Dear John,

What better way to show you just how fun a South America cruise can be then to hear it straight from Carnival Splendor's social host Jaime? You get to cruise vicariously as she details her trip from one beautiful port to another. Here is her fourteenth post.

The city of Valparaiso happily welcomed the Carnival Splendor on this slightly cloudy yet still beautiful day. After debarkation was complete, I had the opportunity to go outside to explore the town. There were rumors of the capital city of Santiago being a one and a half hour bus ride away. Although this did sound quite appealing, the time restraints were not accommodating to this possibility. Visiting Valparaiso was certainly a nice experience but it is like going the port of Warnemunde and not taking the time to see Berlin… Still a great day but just wondering what was is in the distant town.

While leaving the ship, I was expecting a day of solo exploration. I understand this may not be the wisest decision when you are a girl in her mid twenties, who does not speak the language and who may appear somewhat touristy looking with a notebook and camera in hand. After exchanging twenty American dollars for 110,000 Chilean pesos, I was rich!  To add to this good fortune, I ran into two of our guest services representatives from the ship – Carlene, and Alisa.

10,000 Chilean Pesos.

Heading around town with pursers is always a good idea, one because they already know a lot of information about the city, and also because they typically each of them speak between four and 12 languages, which is an extremely helpful resource. Spending time with these lovely ladies was quite enjoyable. We all took a taxi to Vino Del Mar, which is a 10-minute ride from the terminal building. We were in search of a Western Union so that Carlene could put US dollars in her bank account. This way, her bills being deducted all the way from South Africa would be paid without problem. Unfortunately, even the Money Gram and Western Union locations that we did find were not accommodating in allowing her to send US dollars, these locations were the opposite of helpful, they would not permit a person to deposit money straight to their bank account!  This is one issue that as an American citizen, I have never had to struggle with. Thank goodness for direct deposit! Instead, I have other challenges, like… taxes.

The downtown area was quite nice, even though the weather was not on our side. During our taxi tour I did my best to take pictures to show you the interesting agricultural layout. However unfortunately having clean windows was not one of the prerequisites for our taxi selection. The town of Valparaiso had traditional Chilean staples such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Dominos. Once we reached the Vino Del Mar area we realized that every other building was a “banco” or a “farmacia.”  The three of us made our contribution the Chilean economy with the purchase of some toiletries from one of these locations.

A look at the city from in front of the terminal building.

The highlight of our afternoon was finding the mall in Vino Del Mar. This mall was very crowded and absolutely massive. We found a nice quiet spot to enjoy a cup of coffee and the most delicious nutty cheesecake imaginable (John, do not make a joke about the nutty cheesecake in my mouth!)  It is so wonderful to have the opportunity to have a nice relaxing day exploring the downtown area. Our taxi driver on the return trip spoke enough broken English to point out the Valparaiso naval museum and the house of President Ferrari (I think that is what he said at least)… maybe he was showing us a car dealership? Either way, Mr. Taximan showed a valiant attempt of welcoming us to his city!

Our next port of call is Arica, Chile. I have some very exciting news to share with you about this day!  47 guests and 25 crewmembers, myself included will be disembarking the on Friday March 6 from Arica, Chile and will be experiencing a tour to Machu Picchu. This tour will be 2.5 days long, as we will rejoin the ship in Lima, Peru. I am so grateful that Carnival is allowing a select few of us to take a work break for these days so that we have the amazing opportunity to further explore this part of the world.

Downtown Vino Del Mar.

This is a brief summary of the trip that we will be taking:

Overland Cusco & Machu Pichu
****
(2½ days - Approximately 52 hours)
Experience this once-in-a-lifetime trip to Cusco, “the archaeological capital of the Americas,” and then journey via train to discover the Incan sanctuary of Machu Pichu. This unforgettable opportunity will be a 2½ day experience full of memories and photos for you to cherish forever. On this amazing excursion you will: 
Day One – Be transferred to the airport by motor coach to take a 45-minute chartered flight to Cusco. Arrive at Cusco and be transferred to your hotel to check-in and have some free time to relax before a light buffet lunch.  Enjoy a sightseeing tour of this amazing colonial city. Conclude with dinner at your hotel and time to relax for your early start the next day.
Day Two – Enjoy an early morning buffet breakfast. Meet your guide and transfer by motor coach (approximately 1½ hours) to the train station for your rail trip to Machu Pichu. Relax as you travel by train for approximately 1¼ hours through the scenic countryside while enjoying a breakfast snack. Arrive at the Machu Pichu train station then walk a short distance to the minibuses that will take you up the mountainside to the citadel of Machu Pichu, one of the most renowned examples of Inca architecture.
Enjoy dinner once more in your hotel in Cusco.
Day Three – Begin your day with an early buffet breakfast, check out and a transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima. Arrive in Lima where you’ll enjoy the 4-hour “Panoramic Lima” tour of this beautiful city before rejoining your ship, already docked in Callao, Lima.   

I imagine this excursion will be extremely worthwhile and slightly strenuous and I will do my best to write you during these days, however I can not guarantee what the internet connection availability will be. I promise to give you an amazingly thorough description when I return.

I look forward to filling you in soon!
I am going to start drinking my tea so that the altitude doesn’t kill me!

Have a great day!
Jaime =)