Iqueque, Chile February 3

Last night we had to set our clocks two hours ahead so it was a short night for everyone, especially the crew who have to work late into the evening and then be up for the early morning shifts.  We did not wake up until 8 am but we were not scheduled for a tour until after 1 pm.  The docks in this port had been damaged in a recent earthquake so we were supposed to anchor and then use the ship tender boats to reach the buses on shore.  The first group of about 80 passengers were able to make it ashore but the captain came on the speaker system and stated that the swell had increased and shifted a bit and it was much too dangerous to get anyone else ashore.  It took a long time to get the 80 passengers back on board.  About 2 pm the captain came back on and said we would leave when the ship was cleared by the local authorities and two more people were back. We had not sailed by the time we went up to the observation lounge for drinks before dinner and about 6:30 we finally saw the tender coming back to the ship.  Noel and a few other passengers went out on the deck to see who was on the tender.  We were surprised to see that the platform used for getting on and off the tender boats had been already stowed and we wondered how the two people and the crew would get back on board.  The next thing we saw was a rope ladder being lowered to the tender (this is the way the pilots get on and off the ship).  Then the first person grabbed the ladder and climbed up, surprise!  it was the young man who does the specialty act and then his female partner climbed up the ladder.  This couple had no problem getting up the ladder as they are really strong and do all sorts of acrobatic skills and strength moves during the shows including her (she must weigh about 80 pounds) supporting him.  Good thing it was not two passengers!  We got under way immediately and were able to sail a bit slower as we have a day at sea before reaching our next port.

The city of Iqueque

Port area with the hills beyond