Chile aboard Crystal Serenity

Underway from Valparaiso

2.8.17 - 2.9.17 65 °F

After about a 2 hour drive from Santiago to Valparaiso, through countryside that reminded me of Southern California, we boarded the ship. Our bags were already in the cabin, and, after the mandatory life boat drill we headed to Prego, the Italian specialty restaurant, for our first dinner. It was excellent, and the clam linguini with locally procured clams was superb.

We got underway about 2300 as we had to wait for a cruisetour group that was coming in from and excursion to Machu Picchu. We were expecting some swells during the night, but they were nothing exceptional.

Today is a sea day, and we got to experience some of the great lecturers that is a hallmark of Crystal Cruises, especially on the World Cruise, of which this is a segment.

Our first speaker was General Michael Hayden USAF (Ret), former Director of the CIA from 2006 - 2009. His talk on Cyber Security in today's world was exceptional.

After lunch, our afternoon speaker was former Rep Martin Frost, D-TX, who spoke on "US Electoral College - Antique or Keeper". He did an excellent job, and it was a pleasant and welcome event to have a mature intelligent discussion on a topic of great debate, regardless of which side of the aisle you sit on. There were some very interesting questions from the audience, especially from those not from the USA.