......it is now Dec 21....where did 3 days go?  19th on Robinson Crusoe Island (part of Chile), and will be at sea for 4 days T. Today is a Sunday day of rest;  slept till 10 woken by room service, coffee and breakfast on the veranda.  Lapilis coloured seas are down to 4-6 feet from the SE, barometer still steady ~30 " Hg, winds SE ~20 knots, boat speed 16 knots.
Ship statistics:  Marina's keel laid March 2009, LOA 785 ft, beam 106 ft, max draft 25 ft, tonnage 66,000, built in Italy, max speed 20 knots, has stabilizers and bow thrusters, passengers 1250 on 11 decks, 15 overall decks, staff 790, registered Marshall Islands, absolutely pristine ship!
Robinson Crusoe Island:  Awakened ~7:30 am by anchor chain sounds; our veranda is on the port side of the ship so we had the whole island outside our room.  Large enclosed tenders shuttled passengers to and fro the dock;  one had to be fit enough to get across between tender and ship or between tender and dock.  The ship crew handled us well. Bags were searched ashore by the Chilean agriculture people - no food or fruits or....allowed ashore.  Most of the island shores are steep-to, the pier is in the town of Juan Bautista in Cumberland Bay ......This bay was hit by an enormous tsunami in 2010, and they are still rebuilding
Highlights: cemetary - concrete coffin covers or white picket fences around plots with lots of flowers. Unfortunately the 200 year+ old gravesites appeared to have been washed away by the tsunami; we did find a soldier's site from 1877.  There is also a gravesite for the crew of the German light cruiser SMS Dresden which was scuttled in the Bay during a WWI battle.
vegetation - some peeling bark trees that reminded us of arbutus trees, some evergreens, some large leafed trees that had rings like palm trees.  The island has a subtropical climate; the cold northerly Humboldt current gets close to the eastern side. The island was named a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1977:  it has unique flora and fauna.  We were delighted to see some of the critically endangered red hummingbirds, fighting with each other just like our Canadian ones.  The island is also home to Magellanic Penguins, and a unique fur seal.
locals - apparently relatively newcomer Chileans;  however a number of them did remind me of the gypsies coloration and hair that I had seen in Spain. There are ~900 residents.  Main industry is fishing; especially for lobster.  The locally built open boats remind me so much of east coast U.S. and Bahamian styles.
misc - got some cheap Chilean wine ashore, but couldn't locate a delicious local beer called Archipela as it was all sold out.  The ship's cruise director had announced "don't pet the dogs" before we went ashore, as they are apparently not friendly.  The original 'Robinson Crusoe' was Alexander Selkirk who was marooned there in 1574, by his cheesed off Captain who obliged Alexander's criticisms of the ship.  He wasn't rescued for about 4 years by a passing British ship.  We did not do the 4 km hike to the location of Crusoe's cave and house.
........photos to come next.......
We loved the island's uniqueness.