Just being lazy. I’m most of the way through the photos from our last trip, but trying to get them all done before I start posting. In case anyone wondered about me, here is a quick post to confirm I’m still around! 🙂
Yes, I’m Still Here
Tag Archives: Cruise
Postcard From Belize
While in Belize we took a ship tour to the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve, a site consisting of the remains of several Mayan temples and other structures from Mayan times. It was a fascinating tour and I even got to climb one of the pyramids (not this one)! You can get a sense of the size of this temple by finding the worker – about halfway up, just to the right of the stairs – doing restoration work.
This is the last Postcard from our voyages, as Belize was the last port where we got off the ship. We have visited Cozumel numerous times, and while Grand Cayman is very nice, it is another port where the ship does not dock. A “tender port” is where one of the ship’s tenders or a larger boat from shore is needed to get onto the land. In both cases we decided to enjoy a mostly empty ship.
More photos to follow!
Postcard From Bonaire
The first stop on the second cruise of our Caribbean adventure was the Dutch island of Bonaire. Sorobon Beach is an area popular with windsurfers and sunbathers of all kinds, sizes and shapes. On to Curacao and then Aruba!
Postcards From The Caribbean
Kathy & I are currently “binge cruising,” having just completed the first of three cruises to the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale. The first cruise, aboard Celebrity Equinox, was a 10-night cruise that visited St. Kitts, Grenada, Martinique, St. Lucia and Antigua. We took tours on all but Grenada, and needless to say I came back with a few photos, which I will likely not look at too much until we get home.
We embark this afternoon aboard the same ship, Celebrity Equinox, on a 9-night cruise that will visit Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba and Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic). On Saturday, February 18 we move to Celebrity Apex for a 7 night cruise to the Western Caribbean. After that we head back to Charlotte to rest and go on diets. 😉
I’ll have some more photos but no specific timetable to posting them. Too many things to do to spend time on the computer. Today was a good day to look at a few because we didn’t have to get off the ship! More later!
A Stop In Cozumel
We don’t usually get too excited about Cozumel, because we have been there a number of times and have done most of the touristy things. We don’t go to the beach, so that leaves out a lot of activities.
On this recent cruise, Cozumel ended up being our only stop, so we decided to at least get off the ship and have a drink or two. Thanks to The Google, I located a bar and restaurant called The Thirsty Cougar which was a short walk from the cruise dock.
My usual Mexican libation is a Paloma instead of the traditional Margarita. A Paloma is made with tequila and grapefruit soda, and I like the combination. The Thirsty Cougar also does an awesome Margarita, as I was assured by our friends who sampled some. They also do a mean Nacho platter!
When visiting Cozumel on a Norwegian ship, it docks in the downtown area where a lot of the restaurants are. Many of the other lines dock at a different terminal about 3 miles away. There are restaurants there, too. But in my mind The Thirsty Cougar might just be worth the taxi fare! 🙂
Photos from this most recent trip are here.
Oh Ship! More Cruise Photos
Our most recent cruise was a 5 night cruise on Norwegian Prima, a nearly new ship for Norwegian Cruise Lines. We went with friends who live in Florida and are also our travel agents. They were there for a travel agency soiree, so they were “working” while we were having fun.
We only visited one port – Cozumel – since our second port stop was cancelled due to high seas and strong winds. So here are just a few random photos from the ship. It was a great time and a beautiful new ship, although being around all those travel agents is contagious!
What’s The Rush?
Everywhere we go, people are in a hurry. They blast down the highway like they are a doctor late for a baby delivery (probably not), they slam down the first drink to get to the next (possibly precipitating the previous?), rush through dinner to get off to something else (with indigestion). But for what? To just rush on to the next thing? Sheesh! How about taking the time to enjoy each experience, each moment?
Kathy & I recently came across this article that was shared by a local writer. ‘and then?’ references someone wanting to watch a movie or listen to a podcast at 2X speed because it was “too slow.” Apparently listening to music at 2X speed is a thing on TikTok. I especially liked the statement that “The whole attitude seems to be: Let me get through this thing I don’t especially enjoy so I can do another thing just like it, which I won’t enjoy either.” That doesn’t seem like much of a way to live, if you ask me.
Just this morning I was looking at the New York Times website and saw a link that said “The Year In Pictures – 3 Minute Read” I thought, wow, only 3 minutes? It is nearly 150 pictures (I counted but lost my place once or twice – distracted by the photos). Paging through the article without even slowing down to look at the pictures took almost 3 minutes! And yes I understand that the “3 Minutes” was probably automagically calculated based on the amount of text in the article, likely not counting the photo captions, but still. I haven’t gone back through it yet but expect that it might take me 30 minutes.
When we travel, Kathy & I enjoy taking back roads, even if it adds an hour or two to the trip. Coming home from our recent trip to Florida, we could have made it home in a freeway-filled 9 hours, but instead chose to break it up into two days, 6 hours the first and about 5 the second. All but the last 100 or so miles were on roads that pass through small towns, past interesting scenery and occasionally a new “roadside find.” Once we got onto I-77 in Columbia, it was like stepping into a cement mixer! It was nice to get home, but I often equate the freeway experience to a cross section of society. Most people go along doing their own thing, but there are always those few who either aren’t completely involved with the task of driving or are convinced that there is a prize for getting somewhere at light speed. We made it home safely, and mostly relaxed, which was the most important thing!
A Little Bit of St. Kitts
St. Kitts is another of those islands we’ve been to numerous times, and more often than not choose to stay on or close to the ship instead of trudging around the island with the rest of the tourists. This is another place where we got off the ship long enough to stretch our legs, visit a store we wanted to go to, and take a few photos. It’s easy to spend an hour or so then get back to the ship before all the pool chairs are claimed! 😉
A Short Stop In St Thomas
I find the island of St. Thomas to be one of those places that has been spoiled by its own success. That is to say, a beautiful place that has been over-populated, over-commercialized and over-developed, to the point where it is little more than a shopping place with beaches. I know that sounds mean, but like a lot of places what made it famous and desirable ain’t there any more.
We got off the ship long enough to walk around the immediate port area long enough to stretch our legs and get a few steps. I did manage to take a few photos, which are fun but nothing especially interesting. Probably not tourist photos, at least not all of them!
An Interesting Event In San Juan
I promised a story and some more photos from San Juan, so here goes. We were leaving the ship to walk through town, and when we passed one of the other piers, there was a delegation of Coast Guard officers and “local officials” standing on the sidewalk near the entrance to the pier. There were several photographers standing there, evidently press photographers due to their each carrying several cameras with various focal length lenses.
I asked one of the photographers what was going on. He said that there is a “bouquet” coming in shortly and that the officers were there to meet it. I eventually realized that the word he was trying to translate was “barque,” which is a term for a type of sailing ship.
Turns out, in just a few minutes we saw the masts of a ship sailing around the point past the Coast Guard base. It was the Juan Bautista Cambiaso, a 3-masted barquentine schooner and training ship for the navy of the Dominican Republic, along with a small tender boat that was accompanying it. The ship was manned by cadets of the DR Navy, many of whom were spread atop the rigging, waving and singing as the boat entered the harbor. It was quite a sight (and sound)!
