Day 5 – Maratina, Peru

Day 5 – Nov 23- Maratina, Peru

The port is very industrial and the nearest town – Maratina – is small with no tourist attractions.

The ship offered a complimentary shuttle bus to a town called Mallena, about 30 minutes away. There wasn’t much there either and we were warned that the town didn’t accept credit cards or USD – so we needed to have or get local currency. A money changer and an ATM were available nearby the spot where the shuttle bus drop off.

Arequipa

The main purpose for this port stop is to allow guests to visit Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru, a two and ½ hour ride away.
Before the cruise, I inquired about hiring a local company for a private transfer, but they were the same price that Seabourn was charging and for traveling so far from the port, its nice to be inside the cruise ship excursion bubble if something goes awry. (Which proved helpful this time.)

The tour’s meeting spot was on the pier where we were directed to one of 3 busses taking part. Each bus appeared to be about ¾ full.
The bus ride was over nice roads for the most part, but toward the end, we took a detour due to road construction which was quite bumpy. The landscape was barren until we closed on Arequipa when we spotted some greenery for the first time. There wasn’t much to look at until we got closer to some of the extinct volcanic cones that are visible from the city including: Misti, Pichu Pichu and Chachani. Arequipa is about 7,500 feet above sea level.

The Monastery of Santa Catalina

We arrived in Arequipa about 12:15 pm and walked 2 blocks through narrow streets to get to The Monastery of Santa Catalina which was established in 1580 and was home to over 400 nuns when it was at its peak. Most of the nuns moved out in 1970 so that it could be restored and opened as a museum.

Two tour guides met our bus and we divided ourselves in half with each guide taking about 15 people for the 45-minute tour. The guides spoke excellent English and were very knowledgeable about the monastery and what life was like back when it was in active use.

After the tour we walked a few blocks back to the main plaza called “Plaza de Armas” which is the center of old town Arequipa. We were given about 1 hour to explore the area and get some lunch.

There were a lot of choices of places to eat along the nearby streets. The weather was perfect, so we headed off in the direction our guide said had most of the cafes and restaurants including fast food. We elected to grab some fast food, so we would have more time to explore the area afterwards. We discovered a nice food court with USA Brands – KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Starbucks which fit the bill of something quick and predictable.

After eating we spent the rest of our time wandering around the Plaza de Armas which was beautiful and was lined with the Basilica of Arequipa, some municipal buildings and shops.

Our guide was 15 minutes late for our meeting time due to some issue with paying the bill at the traditional restaurant she chose for anyone interested in more traditional Peruvian fare. This delay required us to walk the ½ mile to our next stop at a faster pace than we would have preferred, and the rest of the tour felt rushed as we had to meet our bus at 3:30 PM.

Mundo Alpaca

By the time we arrived at Mundo Alpaca, we only had a few minutes to feed the Alpaca’s and had to skip the museum and other parts of the tour so we would have time to shop. They didn’t have the type of yarn that Judy was looking for, but since we visited on Black Friday, everything was 50% off which made the normally high prices reasonable.

Not many people bought anything, so the shopping part was done quickly, and we boarded the bus for our 2.5 hour drive back to the ship. In retrospect, I would have preferred to have been dropped off at the Plaza Armas at noon and given 3.5 hours to explore on our own. After I reviewed the tour description I realized that we were not supposed to go to the Monastery but only Mundo Alpaca. A different tour would go only to the Monastery, but not Mundo Alpaca. Our tour combined both spots, which some people may have enjoyed, but it did cut back our free time.

The drive back was 2.5 hours and we arrived on the pier about 6 PM. The ship was scheduled to depart at 6 PM, but they waited for us to arrive and the Quest departed about 20 minutes late.

2 Hour Time Change!

Today was our last day in Peru and we arrive in Arica, Chile, tomorrow which is in a different time zone – 2 hours ahead requiring us to advance our clocks this evening. To allow everyone to get more sleep, they moved the evening show to 6:45 instead of 9:45. As an extra treat, the 4 Seabourn Singers performed classical songs by the pool for about 45 minutes from 5:45 to 6:30. Caviar and Champagne was served in this wonderful setting during the show and we were blessed with gorgeous weather. Since we were late returning from our tour, I could only catch the singer’s final number – Time to Say Goodbye written by Francesco Sartori and Lucio Quarantotto and first performed by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman in 1996. The performance was fantastic and they will have an encore performance later in our next cruise segment.

Room Service Dinner

After our long day we didn’t feel like leaving our cabin, so we ordered dinner from the room service menu. During normal meal hours, room service includes the menu from “The Restaurant” in addition to the normal in-room menu. Judy ordered the Sea Scallops from The Restaurant and I ordered the New York Strip Steak from the normal room service menu. We also ordered appetizers, prosciutto and melon (always available) in addition to a shrimp cocktail.

About 45 minutes later our waiter arrived in our room. He set up our table with a table cloth and the normal service you would find in the dining room. He dropped off the appetizers and desserts first and returned a few minutes later with the main courses. The food was delicious as always and is a nice alternative when you don’t feel like venturing outside your cabin.

This entry was posted in Arequipa, Matarani, Peru, South America

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