This was a good day to tune in. We’re sharing photos of a recent FREE trip we took to South America in December.
First off, it’s a long way to get there. We boarded our ship in LA then sailed down the western side of Mexico – Cabo San Lucas, Costa Rica, Lima, and finally Valparaiso/Santiago, Chile. That was 17 days.
I got free airfare but only one-way. For me. Not my guest. So I picked the haul from Chile to SFO. I paid to upgrade to Economy Plus – highly recommended.
Read how to AVOID Norovirus on your cruise
Although I’ve been through the Panama Canal three times, I was really surprised that the ship didn’t go in. Many do the U-Turn after passing the outermost locks. Too many sea days!
The hit for me was the stop in Pisco. At first glance it’s a “who cares.” Mostly desert. BUT I paid $700 for the excursion to fly over the lines of Nazca. These are the “drawings” etched into the hard soil that can only be seen from the air.
In his 1970’s book: “Chariots of the God’s,” he said they could only have been made by aliens. They are images of a monkey, birds, a spider – about 30 in all. We flew about 500 feet above them. You cannot tell what they are from the ground.
So who made them? The who is easy – the Nazca people lived in southern Peru from 0 to 800 CDE. But how did they do it? That’s easy also – it’s very hard soil – VERY little rain. With a hoe type tool, you can scrape these lines.
Why? It’s believed they were done for a religious purpose. They had a plan and executed it – for the gods.
Check these photos I took:
The Monkey at Nazca
A perfect spiral in Nazca
Can you see the Nazca spider?
A perfect bird – only recognizable from the air – one of Nazca’s treats
Questions? Let us know. See you next week.
Back in February, my wife and I had the trip of a lifetime. For free – by speaking on board a cruise ship. We flew to Chili and got began the voyage. Then we sailed through the many inlets in Chili. The last stop there was Ushuaia. It is the kick-off for Antarctic Trips. We saw the Falklands and Buenos Aires before flying home. 23 days.
Normal cruise ships cannot get folks on the island any more, since many ships got stuck in the ice shelf. So we “only” got to within 1/4 mile of the Palmer Station….one of three American sites. To get to walk around for two shots of 3o-minutes each, you need to pay big bucks and get on a real ice-breaker ship.
We passed Cape Horn, then two days south in “Drake’s Passage.” It is one of the worst seas to traverse. It took Magellan 88 days and he still didn’t make it westbound. Our seas were like a lake with NO rough water.
Learn more about cruise openings to South America.
We learned a lot about the early explorers…Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton. I’m preparing a talk on them to add to my collection of over 50.
Oh, I snagged this trip….why don’t you? We only had to pay airfare. But you have to be accepted by an agency – we help. Make talks that are fun to older people who are retired and on vacation. Infotainment. We teach all this – no worries you will be “qualified.”
So, now with that background, here are the promised photos.
Typical routing to the south pole
Fellow passengers clicking away.
The Titanic hit one this big.
Glaciers slowly entering the sea
Apartment building-sized Icebergs
Here are more photos of places we’ve been to on cruises. We haven’t paid for a cruise since we were dating in the 80’s. My first (and only) wife does none of the adventures I do. Hiking, scuba, biking etc. She’s a knitter. OK…..I guess opposites attract. It’s been 33 years. Sigh.
The one thing we found out early on is that we like cruising. Everything is in one place for 2 weeks. No packing up daily as you move around. I am NOT a Rick Steves fan of the way he goes. One rollaway and a train ticket. Sorry. I like more than 2 pair of boxers.
So here’s a sampler of some places YOU can get to. Want to give it a go? We can teach you how. Many of our graduates keep reading this blog for poop about on the industry. Newbies are also welcome. When you want to take the leap and sail for free – this is the place to come.
SEE more Turkey photos
We teach – you do. . .aka DYI. Do it yourself. A 2-hr seminar will give you the roadmap to follow to get assignments. Like to talk? – share what you know more about than most people.
It’s fun.
And now the show.
Hagia Sophia Turkey
Obelisk taken by Turks from Egypt
Where Mary lived after Christ’s death
Site where St Paul gave his Epistle to the Ephesians
Our room for trip to Turkey
So there’s a tease to Turkey. We are so glad that we went back then. It’s going to be risky to go to many parts of Turkey with the Islamic Terrorists…aka ISIS…killing everyone who is an “infidel”. Sad
I’ll post pix of other locations in future blogs
Comments? Want to take our class? Sail for free!
