It’s been over two years since we returned from our world cruise. My blog/journal has been dormant, however, we have done some traveling during the last couple of years. Our major trip after the world cruise was a trip to Scotland and England. I didn’t blog during that trip and I now regret it. I discovered that I retain so much more detail when I take the time to reflect on our travels. While we enjoyed our time in the United Kingdom immensely, I find I don’t remember what we did when as clearly as I would like.
Of course, the benefit of a long cruise adventure is that there is a lot of down time to write when we are at sea. Land travels, at least for us, are busier. I will, hopefully, be disciplined enough during our upcoming travels to find time to post.
So, right now we are flying to our first travel adventure of the year. We’re traveling with Road Scholar on two consecutive trips. The first one is Wonders of Chile and Argentina: Patagonia, Iguazu Falls and Splendid Cities (Program No. 20789RJ if you’re interested in checking it out in detail). This journey will take us across the continent from Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We will travel by bus travel, ferries, and internal flights during the two weeks we are there. At the end of the trip, we’ll spend about 9 days on our own in Buenos Aires. We have some adventures planned there, but mostly we’ll be relaxing and exploring at our own pace.
Part two of our travels takes us even further south to Antarctica! Again, Road Scholar is taking us on the trip “Land Ho!” Icebergs and Penguins in Otherworldly Antarctica (Program Number 23705RJ). We’ll be traveling on the Albatros vessel Ocean Victory and heading towards a journey that, weather cooperating, will include Zodiac rides on sea and hikes on land.
We finished our grand adventure about a month ago. The last thirty days have been an adjustment time for us full of ups and downs and, also, a time of reflection.
Our trip home was smooth. We docked in Los Angeles, flew to Seattle, and were met at the airport by Don and Laura (my brother and sister-in-law) and spent a couple of days with them. We celebrated birthdays and had a great time visiting and winding down.
We also reunited with our dog, Charlie. We could see that his age was definitely showing after being apart for 4 months. He was almost 17 years old and we could see he was nearing the end of his life. Charlie was having a hard time walking and was becoming incontinent and we made the incredibly hard decision to let go of him. The next Saturday we took him to the vet and said goodbye. There is a big empty spot in our household and in our hearts.
Since that awful week waiting to take Charlie to the vet, we have reconnected with our wonderful friends here in Newport. We’ve laughed and cried together, caught up on everyone’s news, and settled into real life. As I write this, Brian is hiking with a friend in the hills behind our house.
One thing that folks want to know about our trip was what our favorite stops were and would be do a world cruise again. Our answers are the same: there was not a favorite port (all of them were interesting in their own way) and, yes, we would go again with caveats. It would have to be a cruise without any two week “party”segments like those that occurred at the start and the end of our cruise. I call them “party” segments because the culture is so different.
I found that the world cruise portion of the trip was very laid back. People went about their days on board much like they would have at home. Some people worked on board which became a struggle when the internet was poor. However, it could be done. Some people attended all the activities on board while others just chilled out. People met for drinks, played cards and just visited. We were on for the long haul looking forward to our next adventure ashore.
People on the two week portions, understandably, wanted to get the most out of their vacations. There was much more hustle and bustle, more activities were added to the daily schedule (like art auctions), and it was hard to find a quiet place anywhere on board. I do not begrudge people enjoying their hard earned vacations, but it did put a damper on ours.
All that said, we enjoyed our cruise immensely. It was worth every penny (and a lot of them were spent!) and we came back having our lives changed.
We discovered that children are the same everywhere. They ran around temples, laughed in schoolyards, whined at their parents, and smiled the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen.
We were reminded, in every country, that Covid had a devastating effect on the economy and people’s lives. Family and friends were lost. The tourism industry shut down. People were happy to see tourists coming back and spending much needed money again.
We learned about political and social problems in every country. Now, when we read the news, we have a better understanding of what is going on in the world. It isn’t pretty and I’m including the United States in that.
We remembered how much fun it is to meet people from different cultures and walks of life. I felt like a sponge trying to soak up as much information as possible.
We realized how lucky we are to be able to have a roof over our heads and funds to pay for all our basic needs. That is certainly not the same everywhere else in the world. We’re lucky to live in a democracy and how precious that is.
We, unfortunately, learned that there really are ugly Americans. There were times we were ashamed to be in their company. Humility and an open mind will serve you well when traveling.
We learned that there are people who are never happy. They look for the worst in everything. We learned to go where they weren’t.
Most of all, we learned that a trip like this is what you make it. How lucky we were to get to travel completely around the world! No, we didn’t get to make every port. No, the ship was not all shiny and new. Yes, the food did get monotonous. Yes, we did make wonderful, lifetime friends. Yes, we’d do it all again in a heartbeat!
Now that we’re home we’re looking forward to more adventures. We’re taking a land/cruise tour of Alaska in August with Celebrity cruise line. That will be one more state off our “States in the US We Haven’t Been To” list. We’re going to Las Vegas with friends in September for a couple of days. We’re leaving on Monday to drive back to South Dakota to visit Brian’s family. We’re beginning to plan a trip to Scotland.
Will this blog continue? Perhaps. I have enjoyed keeping a journal, of sorts, and sharing it. We’ll see what the future brings!
Today was our last port of call on our world cruise. The time has sped by, however, our first port of call in Honolulu seems like ages ago! As I look over my last few blogs, I notice that they are shorter and with less pictures. I think that this is due to a little cruise weariness, the heat, and the fact that we’ve been to most of these ports before. Also, the atmosphere on the cruise has changed dramatically with the departure of at least half of the world cruisers in Fort Lauderdale and the addition of the same number of new cruisers. It’s not the same cruise we’ve been on for over three months. Perhaps that is good. We’ve become more focused on getting ready to go home in three days.
However, today we were in Puerto Vallarta. The weather, while still warm, was much less humid. We decided to go out for a short walk. Brian and I had been here just over a year ago and had done more exploring then. We walked off the ship and just wandered around the surrounding area. There was a mall and a flea market to explore.
The mall had the usual cruise port shops you see in the Caribbean like Diamonds International and Cariloha. There was an interior courtyard where a man dressed like an Aztec looked like he was available for pictures for a small fee. The courtyard was shaded by many umbrellas.
The flea market, which was just down the street a block, was full of small shops selling pretty much the same t-shirts and knickknacks. The sellers were a little aggressive but very friendly. All in all, we may have been off the ship for about an hour.
Today was also our niece Emily’s birthday. I had told here that I would drink a margarita in her honor, so I did! This frozen strawberry margarita was the first one I’d had on board the ship. It was delicious!
We now had to seriously think about organizing and packing. We had two days to get it done, so we planned to do it in stages. We went back to our cabin to begin weeding our paperwork and throwing things away. Both of us had clothes that we were going to leave behind to be donated and shoes to be thrown away. Our poor room steward would have a bit more trash than usual to get rid of!
Today was Brian’s birthday and we were spending it in Hualtuco. The area around the dock was easy to walk to and busy with lots of restaurants and shops. There was also a nearby beach that was well used by both tourists and local families.
After enjoying breakfast in the dining room for the first time on our voyage (we had, until then, eaten in the buffet), Brian and I lingered on board until about 10:00 am. We then headed out to explore a place we had never been to before. The walk down the pier was not too long and, if you didn’t wish to walk, drivers were offering rides, in their electric carts, into the town square. There was no set charge. All they wanted was a tip. We decided to walk.
Hualtuco was hot and muggy just like Costa Rica. The difference this time was that we didn’t have a nice air conditioned bus to take us where we wanted to go. The sweating started immediately. We passed some shops and entered the town square and began wandering around.
There was a farmers market in the park a block or so away, so we headed that way to check it out. People selling organic vegetables, pastries, crafts, flowers and food. This market obviously catered to the residents of the town. The bird songs were amazing. It truly sounded like a jungle. I did my best, but I couldn’t spot which bird was making which sound. Later I was able to see, from a distance, some exotic birds. I still don’t know what kind they were.
Our main goal in town was to find a place to eat. Brian noticed a small restaurant in the shade and we could tell there was a breeze by the way the decorations were waving in the wind. All of the restaurants were open air. Our restaurant was called Bahias.
The first thing we ordered was cold beer. It was delivered along with a basket of whole fried corn tortillas and salsa.
We had so much food. Brian ordered a ceviche-like dish and lobster. I added chicken nachos to the order.
Everything was quite good and we enjoyed our stay here. It was good people watching and the flowers and plants were lovely. There was even a restaurant cat.
Brunch over, we decided we would head back to the ship. We had enjoyed this sleepy town very much and thought it would be a great place to visit during the winter. Still sweating, we thought we’d jump in one of the carts if we found one. We didn’t, so we hoofed it back. A breeze had come up so it was a bit more comfortable than anticipated.
We noticed the entry to our cabin had something new. Everyone who walked by could see it was Brian’s birthday.
The rest of our day was going along as normal. The sip was going to be docked until 5:00 pm and it was way to hot to go back out. Again, the temperature was in the mid-90s with 85% humidity.
As we were trying to stay cool in our cabin, the power went out. I had heard of this happening randomly in cabins and was wondering if this was just us. Then the Captain made an announcement. Power was out throughout the whole ship. We had no electricity, engines, or air conditioning. The crew was working frantically to get the problem fixed. The ship had auxiliary power but the elevators weren’t working and the ship’s stabilizers weren’t functioning. We would feel the movement of the ship a little more.
The electricity came back in around two hours. This was great since the ship was getting uncomfortably warm. Unfortunately, we still didn’t have any engines. The Captain made an announcement every half hour to let us know what was going on. Finally, while we were at dinner, the ship began to move again. We were told that we could still make it to Puerto Vallarta on time. Then, the power went out again. No electricity, no air conditioning, no engines. This time we were at sea.
There was a farewell cocktail party scheduled that evening for the people on the World Cruise. It was being held on the 14th deck. We were on the 6th deck. After climbing up the stairs to the 10th floor, I decided that the party was not going to happen for me. The combination of the heat and climbing was too much, and I knew it wasn’t going to be cooler at the party. We went back to our cabin. Eventually the engines got up and running again and we were back on our way to Puerto Vallarta, our last port before we disembark in Los Angeles next Thursday.
All in all, Brian’s birthday would be a day to remember!
Our trip is winding down, and today we took our last planned shore excursion. This was another independent tour. About 34 of us were on the tour arranged by one of our fellow cruisers. This tour was jam packed with activity and all of it could be gotten to with short walks only. That turned out to be a godsend because it was incredibly hot and humid. In the afternoon, it was over 100 degrees and the humidity around 85%.
The tour was provided by Ricky Ricardo tours in Costa Rica. The organizer had done this tour many times with Ricky and said we would love it. She was correct. Our group was divided between two very nice vehicles and our guide was Ricky himself. On a side note, Ricky’s wife is named Lucy. Really.
We started out with the usual drive through the city before we headed out to find monkeys in their native habitat. Puntarenas is a small town which runs on fishing and hasn’t really been gussied up for tourists.
Driving along the coastline, we headed on our way.
We turned off onto a narrow dirt road. Ricky told us to watch for the Capuchin monkeys, but warned us that we probably wouldn’t see one by the side of the road. The mango trees were covered in ripe fruit and that is what the monkeys love to eat and where they’d be. I did glimpse one along the way. We stopped in front of a building at the end of the road. There were mango trees and, in them, many monkeys. I think this was a small business/rehab center, however all the the monkeys were free roaming. They came and went as they pleased. They were friendly if you let them approach you first. Evidently the alpha male, who wasn’t around, could be quite aggressive.
The owners of the business brought peanuts out and, those who wanted could feed the animals. A person would hold the peanuts in their hand and the monkey would scamper over to get it. This is an example.
Brian took a turn, too.
One woman was trying to take a selfie with a monkey on the tree behind her. This happened.
The monkeys were everywhere.
This visit was an amazing start to our tour!
Ricky had another friend nearby with the type of trees macaws liked to visit. The benefits of this tour were rapidly becoming apparent. No large buses could have gone where we did.
The owner of the property welcomed us in and she, and her adorable son, led us around. There were a number of macaws high in the tress putting on quite a display. Unfortunately, my camera lens wasn’t strong enough and the sun was in the wrong place, so I couldn’t get a picture of them. The family had rescued a macaw that had fallen out of the nest and was injured. They nursed it back to health and it hangs around now. It is also free roaming and does fly away, but it always comes back.
It was time for a bathroom break, so we went to a very large souvenir store with clean restrooms. I’ve found that there usually is a souvenir store wherever we stop to use the toilets. However, this one was large and well organized with anything you might want to purchase, from beautiful woodwork to coffee. As a bonus, there were no high pressure sales.
Before our next adventure, we made a very welcome stop at a fruit stand run by, yet again, another of Ricky’s friends and his family. There was cut up mango, watermelon, pineapple, and papaya. If we asked about any of the other fruit in the market, samples were freely given. There is nothing quite like the taste of fruit right off the tree.
It was now time to go look for crocodiles. We were going on a Jungle Crocodile Safari tour. We all loaded on to a, thankfully, covered boat and went motoring up the Tarcoles River. The shade and cool breeze felt wonderful! We had a guide and a driver who both knew the river quite well. Our guide pointed out the multiple kinds of birds while our driver, Jose, kept a lookout for crocodiles. He spotted a number right from the boat. However, when he wanted to attract a particular crocodile, Jose would mimic the call of a baby croc or jump onto the shore and beat on the ground like this:
Here he was trying to attract the alpha crocodile, Mike Tyson. All of the crocodiles have names that were given to them by locals. Mike is about 90 years old and weighs 1100 pounds.
He was big!
We saw other quite large crocodiles, too.
This one wasn’t quite as long as Mike Tyson.
A few years ago, the tour operators fed the crocodiles but that is no longer allowed. They fend for themselves.
We saw other wildlife, too.
The river cruise lasted about an hour and, before we headed back to the dock, we went down to the mouth of the river on the Pacific Ocean.
Now it was time for lunch at Restaurant Vista Mar. The meal was included with the tour and we were offered a choice of sea bass, chicken, shrimp and rice, or hamburger and fries. Everyone was given watermelon juice to drink. Brian chose sea bass and I had chicken.
We were seated outside on a covered patio and, while the food was delicious, it was very hot. Periodically, we’d get a breeze from the beach which felt wonderful!
The final stop of the tour took us up a mountain for a scenic view and, maybe, some toucans. I think it was way too hot for the birds, but the view was lovely.
Costa Rica is an amazingly ecologically diverse country. We’d love to discover it in more depth, hopefully when the weather is cooler!
Today was our day long transit through the Panama Canal. I won’t go into any detail about the construction of this engineering marvel. In depth information can be found in your local library or through everyone’s friend, Google.
Brian and I had done a partial transit through the canal a number of years ago, but not the whole way through. The weather was exactly as I remembered, incredibly hot and humid. Consequently, I spent most on the day indoors only venturing onto our balcony periodically.
Brian is a lot more fascinated with the canal than I am. He took most of these pictures throughout the day. The heavy machinery pictured are the “mules”. These pieces of equipment help direct the ship through the locks. They get their names from the actual mules that were used when the canal was first built.
This is what most of the countryside looked like.
Notice how close to the sides our ship was as we made our way through the locks.
One more sea day and we’ll reach our next port, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. I don’t think the weather is going to cool off at all. We’ll just deal with it because we have a fun shore excursion planned!
Brian and I had been to Cartagena once before. It was while we were on a Caribbean cruise with Celebrity Cruises. We were part of an independent excursion and enjoyed that visit very much.
Today, we joined another independent excursion that had been planned many months ago. There were 13 of us on the tour along the the best guide ever, Marelvy. She made our weather-impacted tour both fun and informative.
Our group headed off the ship about 7:30 AM and met the woman who would take us to our van and Marelvy. The walk out of the port area takes you to a large duty free shop and a little wildlife sanctuary. This zoo is free and lovely. I took some pictures both going out of the port and coming back to the ship.
You haven’t lived until you’ve been dive bombed by two macaws and one peacock in the course of fifteen minutes. I learned I can duck really fast!
On our way to our first stop, the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, we had a little sightseeing tour.
The Castillo is a large fortress built on top of a hill by the Spanish for protection from pirates. The Spanish shipped large amounts of gold to Europe and Cartagena was the repository for all the looted gold. The pirates were mainly French and English privateers like Sir Francis Drake.
The weather today was extremely hot and humid, so Marelvy told us stories about the history of the Castillo while we sat in our air-conditioned van. We got out for a short break to take some pictures and we’re immediately surrounded by vendors. While aggressive, they were not obnoxious and listened to our no thank yous. We didn’t have time to go up into the fortress and, in any event, it was a strenuous uphill climb in very hot weather. No one was too disappointed.
Among the vendors, there were women from a village is their colorful dresses who were happy to pose for pictures for a few dollars.
There is also a statue of the commander, Blas de Lezo, who successfully defended the Castillo when it was attacked by the English army. It’s locally known as the Half a Man statue because, in various battles, he had lost a leg, an eye, and a hand.
The fort is quite large. Notice the size of the person in the top right of the photo.
Brian and I had been here, during our first trip, and it was much as we remembered.
We were now off to another place we had visited before: La Popa Monastery. Located at the top of the highest hill in Cartagena, this 17th century monastery is still inhabited by monks. There is a chapel (where services were being held when we arrived), a museum, and a wonderful view of the city. The altar in the chapel is covered in gold.
There were also some animals around.
The weather had become even hotter and more humid and, on our drive to the Old City of Cartagena, it began to rain. What started slowly, suddenly became a downpour. We did stop at the first two places on our itinerary: the Emerald Museum (and shop, a place I should never be allowed in!) and the Gold Museum. The rain was coming down as we got out of the van and the streets were beginning to flood. The shoes I was wearing turned into instant water shoes. I’m not sure they’ll ever be the same!
At the Gold Museum, there was a very interesting exhibit of the art of the ancient indigenous peoples. There was pottery, shells, and gold pieces. We also saw a short film about the filigree jewelry work that is still done, by hand, today.
Now the rain began in earnest. It was raining even harder than when we got out of the bus.
Back through the rain and flooding we went. On the van, we decided that the scheduled walk through the Old City would currently not be possible. So, Marelvy took us to a San Alberto Coffee Shop for drinks and treats. The organizer of our tour, Edie, generously treated all of us. Brian had a cappuccino and chocolate cake and I ordered hot chocolate and an almond croissant. Every thing was yummy and we were all happy campers. Brian thought the coffee was so good that we bought a pound of beans to bring home.
The rain had let up a bit, so Brian headed quickly outside to take some pictures. The appropriately named Statue of a Fat Lady Reclining is a popular work of art. Brian didn’t follow the custom, but people rub her breasts for good luck and her buttocks to guarantee they’ll return to Cartagena.
We loaded into the van, this time without getting wet, and were ready to get some Old City exploring in. And, then, the rain started again. We decided that we’d have to forego the Old City this visit. Getting out, though, became a whole other problem. The streets were beginning to really flood. As we sat safe and dry inside our van, we saw these folks on a Princess shore excursion. They had to brave the flood waters to get back to their bus since it couldn’t enter the city. Here are a couple photos taken through rain spattered windows.
Our driver was amazing. Due to stalled cars and blocked roads, he had to drive backwards a couple of blocks down narrow streets to get us out. He got a very nice tip!
We were now heading to higher ground and the rain, once again, began letting up. Marelvy knew she wanted to take us to the Getsemani area of the city and it looked like we would now be able to do that. This is the area that local people live in and is a popular place to be. Locals have been priced out of the Old City which is, now, mainly a tourist attraction.
The streets were dry and there were no crowds there. What was there was phenomenal street art and colorful buildings. We were all enthralled! This is a place Brian and I had never been and I don’t think anyone regretted missing the Old City to come here.
We took a group picture in Getsemani. Unfortunately, Marelvy took the picture so she isn’t included.
After saying fond goodbyes to Marelvy, we went back to the ship to grab something to eat and cool down. The shower felt wonderful! Back in our cabin after dinner, we watched our sail away from the balcony. Right before we reached the open sea, we saw one of the forts that protected either side of the entry into the bay. There were also some local sailors around.
In spite of the weather, once again, we loved our time in Cartagena. It just never disappoints us.
I realized while in Fort Lauderdale a few days ago, that it had been almost three months since we had been in our own country. What a trip we have had!
It has also been almost five years since we had sailed in or out of Ft. Lauderdale, the last time being November of 2018. Before that, we were pretty regular Caribbean cruisers on Celebrity Cruises so we could get out of the winters we experienced in the places we were living at the time.
Today my thoughts were recalling not only places and people we have experienced on this trip, but a significant number of big events that we have experienced in our lives since that 2018 visit to Ft. Lauderdale.
The first happened during that cruise, when my Dad passed away after spending a lengthy time in the nursing home suffering from Alzheimer’s. This was truly a blessing but still a big life changing event. Over the coming years we would also see Kristine’s Dad pass at age 94, our fellow cruiser and brother-in-law Lyle lose his battle with fibrosis of the lungs, see both of our next door neighbors die of Covid (they refused to believe in and get the vaccinations), have a dear friend in Bend die totally unexpectedly of a massive heart attack, and losing my brother Lynn to Covid before the vaccines were available. Family and friends have always been very important to me, and even with all the new and exciting things we have seen on this trip, I know those influences are with me daily.
So many reminders that we need to make the most of our limited time here on earth.
We also found ourselves, by choice, relocating from snowy central Oregon to the coast, where we now enjoy the ocean every day we are home.
Winding toward the end of this trip, I have no regrets. I have seen and experienced things that, before we left, I never thought I would. I have learned so much about myself and feel I have a better perspective on our world. Given the chance there are places I would come back to, but maybe more than that, it has made me realize how many more places there are that I would like to see. Time, health, and money will determine how much of that happens.
Also, I have been reminded often that most days I am uncomfortable in large crowds of people, and this is made worse if it is a noisy crowd of people. I think my hearing has worsened, which does not help that situation. I continue to enjoy, very much, great conversations with a small group of people, or one on one situations. I also learned that there is still a lot of room for me to grow and learn as a human being.
So, we went to Cartagena, Colombia yesterday, which will put us yet on another continent. Then two days to and through the Panama Canal, and we will truly be on the downside of this great adventure.
Our seven sea days passed uneventfully. We had a couple of days where the ship was rocking and rolling, however neither Brian nor I are affected by the motion of the ocean. I used the time to get caught up on my blog. The combination of seven ports in a row, very slow internet, and being under the weather, meant that I had gotten further and further behind.
Fort Lauderdale would be the end of the cruise for those folks who started the trip in Fort Lauderdale. That meant about half the passengers where busy packing and saying goodbye to friends who were continuing on to Los Angeles. We did get about the same amount of new passengers boarding for the last segment of the cruise. They are demographically younger and there are more kids. I think there were 5 children on the world cruise.
Saturday, April 22, was the passenger talent show. Brian participated and was very well received. He sang “You’re My Home” by Billy Joel in front of about 600 people.
We had to say goodbye to new friends we had made. We will miss Darla and Sandra very much. They are really good people and live in both Michigan and Florida. We’re all dressed up for formal night.
One of the couple at our dinner table were leaving, too. Carmen and Steve will be very missed. However, since they live in Riverside, California and have grandchildren in Oregon, we’re very hopeful we’ll meet again. The are standing by Brian in the back row. Also in the picture are Karin and Michael, who live in the Phoenix area. They are also sailing on to Los Angeles, so we get to enjoy their company a little while longer.
It was very busy on the ship when we docked in Fort Lauderdale. Room stewards had to clean the rooms of the 800 people who disembarked and get them ready for the new passengers. We told our room steward, John, just to forget about taking care of our room that day. He did do our nightly turndown of our room, though.
The Princess cruise port is very close to shopping and is not difficult to leave on foot. Brian and I left the ship in search of Mexican food for lunch. We had to get off the ship in any event. All passengers were required to leave the ship and go through customs. We headed off about 9:30 and fifteen minutes later we were starting our walk. Our destination was about a mile away. The walk was quite easy but the weather was hot and humid.
We stopped at a coffee shop for some cold ice tea and sat for awhile to cool down. Brian called his daughter, Keeley, since we now had phone service. The restaurant we had picked out to eat in, La Bamba, was not open until 11:30. We knew there were shops around it, so we headed in that direction. We killed some time by exploring the local Total Wine and More store and went into Publix supermarket to purchase some snacks for ourselves and our dining room waiters.
La Bamba opened at 11:30 on the nose and Brian and I got there at 11:28. It was cool and breezy in the shade and we didn’t have long to wait. Our meal was everything we had hoped it would be. I had a grilled chicken quesadilla and a passion fruit margarita, while Brian had fajitas with beef, chicken, and shrimp along with a couple of beers. Notice the steam rising from the fajita meat in the photo below. Everything was great and we left the restaurant very happy.
From the time we sailed away from Kauai on January 25, we were sailing to places that were new to us. During the last two weeks of this amazing cruise, we will have been to all the countries we are going to dock in. There will be a couple of new ports, but we will be back in familiar territory. Our trip of a lifetime is winding down.
Our last ports of call, before we headed across to Atlantic Ocean to Fort Lauderdale, were two very different islands. We hadn’t been able to book and shore excursions for either one. They had been sold out for a long time.
The photo above is the view from our balcony in Lanzarote. We were nowhere near the town and it was about a 25 minute shuttle ride to get there. In light of that, we decided to remain on board. I was still tiring easily and a day on a quiet ship seemed wonderful. Brian and I were able to easily get our laundry done and, all in all, it was a relaxing day.
The next morning we woke up in La Palma. We were docked right in the middle of town.
It was very easy just to walk into town to explore, so that was exactly what we did. We wandered up and down the main streets in town, looked in shops, and visited a church. Brian even found an optician who could fix his misaligned glasses!
We walked down a road that was paved like this:
It wasn’t very comfortable to walk on!
We had some euros burning a hole in our pocket and, since this was the last port we were going to where euros were the currency, we decided to find a place to have some lunch. Our restaurant is in the photo below. It’s at the end of the street on the right.
We sat down at a table outside and, two hours later, we were done. Our meal consisted of two tapas, two pizzas, two beers, and three small glasses of wine. The food was not gourmet food but it was perfectly fine bar food and we really enjoyed ourselves. The owners were working really hard to serve all the tourists who were there. There were two cruise ships in town today, so the place was hopping. Check out the individual pizza cutters that came with each pizza.
Back in the cruise port, I noticed this very interesting mermaid statue.
It was an enjoyable day. La Palma is a beautiful town and the weather was wonderful. We boarded our ship knowing that we now has seven sea days until we reached Fort Lauderdale.
The Macs’ Big Adventure 