Finally we get to go onland. It is another tender port, so up early to get a ticket to get off the ship. Got off on the first tender so all is good. We had booked a private tour again outside of the ship that we were really looking forward to, it did not disappoint.
This tour was put together by an American that wanted to try to bring some tourism back into the mountains for the locals. It has been running for years now, she is trying to turn it over to the locals to run themselves. There are only about 20 ships that stop here a year, we are off the beaten track.
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| Tender boat |
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| Tender boats going back and forth to the cruise ship |
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| Waiting for the start of the tour, the cows are waiting too |
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| Our first stop is at Simpson River National Reserve. We are given a short time to go for a walk on our own to explore, never enough time! |
Next stop is at Cascade de la Virgen falls. Very pretty falls, but we are very spoiled after visiting Iguazu falls and have turned into falls snobs. This stop is right on the busy road, and many people stop here, it was a little crazy.
Next we drive through the mountains for lunch. It is very rural now, with farms and and rivers flowing, we loved this part of the tour. I had visions of us going somewhere with 100's of tourists again from the ship, but we had a fantastic lunch stop.
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| To cross the river we all had to get off the mini bus and walk over the bridge. Absolutely beautiful. The empty bus with just the driver followed us. No big tour buses here! |
Ymmm, arrived at the farm that will serve us lunch. Greeted with Pisco Sour.
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| These 2 young people displayed some traditional dance and costumes for us. They are taking traditional dance lessons and came to show us. |
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| One of the girls at the farm had knit touques for sale, $6.00 and a new touque for Wendy. Anyone that had a dog at home was missing their pets, this dog got lots of love! |
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| Building they have set up to serve lunch and cook lamb. This is a family run business, we met Granny, Dad, Mom and kids, all working. |
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| Little bridge we needed to walk over again before the bus could come over. |
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| Back at this pretty little port after a fantastic day |
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| we are off cruising again and met with some amazing views from the ship |
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| Wendy with her binoculars |
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| Some did use the hot tubs even in this cold weather. Hot tubs would have been fine, getting out not so much |
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| One of our favorite spots to sit outside |
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