Pisco/Nazca Lines, Peru

            Tuesday, 19 Dec 2023 – At 7:00 AM, the ship was scheduled to dock at Pisco, a small port city of about 220 km from Lima.  Pisco is a place blessed by nature.  There are plenty of beautiful, clean beaches in the middle of the vast expanse of desert with varying climates throughout the year.  The contrast between desert and sea is captivating, making it a great spot to marvel at the beauty.  Pisco was very near the epicenter of the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake which struck south central Peru on 15 Aug 2007.  Media officials reported that 80 percent of the city was destroyed, including the central San Clemente Cathedral of Pisco, in which Mass was taking place at the time of the earthquake.  The resulting dead account for a reported 30 percent of the total 519 fatalities caused by the earthquake.  The city is still recovering from the damage done during the earthquake.  Many passengers took advantage of an overflight tour of the Nazca Lines, a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru.  Although some local geoglyphs resemble Paracas motifs, scholars believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture between 400 and 650 AD.

After waking up, we went to our usual breakfast in the Terrace Café, followed by a long nap.  That afternoon, we boarded a shuttle into the city.  We had been told that the shuttles ran every 10 minutes, but it was more like every hour!  After waiting for about 10 minutes, we were allowed to board the crew shuttle, since there were lots of seats left after the crew had boarded.  (We were told that we would have to wait for another hour for the passenger shuttle.)

The ride into town was about 20 minutes, along a very long road with the sea on one side and desert on the other.  There was not much to see in the town other than several stalls, selling souvenirs.  Sally remarked that they all seemed to be selling the same merchandise.  We could see why so few crew members took the opportunity to take the shuttle into town!   So, after walking around for 10 minutes and taking a few photos, we reboarded the same shuttle for the return trip back to the ship.   Jesse had taken the same ride into town when we visited the port in February 2020, only Sally joined him this time.  Before reboarding the ship, we watched young dancers perform traditional Peruvian dances on the dock.  Sally thought that was a lot more interesting than the tour of the town.

Before dinner in the Terrace Café, we danced to the 4 Corners Band in the Horizons.  We ordered a glass of wine each at the Horizons, thinking that they would be complimentary.  However, we received a bill for $28.80!  Jesse went to guest services afterwards to have the charges reversed.  At first, the representative told him that he was not signed up for the benefit and asked that he retrieve the documents from his cabin showing that he was.  When he returned with the documentation, she had already learned of her error.  Then he learned that the “complimentary” wine/beer would only be available in restaurants or room service, not in the bars.  He had been told otherwise by another ship’s representative a few days earlier.  At any rate, the $28.80 charge was not reversed.  He was quite upset after the whole ordeal.  Especially after the dispute with another ship representative, previously, concerning our four complimentary shore excursions!  And to make things even worse, we didn’t even like the wine that we ordered!