San Jaun - April 2018

We were sailing in as this sailboat was sailing out. Zoom in at the end to see the fortress walls.

This time I’m glad to stay aboard. Knee pain. :-( 

We didn’t sign up for any tour, thank goodness. At 5 pm there is a show tour. Right now our plan is to show up at the starting point and see if they’ll sell us the tour then. 

Que sera sera!!  In the meantime we’ll relax on deck and read. I’ve got a good Grisham novel (The Partner) and dad has his sci-fi and earphones!!

The guitarist, Juan Carlos, was fantastic. Bought his cd for you, TR.  How I wish you could have seen and heard him. My only regret was that he used too much amplification.  It would have been so much more “authentic” without it. Hope the cd does justice to his talent. 

Check him out with google!!!  

Grand Turk - April 2018

John Glen splashed down here. 

Amber Cove:

Nice place. All fresh and new. 

Not doing much. Just WiFi-img. Couldn’t resist this shot:  

Hello from Cuba - April 2018

Cuba was interesting. Dilapidated buildings and well-preserved old cars (personal taxi business). 

And right across the street, the Capitol building.

Government buildings look ok on the outside like the National theater:

And these two security and communication buildings.

No billboards anywhere. But revolutionary heroes are omnipresent. 

Typical condition of buildings. 

Many more sights
And of course, the spiffed up cars!!

The cigar makers:

And, after a brief nap back aboard the ship, we were off to the cabaret show at the Parisienne in Havana’s famous International hotel. 

Back on the ship at midnight!! Quite a memorable day. 

Cayman Islands - April 2018

Had a nice time with the locals.  Bought the famous rum cake. Enjoyed gelato and a latte. And crossed the street so many times the traffic cop became a dear friend. 

Vancouver

Sorry to say Vancouver was a bust for us. We saw it coming and going.  In between we stayed on the ship. 

Blame it on a morning that was cloudy and pouring rain. Blame it on our coming down with the infamous Amsterdam sore throats and colds. But mostly blame it on a Canadian immigration walk-around (a sorry combination of a walk-about and run-around). 

I was up early enough to watch our sail -in to Vancouver.

Once we passed under the bridge, the city was slowly coming into view behind the trees in Stanley Park. 

I've approach to the city as seen from the sky promenade on Deck 9. 

Docking at the Canada Place pier was quite impressive. 

Having arrived in Vancouver, everyone on board had to leave the ship per Canadian immigration law. We weren't sure what we were going to do for the day off the ship because we hadn't booked any tours. 

By the time we had walked forward and back through endless hallways to get to through the mandatory immigration, Tom was already thoroughly tired, not to mention frustrated and unhappy. It was raining. It was a no-brainer: we would go back to the ship and  go out later--maybe. 

By the time we were cleared by immigration, we were so lost in the mouse maze of hallways in the terminal that a Canadian host was summoned to lead us back to the ship. He understood our frustration. He said he clocked about 12 miles a day leading frustrated cruisers through the maze of hallways. 

He warned us that with three cruise ships in port and more than 10,000 people to process, the lines to get back on the ship would be equally long and frustrating. We decided we would see Vancouver from the ship. 

As Murphy's Law would have it, the weather turned sunny and pleasant.  C'est la vie. We needed the rest so ....

We spent a relaxing day reading in the library. 

Vancouver is surrounded by mountains.  Snow was still visible on the mountain tops as seen in this view from our dining room table at dinner.  

While at dinner, we sailed away. 

Goodbye, Vancouver. Maybe someday we'll come back.

Our sail-away photos were like souvenir paintings.

The end of a didn't-do-anything-special day wasn't a total loss. 

San Francisco

I didn't realize, when I took my first photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge, that San Francisco would be my iPhone camera's nemesis. 

I joined the early birds on the bow for the projected 7 a.m. approach and saw the iconic "international red" of the bridge in the distance. 

Not the spot for me. I went back down to our own private Deck 2 where I was sure that I would get a closer view of the bridge when we sailed under it. By that time, I figured Tom would also be awake and we could experience the big moment  together. 

And so there it was. 

But ....

The camera could only "see"  half the bridge up close.   :-( 

And the other half, of course. :-(

By the time the camera could see the whole bridge, it was nothing to get excited about.

  :-(

Thus began a day, as I look back on my photos now, where  "half" was the most we could expect from San Francisco. It was usually just the top half. 

Let me explain (half-heartedly). 

We have been to San Francisco before. We have done and visited all the touristy things like Fishermans Wharf. We wanted a non-walking, easy-going "whole city" tour. So after docking, we bought tickets for the hop-on-hop-off  Big Bus tour.   

We weren't quick enough to get the prime front seats on the top deck, so we saw what we could over the heads of the other passengers.  Yes, we drove through the whole city. But what we saw and my camera could capture, was mostly the top half of San Francisco. 

And, of course, on the top deck of the bus we were extremely close to the miles and miles of criss-crossing electric bus and trolley wires. 

For me and my camera, the ride was frustrating!  A couple of times I did the forbidden thing. When the bus stopped at a light, I stood up!  That's how I got this full-length, whole, entire shot of the Haight / Ashbury intersection:

Then it was back to photographing the top half of  rest of this iconic Beatnik area:

 

Uphill and down, we went. More half-&$)(%# photos. 

Somehow I did get a full-length shot of California Street.  (Notice the sidewalk's steps going up the steep incline.)

We had the hop-off option, we hopped off at Union Square. Not to walk, but to shop!

To be continued ....

Cruise News

We have a sea day today. Huatulco is 500 miles behind us, and Cabo San Lucas about 400 miles ahead. So far we have traveled a little over 3,300 miles. 

For once I got up in time for the sunrise, but the sun slept in, hidden under a blanket of clouds. 

Grandpa appreciates these sea days. He'll listen to his book. I'll do photos and put together our Guatamala and Huatulco stories. 

And so with a half-hour pool exercises--our day begins!!

Hope you have a wonderful day! 

Love and hugs. ❤️

The Panama Canal and the PTD

We've been through the Panama Canal several times, but this passage was, by far, the best ever. 

We usually have a midship cabin on Deck 3 where there is a wrap-around promenade deck. This time, however, our cabin is on Deck 2 and we are in the back of the ship. 

Going through our hallway's back door, we discovered a small, secluded deck that almost no one else knows about. Granted, you can't see where you're going or what is happening in front, but you have a perfect view of where you've been and what is happening in back.

I overslept and missed the start of the transit. Tom was still sleeping, but I decided to make on a quick trip up the stairs and forward to the bow. When I went out our back door, I saw that the rear tug was getting into position. What a nice surprise. Such a good view! I was close enough to the water and the tug to wave to the tugboat captain -- and he waved back!

That wave was the start of a Perfect Transit Day (PTD).  

The best view is supposed to be on the bow of the ship, which is open to the public for the occasion. I was on my way there for the view, but mostly for the traditional Panama breakfast buns that are served there on Panama Canal mornings. 

My bun, filled with custard and bits of orange, was delicious.   The view?  It was like I knew it would be: Not so good. It is disappointing, especially if you're short, not there early enough to get a position at the rail, and too shy (polite) to worm (push) your way in. 

So I wrapped up a bun for Tom and headed back to the room. A better view can be had right in your room because you can hear the commentary and watch the scene on your cabin TV!  And that's how Tom and I both watched the entry into the Gatun Lock. 

On the way to breakfast, we stopped on the promenade deck.  From there, we had a good view of the whole length of the ship while it was in the lock. There was not much room between our ship and their wall. 

I waved at some Canal workers and they hollered back:  "Welcome to Panama."

End of Part One

Tomorrow is a sea day, so I should be able to find time to write some more.