#57 Reminiscing PB88: Callao (Port 20)

What is Peace Boat?

¡Hola! (Hello in Spanish)

• Date: 2015/11/3 – 2015/11/6
• Port Name: Callao
• Country: Peru
• First time there?: Yes!
• What did I do?:
  • Day 1: Traveled to Lima from Callao to stay the night before our morning flight the next day. The ceviche dinner was yums.
  • Day 2: From Lima, we flew to Cusco and stayed the night at the home of a local family in the little quaint town in the mountains. The house was modest with a courtyard and rooms on four (or three?) sides.
  • Day 3: Machu Picchu, with a hike up Wayna Picchu
  • Day 4: Went back to Lima and spent the rest of the day chilling with stray cats at the town square.

You know, my favorite Disney movie was the Emperor’s New Groove for a long time. I loved that scene where Kuzco pauses the movie and explains his situation with a red marker, I remember thinking that it was SO revolutionary at that time because I’d never seen a character from a movie breaking the fourth wall like that before.

And to be completely completely honest, just like a lot of other things I learned from the cruise, I didn’t know about Machu Picchu before the trip, let alone knowing anything about the connection between it and the setting of a favorite Disney movie. I don’t know when it was exactly that I had the realization (before reaching Peru? or after reaching Peru?) but I definitely made Lucia watch the Emperor’s New Groove for one of our roomie movie nights at some point because she hadn’t seen it. Still good after all these years! I love Kronk and his deep voice and tiny waist.

Source (left)

Postcard for the family:

Next port: Papeete!

#55 Reminiscing PB88: Cristobal (Port 19)

What is Peace Boat?

¡Hola!

• Date: 2015/10/29 (Panama Canal on 2015/10/30)
• Port Name: Cristobal
• Country: Panama
• First time there?: Yes!
• What did I do?: Interpreting for a tour to the watch swamp animals and to witness the workings of the Panama Canal

So what happened was we first visited Cristobal city before passing the Panama Canal the following day.  I was translating for a tour to visit how the Panama Canal works and the whole system of locks and rising and lowering of the water. It was really cool because unlike the Suez Canal where they essentially just dug and dug the ground to create a passage at sea level for ships to cross. Conversely, the Panama Canal involves a series of locks and gates that carries a ship up from the Atlantic to a lake at a higher altitude, then back down again towards the Pacific (or the other way round). The canal was undergoing expansion when we were there. I think now they have two lanes so there’s less traffic jams.

Passing through the Panama Canal. It was rainy. Staff had a day off because it was assumed that all passengers would be distracted by the passing sights (including Panama City from afar!) and naturally, they were. We played basketball on the rooftop court in the rain.

Postcard for the family:

Next port: Callao, Peru!

#54 Reminiscing PB88: Belize City (Port 18)

What is Peace Boat?

Hello!

• Date: 2015/10/26
• Port Name: Belize City
• Country: Belize
• First time there?: Yes!
• What did I do?: Interpreting for a snorkeling tour

We took a boat out to a popular snorkeling spot then had lunch at an uninhabited island. It was one of the most hilarious interpreting experiences I had because I wasn’t an expert in fish and coral reef terms, let alone knowing these very specific terms in Japanese. Also the timing was very tricky because whenever a cool fish showed up, the guide needed to come up to the surface to give us information about it and by that time I would’ve lost my visual reference. After 20 minutes or so of trying, I think most people just gave up trying to listen to the guide and me and just floated away enjoying their own time. The water was clean and clear but I don’t remember seeing much impressive fish or coral, but this was perhaps because I was just too occupied and/or stressed.

After the snorkeling trip we still had a few hours to kill so we hung out at the jetty and parts of the city for wifi time and a supermarket run respectively. I remember feeling like we were stepping into a shady area once we went beyond the wall (?) separating the jetty area and the city area. This was in contrast to the jetty side with several cute cafes and shops catered to tourists and an unobstructed view of the beautiful ocean. Its’s like allowing us outsiders to visit the place “just as we like it” aka only enjoying the bright and shiny side whereas its real but darker side which, no question, is full of beautiful people and authentic culture was just a few steps away.

Painted train tracks. Doesn’t this look like it could be Malaysia?

Postcard for the family:

Next port: Panama City!