February 12, 2012

Sunday February 12

Today, we drove to Valparaiso to start the cruise. Breakfast and checkout was accomplished by 8:20 a.m., when the buses headed to Valparaiso, on a double lane separated highway, through farmland which grows corn, grapes, cacti which produce prickly pears plus almond, avocado and olive trees.  There were also some cattle and some horses.   The Casa Blanca valley, on our route, is known worldwide for its white wine.   We arrived at the Valparaiso Naval offices for a stretch and photo opportunity, not far from where out ship was docked, within 2 hours from leaving the hotel.  The Naval office building was the former home (palace) of a merchant who gave it to the navy in the late 19^th century.  Valaparaiso was established as a military base in 1537, so it does not have a town square and cathedral.  We toured the area including the adjacent towns of Vina del Mar and Renoca.  A 1906 earthquake damaged many buildings in Valaparaiso and today it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the seat of the Chilean government.  There is beach along the coast where people enjoy the sand and water. The Valaparaiso, Vina del Mar and Renoca area has a population of 800,000 and is the third largest city in Chile.  We saw  Starbucks and McDonalds while we toured the area. We stopped at a museum where an Easter Island Muoi (statue) was located, one of only three to be allowed to leave Easter Island. Easter Island is part of Chile, even though it is a five hour flight to get to the tiny Pacific island.  We had a delicious seafood lunch, with Chilean wine, at Delicias de Mar in Vina del Mar. Finally we drove 10 minutes to the Celebrity port to board the ship.  The waiting line to be processed for entry onto the ship only took 25 minutes.  We boarded the ship before 4 and had time to explore before the 4:45 life boat drill which took 30 minutes since everything was repeated in Spanish and German. We joined members of our tour group for dinner in the dining room and enjoyed appetizers, salad or salad and Haddock with cheesecake or Crème Brule for our dessert.  We explored the ship again then found a bar where a four piece band, called So Cool Quartet, playing ballroom and more dance music.  We called it a day at midnight.