The Andersons' South American Misadventure

For those of you who are at home and looking for something to watch. Look up the "Quincy, MD" show from 1981 title "Slow Boat to Madness" Parts 1 & 2. When I first heard about the Diamond Princess I thought of that show. We have no one sick on here but are being treated as if we are a ship of lepers. If you are bored I would appreciate any support from you in the form of contacting your senators, congressional reps or anyone connected with the State Department. Well, unless you do not want us home, in that case, keep quiet and do not contact anyone.

We woke up this morning to calm water because we were at anchor off the coast of Chile. After negotiations Valparaiso agreed to allow us to refuel and to restock. Sanantonio would have nothing to do with us. We were not allowed to come along side the dock. A refueling boat came out to take care of that. Watching them load the food was interesting. Usually when they load food onto the ship they use forklifts to bring entire pallets of food at one time. All of the food was being brought to the ship by little boats with cranes on them. They had everything on smaller pallets. I watched the try to load big boxes of fruit. I know that we have fresh oranges, bananas, mangoes, tomatoes and carrots. They would try to lift a pallet with this little crane and the boat would tilt so they would put the pallet down. At one point they were handing up big boxes of fruit one at a time. One person told me that they did see beer being loaded. This morning Rob wanted two blueberry pancakes but was told ...

After a lot of negotiations we will be allowed to restock and refuel in Valparaiso. Sanantonio would not allow the ship even in their harbor. Now when I say that we are restocking and refueling in Valparaiso we will not be allowed to dock there. The ship will be at anchor. All supplies will be brought out to the ship by small boats with small cranes and is expected to last 24 hours. You know that I will be taking pictures. The fact that they are loading a 21 day supply makes me a tad uneasy but I will tell you that the bananas on the Lido are a little sad. I hope that they have a good recipe for banana bread. Chile has decided that they needed our passports back so that they can do an exit stamp. Luckily they did it by floor so I did not have to battle a lot of people. I should have gone later but what else am I doing with my time? As I stoop in line I kept trying to practice “social distancing.” People did not get that concept. Even when I would cough they were too close. BACK OFF. ...

Yeah, we can see land, but they will not allow us in. Most people are dealing well with things on board but some are not. This morning we witnessed two ladies fighting over the same table at breakfast. Seriously ladies there are other tables. Get a grip this could go on even longer. We are keeping busy, today I went to knitting and started a new project. My knitting needles for my other project are starting to separate. I tried to tape them with Scotch tape but that did not work. I asked for a piece of electrical tape but could not get a piece. I know that this is a minor problem, but as I keep saying "It is much easier to deal with the crazy lady if she has her knitting to keep her calm." If someone could get a set of 7mm bamboo circular needles to me I would really appreciate it. Rob and I took a tango lesson. It is good for us and I know that we will get the hang of it eventually. Rob keeps telling me that I need to sense his feet and not watch them. Yeah, but my toes a...

Anderson South America Misadventure Day 14 – Cruising the Chilean Fjords “Lets Make Lemonade Out of these Lemons” If you are keeping track, yes, I labeled yesterday as 14, but it was 13. Somehow I lost a couple of days in there, but considering all that is happening I think that I am doing pretty well. I woke up this morning to grey skies and knew that I would not get sunrise in the fjords. I got online while I could since when everyone gets on the free wifi it bogs down. I went to our knitting group and discovered that my circular needles that were separating and I taped together are not holding. I need to find a stronger tape. I am hoping that I can get some electrical tape or that project is on hold until I get home. I decided to go out to shoot pictures of the fjords. I am sure that in better light it could look better, but I liked the play of light and shadow that I did get. I spent about 90 minutes outside shooting. I kept changing sides of the ship and missed a great waterfall ...

We kept getting updates about our going ashore. We had a wellness check that they did by floor. You lined up in a hallway with little ventilation and waited your turn. It was finally my turn. Of course I was stressed and had a hot flash. The nurse used a thermometer that does not have to touch you. She looked at the thermometer and said "uh oh." Turned it off then back on and tried again. Again, "uh oh." Now the hot flash is really going. She gets a different thermometer, this one goes in the ear. I got a 37.1 which is fine. They are looking for a temp between 36 and 38. Rob asked what happens if someone is below 36. The officer chuckled and said that they would have a talk with them. Back to the room, do we start to pack? I got a cryptic email from Victoria telling us that when we got off of the ship do not look at anyone, do not make eye contact do not talk to anyone unless they are an officer. On the bus pull the shade down and lean away from the window. OK, od...

Last night I got all of my camera equipment ready to use so that I could catch the sunrise on the fjords. Rob woke up early and it was still pretty early and dark. I figured that I could get dressed, have a quick breakfast and head out for taking pictures. Then I hear Rob go "Oh no." There was a note under the door from the captain. Never the way to start the day. The Chilean government had closed their ports to cruise ships as of 8:00 am this morning so we turned around and headed back to Punta Arenas arriving at 2:30 am. We are not at the dock. OK, announcement to follow. We are back in Punta Arenas, maybe I can get to that yarn store today. The captain announced later that the Chilean government shut the ports to cruise ships as of midnight. Nice, change the rules. They were negotiating with the government to allow us to dock. This was where our cruise would end, not Santiago. Oh, it must be a lot of fun to find flights out of here. If you booked your flight through Holl...