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Bear's Tale
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Thursday July 27, 2000
Training Ship GOLDEN BEAR
POSITION:
Latitude: 16o
40’ S
Longitude: 74o
51’ W STATUS: Enroute from Chile to Peru. The
air temperature is 66o
degrees
F., relative humidity is 71 %, and sea temperature is 61 degrees. Sky is once again overcast with a continuous marine layer of
stratus clouds. The
visibility is good and the winds are less than 15 knots.
The 6-10 foot sea and swell are following on the quarter causing
the ship to gently and slowly roll 5°
from side to side. The ride is smooth and relaxing but my office chair
keeps rolling away from this laptop’s keyboard as I am writing this.
We arrived at the Valparaiso Pilot station exactly on time at 0730
hours. The pilot came on
board (an Admiral in the Chilean Naval Reserve) and with the assistance of
two tugs, we were docked by 0815. Although
there are several modern commercial piers available in Valparaiso, we were
hosted by the Chilean Navy and berthed at the naval pier (mole).
There were naval vessels moored both ahead and astern of us but we
fit in between them just fine. The
pier is actually the backside of a breakwater that forms the inner harbor
from the relatively small bay. It is cement-topped with a road running
along its harbor side. Sometimes
during the winter months, storm-generated seas crash completely over the
breakwater, flood the road and create a bronco ride for berthed ships that
chose not to undock and go to anchor.
Thankfully, there were no such tempests during our port stay.
We were officially cleared into the country of Chile, and by 10 AM
the crew were beginning to go ashore.
Because the GOLDEN BEAR is a public vessel of the United
States, the American Embassy in Santiago arranged a diplomatic clearance
into Chile for us. We work
through the U.S. Embassy’s Defense Attache Office in Santiago.
Santiago is the capital of Chile and is located about 35 kilometers
ESE from Valparaiso and is situated right at the base of the Andes
Mountains. Just east of the city, these mountains rise steeply to their
towering peaks. Unlike many other places in the world, there are not many
miles of coastal plain inland from the seashore before you reach the top
of the continental divide. The reason that the Andes appear so close is
because they are. In July, being the dead of winter, the entire range of
Andes mountains, not just their peaks, are completely covered in snow.
They appear as a continuous white line as far as you can see north
and south.
Everyone was anxious to get off of the ship. It had been a long
time at sea since the last port. On the day of arrival, the weather was
hazy to the point where it was almost foggy.
Later in the day, the visibility did improve but the sky became
cloudy and the temperature turned chilly. Nobody really noticed the
weather. They were just glad
to be on terra-firma.
As I mentioned, the ship was on a diplomatic clearance arranged by
the U.S. State Department and was hosted by the Chilean Navy.
Normally, this arrangement would trigger protocol requirements
consisting of official “calls” to senior Military Officers and Port
Officials and probably a reception hosted onboard.
However, Captain Keever and cruise one met all of our official
obligations so the crew were free to immediately go ashore, explore the
town and meet its inhabitants. Believe
me, no grease on the gangway was necessary to expedite people off of the
ship. Everyone had ball-bearings in their shoes.
During the first night in port, a weak cold front weather system
passed through. The wind came
up to about 25 knots and we experienced blustery rain showers.
The next morning dawned as crisp and clear as you can possibly
imagine. Even more so than I
described for the day prior to arrival (last hotline message).
The wind had subsided to just a smooth sea breeze.
Not a cloud was in the sky and you could see forever.
Boy, did we get lucky ! Although the temperature was only about 60
degrees, the weather remained lovely for the next two days – just as
though we ordered it ! The clear and sunny conditions were simply
incredible, especially after so many overcast days prior to our arrival.
It made the experience of the town even more enjoyable.
Many Chileans call Valparaiso the “San Francisco” of South
America. It is similar in
weather pattern and climate and is nearly the same latitude south as San
Francisco is north. Valparaiso
is the busiest sea port in Chile and is a modern commercial port in every
respect. There is a major sea front boulevard and rail line that run north
up the shoreline from the downtown area.
Like San Francisco, Valparaiso and surrounding cities are comprised
of steep hills traversed by a grid of city streets.
Most of the high-rise buildings are apartments, but there are many
old large stone public buildings as well as newer business buildings.
Valparaiso even has a cable car. Unlike San Francisco however, its rails
and cable do not run subterranean but rather along a raised trestle that
looks like a wooden roller coaster structure.
It is very old but still operational. One difference Valparaiso has
from San Francisco, or any major American city really, is the shear number
of public statues. There are large statues of one kind or another
everywhere. Chileans love their statues: military heroes, conquers,
martyrs, villains, patron saints, political figures and Inca chieftains.
Their history is celebrated in sculpture.
Although they have very interesting and numerous museums, you
don’t have to go to one to get a sense of the history – just look at
the statues and read their plaques. The
architecture is old but stately, and adds to the historical sense of the
country and the age of its values. Indeed, Chile is a mosaic of European
and Inca Indian cultural influences.
It is truly a cosmopolitan country.
Chile is the birthplace of Nobel
laureate poet and statesman, Pablo Neruda.
Just a few kilometers up the coast is another city called Viña del
Mar. Viña is the resort town
for the Capital during the summer months.
It is very upscale and boasts a classic casino built in the 1920s.
It reminds you of something you might see in Monaco, complete with
a dapper black-tie 007 sitting at the Baccarat table.
It is very classy. There
are fine restaurants everywhere in Viña.
Chile is very Spanish-like with respect to its daily routine.
Shops and businesses close in the afternoon and the night life is
much later than we Americans are used to.
Dinner is typically not taken until 9 or 10 PM and is both a formal
and a social occasion. It is
not polite to just consume food and leave.
No, no, the experience of dining is a ritual that celebrates both
decorum and company. After
the evening meal, it is then time to partake of the city’s night-life.
During the weekend (which it was when we were here), the Chileans
seem to go all night !
One of the things that we immediately noticed in Chile was how
kind, sociable and friendly the people are.
They cheerily say “hola” in greeting as you pass on the street. Wow, you don’t find much of that in our society ! And if
you’re lost, just ask someone and if they can’t help because of the
language, they will at least try to assist and point the way if you can at
least identify a street name, landmark or something.
I suppose this ubiquitous sociability explains why they dance and
drink into the wee hours of the morning.
Because they keep long evening hours, their day usually begins
about 9 AM (after coffee and croissants of course).
Lunch is at 1-2 PM and is followed by a sort of siesta time where
shops and many retail businesses close down for a few hours.
Personally I kind of like the lifestyle, but as a trained American
(don’t let a single wasted minute go by) capitalist, I would have to be
completely re-indoctrinated; starting with a fundamental resetting of my
circadian clock. Ahh, what price for fame and fortune we Americans are
willing to pay, yea verily.
The third day was as beautiful as the second and on the morning of
the fourth day, we rested. No,
that’s not it – oh yeah, we got underway instead.
Being so close to the end of the breakwater and the open sea just
beyond, the ship’s departure from port was a short and sweet affair.
A little tug pull here, a little rudder turn there – a kick ahead
with the engine and in no time at all we were clear of the harbor and I
was wishing the pilot good luck in the future.
Fifteen minutes tops and we were at sea again. Luckily, it was Sunday and the crew could rest after their
three-day rest.
Our kindred but tired spirits were riding high as we set a
north-westerly course, which by the way, is the direction home.
The fact that the longitude departing Valparaiso is actually EAST
of New York City is not germane to this festive mood.
All that matters is that the course ain’t southerly !
I’ll write again after departure Peru..
CAPTAIN |
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