December 7, 2017

   Today is our final Sea Day and the final full day of the 15-night cruise.  This morning was cloudy and remained so all day.  The winds were 10 knots gusting to 13 knots (17 to 21 km per hour). The morning was a cool 62 F and only warmed to 67 F. We completed most of our walking goal before lunch.
    We attended Dr. David Roberts last Beyond the Podium presentation about the Incas: Before and After (the arrival of the Spanish in 1539).  The Spanish brought African slaves to South America because 93% of the population died from disease, mainly, and defending their land. The Spanish needed people for mining and other labour.  The Moshe people (the ones who mummified their dead) predated the Inca.  Their flat topped 20-meter high pyramid structures were even larger than those of the Mexicans or Mayans.  
      The ship is 15 nautical miles from the shore, which is misty.  We could barely make out Wind Turbines along the coast as we passed near La Serena, Chile.  We could see a low mountain range, the coastal mountains vaguely in the distance.
   There was the usual variety of Sea Day activities listed today.  All passengers were given a Chilean Agriculture form to complete, to give to Immigration authorities when we leave the ship tomorrow.  We also received luggage tags to affix to our suitcases and then leave the packed bags in the hallway by 10 pm so they can be taken to storage and offloaded in the terminal tomorrow.  Passengers will collect their luggage in the terminal after taking shuttles to the port gates as we are again in a worked cargo port.
   The Oceanview Café had a white chocolate fountain and chocolate desserts at noon.
   At lunch in the dining room, we sat with a mother and her son from Manchester, England, who had taken the off ship three-day trip to Machu Picchu, while the ship was in Lima and Pisco.  They enjoyed it and had some sunshine while at Machu Picchu.  They said that the walking was tiring since they were at over 3,300 meters above sea level and the atmosphere was thinner.  The flights, train rides and five star hotels were all fine.  Their first day was flying to Cusco, which was the Incan capital 500 years ago. Second day was taking a train to Machu Picchu and staying there for six hours and the third day flying to Pisco to rejoin the ship. The excursion catalogue listed the Machu Picchu trip price at $2,399 US.
   There was an afternoon matinée in the Celebrity Theater by singer Daniel Bouchet.
   We spent the afternoon reading by a floor to ceiling window in the Martini Bar until it opened. Then we went to the Al Bacio Café for an iced frappé and continued reading.  Between us we have read three books while on the ship.
   Phil emailed everyone, in our dining group, a group picture including our waiter and assistant waiter.
   The menu items chosen for the last dinner on board were: Appetizers: Mixed Green Salad and Cobb Salad. Entrées: Prime Rib with Mashed potatoes and Chicken breast stuffed with banana and rice.  Desserts: Biscuit Croustilant and chocolate rice crisps base with a coffee flavoured cake on top.  Our dining group said our good-byes before going to the theater.
   This evening’s Celebrity Theatre show was by the entertaining group, Impact, which presented a show of singing, Argentine gaucho dancing, drumming, rope and whip snap cracking and listening to Tango music piano solos.
   Most of the passengers are busy packing to leave the ship tomorrow, but over 200 are remaining to continue the journey for another two weeks, around Cape Horn to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    Tonight it was the last evening of casino play.
    The total distance travelled on the cruise will be 4,299 nautical miles.  One nautical mile equal to 1.15 land miles.

Final steps for the day 14,386






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