaking! Awesome! Humbling! Inspiring!

While the sites left me speechless, it did not have the same effect on Jose Carlos. You can forget everything you have ever read about the place. It was not the King’s summer place. There is no summer in Machu Picchu! Only rainy season and dry season. His theory is that it was a University offering learning by doing. That also explains some of the mistakes. (he failed to point out said mistakes) The Spaniards and their diseases coupled with the civil war between the Inca brothers were the cause of the demise of this site. Our on board lecturer cast some doubt on the idea that it was a monument to the sun god. Her basis for this is that she has been there many, many, many times and never seen the sun. In any case it is a true wonder of this world.

Jose Carlos further explained to us that his people did indeed have a written language and a calculator of sorts predating the Inca period. As it so happened, he had examples of said language and calculator. He then showed us the world’s first ledger page! This was used to send financial reports to the reigning Inca. Oh and yes, if anyone was interested he could arrange the purchase of either or both. The accountant in me simply could not pass it up. The next morning our coach took us a slightly different route than the other coaches thru the historical district of Cusco. At a certain corner, a woman passed a plain brown paper bag thru the window and Jose Carlos passed her my US$$. Looked for all the world like a drug buy to me. Everyone on the coach wanted to see it and have it explained to them as they were not paying attention to our informative guide. I will happily demonstrate upon my return.

There was so much to see and do that I just cannot capture the flavor of the trip in words. Took many beautiful shots but not half as many as I could have taken had I not been so awestruck. GOD does such beautiful work!

Told Tommy when I returned last evening that the experience was not only well worth the wear and tear on this old body, but was worth the price of this whole trip! So who cares about the Great Wall. I’ve been to Machu Picchu!

Happy Valentine’s Day to all! Today is that “someday”. Use it wisely.

Today is entirely at sea traveling from Manta, Ecuador to Salaverry, Peru. We are due to dock in Peru at 5:00 am tomorrow. It is from there that I will travel by coach to Trujillo airport, fly to Lima, then to Cusco. Tomorrow afternoon we tour the Koricancha Temple, a Cathedral and town square. Here we will have photo op before traveling on to The Sacred Valley, where we will dine and attend a Peruvian Paso Horse show before resting our weary bones at the Tambo del Inka Resort & Spa. It will be Wednesday before we arrive at Machu Picchu. Guided tours of the Citadel and magnificent sights await us there. Another overnight at the hotel and Thursday a five+ hour coach ride. Yes I will have my knitting with me for that. Fly from Cusco back to Lima where we reboard the ship. We have had several bits of advice regarding how to cope with the altitude. Drink the “tea”, don’t drink the tea it will only make you happier while you are sick. See the ship Dr and get the pills: don’t take the pills they will only make you sick. Walk slowly, drink lots and lots of water and NO alcohol, coffee, etc, etc. The comment on walking slowly is wasted. Our average age is somewhere above my actual age, thus we walk slow even if we are in a hurry! Talk about preaching to the choir.

Yesterday in Manta we explored on our own for a bit. The natural beauty everywhere we have been is overwhelming. Man has defaced some of it, but if you look, the raw beauty is everywhere. While Manta seems to be a sleepy little fishing village there were many sailboats, fishing boats and commercial vessels in the picture perfect harbor-complete with lighthouse for Donia. The economy appears to be depressed. Their currency has been replaced with the US dollar as it has in Guatemala. In fact currency exchange has not been necessary to date. Tommy found his “authentic” Panama hat made in Montecristo, Ecuador. Reminds me of the billboard in northeastern New Mexico pointing out the “Real Authentic Grave of Billy the Kid.”

On Saturday, after crossing the equator, we were pronounced by King Neptune to be Shellbacks, thus would have untroubled passage across the equator for the remainder of our lives. We sat out the actual ceremony of having icewater poured over our heads then jumping into the pool. Possibly Tommy would have participated in this had he been aware that it was the beautiful mermaid who did the pouring rather than King Neptune.

Tommy is just returning from a cooking class preparing Melange Seafood and Medallion Fillet in balsamic. He came away with receipts for both. If either of us ever see the inside of a kitchen again, perhaps we can try them. It’s been a couple of hours without food now, so off we go.

Today IS someday! Make it count.