January 14 - Santiago to San Antonio (Valparaiso) and the Quest
This day has been one filled with laughter (to the point of tears) and I'm certain that I'll never be able to convey the spirit of our experiences with mere words . . . but will try . . .
After a lovely breakfast at the hotel, we got our luggage in order, checked out, and were met by Mauricio, our guide and wine expert. We would taste at a couple of wineries and then arrive at the ship around 2:00 (which turned out to be 3:00!).
With all luggage stowed into the large Mercedes SUV, Claudio at the wheel, and Mauricio expounding on wine and life, we were off! Mauricio has missed his calling, because believe he should have been a stand-up comic. His humor with all information imparted to us made the day so entertaining. He has high energy . . . I mean . . . really high energy . . . perhaps exhaustingly high energy!
He had a white board where he drew graphs, a flip down map of Chile which was attached onto the visor overhead, and hands that never stopped moving while he spoke. He is of Italian ancestry, in fact, Genoese. Said that should his hands be tied up, he would be mute!! Mauricio is the father of three girls, aged 11 to 18 - his advice to them is priceless and sometimes questionable, but one can tell that he is a fierce parent and loves his family beyond measure.
We began our tour of the Maipo Valley with a stop at Undurraga Winery, bought a lovely bottle of local red and toured a private park at the winery that was beautifully landscaped with flowering bushes and unique trees.
Then sat at a table outside and drank the wine, learned more about the art of wine tasting, but mostly about enjoying life (and wine!). The two are not mutually exclusive - one enhances the other!!
Mauricio made the study almost theatrical - so much fun!
One of the best parts of this visit was listening to Mauricio talk about food as he recounted his 2 or 3 favorite recipes - he loves to cook! Though I cannot tell the story here, remind us when we return to let you know about certain foods and bloody noses.
We had so much fun there that I forgot about purchasing any wine for the ship! Oh well, would have one more chance at Casa Marin Winery. This wine had been listed on the menu at the restaurant last evening. Casa Marin Winery is owned and operated by a mother/son team and has been in existence for about 10 years. Our tasting was on a second-floor balcony and overlooked mountains and vineyards in all directions. Five wines were on the tasting menu - Syrah Rose, Sauvignon Gris (new to me), Pinot Noir, and two Syrahs.
Syrah Rose was very tasty, and would have been even better had it been colder. The Sauvignon Gris was truly remarkable - almost as good as my favorite Lambert Bridge Viognier (at half the price!), and that's a huge compliment to Casa Marin! The Pinot was delicious. The Syrahs were a disappointment to me. Am coming to understand that my palate doesn't like wines with too much minerality (is that a word?). Prefer a fruit-forward wine, one that is soft on the tongue . . . well, enough of that!!
After warm hugs and smiles, we left the winery with a car full of wine. Ended up buying a case and a half of wine to take to the ship - 2 Rose, 10 Sauvignon Gris, and 6 Pinot Noir. We look forward to enjoying these with our meals the next three weeks.
We were finally at the port of San Antonio and able to board the ship. Our suites are outstanding. Am very excited to be a first time Spa Suite occupant. My balcony which is more like a patio, is at the back of the ship and the breadth, depth and width (is breadth and width the same?!?!) of the view is breath taking and for viewing the beauty that is Antarctica, will be absolute perfection. There is only one drawback and that is that my suite is on the 10th deck aft. The sway of the ship out at sea is a little bit more than being amidship on the seventh or eighth decks which is usually where my suites have been on past cruises. . . so I must be more careful and not trip or fall. Here are some photos of my suite - am certainly spoiled!
After the muster drill, John, Sandi and I met on the pool deck for cocktails and the sail-a-way. It would seem that between John and Sandi and their keen senses of humor this trip will continue to be filled with laughter.
Now, how to describe the next part and not get into trouble. As we sipped and watched the passengers below us who were settled in around the pool listening to music, John spotted a "celebrity". We are traveling with a POPular television evangelist, his wife, and possibly another couple, the second man might also be another TVE. For purposes of this article we are naming him "Dick Rickles". You'll have to wait for us to get home to find out how we named him!!!
At any rate, the remainder of the cocktail hour and dinner was filled with ideas on how we might pay for this trip, i.e., hiding behind palms, taking photos (to be later sold to the gossip rags), outright stalking, possibly faking an injury to be instantly cured should we accidentally run into the aforesaid "Dick".
John and Sandi suggested that I might drag my left leg around for the next three days, so an accidental meeting could possibly affect an instant cure. Since the ankle surgery, I still do have some swelling, so we could make it look like a bona fide limp! Sandi, on the other hand was going to develop a lisp. She would be "thailing the theven theas" and her lisp would also be instantly cured upon an accidental (planned) meeting. The ideas got more silly with each sip of wine. Such a fun dinner at Earth and Ocean Grill out on deck under the heat lamps - food was delicious, too!
By writing this account, I have no intention to make light of miracles. Am an ardent believer in them! However, to sell miracle water to people who can ill afford it, and to pre-plan and set up said miracles gives a bad name to simple but profound faith, where almost anything is possible. Enough said!
. . . and so too bed.
After a lovely breakfast at the hotel, we got our luggage in order, checked out, and were met by Mauricio, our guide and wine expert. We would taste at a couple of wineries and then arrive at the ship around 2:00 (which turned out to be 3:00!).
With all luggage stowed into the large Mercedes SUV, Claudio at the wheel, and Mauricio expounding on wine and life, we were off! Mauricio has missed his calling, because believe he should have been a stand-up comic. His humor with all information imparted to us made the day so entertaining. He has high energy . . . I mean . . . really high energy . . . perhaps exhaustingly high energy!
He had a white board where he drew graphs, a flip down map of Chile which was attached onto the visor overhead, and hands that never stopped moving while he spoke. He is of Italian ancestry, in fact, Genoese. Said that should his hands be tied up, he would be mute!! Mauricio is the father of three girls, aged 11 to 18 - his advice to them is priceless and sometimes questionable, but one can tell that he is a fierce parent and loves his family beyond measure.
We began our tour of the Maipo Valley with a stop at Undurraga Winery, bought a lovely bottle of local red and toured a private park at the winery that was beautifully landscaped with flowering bushes and unique trees.
Then sat at a table outside and drank the wine, learned more about the art of wine tasting, but mostly about enjoying life (and wine!). The two are not mutually exclusive - one enhances the other!!
Mauricio made the study almost theatrical - so much fun!
One of the best parts of this visit was listening to Mauricio talk about food as he recounted his 2 or 3 favorite recipes - he loves to cook! Though I cannot tell the story here, remind us when we return to let you know about certain foods and bloody noses.
We had so much fun there that I forgot about purchasing any wine for the ship! Oh well, would have one more chance at Casa Marin Winery. This wine had been listed on the menu at the restaurant last evening. Casa Marin Winery is owned and operated by a mother/son team and has been in existence for about 10 years. Our tasting was on a second-floor balcony and overlooked mountains and vineyards in all directions. Five wines were on the tasting menu - Syrah Rose, Sauvignon Gris (new to me), Pinot Noir, and two Syrahs.
Syrah Rose was very tasty, and would have been even better had it been colder. The Sauvignon Gris was truly remarkable - almost as good as my favorite Lambert Bridge Viognier (at half the price!), and that's a huge compliment to Casa Marin! The Pinot was delicious. The Syrahs were a disappointment to me. Am coming to understand that my palate doesn't like wines with too much minerality (is that a word?). Prefer a fruit-forward wine, one that is soft on the tongue . . . well, enough of that!!
After warm hugs and smiles, we left the winery with a car full of wine. Ended up buying a case and a half of wine to take to the ship - 2 Rose, 10 Sauvignon Gris, and 6 Pinot Noir. We look forward to enjoying these with our meals the next three weeks.
We were finally at the port of San Antonio and able to board the ship. Our suites are outstanding. Am very excited to be a first time Spa Suite occupant. My balcony which is more like a patio, is at the back of the ship and the breadth, depth and width (is breadth and width the same?!?!) of the view is breath taking and for viewing the beauty that is Antarctica, will be absolute perfection. There is only one drawback and that is that my suite is on the 10th deck aft. The sway of the ship out at sea is a little bit more than being amidship on the seventh or eighth decks which is usually where my suites have been on past cruises. . . so I must be more careful and not trip or fall. Here are some photos of my suite - am certainly spoiled!
After the muster drill, John, Sandi and I met on the pool deck for cocktails and the sail-a-way. It would seem that between John and Sandi and their keen senses of humor this trip will continue to be filled with laughter.
Now, how to describe the next part and not get into trouble. As we sipped and watched the passengers below us who were settled in around the pool listening to music, John spotted a "celebrity". We are traveling with a POPular television evangelist, his wife, and possibly another couple, the second man might also be another TVE. For purposes of this article we are naming him "Dick Rickles". You'll have to wait for us to get home to find out how we named him!!!
At any rate, the remainder of the cocktail hour and dinner was filled with ideas on how we might pay for this trip, i.e., hiding behind palms, taking photos (to be later sold to the gossip rags), outright stalking, possibly faking an injury to be instantly cured should we accidentally run into the aforesaid "Dick".
John and Sandi suggested that I might drag my left leg around for the next three days, so an accidental meeting could possibly affect an instant cure. Since the ankle surgery, I still do have some swelling, so we could make it look like a bona fide limp! Sandi, on the other hand was going to develop a lisp. She would be "thailing the theven theas" and her lisp would also be instantly cured upon an accidental (planned) meeting. The ideas got more silly with each sip of wine. Such a fun dinner at Earth and Ocean Grill out on deck under the heat lamps - food was delicious, too!
By writing this account, I have no intention to make light of miracles. Am an ardent believer in them! However, to sell miracle water to people who can ill afford it, and to pre-plan and set up said miracles gives a bad name to simple but profound faith, where almost anything is possible. Enough said!
. . . and so too bed.
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