Arriving in Matarani

There had been a heavy swell last night, sufficient for the Captain to make an announcement about our arrival into the port of Matarani around lunchtime today.  The ship’s stabilisers had been keeping us pretty steady all night although there was a distinct rock and roll vibe going on.  The thing is, as we approached the port, these stabilisers would need to be turned off (or pulled in, or whatever one does to stop stablisers working) and when that happened, we’d all notice a difference.  So hold tight and hang on!

We’d begun the day with breakfast in our favourite spot, high above the stern wake.

I just love that pattern and find it totally mesmerising.

There was a destination lecture this morning from our favourite expert speaker, so we made a beeline for the theatre to learn a little about Chile, where we arrive tomorrow.

But today, we had one last stop in Peru, at Matarani, which is the nearest port to Arequipa.  We were back in our suite when we noticed we were almost there and so gathered cameras and went out onto the verandah to see what was going on.

Well, there was the pilot boat just off our starboard side, below where we were standing.

The pilot himself was up there on the bridge directing things.

We were working out just how we were going to fit into that space in front of us.  Matarani isn’t the prettiest of ports and I imagine, not many cruise ships call here, so we were attracting quite a bit of attention.

The bunch of people standing on the end of that breakwater were possibly wondering the same as we were – just how are we going to turn in that tight spot?  Or maybe – most probably – they’ve seen it all before.

An assortment of workers dressed in hi-vis clothing and colour coded hard hats were waiting to fulfil their role in the process of getting us secured alongside.

But then the 12 noon lunchtime siren sounded and workers appeared from all over, not wanting to waste a moment of their break, but interested to see what was going on and in some cases, take pictures.

We were enjoying just watching it all, thinking it all looked like a Playmobil set!

Actually, the fun began when the gangplank had been put out and the ground staff were sorting out the arrival area.  It had been clear from the beginning that safety was a priority here, evidenced by the hard hats and strict codes of practice followed by every worker.  So when a team arrived with a roll of carpet and a set of traffic cones, we knew a plan was in place to ensure that passengers from the ship did not come to any harm in this industrial setting.

Now, it seemed as though a team of Lego people were building their own set, beginning with the welcome sign which had just blown along the dockside in the wind.

We really enjoyed watching each piece be put into place, seeing people working out how best to arrange things, to secure the curly edge of the carpet and yes, to stop that flipping welcome sign blowing away again!

When they finished, they stood back and admired their handiwork having weighted the welcome sign down with some wooden blocks, too).  We thought they’d done a great job as well and were tempted to give them a round of applause but didn’t want to be cheeky!

If they had finished making the gangplank and everything secure, then it must be nearly time for us to go as well, so we gathered our stuff and made our way to the theatre to collect our tickets for our journey to see the Ice Maiden Mummy substitute in Arequipa this afternoon.  Juanita, the Ice Maiden Mummy herself was undergoing restoration in a freezer somewhere else, so instead, we were going to take a look at a slightly less impressive Mummy by the name of La Sarita.  Hey ho – whatevs.

I’ll tell you how we got on in the next post.

Off to a flying start

As we left Lima last evening, the Captain told us that the port of Paracas, where we arrived this morning, had just one pilot and as another ship was in port today, he was aiming to put his foot down a bit and make sure we arrived before them.

We were awake early and I stuck my head outdoors to see what’s what and, noticing we weren’t moving any more assumed Capt. Teo had achieved his goal.

A few minutes later, the Black Watch sailed past us and we watched her manoeuvre as we ate breakfast out on the deck. It was a beautiful morning, just perfect for the plans we had made.

We’d chosen an adventure very specifically here and had been looking forward to it very much indeed. 

 

Driving from the port, we were glad we’d made specific plans too, because the immediate area didn’t seem to be filled with much to see or do, even though it’s a National Reserve.  We’d giggled a bit at the description of Paracas in last night’s Passages as “a mishmash of half demolished and half repaired buildings that pepper a motley “resort strip”… On potholed streets still recuperating from the 2007 earthquake stray dogs bark, waiters hold open fish inspired menus and hungry pelicans stake out the harbour like vultures awaiting fresh carrion”

Well, I’m not sure I felt tempted to explore the streets too closely, even if it’s good to think that there’s something here to bring in some much needed $$$s.

I’m sure that every bit of income is needed to restore what appears to be a pretty ramshackle place.

We were heading for the airport, an incongruous facility just around the corner of a dusty, unmetalled road.  Right now, there’s just the one gate open

but there’s another twelve all finished and mothballed, awaiting the arrival of domestic and international flights “sometime next year”.  Maybe.

We checked in and instead of putting suitcases on the scales, were asked to stand on them ourselves, so that the loading could be balanced.  We were assigned seats and led out to our plane, all eleven of us.

As we did, we noticed our plane being pulled into place on a trolley.  Oooer!

Captain Carlos met us on the tarmac and introduced himself and his co-pilot Luis.

We climbed on board and took our seats.  Guess who had seats #1 and 2?

It’s not often we get the chance to look over the Captain’s shoulder as he delivers the safety briefing…

or tears down the runway!

Soon we were high above Paracas and the blue containers at the fish meal factory were clear to see.

Other familiar landmarks were easy to spot as well.

Soon we were flying high over irrigated farmland – 3000ft altitude we were advised.

During the next thirty five minutes or so, we flew over a range of different landscapes, each with a distinct pattern created by the wind and the weather.

It was hard to grasp the scale of the sand dunes but easy to see that this is not a particularly hospitable environment for anything to live.

But although it doesn’t rain here at all, the higher land to the east of here does have a rainy season right now and we flew over the occasional river valley like this one.

Way down there, too, we could clearly see the long, straight Pan American Highway which stretches from Alaska in the north right the way down to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. 

As I was admiring the curves and pattern in what looked like a dried up riverbed, Carlos announced our arrival high above the Nazca Desert.  Can you guess what we’d come to see?

We descended and got a little closer to the action, so to speak.  Sure enough, the previously plain, windswept surface was now covered with straight lines forming geometric patterns.

It was time to refer to the map we’d been given earlier with the key to our route.  We were going to begin with the whale in the bottom right hand corner and progress in numerical order.

As we passed each shape, Luis banked the plane to give first one side a great view, then turned and banked for the other side.  He grinned and was clearly enjoying this!

So, down there is the whale.

Can you see it?  The straight line goes right through it, its open jaw just underneath?  Alongside it are some more lines, though don’t seem to be part of an animal shape and are just some of the hundreds of squiggles and mysterious shapes which cover the desert in this area.

The astronaut is easier to see and identify on the side of this small hill.

As we tip first to one side and then to the other, I’m concentrating on trying not to think what’s going on!

Though I can’t resist keeping an eye on Luis’ screen and watching that horizon!

Here’s the hummingbird.  Like all the other shapes, it’s formed from a single line and can be drawn without taking the pencil off the paper.  I think the astronaut is the exception to this rule, though.

It’s hard to get the scale of these things, but here are the hands and the tree which are adjacent to the highway and have that observation tower in between them.  The hands, to the right, are easier to spot than the tree I think, but to get an idea of the size, those are cars parked on the opposite side of the road.

The last shape on our “tour” was the parrot, bisected by the elongated triangle shape which stretches right the way across its beak.  Most of the shape is enclosed within the triangle formed by the clearer straight lines – maybe you can spot the double wings running parallel to the bottom one?

With one last swoop and banking manoeuvre, Carlos turned for home.  We ascended back to 3000ft and felt rather relieved that our stomachs had held firm throughout that challenge!

Funny how the way back is never as long as the way out, isn’t it?

One last look over Carlos’ shoulder as Luis brought the plane down smoothly to a round of applause.

The next group were ready to begin their adventure and Luis was looking forward to another couple of hours’ fun.

Meanwhile, back on board, the travelling companions appear to have been having some fun of their own.  I think Rosemarie has been aiding and abetting

A strange kind of day

We’d had advice that our luggage needed to be outside our room at 8am this morning for collection.  Needless to say, it wouldn’t be a problem.  After all, we were probably going to be awake at some early hour anyway, but even so, we’d more or less packed up last night and just needed to put in a few last minute bits before attaching the bright yellow ribbons to our four suitcases, leaving them outside our room and going off for some breakfast.

The thing is, they were still there when we got back.

Even worse, they were still there at 11.30am.

We wondered why we’d taken the trouble to scoot about this morning to have it all ready so early and said as much to the ground staff in the hotel.  “Oh, well some people don’t listen and they’re not ready when we go to collect it at 10 o’clock, so we say 8 to make sure”.

So we spent the morning relaxing.  I was taking a few photos of the beach and the people down there.  There was email to catch up with and newspapers to read.

And some were still recovering from all those Pisco Sours last night.

Eventually, half an hour later than scheduled, those of us assigned to the yellow ribbon group climbed on board the coach to be taken to the port at Callao, about forty minutes away.  Our luggage was put on the same vehicle, which was sort of baffling, for we could have brought it ourselves, couldn’t we?

It’s at times like these when our patience is stretched.  Still, we did our best to go with the flow.  After all, what more is there to do?  All will be well!

After half an hour or so, we entered the docklands and spotted a cool white funnel above the construction site.

Sorry, Mariner, not your most flattering angle, but it’s good to see you again!

Our suite was ready and having checked in and collected our key card, we were soon making ourselves at home.

From time to time we looked outside to see if anything was going on, but the view from here was pretty unprepossessing.  So, we unpacked our suitcases and settled in, having met the neighbours and Rosemarie, the housekeeper.

At 5.15pm the emergency signal of seven short and one long toot  sounded over the loudspeaker and we followed instruction and attended the lifeboat drill.  Serious stuff – quite rightly, too – including being led out by our lifeboat guide to the boat deck, wearing our lifejackets. 

Whilst we were all focused on this essential knowledge, the Captain had been more concerned with manoeuvring this huge ship out from the port and by the time we were ready to return to our suite, we were already underway.

 

We ran the gauntlet of an armada of small ships waiting for the tide, perhaps, and sailed out under the guidance of the pilot, whose small boat sailed alongside.

By now, we were ready for a quick change and a return to the pool deck, where pisco sours and a few tunes from the band got the party started.

So it’s been a strange day of being busy doing nothing really.  We chose to have dinner in Compass Rose this evening, joining another couple and enjoying their company and some fun conversation over dinner.  We returned to our suite to find a familiar arrangement on our bed: tomorrow’s Passages (which may or may not form part of tomorrow’s journal page…let’s see about that later), a few reminders and introductions, news from the UK and two chocolates.

We have an early start in the morning.  We leave at 8am for an adventure to which both of us are really looking forward.  I hope to have some photographs to share tomorrow and will surely have a tale or two to tell.  In the meantime, it’s goodnight from the Mariner.  We are happy to be here.