Greetings from Acapulco, Mexico, the former playground of the rich and famous and now just the playground of Phyllis and Jerry. Here`s an update on the ship news. Yesterday morning the sewage removal system on deck 2 decided to stop working. Our friends have a cabin on that deck and they flew out of their room as fast as their swollen ankles could carry them. Fortunately, and by some miraculous intervention, the problem was fixed in a short time. That was good because the entire ship was starting to smell like a floating garbage dump. At least I, spoiled brat that I am, could go out on my veranda (which is about 3ft by 3ft) and get a whiff of fresh air every now and then.
We actually docked in Huatulco, Mexico, in the state of Oaxaja at about 11 am and we make a quick beeline for the beach, where we hung out till it was time to get back on the ship. We kept stalling as long as we could, dreading the dinner table. Actually, that turned out well because one couple decided not to show up. I know that is because of Jerry,Sandy, Terry and me. We made it clear on the very first night that we are liberal Democrats and they are beyond conservative Conservatives. So you can just imagine: it was like water and oil. Anyway, the previous night the ultra redneck got into it with my Jerry who, as you know, can be extremely, sarcasticly whitty at times and can make you cower with one of his law enforcement looks of terror. Anyway, the redneck (who is so much beyond that term that I can´t find a word to describe him) was aruging with Jerry, egging him on, and finally, he got "the look" of death and shut up for the rest of the meal, and did not come to dinner last night. Now, mind you, I have nothing against rednecks. In fact, my daughter is one. But this guy is totally over the edge. So, we had a nice peaceful dinner with the toothless artist and her strangely dressed husband artists. At least they are educated. They told us they used to drive a VW van. Now, how did I already know that? Oh yes, the husband wears a large evil-eye on a chain, so I had to stare at that as well as the false teeth, which didn´t exactly fit in her mouth. They sort of hung out one side. Can you imagine, I still managed to finish my entire serving of Chateaubriand. Of course, I was so stuffed I fell asleep during the show, which Jerry and I do almost every night. The other night was 50s and 60s night and we managed to stay up and dance till the wee hours. We were sitting with a couple from Liverpool, England. The wife told me she used to "nip" out of school everyday and go down the The Cavern to watch the Beatles. So, she never went past the 10th grade. But she had a big diamond ring on so I guess she got what she wanted in the long run. She and her hubby were blabbing away in the Queen´s English, Liverpool style and of course Jerry didn´t understand a bloddy word. He kept leaning over and whispering in my ear...what did she say? Anyway, we had to recover from all that dancing and me translating English to English all night so we slept late. I saw it was raining so I went back to sleep. The minute I was finally out Jerry woke me up to tell me it was raining. It didn´t last, the sun came out and the day was glorious.
Yesterday I did something really interesting. I took a class (a real one) in learning about and how to use the sextant to do celestial navigation. There is an expert onboard, who gives talks and lessons on navigation as well as history and culture of the areas where we are. Well, I did extremely well and will receive a graduation certificate, a photo of myself using the instrument, and great satisfaction that my mind still works, because the damn thing was hard to learn, especially the math calculations. Now, I can find my way out of the middle of the pool, off Court Six, and especially important, to the good restaurants! To hell with the GPS!
Right now I am sitting in a very noisy Internet Cafe in the middle of the old city of Acapulco. The car horns are driving me mad. Everyone is talking. It´s very hot. We´ve been here before and it hasn´t really changed that much so we will probably head for the Acapulco Princess to veg out for the rest of the day at their beautiful pool. If we go on the beach we will be attacked by 3000 vendors selling every piece of crap imaginable. I am sure some of it will find it´s way into Jerry´s suitcase. In fact, some of it already has. He took an extra bag of magazines which he hasn´t read, some dating back to the stone age. As he reads them, he tosses them to make room for useless souveniers and crap that we pick up along the way. That does not include jewelry by the way. I am expressly forbidden, upon pain of death, to darken the door of any jewelry store. I will fix him, though. The next port stop is Cabo San Lucas, location of that famous Mexican family´s emporium: Cohen´s Jewelry Store. I kid you not, and I will be the first one off the ship and in there.
There were no ambulances at either the last of this port stop, so I guess the medical staff onboard can handle the rest of the problems. I heard someone say they had food poisoning, but I think she probably got that in Mexico. It was Montezuma rearing his ugly head. Personally, I don´t know how anyone can get sick from the buffet or dining room. They are constantly running around with hand sanitizers and will not let us near anything edible unless they bathe us in the stuff. I will probably expire from hand sanitizer poisoning, if anything.
Well, I guess it´s time to walk the city some more before passing out on the chaise lounge at the hotel, with a Margarita falling out of my grasp and Nachos littering my lap. It is a pretty interesting city and after all, we do speak the language and it´s fun to watch people´s expressions when we start babbling at them in Spanish.
So, adios from the laid-back land of Mexico until next time. By the way, it costs $1 per hour to use the internet on land and 65 cents per minute on the ship. I will post photos when we are able to, since seeing is believing.
We hope all is well with everyone. Love to all, The Travel Nuts
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Costa Rica
Greetings from Puntarenas, Costa Rica. We have a really long port stop today...7am to 7pm and we are making the most of it. But before that here is an update on the ship. We finally got the air conditioning in our cabin fixed and the toilet broke down. That´s the bad news. The good news is they felt sorry for us because we were nice and didn´t complain too much so they upgraded us and we are now in a cabin on deck 6 with a veranda. It really pays to be nice.
Now I must tell you all about our table mates. We came with another couple, so they are fine...our friends Terry and Sandy W. We all get along just fine and no problems. Everyone does their own thing. However, we are sitting with four other people for which there are no adequate words to describe. It is dinner from hell every night! And that is putting it mildly. First, there is the couple from Novato, CA, who are beyond redneck. She has tatoos all across her chest and all he talks about is beer and pickup trucks and more beer. He is a supervisor for CALTRANS and that is pretty scary in itself. He leaves the table after every course for a smoke and comes dressed in his formal dungarees (I can´t even call them jeans!) every night. He has a big pot belly and says the stupidest redneck things I have ever heard in my life. He also uses the wrong bread plate and water glass every night. I can´t even stand to hear him talk and Jerry just plain scowls at the jerk. Now for the other couple. They are artists (so they say) from Oakland. I call them the Addams Family. He stares at you with his beady eyes keeps telling us he used to be an engineer and an Air Force navigator. God help us all if that is even remotely true. He knocks his iced tea over in his lap every night but he is always wearing the same clothes so at least they are getting washed a little. His wife has her hair plastered down on her head with what I am sure is either Crazy Glue or Gorilla Glue. She paints her eyes very dark black, lines her lips with what looks like black and has false teeth. The reason I know this is because she takes them out at the dinner table at least twice during the meal to clean them. We fight with Terry and Sandy every night to see who gets to sit opposite her to see the show. I guarantee you that none of us will gain weight on this cruise because we are so nauseated by this group that we hardly eat a thing. Unfortunately, we can´t change tables because there are none to change to at that seating.
It´s like being on a hospital ship. Everyone is very old and by the looks of it, half in the grave. During the Panama Canal crossing they stopped the ship in one of the locks and took someone off in a gurney and three more walking wounded walked off, all into two waiting ambulances. This morning in Puntarenas we woke to the sound of sirens and two more were wheeled out into waiting ambulances. They are really old and sick, but they all manage to beat us youngsters to the buffet by miles! Yes, they are wearing their Nike track shoes, warm-up suits (even though it is 85 degrees), and they fly into that buffet line before the rest of us know what hit us. It´s a sight to behold.
One of the pursers recognized us from another cruise and asked us to have dinner with her. She is really sweet and we will certainly do that, probably tomorrow, which is a sea day. We had so much fun with her on the last cruise that it was such a pleasure to see her again.
The next few ports are: Huatulco, Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico and then San Francisco, where I can´t wait to see my family.
Today Jerry and I rented a taxi driven by a Chinese Costa Rican for the day. We traveled a total of 7 and a half hours. First we went into San Jose, the capital, and walked around the pedestrian street and got a heavy dose of culture. It was great and the people are very sweet. The economy seems to be booming. Everyone was dressed very well and there were lots of new cars and everyone was buying things. There also were interesting and clever art exhibits all over town. It is a large city and we went everywhere with no problems at all. After that, we drove to Sarchi, an artisan town up in the mountains, which was also very interesing. We hung out there for a while, bought a few souveniers and then hit the road back to Puntarenas, where I am now in the Internet Cafe.
We will go back to the ship fairly soon, since we are both starving.
We hope you are all well and will try to get to you in another port stop.
All our love and kisses, P & J
Now I must tell you all about our table mates. We came with another couple, so they are fine...our friends Terry and Sandy W. We all get along just fine and no problems. Everyone does their own thing. However, we are sitting with four other people for which there are no adequate words to describe. It is dinner from hell every night! And that is putting it mildly. First, there is the couple from Novato, CA, who are beyond redneck. She has tatoos all across her chest and all he talks about is beer and pickup trucks and more beer. He is a supervisor for CALTRANS and that is pretty scary in itself. He leaves the table after every course for a smoke and comes dressed in his formal dungarees (I can´t even call them jeans!) every night. He has a big pot belly and says the stupidest redneck things I have ever heard in my life. He also uses the wrong bread plate and water glass every night. I can´t even stand to hear him talk and Jerry just plain scowls at the jerk. Now for the other couple. They are artists (so they say) from Oakland. I call them the Addams Family. He stares at you with his beady eyes keeps telling us he used to be an engineer and an Air Force navigator. God help us all if that is even remotely true. He knocks his iced tea over in his lap every night but he is always wearing the same clothes so at least they are getting washed a little. His wife has her hair plastered down on her head with what I am sure is either Crazy Glue or Gorilla Glue. She paints her eyes very dark black, lines her lips with what looks like black and has false teeth. The reason I know this is because she takes them out at the dinner table at least twice during the meal to clean them. We fight with Terry and Sandy every night to see who gets to sit opposite her to see the show. I guarantee you that none of us will gain weight on this cruise because we are so nauseated by this group that we hardly eat a thing. Unfortunately, we can´t change tables because there are none to change to at that seating.
It´s like being on a hospital ship. Everyone is very old and by the looks of it, half in the grave. During the Panama Canal crossing they stopped the ship in one of the locks and took someone off in a gurney and three more walking wounded walked off, all into two waiting ambulances. This morning in Puntarenas we woke to the sound of sirens and two more were wheeled out into waiting ambulances. They are really old and sick, but they all manage to beat us youngsters to the buffet by miles! Yes, they are wearing their Nike track shoes, warm-up suits (even though it is 85 degrees), and they fly into that buffet line before the rest of us know what hit us. It´s a sight to behold.
One of the pursers recognized us from another cruise and asked us to have dinner with her. She is really sweet and we will certainly do that, probably tomorrow, which is a sea day. We had so much fun with her on the last cruise that it was such a pleasure to see her again.
The next few ports are: Huatulco, Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico and then San Francisco, where I can´t wait to see my family.
Today Jerry and I rented a taxi driven by a Chinese Costa Rican for the day. We traveled a total of 7 and a half hours. First we went into San Jose, the capital, and walked around the pedestrian street and got a heavy dose of culture. It was great and the people are very sweet. The economy seems to be booming. Everyone was dressed very well and there were lots of new cars and everyone was buying things. There also were interesting and clever art exhibits all over town. It is a large city and we went everywhere with no problems at all. After that, we drove to Sarchi, an artisan town up in the mountains, which was also very interesing. We hung out there for a while, bought a few souveniers and then hit the road back to Puntarenas, where I am now in the Internet Cafe.
We will go back to the ship fairly soon, since we are both starving.
We hope you are all well and will try to get to you in another port stop.
All our love and kisses, P & J
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Greetings From Colombia
Hello everyone. Greetings from Cartagena, Colombia, where it is very hot and steamy - the weather, I mean. We left Ft. Lauderdale as scheduled and have been sailing through calm seas and warm weather. This is our first port stop and it is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. This morning we took a bus tour of the old and new cities with a bunch of incompetent old farts. I nearly lost my mind. That was Jerry´s brilliant idea because it was cheap. Well he knows better from now on. It´s a private taxi or nada. Anyway, the new city looks like Montevideo, Uruguay and the old city is a really beautiful Spanish colonial archetecural beauty. There are many things to see and buy. Jerry said he wasn´t going to buy anything but the minute he got off the ship he ran to the street vendors and went ga ga. We now have to schlepp some more useless crap all over the place.
The ship is nice but needs some updating. Both our air conditioning and toilet have already been acting up and if there are two things I really need it is a toilet and a strong airconditioner. The food is great. Just what we need. But we have been very good with the exercise program and have done our deck walks faithfully everyday and walked today through the old town.
The people are very nice and very friendly. The economy is so so with 16 per cent unemployment so everyone is trying to sell something, which my husband seem to be buying. I did buy a piece of local artwork to add to my collection. It was only $5 so you can´t say I spent too much.
Tonight we have a party on deck at 10·30 p.m. It should be fun and I will get the old man up and dancing if I have to stick a pin into him or bribe him with chocolate, whichever works.
Tomorrow we have a sea day and then we begin our passage through the Panama Canal, which will take the whole day before we enter the Pacific Locks. We have been going to lectures onboard to make the experience more meaningful. So far, the lectures have been most interesting.
That is about all for today. Hope you are all well. We miss our little grandson but we are managing to entertain ourselves.
See you on the other side of the Canal.
The Happy Wanderers
The ship is nice but needs some updating. Both our air conditioning and toilet have already been acting up and if there are two things I really need it is a toilet and a strong airconditioner. The food is great. Just what we need. But we have been very good with the exercise program and have done our deck walks faithfully everyday and walked today through the old town.
The people are very nice and very friendly. The economy is so so with 16 per cent unemployment so everyone is trying to sell something, which my husband seem to be buying. I did buy a piece of local artwork to add to my collection. It was only $5 so you can´t say I spent too much.
Tonight we have a party on deck at 10·30 p.m. It should be fun and I will get the old man up and dancing if I have to stick a pin into him or bribe him with chocolate, whichever works.
Tomorrow we have a sea day and then we begin our passage through the Panama Canal, which will take the whole day before we enter the Pacific Locks. We have been going to lectures onboard to make the experience more meaningful. So far, the lectures have been most interesting.
That is about all for today. Hope you are all well. We miss our little grandson but we are managing to entertain ourselves.
See you on the other side of the Canal.
The Happy Wanderers
Friday, April 18, 2008
On The Road Again
Here we go again! We decided to see the family in California and what better way than via cruising through the Panama Canal. We leave April 20th for two weeks onboard the Celebrity Millenium from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco. After that we hope to stay onboard the Millenium for a two-week cruise to Alaska. We'll see about that part. This time we decided to drag our friends, Terry and Sandy, with us so we don't have to sit with boring strangers. We are looking forward to a very laid-back and interesting cruise through the Canal and up the west coast of Mexico and the U.S., making stops along the way in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico. We'll keep you updated as we proceed along. Guess it's time to pack since it is now Friday night and the ship leaves on Sunday.
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