Glacier (WAGB 4) - Naval Cruise Book

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Peru 65

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GLACIER ' S first portcall outside of the U.S. was made from 12 through 15 November, 1984, at Callao, Peru. With almost 500,000 sq. mi. and approximately 18 million inhabitants, Peru is the third largest country in South America. It was a major portion of the Incan Empire. The Incas were advanced engineers; communications over an empire that stretched 3,000 miles N. to S. were maintained by extensive roads, and fiber cable sus- pension bridges over the sheer An- dean gorges. Incan architects also constructed some of the world ' s finest stone structures. Many of GLACIER ' S crewmembers took advantage of an organized tour to one of these beauti- ful cities in the Sierra of the Andes - Machu Picchu. The conquistador Pizzaro de- stroyed the Incan Empire, leading to Spanish rule until the revolutions led by Bolivar and San Martin (1820- 1824). Callao is a port city located about 10 mi. NW of Lima. It offered many of the crew their first taste of S. American culture - along with the opportunity to purchase wood, silver, llama, and alpaca. Callao also served to increase the vocabulary of GLACIER crew members with such native Peruvian phrases as: Pure baby alpaca , and, You buy, my friend? You buy? 64

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We arrived for our second port call in Valparai- so, Chile, on Nov. 20. Most of the crew spent their time sprawling on the beach in Vina Del Mar. Some took the day tour to Santiago, the capital of Chile some 70 miles inland. The rest contented them- selves with the more epicurean delights to be found among the closely built, a nd very weather- beaten houses of Valparaiso itself. Founded in 1536 by Viego De Almagro, Valparaiso was already inhabited by the Changos, an Indian tribe that lived off the sea and traveled the shores in canoes made of sea lion skins. The port lived a rather dull life until English privateers started to plunder the South American coast line in attacks against the Spanish throne. A lot of Chilean firsts happened in Valparaiso. The first Chilean newspaper in 1811, the first battle of Chile ' s war of independence in 1813, Chile ' s first Naval Squadron sailed from here in 1818. The first steam- ship to sail the Pacific was launched from Valparaiso in 1822. Her sister city, Vina Del Mar, was founded about 10 miles to the north in 1874 from the Hacienda of a wealthy port resident. It has become popular with tourists and the nicer hotels are in this section - also the homes of the more affluent Chileans. Ancient and modern worlds coexist. 66