Some gentle moaning and groaning … and sleeping

Kraken near Aurora

A strange incident yesterday as I was going to sleep. An offshore camera picked up this picture of Aurora as it passed the notorious Nazca Zone where lines of force and strange effects converge. With a roll call later on it was discovered that four of the larger passengers and two crew were missing and part of the antennae had gone AWOL, leaving no trace behind. Cue spooky music. 

And then I woke up. I know. You’re not allowed to end the story like that, but having a Kraken attacking the ship was too good to miss!

After dinner it was (very) early to bed, not just because neither of us was feeling great but because the clocks had gone back another hour. Two on the trot. As the evening wore on it became evident that I was developing (another) cold and my running nose and thick head kept me awake a good part of the night. But there was plenty of the night so there was a certain amount of balance and time to think about the Kraken!

Headlands near the port of Callau

We woke around 6:30am (unheard of in normal circumstances) and were greeted by fog with headlands looming out of the haze. The ship’s whistle kept sounding with a dull foghorn resonance, bouncing around in the misty murk. The thought of some tiny fishing boat seeing the bulk of Aurora rearing out of the haze, horn sounding, is the stuff of nightmares! 

Cranes seeming to float over one of the tugs

As we approached closer, dockyard cranes floated bizarrely on top of the fog. Dozens of brown heron like birds kept circling the ship as we manoeuvred into port. 

We were heading into Callau which is the port for Lima in Peru. Because of the civil disturbances here, we’re not staying, but using it as a service call to load with supplies and to drop off some guests who are heading off on a trip the Galápagos Islands. 

Seaspan Breeze

Our view for the day was to be, we at first thought, the lovely giant container ship, Seaspan Breeze, whose name Gabrielle reckons is more appropriate for a fabric conditioner. The four giant cranes in the foggy sunrise photo were working away, loading this vessel to take them to far-flung parts. However, we did a shimmy - as much as something this size can shimmy - and docked facing east across Callau with market stalls on the quayside below us. 

As Gabrielle reported yesterday, the local authorities organised a local traders’ market to be set up on the quayside inside our secure area. The security staff had the possibility of working overtime to protect guests from any protests, but in the end nothing materialised, thankfully. 

Market traders on the quayside

The crowds milling around the stalls indicated that there was an appetite for souvenirs although quite how you buy something to remind you of a country you have only technically visited beats me. 

Gabrielle lured me into having breakfast in the a la carte restaurant this morning - something we’ve never done before. She was fed up with the bun fight up in Horizon restaurant and fancied something elegant and sophisticated! So she had fruit, toast and smashed avocado while I had eggs Benedict. We may repeat the process, as it was rather good. 

Soup?

Signs around the ship are often good for a laugh and here are a couple that may amuse. The injunction to use tongs when serving oneself soup ranks fairly highly although not as highly as that of the signage on the platforms at Penrith railway station - if you’re not aware, look it up

Sign behind all toilets

Another that fully baffles me and makes me ask why didn’t someone rewrite this, is the one above our toilet in our cabin. 

The day has largely comprised me sighing, groaning, sneezing and falling asleep. Gabrielle surrendered all pretence of being brave and took to her bed this afternoon and I sat out on the balcony, dozing to the chorus of whistles, beeps, roaring noises and general dockside cacophony. And yes, I still slept! It’s probably a good job our tours over these two days were cancelled because we may not have been able to do them. We now have about three days to get ourselves ship-shape, ready for a trip in Ecuador at the Machalilla National Park.