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Move In Time – Valparaiso, Valley of Paradise, as viewed
from MS Prinsendam’s deck. No roaming on land for me today –
settling in takes it’s time….
Checking all the
nooks and crannies of the ship to see what has changed since my last stay on
her.
One area of the ship has changed: A large open air terrace, part of the Lido
Restaurant, which was a favourite al fresco breakfast spot, where one could
listen to the sounds of the ocean and take in a fresh morning breeze. Sometimes, these ‘breezes’ turned out to be hurricane
force, and this part of the ship was suitable for fair weather use only.
Prinsendam visits quite a few inclement weather regions,
hence the aft terrace was not used often
on certain itineraries – such as the Southern Ocean. It used to be covered by a
heavy canvas awning, which ever so often blew away or at least was torn to
shreds by heavy winds. Now it is enclosed with industrial strength aluminum
framed windows and a glass roof, which converts the terrace from a casual outdoor venue to quite an elegant indoor restaurant with a
great view.
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| Valparaiso is located on adjoining hills, which are covered with houses, access via funicular... |
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| Local Tour Boat.... |
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| Fresh Produce and Fruit awaiting to be loaded aboard for the long lonely journey into the Deep South, where the re supply stations are non existent |
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Well, SNAFU is normal – we start with a little ‘delay’ due
to a harbour worker’s strike, which already has an effect on the ever growing
mountains of containers, some containing ‘perishables’ as well as the
willingness of pilot boats to lead ships out of the confines of the harbour.
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Crowded with fishing boats – we leave Valparaiso Harbour
late afternoon. According to the Captain
it is going to blow 30 knots from the South, as we are heading into it. At
about 20 knots ship speed, it gives us an apparent wind speed of 57-80 knots. It’s going to be a bouncy start – 1700km (in
land-speed) to Puerto Montt, with a supposedly ‘long swell’ stirring up the
South Pacific. My cabin is near the
The ship arrived with code red health advice, meaning that
some passengers are indisposed, and the ship is maintained in extreme
cleanliness condition, even plastic clad books are disinfected and locked up,
no magazines, no self serve food. Even the gentlemen dance hosts are prohibited
from ‘touching’ dance partners. One of them wore silicone gloves – one pair for
each lady he touched, the other three dancers looked on.
This morning a short blast on the fire alarm, which turned out to be caused by an over- abundance
of ash particles floating in the air of the ship’s incinerator plant.
And so we are bounding along, at least until we enter the ‘quiet'
Chilean Fjords. My cabin is located above the ship’s bow bulb, and thus crashes
into every huge wave with deafening noise and shuddering vibrations – good way
to go to sleep…
bow….I’ll feel the pitching of the ship
quite distinctly there…
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