Friday January 29, 2010
Today we’re in Cozumel an island 33 miles long and 11 miles wide, 12 miles off the coast of Mexico. Cozumel dates back to 300AD when it was inhabited by the Mayans and drew people from all parts of the Mayan culture to it’s shrine of Ixchel – goddess of fertility and love. In the 1500s the Mayan world was destroyed when the Spanish imposed their culture on the area. The Spanish brought disease which wiped out the inhabitance of Cozumel. The island served as a pirate base of operation and a sleepy village of no more then 700 inhabitants until the early 1960’s when it was discovered by Jacques Cousteau. He put the island on the map through his TV show as one of the best diving destinations of the world. Cozumel has since grown to become the cursing jewel of the Caribbean recently surpassing Saint Thomas of the British Virgin Islands.
With this history and reputation Nita and I were left with little choice as to how we would spend our day in Cozumel. “We would explore the underwater world of Cozumel” Not being susceptible to the high prices of the ship tours we chose to bargain with the sidewalk tour peddlers off the ship. The ship excursion carried a cost of $65 per person the street vendor started at $45 and we made our purchase at $35; “boy are we professional cruisers or what?”
We boarded our boat with 11 other divers (snorkels) and headed for the deep waters (8 to 15 feet) to see for ourselves one of the best dive locations in the world ( we never got out of sight of out ship). We had a blast, the brightly colored fish were plentiful and showed no fear of swimming with us, we even had several spotting of barracuda and man-a-ray. Our journey back to the pier included beer and tequila shots with the traditional Mexican whistle and head shakes.
Ron and Avie, not being water people, chose to explore the retail offerings of Cozumel but failed to find anything that they had to have. Back on the ship the pool side party started building as we repaired to depart Cozumel. The pool side filled with joyful passengers dancing to the rhythms of “Hot-Hot-Hot” and “The Macarena”. Then out of nowhere came the familiar sound of “Sweet Home Alabama”. Nita and I watched for deck 13 overlooking the pulsating activities. Much to our surprise we witnessed a woman join the pool side activities arms raised to the sky, hips gyrating while singing our “Sweet Home Alabama”. Her back was to us but as she spun to the music Nita nudged me and asked, “Isn’t that Avie?” “Ya, but that’s a side of Avie that I’ve never seen before.”
Saturday January 30, 2010
Our journey is coming to an end the weather has turned from mid 80s, sunny, and low humidity to high 60s, cloudy and heavy rain. We did get our early morning deck walk and run in this morning but we’ll be spending the balance or our day inside on the computer, in the library, and in the gym.
It’s been a good get-a-way but not comparable to our past adventures of late to Spain, the Baltic’s, Southeast Asia and China. We’re making plans for future trips to the eastern US and Québec, South Africa, and the UK, hope to see some of you in our travels and invite you to join us.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
A Day Ziping ad Floating in Balize
Thursday January 28, 2010
Today we’re in Belize, located between Mexico and Guatemala; it has been an independent contrary since 1981. Its largest industry is tourism and today there are five ships in its harbor thus bringing over 12,000 tourists to a city of 100,000 people. The countries population of 300,000 is made up of 40% Myna and 40% Creole, the government is of parliamentary style reflecting its early British influence.
Ron, Nita and I choose to partake in the cave tubing and zip line adventure. We were met by Marcel and Tom at the pier and matched with a group of young Mormon couples from Utah, we got lucky. They were the kindest fun loving people that we could have spent the day with, when Nita needed help getting out of her inner-tube on the river they were there with a helping hand, when Ron challenged them with their past years ability to field a competitive football team, they shot right back in fun. They were a delight to spend the day with. Unlike the proceeding day in Guatemala our guides were professional, knowledgeable and organized. I now know Belize, it culture, and it’s people.
The one mile float through the caves was an impressive display of the power of time and nature. Locked in a chain of bodies in tubes connected by feet in armpits we floated through the caves and down the river and through the rain forest. As if on cue it even rained on us for the finish of our journey through the rain forest.
Wet and wrinkled we carried our tubes back to base camp and headed for the “Zip Lines”. Believe it or not this is something that Nita has wanted to do for years and her expectations were exceeded. I have not seen my wife this stoked in years, although the climbs to the eight platforms were taxing the exhilaration of flying through the treetops at over 25mph, 60 to 80 feet above the ground was a memory that will be banked for the future. I’m sure that with time the speed will grow and the height will approach the limits of believability; could sky-diving be next?
Avie, although not willing to participate in our high risk adventure, did board a ship tether and fond a Belize City tour to fill her day in Belize. Our day ended again over a delicious dinner sharing our days adventures, retirement and travel make for a good live.
Today we’re in Belize, located between Mexico and Guatemala; it has been an independent contrary since 1981. Its largest industry is tourism and today there are five ships in its harbor thus bringing over 12,000 tourists to a city of 100,000 people. The countries population of 300,000 is made up of 40% Myna and 40% Creole, the government is of parliamentary style reflecting its early British influence.
Ron, Nita and I choose to partake in the cave tubing and zip line adventure. We were met by Marcel and Tom at the pier and matched with a group of young Mormon couples from Utah, we got lucky. They were the kindest fun loving people that we could have spent the day with, when Nita needed help getting out of her inner-tube on the river they were there with a helping hand, when Ron challenged them with their past years ability to field a competitive football team, they shot right back in fun. They were a delight to spend the day with. Unlike the proceeding day in Guatemala our guides were professional, knowledgeable and organized. I now know Belize, it culture, and it’s people.
The one mile float through the caves was an impressive display of the power of time and nature. Locked in a chain of bodies in tubes connected by feet in armpits we floated through the caves and down the river and through the rain forest. As if on cue it even rained on us for the finish of our journey through the rain forest.
Wet and wrinkled we carried our tubes back to base camp and headed for the “Zip Lines”. Believe it or not this is something that Nita has wanted to do for years and her expectations were exceeded. I have not seen my wife this stoked in years, although the climbs to the eight platforms were taxing the exhilaration of flying through the treetops at over 25mph, 60 to 80 feet above the ground was a memory that will be banked for the future. I’m sure that with time the speed will grow and the height will approach the limits of believability; could sky-diving be next?
Avie, although not willing to participate in our high risk adventure, did board a ship tether and fond a Belize City tour to fill her day in Belize. Our day ended again over a delicious dinner sharing our days adventures, retirement and travel make for a good live.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Guatemala
Costa Maya is a cruise ship created stop; the Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL cruise lines built the pier and an adjoining shopping center and recreation center then leased the space to local entrepreneurs. With two ships in port today it looked like the day after Thanksgiving in the shopping area. This appears to be a great arrangement for all involved parties including the cruise ship passengers. We were here four years ago and know there’s not much to see or do so we stayed at the provide beach soaking up the sun and local color. Nita bought a pair of Coach Sunglasses and Avie bought some silver earrings both at bargain prices.
Wednesday 01/27/2010
Today we’re in Santo Tomas, Guatemala a country that dates back to before 2000 BC when the Maya people hunted and fished this land. The Europeans arrived in the early 1500’s, with the heaviest influence coming form the Spanish. From 1954 to 1996 a series of military enforced governmental administrations ran the country. Then in 1996 a guerilla faction over threw the standing government to bring peace and some stability to Guatemala.
It’s a country of 12 million people; half are Mayan, still living in farming villages growing corn and beans. We entered Guatemala from the Caribbean; our day trip took us up the Dulce River which connects the Caribbean to Lake Izabal. Our 20 passenger speed boat took us up a high walled canyon full of dense vegetation and wide channels home of many exotic birds. The people are fisherman while the children supplement the family income by selling shells from their carved out wood canoes to the tourists who venture up their canyon in aluminum speedboats. All third world countries are the same.
We finished our tour in Livingston, a city at the mouth of the river. It’s the only black ethnic group of people in Guatemala, the community reminded me of Jamaica, and I have no plans of ever going back to Jamaica or Livingston. I’m sure Guatemala could offer a better representation of their country and their people. Traveling with a retired doctor, Avie, we were told it would not be wise to consume any food in Livingston. Although I don’t often follow Dr. Avie’s fearful warnings, because I prefer to live on the wild side, I agreed with her on this one and only sampled the local beer, then had a late lunch back on ship. The sun has been warm and the humidity low so we are all acquiring a nice tan and a relaxed disposition.
It was good to get off the ship and see Guatemala first hand but the guides here need to be sent to China and Asia to learn how to run a tour; our guide just didn’t have anything of value to add to the tour and wasn’t organized. I’d like to introduce him to James of China.
Wednesday 01/27/2010
Today we’re in Santo Tomas, Guatemala a country that dates back to before 2000 BC when the Maya people hunted and fished this land. The Europeans arrived in the early 1500’s, with the heaviest influence coming form the Spanish. From 1954 to 1996 a series of military enforced governmental administrations ran the country. Then in 1996 a guerilla faction over threw the standing government to bring peace and some stability to Guatemala.
It’s a country of 12 million people; half are Mayan, still living in farming villages growing corn and beans. We entered Guatemala from the Caribbean; our day trip took us up the Dulce River which connects the Caribbean to Lake Izabal. Our 20 passenger speed boat took us up a high walled canyon full of dense vegetation and wide channels home of many exotic birds. The people are fisherman while the children supplement the family income by selling shells from their carved out wood canoes to the tourists who venture up their canyon in aluminum speedboats. All third world countries are the same.
We finished our tour in Livingston, a city at the mouth of the river. It’s the only black ethnic group of people in Guatemala, the community reminded me of Jamaica, and I have no plans of ever going back to Jamaica or Livingston. I’m sure Guatemala could offer a better representation of their country and their people. Traveling with a retired doctor, Avie, we were told it would not be wise to consume any food in Livingston. Although I don’t often follow Dr. Avie’s fearful warnings, because I prefer to live on the wild side, I agreed with her on this one and only sampled the local beer, then had a late lunch back on ship. The sun has been warm and the humidity low so we are all acquiring a nice tan and a relaxed disposition.
It was good to get off the ship and see Guatemala first hand but the guides here need to be sent to China and Asia to learn how to run a tour; our guide just didn’t have anything of value to add to the tour and wasn’t organized. I’d like to introduce him to James of China.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Sea Day
Monday 01/25/2010
I’ll guess that that there are 2500 people on the NCL Spirit, based on last nights activities six of them are Vikings fans and the rest are Saints fans or at least cheering for the Saints to win. First the Colts played their usual game of falling behind and then wearing out their opponents to win in the second half, that being done I sat back to enjoy the emotional rollercoaster that the Saints hardcore fans rode through out the balance of the evening. Sprinkled into the evening of football was a Maui Maui dinner accompanied by a California Chardonnay followed by a coconut cheesecake. We then hade an hour of entertainment provided by a Cajun accordion player that was excellent at Cajun music good at rock-a-billy ok at country western and outstanding at Randy Newman’s “Louisiana”.
That all done we went to the disco bar where five screens had been set up for the Saints – Vikings game. Sitting in front of Ron and I was the mother of every Saints player and coach based on the drama the she played out with every play. Adding to her emotional overload was the full day of wine consumption. She barely survived the OT field goal falling to the dancing floor crying with joy. I don’t know which was best the game or the Academy Award Performance by the “Drama Queen”.
We’ve adopted our “Cursing Routine” ; Nita and I are up at 5:30, go to the Buffet Restaurant and meet Ron for coffee (he’s been there for an hour and knows everyone and where everything is) after coffee Nita and I go to the gym and workout on the weight machines for thirty minutes, then I get the opportunity to show off some of my Yoga poses that I’ve picked up from my JCC classes ( I’ve attended two classes so it’s not all that impressive, but I do get a good stretch out of it)
Then it out to the 13th deck where we find Ron doing his three mine run; Nita and I do a two mile walk and run. Our exercise routine done we hit the main dining room for the 7:30 opening and have a full sit down breakfast; Ron and Nita have eggs Benedict ( Nita’s traditional and Ron’s with smoked salmon)
Where’s Avie? She’s still in bed; didn’t sleep well last night, but I’m sure she’ll catch-up with us. Later I found out that she slept in but did get in her 1 ½ hour walk on the walking deck before lunch.
The weather is great, sunny skies and it feels like it’s in the 70’s with little wind other then that produced by the ships movement. This is a sea day so we’ll unwind and continue to explore the ship.
Our first day can be summed up as Relaxation, Exercise, Napping, Reading and Eating, I could get used to this.
This evening’s show was a husband and wife acrobatic act, he’s from Russia and she’s from France, quite impressive strength and balance.
Tuesday 01/26/2010
Nita and I have done our morning exercise, had breakfast and are in the front of the ship watching the docking procedure at Costa Maya, Mexico. Haven’t seen Ron and Avie yet today. We’ve been here before and there’s not much to this place so we’ll take our time and walk ashore to see if we can find some cheap sunglasses we left ours in Ron’s car, so it’ll be another relaxing day in the sun.
I’ll guess that that there are 2500 people on the NCL Spirit, based on last nights activities six of them are Vikings fans and the rest are Saints fans or at least cheering for the Saints to win. First the Colts played their usual game of falling behind and then wearing out their opponents to win in the second half, that being done I sat back to enjoy the emotional rollercoaster that the Saints hardcore fans rode through out the balance of the evening. Sprinkled into the evening of football was a Maui Maui dinner accompanied by a California Chardonnay followed by a coconut cheesecake. We then hade an hour of entertainment provided by a Cajun accordion player that was excellent at Cajun music good at rock-a-billy ok at country western and outstanding at Randy Newman’s “Louisiana”.
That all done we went to the disco bar where five screens had been set up for the Saints – Vikings game. Sitting in front of Ron and I was the mother of every Saints player and coach based on the drama the she played out with every play. Adding to her emotional overload was the full day of wine consumption. She barely survived the OT field goal falling to the dancing floor crying with joy. I don’t know which was best the game or the Academy Award Performance by the “Drama Queen”.
We’ve adopted our “Cursing Routine” ; Nita and I are up at 5:30, go to the Buffet Restaurant and meet Ron for coffee (he’s been there for an hour and knows everyone and where everything is) after coffee Nita and I go to the gym and workout on the weight machines for thirty minutes, then I get the opportunity to show off some of my Yoga poses that I’ve picked up from my JCC classes ( I’ve attended two classes so it’s not all that impressive, but I do get a good stretch out of it)
Then it out to the 13th deck where we find Ron doing his three mine run; Nita and I do a two mile walk and run. Our exercise routine done we hit the main dining room for the 7:30 opening and have a full sit down breakfast; Ron and Nita have eggs Benedict ( Nita’s traditional and Ron’s with smoked salmon)
Where’s Avie? She’s still in bed; didn’t sleep well last night, but I’m sure she’ll catch-up with us. Later I found out that she slept in but did get in her 1 ½ hour walk on the walking deck before lunch.
The weather is great, sunny skies and it feels like it’s in the 70’s with little wind other then that produced by the ships movement. This is a sea day so we’ll unwind and continue to explore the ship.
Our first day can be summed up as Relaxation, Exercise, Napping, Reading and Eating, I could get used to this.
This evening’s show was a husband and wife acrobatic act, he’s from Russia and she’s from France, quite impressive strength and balance.
Tuesday 01/26/2010
Nita and I have done our morning exercise, had breakfast and are in the front of the ship watching the docking procedure at Costa Maya, Mexico. Haven’t seen Ron and Avie yet today. We’ve been here before and there’s not much to this place so we’ll take our time and walk ashore to see if we can find some cheap sunglasses we left ours in Ron’s car, so it’ll be another relaxing day in the sun.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Off on the Norwegian Spirit to sail the Western Caribbean
We’ve been home to long! Nita and I and Ron and Avie are headed to New Orleans to catch the Norwegian Spirit to sail the Western Caribbean.
Our first scheduled stop was in Hattiesburg at the Purple Patriot, a 5 star white table cloth black napkin restaurant that serves an outstanding lunch at reasonable prices. I believe this is our third stop here. If you ever find yourself in Hattiesburg MS at lunch time it’s a must. We arrived in New Orleans about 2:30 Friday afternoon and was joined by George Best one of Ron’s high school buddies.
We spent an hour and a half in the World War II museum, it’s a three hour museum but it closed at 5:00pm so our visit had to be rushed. I learned more about WWII in our hour and a half then I did in my whole 5th grade history class, but them my mind was much more receptive at age 65 then at age 10. It helped to put into perspective some of the information that I had gathered in Thailand about their war with Japan prior to the invasion of Pearl Harbor.
For dinner at the Quarter View restaurant on Clearview we were joined by Sidney and Diane Cotlar; Sidney was another junior high friend of Ron’s. Both had effervescent personalities and openly shared their stories of pre-K and after-K, which I discovered is a part of all New Orleanians lives. The conversation was spirited and the trout stuffed with crab meat dressing and smothered in a Cajun sauce was a must have again we come back to New Orleans and the char-grilled oysters were something that I will have anytime they are available. These people just keep eating; we finished our evening at the Café De Monde for beignets and coffee.
Saturday morning we were off to Algiers to have brunch with Ron’s Cousin Sylvia Evensky and her daughter Barbee and her children Andrew and Carle. Again more food good conversation and another Katrina story, these are strong people.
The balance of the day was consumed with a guided tour of New Orleans by Ron giving us a view of the city through the eyes of a high school boy. We stopped by the house that Fran and Lee lived in (Ron’s sister and brother-in-law) in the Garden District, then went down to the French Quarter where we were entertained by a group of very talented acrobatic street performers.
Our day was topped off with a delightful evening with Mike and Brenda Moffitt. Brenda and Fran have been best friends since kindergarten. They took us to the Southern Yacht Club for dinner and an insight into another part of New Orleans culture as well as another totally different Katrina story.
This is the weekend of the NFC championship and the New Orleans Saint are playing the Minnesota Vikings here in New Orleans later today. Nita and I lived in Minneapolis for ten years and have continued to follow the Vikings, but after spending these two days with some beautiful people of New Orleans I can say with on reservations that the Saints deserve to win as a payoff for what the have endured and for the mess they have clawed their way out of; I’ll hold my wishes for the Super Bowl until I see what happens with the Colts and Jets. Nita and I grew up in Indianapolis.
Our first scheduled stop was in Hattiesburg at the Purple Patriot, a 5 star white table cloth black napkin restaurant that serves an outstanding lunch at reasonable prices. I believe this is our third stop here. If you ever find yourself in Hattiesburg MS at lunch time it’s a must. We arrived in New Orleans about 2:30 Friday afternoon and was joined by George Best one of Ron’s high school buddies.
We spent an hour and a half in the World War II museum, it’s a three hour museum but it closed at 5:00pm so our visit had to be rushed. I learned more about WWII in our hour and a half then I did in my whole 5th grade history class, but them my mind was much more receptive at age 65 then at age 10. It helped to put into perspective some of the information that I had gathered in Thailand about their war with Japan prior to the invasion of Pearl Harbor.
For dinner at the Quarter View restaurant on Clearview we were joined by Sidney and Diane Cotlar; Sidney was another junior high friend of Ron’s. Both had effervescent personalities and openly shared their stories of pre-K and after-K, which I discovered is a part of all New Orleanians lives. The conversation was spirited and the trout stuffed with crab meat dressing and smothered in a Cajun sauce was a must have again we come back to New Orleans and the char-grilled oysters were something that I will have anytime they are available. These people just keep eating; we finished our evening at the Café De Monde for beignets and coffee.
Saturday morning we were off to Algiers to have brunch with Ron’s Cousin Sylvia Evensky and her daughter Barbee and her children Andrew and Carle. Again more food good conversation and another Katrina story, these are strong people.
The balance of the day was consumed with a guided tour of New Orleans by Ron giving us a view of the city through the eyes of a high school boy. We stopped by the house that Fran and Lee lived in (Ron’s sister and brother-in-law) in the Garden District, then went down to the French Quarter where we were entertained by a group of very talented acrobatic street performers.
Our day was topped off with a delightful evening with Mike and Brenda Moffitt. Brenda and Fran have been best friends since kindergarten. They took us to the Southern Yacht Club for dinner and an insight into another part of New Orleans culture as well as another totally different Katrina story.
This is the weekend of the NFC championship and the New Orleans Saint are playing the Minnesota Vikings here in New Orleans later today. Nita and I lived in Minneapolis for ten years and have continued to follow the Vikings, but after spending these two days with some beautiful people of New Orleans I can say with on reservations that the Saints deserve to win as a payoff for what the have endured and for the mess they have clawed their way out of; I’ll hold my wishes for the Super Bowl until I see what happens with the Colts and Jets. Nita and I grew up in Indianapolis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)