PITCAIRN ISLAND

The Pitcairn Islands, officially named Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands, are a group of four islands, in the southern Pacific Ocean that are the last remaining British overseas territory in the Pacific.
The original settlers of the Pitcairn and Henderson for several centuries were Polynesians. However, although archaeologists believe that Polynesians were living on Pitcairn as late as the 15th Century, the islands were uninhabited when they were discovered on July 3, 1767 by the crew of the British sloop HMS Swallow. Pitcairn was named after Midshipman Robert Pitcairn, a 15 year old crewmember who was the first to sight it. In 1790 the mutineers of HMAV Bounty and their Tahitian companions, some of whom may have been kidnapped from Tahiti, settled on Pitcairn Island and set fire to the Bounty. Although

the survivors were able to survive by farming and fishing the initial period of settlement was marked by serious tensions among the settlers.  Now Pitcairn is inhabited with less than 50 people. The largest population was in 1937 with 233 people. Presently the islanders have no harbor for ships so they come to the ship in their long boat and be board for three hours to sell their wares. Most of their last names are Christian. The ship played the movie "The Bounty" for us.

EASTER ISLAND

Eastern Island (Rapa Nui, Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. A special territory of Chile annexed in 1888, Eastern Island is widely famous for its 887 monumental statues, called Moai, created by the early Rapanui people. Easter Island is one of the most isolated inhabited islands.  Its closest inhabited neighbor is Pitcairn Island 1,289 miles away. The island is 15 miles long by 7.6 miles at its widest point. There are three freshwater crater lakes but no permanent streams or rivers.

The name "Easter Island" was given by the island's first recorded  European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen who encountered it on Easter Sunday 1722.

The large stone statues, or Moai, for which Easter Island is world famous, were carved from 1100-1680 AD.

Tom and I did not get off the ship to take a tour as we had been here in 2014. The ship could not get close to the island and the people had to go by tender (small boats from the ship) to the landing dock. The seas were very rough and only those that had tours, and were brave went on the tenders. As it was three people fell but no one was badly hurt.

SALAVERRY, PERU

On tour during a drive through the countryside we stopped at the home of a typical Moche family. They warmly welcomed us and proudly showed us their crops - corn, caigua, chili peppers, fruit and others.  We heard about the techniques used to grow these products and how they irrigated their crops. They are close to the Moche river and they piped it and dripped it over their rows just as they have done for centuries.

We went to the Temple of the Moon which was built as a Pyramid just like in Egypt. The Moche people were in power from 250 - 800 AD.  This ancient city was the site of pilgrimages made by the people of the coast and of the northern mountains, sacred space of communication with the gods.  Its impressive architecture is decorated in polychrome murals, many of them one of a kind, that transports us to the world of the Moche, of their deities, of the battles, of their sacrifices.

The end of this civilization came when a rain spell came, one we would call an El Niño. It rained so long it ruined the crops and the people thought their gods were angry with them.  They decided to move away.  Before they did they covered up the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun with mud bricks and cover it all even the ancient city.  It was not discovered until 1991 and it is slowly being uncovered. They have not even started to uncover the Pyramid of the Sun.

The Moche people moved to the coast and dissolved as group of people as they integrated with others.

                                                       Farmer's House

                                                   Moche children

                                                         Wall Art - Picture of their god

                                            Sandy and Tom against back wall of Temple 

   

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a 48 mile ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic and Pacific and is a key  conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, annual traffic has risen from about

Closing the locks behind our ship 

1,000 ships in the early days to 15,000 vessels in 2010.

A ship sailing from New York to San Francisco travels 5,900 miles, well under half the 14,000 route around Cape Horn.  An enlargement was needed and approved by the Government of Panama. This will allow for a greater number of transits and the ability to handle larger ships. It officially opened June 26, 2016 at the estimated cost of US$6.20 million. The project has doubled the canal's capacity and allows more traffic and the traffic of longer and wider ships.

ON THE MOVE AGAIN! Santa Marta, Colombia

This is the third day at sea and we had our first tour today. Up until now we have been rocking and rolling. The seas have had huge waves and the Captain said in his noon update that we have been in a gale.  What has been causing the waves is we have had 44 mph winds. No one has been sea sick that I have heard of but it has been so hard to walk across the room or to walk down the halls.  We just laugh when we fall in a person's arms coming down the hall from the opposite direction and we haven't met them yet.

Today on tour we were taken to see the highlights of Santa Marta.  It is situated on the picturesque Colombian coast looking out across the Caribbean Sea.  We saw the city's original cathedral, which holds the ashes of the town's founder, Rodrigo de Bastidas. We then went to the Bank of the Republic to visit the Gold Museum - home to an exhibit that details the customs of the pre-Colombian community as well as a small but priceless collection of Tayrona gold and pottery pieces. Next we went outside the city to visit San Pedro de Alejandrino Villa.  Built in the 17th century, this iconic estate is now a National Monument with the interior of the house completely restored.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

We started our day with a drive through the countryside before reaching the city limits. Then we covered the main sights of the city. We crossed the medieval Old Town and we passed the Royal Palace overlooking Stockholm’s inner harbor.  On the nearby island of Riddarholmen, we passed the impressive church with its cast iron steeple, known as a place for Royal burials.  The Old Wrangel Palace, once known as the King’s House, today houses the Court of Appeals.  From the waterfront there is a wonderful view of the impressive City Hall site of the annual Nobel Prize Banquet.

Next, we visited the Vasa Museum, housing the Swedish warship Vasa – once among the world’s largest and most prestigious warship. The museum is literally built around the 17^th century warship, which sank in Stockholm’s inner harbor on her maiden voyage in 1628. Salvaged in 1961 and today restored to much of her former glory. 

Stockholm is built on 14 islands and there are 37 bridges. 

This was the last port on our cruise.  We are now heading to Rotterdam where we will disembark, spend the night, and then fly home from Amsterdam. It has been a wonderful cruise, a great history lesson, and we’ve met some great new friends. See you soon.

HELSINKI, FINLAND

Finland is a small country, a little bigger than Italy, on the Baltic Sea. The country lies just below the Arctic Circle. The Sea is frozen nine months out of the year.  All the boats must be taken out of the water during that time.

For the last 600 years Finland was under the rule of Sweden but when the 1917 Revolution came along Finland declared their independence.

We saw the monument of approximately 600 steel pipes honoring the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

The 1952 Winter Olympics were here in Finland. In the winter they have only five hours of sunshine.

We visited the famous Rock Church. It is a Lutheran Church built in 1969. It was entirely built into bedrock and quarried stone.

The day we visited the sun was shinning and the temperature was in the 50’s. Everyone was outdoors enjoying the sun at side walk cafes or sitting on grassy spots.