CALLAO (LIMA) PERU

January 14 -16, 2025, 7:00 AM, 68 Degrees, 89% Humidity, Broken Clouds, Winds 8mph

Machu Picchu is the most famous landmark in Peru. It’s the reason we were in Callao for three days. Unfortunately, this Blog is not about that site! We’ve always been interested in Machu Picchu; it definitely would have been on our Bucket List 20 years ago (maybe even 10) but we decided not now. The Excursion book described it as “Strenuous”. A large group left the ship early Tuesday morning to travel by plane, train and bus to Machu Picchu, made the steep climb and returned to the ship just before sail-away.

Callao is the port from which Norwegian explorer and writer, Thor Heyerdahl sailed the Kon-Tiki in 1947. Heyerdahl and a crew of five sailed their balsawood raft for 101 days riding the wind and sea currents for 4,300 miles. When they reached Raroia in Tuamotus, Heyerdahl had achieved his goal – to show people from South America could have successfully sailed to Polynesia.

Callao certainly is not a scenic port but it’s very “entertaining.” Although it’s the port for Lima and cruise ships do dock there, it is primarily a busy commercial port for container ships, oil tankers, roll-on-roll-off vessels and bulk carriers. It is the 4th largest commercial port in South America, handling over 43 million tons of cargo annually. We had a bulk grain carrier next to us (it appeared to be carrying corn). For the entire time we were in Callao, three large overhead cranes with clamshell jaws worked from sunup to sundown unloading its cargo into waiting trucks. They were still unloading as we pulled out of port. On the other side were large cranes loading (and later unloading from a second ship) containers which go on flatbed trucks and/or trains. The cranes on this side of the Zuiderdam stand 294’ tall and work 24 hours a day. There’s a structure the size of a train car (or larger) at the top of the cranes. We heard the crane’s operator has an apartment in the structure and only comes down occasionally – it is quite a climb! Might be an Urban Myth!

Lima itself is a beautiful city with many historical cathedrals and buildings. There was lots to see and do in the old City. Many fellow travelers visited Miraflores, a modern shopping and residential area outside of Lima. We visited a market with many bright and colorful items for sale. John treated me to a pretty blue wrap with a llama design and tassels (not sure it was “authentic” although many items at the market were). I also bought a brightly colored baseball cap to wear for water aerobics (hopefully the colors are waterproof)!!

The last night on the World Stage, the Dance Company Un Peru Para Todos entertained. Their program was entitled “Peru, Land of Customs and Traditions”. There were eight dancers in colorful costumes and a 5-piece band. The dances represented the four regions of Peru. The music was special, especially those songs that featured the haunting Peruvian single pipe flute.

It was a fitting end to a beautiful time in Peru. Now we are heading to Easter Island, SW at a course of 236.95 degrees at 18 kts. It’s 2,400+ miles and four and a half sea days away!!