DAY 9-PUERTO QUETZAL, GUATEMALA

WHAT A FIASCO:
       I have never seen a bigger fiasco on Regent than what happened yesterday evening.  Regent now insists on holding a mid cruise life boat drill on cruises of 14 nights or longer.  They say all cruise lines do it but that is not my experience.  So there was a "refresher" drill scheduled for 5:30 yesterday evening.  The problem was several tour buses did not return to the ship until 6:15 (an hour later than planned).  So then the Captain delayed the drill start instead of just rescheduling it to a later day.  He could have not mandated everyone go the their muster stations and just had refresher read over PA from bridge.  They have done this before on other Regent ships.  All 490 of us were made to go to the same muster station which is the theater so it takes a long time to get everyone in it.  The drill was not over until nearly 7:00.  So not only were the passengers inconvenienced, but more importantly, the crew was delayed in starting dinner service, cleaning the suites, and even several missing a chance to eat their dinner.  So now their 10 hour duty day was extended to 11+ hours.  All because the Captain was not flexible.  I hope I run into him sometime today so I can tell him my feelings.  I spoke to several senior officers and they agreed with me.  The drill should have been called off.  I was in no mood to dine with Jamie and Dana as planned so asked them if we could reschedule.  The ridiculous fiasco was not their fault at all.  I just thought it best if I cooled off some.

BACKGROUND/HISTORICAL INFO:
       Last night we sailed past the countries of Honduras and El Salvador both of which I flew into as a Captain for American Airlines.  This morning we arrived at Guatemala’s largest Pacific Ocean port, Puerto Quetzal. Guatemala is about the same size as Tennessee and until the 16th century was part of the great Mayan civilization.  They were conquered by the Spanish until becoming independent in 1821.  Since then they had several dictators and experienced a civil war from 1960 to 1996.  Today I think the best was to describe their political situation is as a corrupt democracy.  Well, that is kind of the way it is everywhere south of our border.  My opinion!
       Like the rest of Central America, Guatemala is characterized as mountainous with several volcanoes.  98% of its landmass is not urbanized but rather superb natural scenery.  Tourists come here for that reason.  They zipline, do white water rafting, do jungle treks, hike up volcanoes, and other outdoors activities.   The soil in the lowlands is very fertile volcanic soil along the Pacific coast. There are some massive sugar cane plantations in the lowlands as the country is 5th in sugar exporting.  Also exported is coffee, bananas, vegetables, and textiles.  Like Nicaragua the minimum wage is very low ($250 per month) in the countryside and $400 per month in the capital city, Guatemala City.  As a result there is a lot of crime so most businesses have armed guards.  

WHAT WE DID TODAY:
       Our tour today, “Casa Santo Domingo & Antigua “ was a scheduled 8 hour one.  It was a 1 ½ hour drive to Antigua which was the capital of Guatemala from 1543 to 1773 when it was destroyed by an earthquake.  Enroute we climbed from sea level to 4000 feet elevation.  The buildings in Antigua cannot be more than two stories and most are just one.  Many US students come to Antigua as there are many language schools for learning Spanish (“immersion”).  When I flew into Guatemala City, just 35 miles from here, I used to come buy hand carved and painted mahogany fruit of all kinds.  It was beautiful and made nice, inexpensive gifts.  Guatemalans are of Mayan descent, as I mentioned, so the women are no taller than 5 feet and not very attractive.  They are super nice and very courteous.  The kids are photogenic and very inquisitive.  The women and kids were everywhere and all trying to sell us tourists jewelry, blankets, and toys.
       These are photos of the “Casa Santo Domingo”.  It is a huge 5-star hotel now that was once a monastery.  There is a museum on the grounds of the hotel where they are still doing archaeological digs.  This is where we enjoyed a nice lunch.

                                     Warehouses are for sugar to be exported.

                                         Souvenir shops near cruise terminal.

                       Coal is imported from China for their electricity generating plants.

                                     Souvenir shops on way to our buses.

                                           Local bus polluting air

                                                  Active volcano

                                       Sugar cane fields in the lowlands

 

 Some coffee plants under the trees.  They us the trees to shade the coffee plants.

                                               Lots of roadside cooking

                                           Cobblestone streets in Antigua.

                         Really neat 5 star hotel.  Next several photos are of its grounds.

                                       Cathedral ruins from the 1773 earthquake.

                               Unlike Nicaragua yesterday, the streets here are clean.

                                            Cathedral on the Plaza Mayor.

MEET THE CREW:

       This is Khem from Nepal.  He is one of the four security guards aboard our ship and there is also a security officer.  Like most other crew members he works 10 hour days.  Khem worked for RCL cruise line for 8 years prior to being hired by Regent 9 years ago.  He has been on several of our cruises so is a very familiar person.  He is married and has 3 children and 3 dogs at home in Nepal. During his 2 month vacations he says he keeps busy fixing things around his house that his wife could not take care of while we was away for 8 months.  Yes, most of the crew works 8 month contracts.  I interviewed him at the gangway where guests have to check off and back on the ship when in ports.  There were 3 security guards working there this afternoon as the tour buses will be returning shortly.

       This is Elvis.  He has not left the building!!  Elvis is from the Philippines and is 44 years old and started working on the old Radisson Diamond cruise ship 12 years ago.  Radisson was later bought by Regent.  Rebecca and I have sailed on the Diamond a couple of times and it was one of the most unique cruise ships ever. Elvis started as a deck steward, then bar waiter before becoming a bartender.  He is very well know by many Regent passengers because is does an Elvis impersonation during the Krew Kapers (crew show for us passengers at the end of every segment).  He is married with a grown daughter and son. When on his vacations back in the Philippines he is looking to start a business so he can retire from the ships by 2019.

WHAT WE WILL BE DOING TONIGHT:
       We have asked Chef Michael to prepare some good ole southern fried chicken for 6 of us.  He stopped by our table during lunch to ask about my request for cream gravy.  If you ask for gravy on the ship it will be brown gravy.  So I explained how to make chicken gravy and he said he could do it. I remember during our South America cruise last spring, I asked him to make biscuits and sausage gravy for us.  I had to laugh when they delivered it to our suite for breakfast as the biscuits were like hard tacks.  He later told me he had to go to the internet to see how to make biscuits.  You have to remember he is South African and most of the other chefs on board are from the Philippines or some other country, NOT the USA.
       Tonight's show is a master ventriloquist, Don Bryan.  Will try to catch the show after dinner.  We sail this evening at 7:00pm and will be at sea tomorrow.