Days 810- 814 South American Cruise Days 13-17

Cruise Day 13- Day 810

Nov 29, 2025

General San Martin (Pisco), Peru

Pisco is a port city on Peru's southern coast, known for the grape brandy of the same name. It's a gateway to the uninhabited Ballestas Islands, home to scores of sea lions, pelicans, Peruvian boobies and Humboldt penguins. Nearby is the Paracas National Reserve, which encompasses desert, ocean and the Paracas Peninsula. Also here is the Paracas Candelabra geoglyph, a huge hillside etching of mysterious origins 

Tacama Winery 

Founded in 1540 in the Ica Valley, Tacama is the oldest vineyard in South America. Originally established by the Spanish to produce communion wine for religious orders, the estate later pivoted to distillation—giving birth to Peru’s famous grape brandy, Pisco

Pisco winery 

Founded in 1684 in Peru's Ica Valley, Hacienda La Caravedo is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the Americas. Originally established by Juan Facundo Caravedo Roque, it has spent centuries dedicated to crafting premium, all-natural pisco—Peru’s national spirit—using traditional, artisanal copper pot stills

Cruise Days 14-15 -Day 811 & 812

Nov 30, 2025

Dec 1, 2026

Days At Sea

Dolphins

Moore's T-shirts pick

Cruise Day 16 -Day 813

Dec 2, 2026

Coquimbo (La Serena), Chile

La Serena is the capital of the Coquimbo region on Chile’s coast. The city is known for its long beaches, like El Faro with its landmark Faro Monumental lighthouse, and its colonial and neo-colonial architecture. The late-Renaissance Iglesia de San Francisco is one of many churches dominating the skyline. The Archaeological Museum displays pre-Hispanic pottery and a giant stone head (moai) from Easter Island.

Cruz del Tercer Mileniio Coquimbo, Chile Cruz del Tercer Milenio (Spanish for "Third Millennium Cross") is an 83 meter tall, 40 meter wide, concrete cross located at the top of El Vigía hill in Coquimbo, Chile. Construction began in 1999 and it was completed in 2001. It sits 197 meters above sea level. It was considered the tallest monument in South America.

We left the ship and saw that we could walk up the hill to the cross. We had only walked about three blocks when a car drove by and yelled, “Go back!” Then a man came out from across the street and, in Spanish, explained that it was a dangerous neighborhood and that he had been stabbed there before. Around the same time, a woman walking by started warning other people not to walk in the area either. I guess we’ll be taking an Uber instead.

Cruise Day 17 -Day 814

Dec 3, 2026

San Antonio (Santiago), Chile

Santiago, Chile’s capital and largest city, sits in a valley surrounded by the snow-capped Andes and the Chilean Coast Range. Plaza de Armas, the grand heart of the city’s old colonial core, is home to 2 neoclassical landmarks: the 1808 Palacio de la Real Audiencia, housing the National History Museum, and the 18th-century Metropolitan Cathedral. La Chascona is the home-turned-museum of poet Pablo Neruda.

Magnetic Winery

Viña Matetic is a renowned, premium vineyard in the San Antonio Valley of Chile, famed for pioneering cool-climate Syrah and producing world-class biodynamic wines. In 1892 the family’s Chilean journey began when Jorge Matetić Celtinja immigrated from modern-day Croatia to Punta Arenas in the country's southern Patagonia region.

Days 807- 809- South American Cruise Days 11-12

 

I'm thrilled to share a Happy Thanksgiving from Lima, Peru, where we are immersed in an incredible cultural journey, constantly inspired by the boundless potential of human innovation and creativity. Even better we are able to share our journey with some friends.

Cruise Days 11-12 -Day 807 & 809

Nov 27, 2025

Nov 28, 2025

Callao (Lima), Peru

Lima, the capital of Peru, lies on the country's arid Pacific coast. Though its colonial center is preserved, it's a bustling metropolis and one of South America’s largest cities. It's home to the Museo Larco collection of pre-Columbian art and the Museo de la Nación, tracing the history of Peru’s ancient civilizations. The Plaza de Armas and the 16th-century cathedral are the heart of old Lima Centro.

Celebrating Thanksgiving before we head out for the day

Welcome to Lima, Peru!

Miraflores is a neighborhood in Lima, Peru. We stumbled upon the  El Señorio de Sulco restaurant . We asked the waiter to surprise us with a couple of his favorite dishes. The first Pisco Sour.

A Pisco Sour is a frothy, tangy South American cocktail made with pisco (a grape brandy), lime juice, simple syrup, egg white, and Angostura bitters, known for its signature foam and balance of sweet, sour, and herbaceous flavors. The classic Peruvian version uses Peruvian pisco and lime, while a dry shake (without ice) followed by a wet shake (with ice) is crucial for creating the foam, which is then garnished with bitters. 

Grilled Octopus - by far one of the best things we have ever eaten.

Ceviche is typically made by curing fresh, raw seafood (such as white fish, shrimp, or scallops) in freshly squeezed citrus juice. The acid denatures the proteins, effectively "cooking" the seafood without heat

Day 2- Food tour.

We stopped at the "Market" WOW! We as Americans are doing it wrong. Lovely looking produce everywhere! And that doesn't do justice to the ultra fresh fish, beef, and chicken. A very nice market filled with the freshest of everything for your cooking pleasure.

After the marketplace we went back to take a cooking class. How to make Pisco Sours and Ceviche. Funny part...It was at the same restaurant we stumbled upon the night before. 

Love Park

The iconic statue at the Love Park (Parque del Amor) in Lima, Peru, is titled "El Beso" (The Kiss). Unveiled in 1993, this 12-meter-long and 3-meter-high masterpiece was created by renowned Peruvian sculptor Víctor Delfín to celebrate passion, romance, and the lovers who gather along the coastal cliffs

Navy Lighthouse

La Marina Lighthouse is an active lighthouse set on high cliffs above the Pacific Ocean, in Miraflores a district of Lima, Peru. It is one of the most famous and visited lighthouses in the country.

Originally constructed in 1900 at Punta Coles, a headland near Ilo, the lighthouse was dismantled and reconstructed in Miraflores in 1973 by the Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation of the Peruvian Navy. Since the move, it has remained situated in the appropriately named Parque el Faro, one of a number of popular parks above the cliffs in the city, which commemorates a century of Peruvian navigation.

The 22 meter (72 ft) iron tower has a gallery and lantern, painted a very dark blue, with two white bands. Its light can be seen for 24.3 nautical miles, and consists of a pattern of three flashes of white light, over a period of fifteen seconds.

Day 802-806 South American Cruise Day 7-10

 Cruise Day  7 -Day 802

Nov 23, 2025

Crossing the Equator

The equator crossing ceremony, or "Crossing the Line," is a long-standing maritime tradition where a ship’s crew initiates those crossing the equator for the first time. "Pollywogs" (novices) face trials to appease King Neptune, transforming into "Shellbacks" (veterans). It acts as a fun, often chaotic bonding ritual, featuring costumes, symbolic baptisms, and certificates

Captain of the Ship

It's a tradition to kiss the fish as you cross the equator. 

Cruise Day 8 -Day 803

Nov 24, 2025

Manta, Ecuador

Manta is a port city on Ecuador's central coast. It's known for its tuna-fishing industry. The popular Murciélago Beach is on the city's northwestern tip. Bars and restaurants are clustered along the Malecón Escénico promenade and nearby streets. The low-key Tarqui Beach has a waterside fish market. Nearby, the Central Bank Museum contains pre-Columbian relics from indigenous tribes.

Cruise Day 9- Day 804

Nov 25 2025

Days At Sea

When traveling with friends you get to have fun. Today was the Welch pick for group t-shirts. 

Cruise Day 10- Day 805

Nov 26, 2025

Salaverry (Trujillo), Peru

Trujillo is a city in northwestern Peru. It's known for the nation's traditional dance, marinera. The colonial center is home to the grand Trujillo Cathedral, with its bright yellow facade, and the blue Casa Urquiaga. Nearby, the neoclassical Iturregui Palace has Italian marble statues and a courtyard. West of the city, the huge adobe complex of Chan Chan is an abandoned city once home to the ancient Chimu kingdom.

Ruins of the Sun and Moon Temple 

(Huacas de Moche) are a massive adobe archaeological complex built by the ancient Moche civilization between the 1st and 9th centuries AD. Located just 15-20 minutes south of central Trujillo, Peru, this site highlights the political and spiritual center of the Moche empire

Trujillo Town Center
The statue in the center of the Plaza de Armas in Trujillo, Peru, is the Monumento a la Libertad (Freedom Monument). Created by the German sculptor Edmund Moeller, the monument was inaugurated in 1929. It represents the process of Peru's independence. It features three sections: the first shows a man crushed (symbolizing oppression), the second with arms back (the emancipatory struggle), and the top features a man with raised arms and clenched fists (liberation).

Dominating the main square, the cathedral is a vibrant yellow-painted 17th-century landmark.

The "blue house" on the Plaza de Armas of Trujillo (Peru) is widely known as Casa Urquiaga (also called Casa Calonge). It is a stunning, 18th-century colonial mansion distinguished by its Royal Blue facade, white window grilles, and historical significance

Located on the northern coast of Peru, Huanchaco is an internationally recognized surfing reserve and a historic fishing town famous for its caballitos de totora (traditional reed watercraft)

Chan Chan is the largest pre-Columbian city in South America and the largest adobe (earthen) city in the world. Located on the desert coast of northern Peru near modern-day Trujillo, it served as the capital of the powerful Chimú Kingdom from approximately 850 CE until its fall to the Inca Empire in 1470