January 11, 2025
LIMA, PERU to CUSCO, PERU
On the morning of 1/3/25, I left the Ship with 10 other residents and flew from the airport in Lima to Cusco, on an excursion that we cobbled together ourselves. We arrived in CUSCO by noon and started taking our altitude medications. Cusco is in the Peruvian Andes at an elevation of 11,152' , which is a big jump from the sea level where we have been residing. A dull headache was the symptom most of us had. We grabbed a quick lunch and went on a 3 hour walking tour of the City. Above is central town square Plaza de Armas.
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The tour ended with complimentary Pisco sours, we had dinner at a local Mexican hot spot and ice cream on the way back to our hotel.
We had a beautiful sunny day to explore Wellington ! Was a very nice change from the stormy, big swells weather we have had the last two days! Wellington is the Capital city of New Zealand and the CBD is nice and big with lots of shops and museums. We didn't make it to the LOTR studios due to the time crunch but we took the cable car up to the top, for a scenic overlook of the port and then leisurley walk down through the Botantical Gardens, parks and historical cemetary.
Rotorua became a bonus city for us. Our Port stay in Tauranga got cut down to one day, due to NZ biosecurity regulations and since we really wanted to do Hobbiton, we decided to get off the ship and stay in hotels and get back on the ship, in a few days. Due to a variety of factors, the Ship ended up doing a quick pick up of us in Tauranga, three days later. The Kiwi's we encountered along the way, who helped with all our last minute details, were amazingly kind, hospitable and generous. Below is our tired, chilly group huddled at the security shed, outside the Port in the wee hours (1:30 am) Monday morning, awaiting our final hurdle of getting back on our Home. Home sweet home! What an adventure!
Rotorua, New Zealand is known for it's geothermal activity ( geysers, mud pools, hot springs) and rich Maori culture . I saw lots of that last time I was here in 2016, so this time I wanted to see their Redwoods in Whakarewarewa Forest. John and Colleen joined me in exploring. Their redwoods are smaller than the ones in Muir Woods California, but still impressive. Both are planted forest dating back to around 1908.