San Juan, Puerto Rico…Off the ship for new photos…

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Tom took this sunrise photo yesterday morning as our ship was a few miles from Puerto Rico.

As we’ve become more experienced cruisers, we’ve learned to determine when it makes sense for us to get off the ship.  For example, yesterday, as our ship approached the port of Puerto Rico, the bustling city attracted our attention, offering plenty of places to walk to explore the nature of the area. 

I’m impressed! His photo taking is improving!

Now, as I write this, we are docked at the pier at Grand Turks and Caicos, a small island country.  All we can see for miles on this clear, sunny day, is once again, a man-made beach, pool, and shopping area, owned by the cruise lines. We are unable to use our Xcom Global MiFi as no signal is available from this small. As a result, we are posting today, using the ship’s WiFi at $.33 a minute for the package we purchased at the second leg of this back-to-back cruise.

Tom took this photo from our balcony of the captain on the bridge, as the ship entered the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico early yesterday morning.

With no respite from the blaring sun, we’ve decided to stay aboard,  use the self-service laundry on our floor in preparation for tomorrow’s packing. This will be the last cruise we’ve booked on which there is self-service laundry. Going forward, we’ll have no alternative but to pay the exorbitant fees to have the laundry done by each ship’s laundry department. 

 El Morro Fort on the island of San Juan.

Again this time, we have some serious rearranging to do, putting all of our vitamins inside the various suitcases,  using the duffel bag for clothing only.  There’s no way we’re willing to experience the difficulty we had boarded this ship as described in our post of 4/10/2013.

 San Juan appears to be a busy business and industrial city. Maybe someday we’ll experience this smaller ship with only 296 passengers with a crew of 207.  Intimate smaller ships are especially appealing to us.

Much to my dismay, my bum shoulder is acting up so much I can barely move my right arm. Taking two Aleve on a full stomach last night and again this morning, I’m hoping to get some relief after a few days of this regime. Moving to the Norwegian Epic in two days, leaves me worrying that I won’t be able to haul my share. 

The Silver Cloud, of Silversea lines, a 296 passenger, 207 crew members on the ship.

This morning, when getting the $14 of change needed for two loads of laundry plus two little boxes of laundry soap, we discovered that this ship will arrive at Pier D in Miami while the Epic will be loading at Pier C. If we plan to be among the last passengers off of this ship when disembarking, and we’re lucky enough to find a porter with a large cart, we’ll manage to move over with relative ease, once we go through customs.

 The busy port of San Juan.

Entering a ship preparing to sail doesn’t require a customs inspection, only a trip through security.  So far in all of our travels, customs had not been an issue. It was Carnival’s onboard security that gave us the difficulties with the vitamins.But we shall see. Nothing in our travels is a certainty. One can never relax anticipating any procedure to be a breeze. This, we’d anticipated and has been confirmed over and again.

As for Puerto Rico, it was a lovely city, clean, orderly, well policed. Modern US  and international stores lined the
boulevard. Vendors were in abundance with little of the expected hawking. A few beggars clinked their near-empty pop cans, hoping to attract a generous passerby, unfettered by the police.

Parrots posing for us as we walked along the boulevard.
Getting off the ship at various ports has been relatively easy, only requiring that we show our “Sign and Sail” card which they swipe through a  scanner revealing our ID and photo. Upon returning, both the card and driver’s license or additional photo ID is required. The lines to get off and on can be lengthy and slow.Our goal has been to leave later and return earlier, thus avoiding the rush of passengers.

In only an hour and a half of walking we’d seen the entire area, not wanting to get too far from the pier with the early 3:30 pm sail time. Content, that we’d seen everything in the immediate area, we returned with ample photos unloaded our stuff and made our way to the pool.

While trying to get a good shot of these parrots, the vendor kept moving the cart, readjusting the cart in the fierce winds, making it difficult for me to get a good shot. Nonetheless, they took an interest in my close proximity. Thanks, Parrots!
Within minutes of arranging our chaise lounges, towels and beverages, a movie began to play on the poolside movie screen, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. A few years ago, I had inattentively watched this movie with my precious granddaughter Maisie, too young to appreciate it at the time. I spent more time watching the expressions on her face than paying attention to the movie.
 Familiar stores lined the streets of San Juan.

As the movie began, I found myself entranced by its sweet story, unable to tear myself away. Tom, less interested in it, eventually wandered to a shaded area to read the latest book on his phone, while I stayed put until the movie ended. At one point, tears welled up in my eyes  not only for the tender story but the memory of the time spent with my granddaughter. Of course, we miss them all.

Equally familiar fast food restaurants were available.

Dinner was pleasant at another table for six in the Golden Olympian while lively conversation ensued among the three couples. My dinner was almost perfect except for the following: I’d asked for Caesar dressing on the side.  The salad was swimming in a thick dressing. I asked for non-starchy vegetables to include cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli and a small amount of carrots. 

 A replica of an old pirate ship.

Instead, my lamb was laying on a bed of puckered overly cooked green peas (starchy) with a single piece of broccoli and cauliflower. My cheese plate was decorated with several juicy pieces of fruit (I can’t eat fruit due to carbs from sugar). 

 Horse and buggy waiting for visiting passengers to partake.

Rather than complain, I scooped the peas onto Tom’s plate and moved the fruit onto my saucer asking for additional steamed veggies which I received  in perfect order. It’s not easy to feel  full and satisfied after a meal when one doesn’t eat bread, potatoes, rice, beans or dessert. Veggies seem to fill the bill for me when a remaining pang of hunger strikes when others are enjoying gooey desserts.

As we approached the  end of the boulevard, we spotted this fountain and began making our way back to the ship to ensure we’d arrive in plenty of time to depart San Juan.

Tom ordered the Seafood Newberg finding the flavor inconsistent from his same order only a few nights ago, liking it much less the second time. We’ve found many inconsistencies in the food on Carnival, although overall, it has been palatable. Of course, nothing so far, can compare to the amazing food on the Celebrity Century with their designated gluten free menu and gourmet flair.

 Tom pointed out the mud stirred up as the ship fired up to depart the port of San Juan.

Off we go, living on ships for the next two months, except for the 13 nights in Dubai. Tom asked me if I’m bored. Ha! First off,  boredom has never been an issue for me. I’ve always been able to find a way to entertain myself when alone and when with Tom, the idle chatter, laughter and banter never ceases, hardly leaving time for boredom.

 The sunlight view as we left San Juan.

For us, where we are is irrelevant, as we easily find ourselves wrapped up in the moment. We even got a kick out of doing our laundry together today. 

Thumping is over…We moved to a new cabin!…

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The luxury yacht we passed as our ship sailed through the channel in Miami to the open sea.

After sleeping for seven hours without awakening during the night, I feel like a new person today after moving to a new cabin last night.

As we traveled through the channel we saw the Norwegian Epic ahead of us.  We’ll be on this ship on our way to Barcelona next Saturday!  Its huge!

After a quiet dinner in the main dining room, we’d decided it would be best if only one of us pressed the customer service desk to give us a new cabin. I volunteered while Tom moseyed over to a nearby bar while I stood impatiently in the long line. (Coincidentally, while at the bar he met a young couple from Maple Grove, Minnesota, only 30 minutes from our old neighborhood. Small world).

Joaquin, our cruise guy was aware of our noisy, drainage-problem cabin from reading our blog, having contacted us by email late yesterday. He was very concerned for us taking the initiative to contact Carnival asking them to move us. They informed him that all of the cabins were booked and we’d have to stay put.

The side view of the enormous Norwegian Epic.

We appreciated Joaquin’s efforts, but we were determined to do whatever it took to move to another cabin in order to get some sleep.  My eyes were bloodshot from only three hours of sleep for four nights and I’d begun to feel out of sorts, comparable to a bad hangover. Having consumed only one beer since boarding the ship on Tuesday, a hangover was not the issue.   

Standing in line for 20 minutes, it was finally my turn. Diplomacy, I reminded myself, was the order of the day.  Taking a deep breath, I forged ahead graciously explaining the difficulty of the sleeping atop the noise thumping nightclub asking for a manager to intervene.
A 50 caliber machine gun was manned by the Coast Guard escorted our ship as we traveled through the channels.  Tom explained that these boats have three outboards each at 300 HP.

An hour later we were packing after a thorough inspection of our new cabin, two floors up, far from the nightclub.

The move was tough. It made no sense to repack all of our unpacked clothes into the remaining five large suitcases. Pulling clothes from hangers, cupboards, and drawers, we hustled while a cabin attendant stood by aimlessly in the hall, waiting for us to hand over our “stuff” as he loaded it onto his cart.

After three trips between the old and new cabins, everything was moved.  By midnight we finished unpacking, exhausted but relieved to finally be in a quiet room. The sink drained when I brushed my teeth before bed;  while this morning the shower water drained nicely. 

This ferry pulled past us with passengers sitting in their vehicles waving at us. Notice the stretch limo in the middle of the vehicles.

Today, anchored a few miles from shore at Half Moon Cay, the Bahamas, the tender boats are taking passengers to the cruise line owned beach and shops.  Once again, we’ve opted to stay onboard having made a definitive decision to avoid gimmicky man-made cruise line owned “spending” traps. 

Our goal is to see nature’s natural gifts of our planet and explore cultures and people.  For us, little is to be gleaned from a man-made money trap.  Also, neither of us is interested in spending a full day sitting on a beach towel in the sand with no respite from the sun, especially with our goal of a maximum of one hour per day of sun exposure. 

This morning, after a great breakfast of “real egg” omelets with mushrooms, onions, and cheese, bacon and sausage, we were content to roam around the ship, go to the health club for my workout, eventually working our way to the pool. Lasting only 45 minutes in the scorching sun, we went to the Serenity Lounge, and in the shaded outdoor area with comfy chairs and fabulous views. It is from this vantage point that I write now.

After yesterday’s errands in Miami and last night’s packing and unpacking, a lazy day is definitely in order. According to my pedometer, we walked over 11,000 steps yesterday.

All of our accumulated snail mail was included in the box of supplies we received at UPS yesterday, most of which were either retirement documents, our new health insurance documents, or duplicates of financial information we’d already reviewed online. 

The cost to ship the two large bags to my sister Julie in LA, totaling 102 pounds, was $202, including the $10 charge for the 24-hour storage of our incoming box of supplies, plus postage for a document that we signed on the spot, to be sent to London for our health insurance.

Prior to leaving the US, we had requested that all mail be sent to us online as opposed to the necessity of our paying our mailing service to scan or snail mail it to us.  Some complied, others did not.  In this age of technology, there’s no need for paper. And yet many companies insist on a “paperful” relationship with their customers. 

Yesterday, we scanned everything we needed to keep placing it in the appropriate folders in our Dropbox cloud while using our tried and true “shredding process” of soaking the paper in water, rolling it into little balls, subsequently tossing the little balls. Considerate of being on a ship, we didn’t flush the tiny balls instead we tossed them into the trash.

With our new camera still in the box, today we’ll begin the process of learning how to use it. For once, I plan to read the instruction booklet.  Hopefully, within a few days, we’ll notice a further improvement in the quality of our photos.  

For the next six days, we’re feeling settled and content. From time to time, my mind
wanders back to Placencia, Belize, our little villa on the ocean, the friends we made, the simple life we lived, and the memories we will carry with us forever.

Surviving errands in Miami…

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Tom ordered frog legs!  He never ceases to amaze me!

Here’s our cruise itinerary for the upcoming week…

Carnival – Carnival Liberty, departs 4/13/13
7 nights Day Date Port or Activity Arrive Depart

Sat Apr 13 Miami, FL 4:00 pm

Sun Apr 14 Half Moon Cay, Bahamas 9:00 am 5:00 pm
 
Mon Apr 15 At Sea

Tue Apr 16 St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

Wed Apr 17 San Juan, Puerto Rico 7:00am 3:30pm

Thu Apr 18 Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands 11:00am 5:30pm

Fri Apr 19 At Sea

Sat Apr 20 Miami, FL 8:00 am

Hazy downtown Miami only minutes ago as we prepare to sail.

After our fourth night of little sleep, with the constant thumping of the disco music blaring from the bar below us, we’re exhausted and feeling run down.

With earplugs firmly implanted, I could still hear and music each night from 11:00 pm to 3:30 am, as the bed shakes.  Oddly, I can hear the sounds through my pillow. 
Supplies to be loaded onto the ship.

More water problems.  The shower and sink don’t drain properly resulting in two inches of water on the bathroom floor after showering.  We’ve reported it several times to no avail. The other passengers have made the same observation who’s cabins are near ours.  Oh, Carnival, we had such high hopes for you!
Anticipating today, with a sense of dread in our tired state, we somehow muddled through and are now situated in our cabin, writing to you using our trusty Xcom Global MiFi which fired up instantly.  We have a flawless signal while in the port of which there are many over the next week and will use the ship’s WiFi signal when out to sea.

Tom noticed dogs being used for security for items boarding the ship.

After seamlessly being pushed through customs with VIP status as “back-to-back cruisers, we exited the ship to grab a cab to take us on our errands.  The process took about two hours, but we were pleasantly surprised by the organized process.  We give credit to Carnival on this aspect.

Our Haitian cab driver, George easily found the four addresses we had printed off our little Planon Printer:  for the bank, the UPS store to pick up our new camera and supplies, CVS pharmacy for toiletries, and a Publix grocery store (in order to purchase a few month’s supply of our usual Crystal Lite Iced Tea).

Eighty cab dollars later, we were back at the ship, whisked through check-in via the Captain’s Lounge, enthusiastically welcomed back aboard the ship to once again, find our cabin, cleaned, and ready for us until we see if tonight they can move us to another less noisy cabin.

Once back inside, we unpacked our new “stuff” still grinning over unloading two heavy pieces of luggage at the UPS store being shipped to my sister in LA all of which totaled 100 pounds.  Now the goal is to unload one more large bag to get us down to two bags, one carry on and one computer bag each. It’s daunting, but doable. The vitamin bag is still an issue.

In actuality, in the large box we received from our mailing service, we had three more large bottles of vitamins.  After considerable research over hearing loss from which Tom suffers from 42 years on the railroad, we’ve recently noticed an improvement in his hearing after about a month after he began taking 600 mg of magnesium per day. 

The staff at the Golden Olympian Restaurant danced down the steps and around the tables again last night bidding cruisers adieu on their last night on the seven-night cruise we boarded mid-cruise on Tuesday, the 9th.

Now, we’ve added another supplement that is used as an adjunct to magnesium, NAC, N-Acetyl Cysteine, 600 mg to improve hearing loss. Only time will determine if the combination of these two supplements provides additional improvement.  We’re hopeful.  Of course, we’re not professionals, nor claim to be, but considerable research has steered us in this direction.

One week from today, we’ll move over at this pier to board the Norwegian Epic in order to go on the Atlantic Ocean crossing to Barcelona.

The customer service desk assured us they will do everything they can to move us to a quieter cabin before bed tonight.  I sure hope so.  A good night’s sleep is exactly what we need.

Back to back cruise change day…April 13, 2013…

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Today, Saturday, we’ll be getting off the Carnival Liberty in Miami to go to UPS to drop off our luggage to be shipped to my sister in Los Angeles, pick up a box of shipped supplies including our awaiting MiFi device, and run a few errands (by cab).

The ship’s Internet service will be shut down from 6:00 am until 4:00 PM eastern time, as it prepares for the next cruise on which we are booked.

Once we return to the ship by 1:00 PM, we’ll load our Xcom Global MiFi device and will be back online in a matter of minutes.  At that point, we’ll share with you the process of taking our bags to be shipped through customs. Hopefully, this process will go seamlessly.

We’ll be in touch later today with details of our outing, including the full itinerary of our upcoming cruise beginning at 4:00 PM today.

See you soon!

Part 2…Harrowing experience…

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Mahogany Bay,  Roatan, Honduras, an area developed by the cruise lines whereby passengers can spend money going on excursions.

Yesterday morning we ventured to the Internet cafe to use their computers to go online, find our receipts at the websites where we purchased the various supplements to begin the process of printing them.

We were determined not to use our thermal paper printer with our limited supply of paper. Each roll only prints twenty pages and our current stock had a remaining four rolls. Luckily, we’d ordered another six rolls which will arrive in our box of supplies in Miami on Saturday, hopefully lasting us through the next nineteen months until we get to Hawaii where we’ll be able to
receive mail.
No one was available until 4:00 pm to charge us the $1 a page for printing. Wanting to put this vitamin situation behind us, we succumbed, deciding to use our thermal printer rather than have this hanging over our heads all day.
Burning up Internet time at $.33 per minute based on the 480-minute package we’d purchase when we boarded, I managed to find all the receipts for vitamins and supplements that I’d purchased for our travels. 
Passengers leaving the ship to explore Roatan, Honduras.

Exhausted and frazzled from no sleep, my frustration level escalated as page after page of printed receipts spewed out of the tiny printer.  Satisfied we had exactly what the security officer requested, we marched to the customer service desk in hopes of putting
this matter behind us.

Approaching the customer service desk, we asked for an adjustment for the 20 minutes of Internet time we burned up printing up the receipts their security officer had requested.

Within minutes, the chief of security approached us at the desk, taking us aside. His suspicious demeanor was off-putting. I sensed my ire escalating once again as he justified how we were treated, blaming the entire scenario on US Customs regulations. Duh? 
“We’re just doing our job,” he rattled at us.
Rather than get into a lengthy tirade with yet another security person, I stated,  “Here are all the receipts as requested. They match every item in the bag. As you can see, this list of receipts is very lengthy.” I held up the five-foot-long single sheet of thermal paper.”
A shipwreck brought into the harbor to add to the ambiance of the excursions. It’s all part of the bigger plan for tourists to spend, spend, spend.

He looked at the paper, “Well, let’s go through this together,”

“No,” I stated firmly, “you go through this on your own. We arrived on this ship almost 24 hours ago and have yet to relax and enjoy ourselves. We’re not spending any more time on this. Take these receipts to your “people” and have them match them up to the vitamins in the
bag.” 
Doing so would be a time-consuming project with as many as 60 bottles in the bags,
many of which were duplicates.

He perused the receipts again, observing something I’d missed. For some unknown reason, some of the receipts didn’t print the total cost of vitamins at the bottom of this page. He brought
this to our attention, shaking his head as if we were “cooked.”

I snapped at him, ‘What we paid for these vitamins is irrelevant! The receipts show my name, address, the names of the items, and the dates purchased. That’s all you need!”
“How did you pay for these and why doesn’t that show?” he retorts.

“That also is irrelevant. But I’ll answer it. We paid with a credit card as one often does when purchasing items online. For security reasons, they don’t print the credit card number on the receipt.  Certainly, you understand that!”

He hemmed and hawed at a loss for his next comment. A wave of satisfaction washed over me.  We were getting somewhere.

“We will have theses receipts matched up to your medications and if approved, you’ll receive your bag later today,” he tentatively adds. “Check with the desk later today.”

Tom graciously thanked him.  There was no way I was about to say thank you. Around 4:00 pm, as we lounged on our balcony, a call came into from the customer service desk. They had approved a $15 credit on our Internet account. Tom thought this was adequate. Me, not so
much. We decided to let that go with no fight left in us. 

“Do you have our bag of vitamins ready for us to pick up?” I asked.
She called back five minutes later, “They will be delivered to your cabin shortly.”
Within a few minutes, another security officer appeared at our door, asking to speak
to me. He was pressing to come inside our cabin.  There was no way I was letting him inside.  With nothing to hide, I still felt a gross sense of invasion of our privacy. I stepped outside.
He handed me a pen and a form to sign, acknowledging our receipt of the bag. “Do you want to go through the bag and verify they are all here?”
Passengers returning to the ship after the excursions.

“I have no interest in doing that. They are just vitamins. If someone took a bottle, good for them.  We just want to be done with this.”  I signed the form after carefully reading each word. 
He left without comment.

Finally!
What did we learn from this?  Have a receipt for anything in a pill form?  Yes!  Don’t travel with supplements? Not necessarily. Or perhaps, disperse the vitamins throughout our bags rather than
carry all of them in a single bag?  Yep, will do prior to getting off of this ship on April 20th!
Tom tried another new dish, Seafood Newburg.  The first time he ever tried mussels. He raved about this meal.  He never ceases to amaze me.  When I’d cook a meal like this in our “old life” he refused to taste it.  I’m proud of him for trying new foods!

Ah, we live and learn. Whoever said we knew how to travel the world for many years to come, carrying with us all the supplies we’ll need until we can receive mail. That won’t be until we reach Hawaii in November 2014, a long time away.

As for the Carnival Liberty so far?  Great service, friendly staff, clean, organized, no Norovirus so far, a combination of great and mediocre food, not gluten-free friendly, noisy, and not for us, in the future.
 Heather and Paul, a fun couple we dined with last night. Mary and Don also dined with us. They were so kind and gave us two sets of earplugs to use from 11:00 pm until 3:30 am when the loud disco music was thumping in our cabin.
What will we do today? After finally falling asleep when the thumping ended at 3:30 am, we finally drifted off awakening almost at 9:00 am, unusual for us. Arriving late to Emile’s breakfast buffet,
with no less than 50 passengers waiting in line at the grill, we decided against breakfast, instead to return at noon for lunch.
Another lovely couple we met at dinner.
Currently we’re in port at the Cayman Islands. Most of the excursions included lots of shopping which obviously is not an option for us. Finally relaxing, I worked out this morning to an empty health club. Tom sat on a machine waiting for me.
 This was my dinner last night. The Salmon was overcooked.  I don’t eat peas (a starchy vegetable).

We opted to stay on the ship for a leisurely lunch, quiet time at the pool, and finally beginning our exploration of the ship, our home for the next nine
days. 

Tonight is a dress-up night. We’ll partake. We had a blast at dinner last night with the same lovely couple we dined with the previous night along with another adorable young couple.
Piano bar aboard the ship.

Twice during dinner service a “Conga” line danced through the formal dining hall, whooping and hollering. Perhaps tonight feeling more rested, we’ll join in on the Carnival “party
mode” and “Conga” right along with them.

Final day…Goodbye Belize…Thank you for a wonderful experience…

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The sky and the sea offered us a pleasing goodbye this morning. 

Last night, full and content after a homemade meal, we lounged in the cozy living room of our villa with our two friends, Bill from Minnesota and Rene, a citizen of Belize, the general manager here at Laru Beya. 

While drinking local Belikin beer (I had tea) lively conversation ensued. It was fun learning more about Belize and our guests rounding out the last of new friendships made while here. Hopefully, in the future, our paths will cross again.

We’re relieved to be packed as of this morning, except for a few toiletries, for the morning.

All of our documents are in order. This morning we took care of our bill at the front desk, which was $502.50 for the two months. This includes tours, dinners in the restaurant, cocktails, car rental, beer purchased a few times at happy hour for US $2 each, laundry charges, and tips. Our winter heating bill in Minnesota was almost as much for one month.  We didn’t flinch. 

The simple beauty of the clouds and the sky left us breathless every morning. Today was no exception.

With everything packed a wave of excitement washed over me. Finally! I’ve been waiting for that feeling. Why not be excited with two months of cruising ahead of us, including 13 nights in Dubai? Why not start my usual “jumping up and down,” leaving behind any doubt or negative expectations?

Last night before bed at 11:00, we froze two-liter bottles with iced tea and one with water. With little time for breakfast tomorrow, we’ll stick to a piece of cheese along with a single cup of coffee each, hoping to keep the potty breaks to a minimum during the four-hour drive.  Last time, we only stopped once. 

This final day is ours to enjoy lounging by the pool, taking a final walk along the beach, saying our goodbyes to the staff, dining on tasty leftovers from last night, and finally letting our heads hit the pillows by 10:00 PM with pleasant dreams of our upcoming travels.

Shortly after arriving on the ship, we plan to take photos of our cabin prior to filling it with our stuff and, again a day later, after unpacking while Tom does his “magic” hiding the suitcases in the tiny space.  For the 11 days of our first leg, we’ll unpack two bags each, leaving the remainder untouched to be shipped on the 13th. 

We never tired of the view, especially when the clouds rolled by in many mornings.

Once we have signed up for access to the ship’s Internet service, we’ll be back here with photos and the story of the hopefully seamless transition from Placencia Belize to boarding the Carnival Liberty by tender in Belize City. 

Will we come back to Belize someday?  Perhaps. But, we have a lot of world to see ahead of us. We’ll carry memories of  Belize with us in our hearts and minds forever.

Stay tuned…

At a loss for words…

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These two palm trees fell into the ocean overnight, due to erosion, rough surf, and wind. Notice the vendors in the background preparing their handmade crafts for sale.

Since our first post in March 2012, I’ve never been at a loss for a topic until today. Each morning, while checking the stats for this blog, marveling in the number of readers from all over the world, something pops into my head. My fingers fly across the keyboard with a mind of their own, as if my hands contain the thoughts as opposed to my brain. 

This morning, after responding to email from two people I adore, my inspiring cousin Phyllis and my new equally inspiring friend Nancy, whom I met in Belize, I stared at my keyboard with nary a thought of what to write.

Originally, I wrote every other day, leaving time for events to occur as fodder for writing. Alas, once we left the US, the desire to “take pen to paper” escalated to everyday posts.  I don’t think I’ve missed a day, but I’m open to correction.

Why write a blog?  The plan was to offer it as a means of keeping family and friends privy to where we were, what we were doing, and our current state of safety in our travels. Lo and behold, since we left the US, the stats began showing tens of thousands of visits to our blog, from all over the world. 

Suddenly, I felt compelled to write, not in a feeling-pressure kind of way, but in a joyful-can’t-wait-to-write kind of way.  So, here I am, writing anyway, with the hope that those who drink their coffee and read, as I drink mine and write, will not upset their routine and, I will not upset mine.

Mr. Iguana stopped to say hello to me as I walked along the path to the little workout room. He actually stopped dead in his tracks to peer at me. Thank you, Mr. Iguana!

All I have to offer today, feeling somewhat drained from a poor night’s sleep, is my own “mindless drivel,” not unlike the endless books that I’ve been consuming on a regular basis. 

Yesterday, I expanded my reading horizons and downloaded a book from Amazon to both my no-contract phone and my laptop from Oprah’s Book Club, hoping to fire my brain in a more “artsy” way with a fine piece of literature. 

Reading, “She’s Come Undone” by Wally Lamb, I became entrenched in the characters reminding me of my less than ideal childhood, growing up in the ’50s, so very long ago. 

Little did I know that my “golden years” would be spent in any manner other than sitting in a chair by the window, growing old, reliving memories of a life long past, as I had witnessed in my youth, as my relatives entered old age.

Little did I anticipate, that I’d be sitting here on a Sunday morning, in a pink flowery bathing suit, overlooking the majesty of the ocean, next to the man of my dreams, and writing a “blog” about traveling the world for the next so many years. 

My dear cousin lovingly writes “don’t be worried” after reading yesterday’s post. But I, like many of us, sometimes worry. Sometimes, worry inspires us to be cautious, treading gently in dangerous waters. The important part, for most of us, is the ability to let the worry go once the worrisome event has passed. That’s me. I do that. I let it go. 

This was my view, this morning as I sat on a step at Robert’s Grove putting on my workout shoes for my last workout session in Belize. The lines are streams of water falling into the pool.

So, in two days, when our zillion bags (soon to be half a zillion) are secured in our mini-suite balcony cabin aboard the Carnival Liberty (click here for reviews), I will let the worry go, feeling once again, that we have landed firmly on our feet from yet another transition. Will sewage be floating down the halls? Will we be eating onion sandwiches? 

I hope not. For now, I won’t worry about that.

A glorious morning…Three days and counting…

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Goodbye view! We’ll always remember or we can always check here to be reminded of how much we’ve enjoyed this resort and beach.

After a night of fitful sleep, I awoke at 4:44, wide awake, thoughts running through my mind.  “When does the “motor” stop running?” I asked myself, longing to go back to sleep.

 The gentle sound of the sea at night has been soothing.

Picking up my smartphone-with-no-contract from under my pillow while putting on my spectacles-for-old-age on my eyes, I continued reading the Kindle app where I left off last night. Mindless reading. Not necessarily worthy of mention.

This is the beach we walked almost every day in Belize. We’ll miss this.

Fortunately, it was mindless enough that I dozed off to sleep for yet another hour, dreaming about what I had read.  Oh, yes, clutter my mind with mindless drivel so I don’t go there…my own worrisome thoughts as we near the end of our time in Belize.

As I lay there the second time, contemplating arising, a refreshing thought hit my brain.  No worrisome thoughts are necessary!  I’m a girl (albeit an old girl) that will be cruising for the next two-plus months (except for the 13 nights in Dubai and two separate hotel nights in Barcelona between cruises) and I’ll be looking forward to the following:

1.  No bed to make
2.  No meals to cook or grocery shopping
3.  No dishes to wash
4.  No laundry (perhaps a little hand washing)
5.  No cleaning (only tidying. Tom picks up after himself)
6.  At least one fun dress-up night a week
7.  The ocean around us with breathtaking photo ops
8.  Socializing if we choose, or not
9.  Three pools at which to lounge
10. Movie theatres inside and outdoors (we love movies)
11. Live entertainment if we so choose
12. Educational seminars
13. Ports to visit
14. Tom can drink and I don’t have to drive home
15. Easy access to a fully-equipped fitness center

These are the key points that appeal to me. For Tom, he’s enjoys all the above, except for the health club.  These points drove my mind to a place of imagination.  Imagine, we were living somewhere and were preparing to go on six cruises, almost back to back.  I’d be jumping up and down with excitement.  Tom would be doing his usual smile, enthusiasm tempered with no apparent jumping up and down.

Caribbean Sea, thanks for sharing with us!

Can I let go of all of the things that can go wrong in the six hours from leaving here Tuesday morning at 8:00 am until we’re aboard the ship by approximately 2:00 PM? Only six hours, I keep reminding myself. Only six hours. 

“Get a grip!” I tell myself, “Get a grip!”

Happy Easter! Let them eat cake…

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Last year’s bunny rabbit cake, chocolate on the inside, fluffy white frosting and coconut on the outside.  The little ones are the baby bunnies of which there were six, for each of the grandchildren to take home.

Our old lives consisted of a series of cakes, gooey, fattening and mouth watering.  Not particularly skilled with small handiwork, the decorating was often uneven, messy and at times, laughable.

Oh, what a mess!  We should have turned the air conditioning on for me to make this cake
this morning.  As hard as I tried the decorate it, the Cool Whip slipped off the cake in the heat and humidity.  Hurriedly, I placed it in the fridge with the hope of“fixing” it when it hardens.  The Cool Whip we bought a few days ago must have been frozen and refrozen.  I defrosted it in the fridge yesterday but today it was runny withgobs of liquid at the bottom of the container.  Oh, well, another laughable cake that hopefully will taste great for our guests after tonight’s Easter dinner.

They were always made with love to please the palates of whomever would experience them, invariably to rave reviews in the flavor department amid chuckles on the actual décor.  The design attempt was always playful and at times clever but the execution less so.  This didn’t prevent Tom or any of our kids and grandkids from enjoying them any less.

      Each year on the 4th of July I made this flag cake white cake with Cool Whip, fresh strawberries and blueberries
With our new way of eating the days of baking cakes, pies and various confections has long since wafted away, leaving my love of baking in the dust.  I’ve discovered it wasn’t the eating of the cake that I missed but the preparation and subsequent somewhat braggadocio displaying of my most recent “prize.”

Every year at Easter I baked the bunny rabbit cake, chocolate on the inside, fluffy white frosting on the outside, all covered with coconut, comparable to a Hostess Snowball.  The cake was big enough for everyone to take home a substantial portion (our Tammy always took the tail) leaving us a generous piece to devour over a few days. 

In our old lives, I frequently made this ice cream cake for Tom and I during the summer.  We’d eat the entire thing in four nights!  Piglets.
In my old “low fat” wheat eating days, I’d splurge for a few days while Tom and I hovered over the remains after dinner, graciously deciding which of us should take the slightly larger piece.  I always insisted I had to “watch my figure’ and shoved the bigger piece at him. 
  Ah, once in awhile it was pie as opposed to a cake. This is an old recipe from Tom’s family for butterscotch pie.  Making the filling over the hot stove was challenging but making the meringue was a easy using 12 egg whites, sugar, 1 tsp of cream of tarter

In time, Tom packed on the pounds from my baking leaving us relatively cake-free in our new lives. I counted calories to keep my weight at bay (no  more!).  Since our new way of eating began, he’s lost the 45 pound of cake that had gone directly to his belly. 

Today, he’ll eat cake and again and I’ll send our guests home with a piece for later.  No, I won’t take a taste.  It’s not hard for me to resist anymore, feeling as well as I do. But, its fun to make it, fun to be a “cake voyeur” and fun to share it with others.

   No, I didn’t bake Tom’s retirement cake.  Raven, who worked at the Cub Foods store in Shorewood, Minnesota, made this cake merely with an idea and a drawing I’d given her.  Amazing, job!

Oh, here’s our menu for today, a real mish-mash utilizing foods easy to find here in Placencia Belize:

  • Homemade Crunchy Red, Green Cabbage & Carrot Salad 
  • Tomato, Cucumber and Feta Salad
  • Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna (will post recipe later if its good)
  • Sautéed Buttery Garlic Locally Caught Grouper (thanks Nancy & Roger!)
  • Mozzarella, from Caves Branch Cheese Factory in Belmopan, Belize, stuffed grass fed organic ground steak meatballs, topped with low carb marinara sauce and topped with fresh Parmesan cheese, also from Caves Branch
  • The above messy chocolate cherry cake, hopefully to be “repaired’ before serving.

So today, eat cake, eat Peeps, eat chocolate bunnies and have a wonderful Easter filled day with memory making events and love.  Tomorrow is another day.

Planning our last two weeks in Belize…Today’s photos…

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A walk along the beach this morning on a cloudy cool day.
Man-made breakwater we encountered, rocks wrapped in mesh casings about 75′ from shore, utilized to protect the shoreline from the crashing waves.

The next two weeks will fly by. I can feel it whirring by already as we’ve begun counting how many days of groceries, we’ll need to get us through. With the hope to use as much as possible of our food on hand. We speculate that we won’t be dining out again.

The bar at the end of the long dock at Robert’s Grove Resort.

Tomorrow, Wednesday will be our last trip to the village with Estevan, our cab driver. Going through the freezer and refrigerator, we’ve counted that we currently have almost enough meat to go the duration. With a few trips to the vegetable stand, we’ve got it covered.

With Easter on the horizon this Sunday, we’re planning a special dinner inviting our yet-to-remain-in-Belize, Minn Roger, our friends who returned to Minnesota last Friday, left us a good-sized package of grouper they’d caught while fishing here. 

Local carving popular in Belize.

Safely tucked away in the freezer, I’ve looked forward to serving the prized fillets one night soon, and
alas, the time has arrived, Easter dinner.  With Tom diligently back on our stringent way of eating until we’ board ship on April 9th, all of our remaining meals will be low carb, grain-free, starch-free, and sugar-free including the Easter dinner.

The traditional Easter dinner as we knew it, is a thing of the past both health-wise and, due to the lack of
availability of the many ingredients necessary to make the ham and many side dishes. Our lives are different now.

This style of carving is frequently seen in Belize.

Tom will be able to indulge a little on the ship, although we don’t eat more than twice a day. Many cruise passengers live for the lavish multiple meals and decadent desserts available at all hours. We’ve chosen a more modest approach with so many cruises ahead of us. 
 
It would make no sense for Tom to outgrow his new slimmer wardrobe.  We’ve already replaced all his clothes for many sizes smaller while in Scottsdale in December.

An abandoned building, part of a resort that most likely failed due to poor economic conditions.

I strictly adhere to our way of eating at all times while Tom occasionally tries some bread and desserts which don’t appear to present any ill effects for him when consumed in moderation.

Together, today, we’ll plan the meals for our next two weeks, grocery shop accordingly taking the one mile each way walk to Seine Bight to buy additional fresh vegetables again in another week.

This little abandoned shack may have been a food stand or dive shack years ago.

Once the food situation is resolved, we’ll begin the process of making to-do lists for our departure from Belize City on April 9th.  Booked on two back to back cruises with the partial day layover in Miami on April 13th, we’ll take care of the tasks we have planned as described here, in prior posts: go to the bank, ship three of our large suitcases to LA while picking up an awaiting box with supplies at UPS and stop at a drugstore for miscellaneous toiletries.

When we disembark the ship, we’ll have to go through customs with the three bags.  When we return to the ship a few hours later, we’ll have to check in on the second cruise as would any passenger with the box of supplies we picked up at UPS. 

Another abandoned resort.  Someday these properties will be sold and brought to life again, as the economy in Belize hopefully recovers along with the remainder of the world. It’s sad to see the loss of local employment and potential generated revenues in the many abandoned resorts throughout the country.  Luckily, many well managed and funded resorts continue to thrive today.

This morning, while writing this, I suggested to Tom that we bring one empty suitcase with us.  This way, we can open the box at UPS, place everything in the suitcase, ditch the box, and check-in for the second cruise.  Once aboard the ship, we’ll return to our awaiting cabin (same cabin as a prior cruise) where our remaining luggage is already unpacked and put away.
 
Gosh!  Writing this down adds clarify to these multiple steps, a necessary reality we’ll always face, getting to and from our various destinations. In actuality, it’s the only part we don’t like. In time, it may be our undoing. 

We met this fun-loving group of travelers (one wasn’t in the pool) that had just come off a one week charter on a giant catamaran with a private gourmet chef and full crew. They were all from Chicago with one, a former native of Minnesota. We enjoyed chatting with them. Unfortunately, they all left the next day. Yes, those are my feet in the photo! The sun was so bright, I could see to take the photo. Glad my toes were polished!

For now, the excitement of our next adventure drives us on with a fervor and passion neither of us has
ever known.  The inconveniences occur in only several hour segments, leaving us days, weeks, and months to revel in the rich experiences.  Life is good.