The Panama Canal is a 51 mile long, artificially created waterway, connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Locks at each end lift ships up to the Gatun Lake, 85 feet above sea level, before lowering them again at the other end. An average of 52 million gallons of…

We did three things over the last 2 days – you’ve guessed it, painting, reading and sunbathing! 😎

Last night during dinner, the captain announced that we had two medical emergencies onboard and that we had no choice but to return to Lima. We arrived at approximately 2.30 am and left at 6.30 am. This morning the captain confirmed the sad loss of chef Richard and advised us…

Tragically, early this morning, it was discovered that a member of the crew had gone overboard. Queen Victoria therefore had to turn around and retrace the last 50 miles to the point where the crew believe he went over. We are nearly out of light, but, having searched all day,…

Having decided against venturing into Lima on our own today, we did however spend a good hour in the artisan market which had set up right next to the ship. We easily spent all our Peruvian currency and came home laden down with locally made wares. All we need now…

Peru has a population of 33 million and is the third largest country in South America. It comprises arid desert on the coast, rising to the towering peaks of the Andes which extend from the north to the south-east, before descending to tropical rainforest (the Amazon) in the east. Peru…

This morning we did NOT leap out of bed as Bridge was awake half the night so Paul let her sleep until 10.40! After shrieking with horror at the lateness of the hour, Bridge leapt into action and, in spite of the delay in proceedings, we still managed to get…

Lazy day today. We did our painting class this morning and had such a good chuckle with our painting group, grumbling about the rubbish shore excursions! 😆 Also, *drumroll*, the sun came out and it was properly warm (woohoo!) so we lazed around the pool in the afternoon and Paul…

Coquimbo is a port city in Chile and the capital of the Elqui province. The city merges with La Serena to the north and, between the two, they have a combined population of 400,000 people. Charles Darwin visited Coquimbo in May 1835, whilst on his HMS Beagle voyage. When we…