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.

Part 1…Harrowing experience…

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Due to a poor internet signal aboard the ship, there are spacing issues in today’s post.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

We counted seven single lane bridges along the ride to Belize City.
When the driver of the shuttle, Mark Lanza, arrived at our door at LaruBeya fifteen minutes early, immediately I began to feel more at ease.  He didn’t hesitate to shake hands, introducing himself, jumping in to load our zillion pieces of luggage. 
It’s rare for anyone to receive a moving violation in Belize.  Police do not monitor the roads resulting in many fatal accidents.

Chatting with me momentarily, he apologized for the lack of air conditioning during our arrival in Belize on January 29, 2013, explaining that the system wasn’t working at that time and has seen been repaired. He sensed my apprehension about the long drive assuring me that he was a safe driver. By 8:00 am we were on the road.

 

The drive was uneventful.  Surprisingly, the time flew by in the cool vehicle and with his cautious driving.  By noon, we reached immigration at the pier. 

Two of a group of four women cruising together. It was a pleasure meeting them as we bounced around on the half-hour noisy ride on the tender from the pier to the ship.

With our two luggage carts, two grocery bags, my handbag, one bag with hangers, seven large suitcases, two carry-on bags, two laptop bags, and one bag with our laptop trays, we had a total of eighteen pieces. Yes, we know. Outrageous.  Soon, this will be cut in half.

A port agent was on standby awaiting us at the immigration office and check-in area, for cruise passengers.  Everyone seems to know our cabin number and that we were arriving mid-cruise since the port of Belize was an excursion port, not an embarking port.
 
Amazingly, we were moved through the check-in process with relative ease.  Our bags were whisked away to the awaiting tender, placed in the bow of the 100 person boat while we boarded inside. The bumpy, hot, crowed half hour ride to the awaiting Carnival Liberty was eased as we engaged is lively loud chatter (over
the earsplitting sound of the engine and the pounding waves) with our seatmates, a pair of lovely widows enjoying traveling together.

Reaching the ship, buzzers went off announcing our mid-cruise arrival, as our bags were hauled aboard, most of which were sopping wet from the outdoor boat ride. Security directed us to the guest services desk to check in to receive our “Sail and Sign Cards” which are used as both a credit card and cabin key throughout the cruise.

Entering the narrow, busy road as we approached the port of Belize City.  Notice the load the woman on the right is hauling on her bicycle.

Standing at the desk awaiting our turn, we looked at each other smiling at the relative ease in getting aboard. NOT SO FAST!!! Hold on to your seat folks! The stern security officer we’d met upon boarding approached us with a wary look on his face.  “Sir, madam, we have an issue with your luggage.”

My heart started racing. We’d had no illegal anything in our bags but we’d heard stories of passengers being detained for days for naught.  We had no booze, no medications other than those for which we had copies of the prescriptions. We had no contraband. Nada! Nothing!
 
Tom and I looked at each other while I whipped into my sharp defensive mode briskly stating, “What’s the problem, sir?”
 
“It’s your medications, madam,” he shot back as he opened our duffel bag, revealing our bottles of vitamins.
“Do you have prescriptions for these?”
“Sir,” I snapped, feeling the hair on my neck standing up, while my claws came out as I said, “In the US, prescriptions for over the counter vitamin supplements are not required. We have so many of these since we are traveling the world for no less than five years and we can’t receive mail in most places we are traveling.  We’ve brought along all that we’ll need for the next few years.  That’s why we have so many!”
With rubber-gloved hands, they kept examining our vitamins, opening unopened bottles, checking against the open bottles from which we were currently using to ensure we hadn’t hidden illegal substances.
Tom gave me a look that meant, “Settle down.”  I know that look.
 
The security officer, sensing my ire, spoke in a calm voice, “You both have to go to the medical clinic, and see the doctor.”
 
“Why????  We’re not sick!”  I spewed, irritated beyond my own belief.
 
“We have to determine that these drugs are not illegal.”  He sternly states.
 
Off we were trotted, under guard to the medical clinic.  We were seated in “chairs” while a sick person awaited treatment. My thoughts flipped between the germs in the clinic, while I contemplated what jail in Belize would be like. 
 
I could tell Tom was irritated with me, thinking diplomacy would be more effective. Bless his heart, he means
well. Not an ounce of diplomacy was fluttering through my mind.
 
We sat in those chairs for not less than an hour waiting for the doctor. Finally, the doctor came out, an older
gentleman of kindly demeanor, looking more curious about our bag of vitamins than wanting to detain us further. He called us into his office.
 
Taking a deep breath, as he questioned me as to why we had so many bottles of vitamins, I explained our restrictive diet, Tom’s eight years of use of Vitamin B6 as recommended by his urologist after three kidney stone surgery which has left him free of further incidences, our use of various supplements for bone health, heart health and a Valerian/Melatonin supplements used on occasion to help us sleep.
 
After a series of going back and forth to the opened bag of supplements which were still sitting in the chairs of the sick passengers, the security officer, and a male nurse were not only rummaging through the bag of vitamins but also one of our carry-on bags. There were alarmed by my blood pressure cuff, my ample supply of contact lenses, and my bag of miscellaneous fingernail supplies. 
 
They continued to refer to the supplements as “medications” stating we needed a prescription for each of these.  Then I said once again for the umpteenth time, “These are not prescription items. These are over-the-counter non-prescription supplements.
 
Well-planned in advance, we produced multiple documents from our doctor and travel clinic in Minnesota, specifically stating that these particular supplements were a part of our regular dietary needs, none of which required a prescription. The security officer and the male nurse looked over the documents.
 
Immediately, the security office changed his demands, fumbling over his words, stating that now, their new conditions, that we produce receipts for each and every supplement in the bag.
 
“Who saves receipts for vitamins?  Who needs a receipt for Vitamin C?  I could drink a glass of orange juice for the same dose.” Tom’s foot tapped my calf.  I was enraged.
 
As the doctor finished with his sick patient, the male nurse goes into the doctors’ office and in hushed tones, speaks to him. We can’t hear what he’s saying. A moment later the doctor comes out while scolding the male nurse for the preposterous of this situation. The nurse dashes off, not to be seen again.
 
At that point, the doctor asked us to come into his office. Tom recommended I go in alone, since one of
us had to watch the computer bags and other luggage. 
 
In a calmer manner, I explained our situation to the doctor, who promptly informed me that he’s 82 and doesn’t take any vitamins. Good for him. We do. As I was speaking to the doctor, the security officer was watching me, watching Tom, watching our vitamins, and talking on the phone about our vitamins to some unknown party.  His head was flopping back and forth as if he were watching ping pong game.
 
The doctor walked out of his office, looked into the bag of vitamins asking the security officer, Tom, and I back into his office.  Tom and I followed suit, but the security officer was rambling on the phone about our vitamins.  I was ready to scream. I didn’t.
 
Finally, we’re all back in the doctor’s office while the doctor explains to the security officer that these vitamins are legal, non-prescription items that anyone can purchase over the counter.
 
The security officer was unrelenting, refusing to give us back the supplements. The doctor proposed that
they are to be treated in the same manner as bottles of alcohol, held in security, providing a receipt, and returned to the passenger upon disembarking.
 
The security officer refused the doctor’s recommendation stating that he is going to turn our vitamins over to the police.  I freaked! “No, way! We are not getting a criminal record that follows us around the world, affecting our ability to travel, over vitamins!”  This could put a fast end to our travels!   
 
I freaked out!  At this point, Tom stopped kicking me “under the table.” This was serious.
 
“OK,” I offered, in a feeble attempt to sound under control, “What if we produce all of the receipts for these?”  My mind was spinning thinking I could get them online where I’d made the various purchases in the past year. 
 
He agreed to insist that we’d have to sign a statement certifying that we have no intention of reselling the vitamins and that is for our personal use.
 
The doctor had thrown his hands in the air. It was obvious he was as stymied by this awful experience as we were.
 
The security officer states, “Yes, get me the receipts and we’ll see what we can do.” 
 
At this point, the doctor produced his camera and took a picture of our supplements. Observing this peculiarity,
I immediately pulled out my camera and also took a picture as you can see here.
 
Two hours had passed from the time we boarded the ship until we warily went to the Internet cafe to sign up for service. 
 
A half-hour later we left to attend our scheduled emergency procedure session arranged exclusively for us since we were the only passengers boarding mid-cruise in Belize City. There were four various officers in attendance in the Tapestry Room as we watched a 10-minute video and was shown how to put on our life jackets, along with a description of the location of our “muster station,” a designated meeting point for passengers in an emergency. Fine. Done.
 
By the time we got back to our cabin, yet to receive as much as open a single bag, we showered, and change for dinner. We needed to eat. We hadn’t had a morsel all day. Exhausted, frustrated, and hungry, we fumbled around the cabin looking for clothes to wear to dinner, showering, and getting ready.
 
Our lovely cabin steward’s soft, caring, voice help defray some of my angst, hoping somehow we could get past this and enjoy the rest of the cruise’s remaining 11 days.
 
By 7:30 PM, we were seated at a round table in the Golden Olympian dining room joining a charming couple from Maine. As the conversation escalated, we found ourselves slipping into a more relaxed state, optimistic that we could let this all go, get the receipts in the morning, and be done with the negative experience with the vitamins.
 
The Carnival Liberty is unlike either the of the two Celebrity cruises we’d experienced a few months ago. The service is great, the food quite acceptable, especially as they accommodated my restrictive diet at dinner, the decor, loud and gaudy, but the amenities and activities are many, appealing to a much younger crowd, not necessarily us.  Lots of smoking throughout the ship.
 
Within a few days, we anticipate that we’ll get into a groove enjoying ourselves in whatever we do, as long as we’re together, have running water, a good Internet connection, decent food, and a clean safe environment.  Not much to expect, right?
 
NOT SO FAST!!!
 
By 10:30, we decided to call it a night as masses of passengers were literally jumping up and down, dancing and screaming to the rockin’ music in the various bars. As we entered the glass elevator overlooking one of the bars, people were carrying on to the song, “Celebration” in a mad frenzy. Gosh, we’re old.
We welcomed the sight of the turned-down bed arriving in our cabin after dinner, exhausted and stressed, desperately needing a good night’s sleep.
By 11:00 we were reading our books on the Kindle apps on our phones, finally drifting off. Within minutes of
wandering off into much-needed repose, we both were awakened to a loud thumping and thumping and thumping. 
 
“Do you hear that?” I asked Tom, who is hard of hearing and may not have heard it. 
 
“Yes,” he said, “I can also feel it!” The bed was vibrating with each thump.  The late-night bar one floor below us opened at 11:00 PM to outrageously loud disco music until 2:30 am.
 
Tom, thanks to his hearing loss, was able to dose in and out.  I, on the other hand, a light sleeper, never
slept a wink until finally at 3:00 am, I finally wandered off, exhausted, frustrated, head pounding. I needed an
aspirin. Bad. They were in the bag of vitamins.
We checked today. That music goes on seven nights a week. Oh.
Not much sleep was to be had in this bed last night with the constant thumping of the disco bar one floor below us.
At 7:35 am an announcement came over the loudspeaker, telling us that the ship was in rough waters and may not be able to go into port in Roatan, Honduras. Jolted out of deep sleep, neither of us was able to go back to sleep.

Need I say, we had little motivation or energy to do much of anything today, other than continue to work on the vitamin situation. Exhausted, there was no one hour of pool time, no wandering around the ship exploring every nook and cranny, and only a few photos to share with you today.

 Do we get our vitamins back?  As we write this now, we still don’t know.  Tomorrow, we’ll write again describing “the rest of the story.”

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!”

Winding down at the local health club…Photos of a walk…

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The walk under the trees from  Laru Beya to Roberts Grove Resort.

Within a day of getting situated at LaruBeya, we made our way along the beach to the property next door to us, Roberts Grove Resort, a kitschy, high energy, busy vacation spot entrenched in endless activities and jammed with guests.

One of the three pools along the walk to the health club at Robert’s Grove.

Over our two-plus months here, we’ve frequently meandered next door for dining in their three restaurants, but most of all, for me to use their air-conditioned health club. The fee for non-hotel guests is US $35 a month. At this time, LaruBeya doesn’t have a workout facility.

We duck under the bushes along the walk.

Small, the size of a standard hotel room, the health club is less of a “club” and more a fitness room with a stationary bike, elliptical, treadmill, a universal gym, and free weights. Definitely compact but exactly what I’ve needed to maintain my high-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocol, which I do faithfully twice a week for only 10 minutes each time. 

I use the stationary bike or the elliptical machine at the highest level of intensity, at intervals of 30 seconds for a total of 10 minutes every other time I work out.

This is not an easy 10 minutes. It’s 10 minutes of excruciating work. Ten minutes of groaning, grunting, sweating work. But, then, in 10 minutes, it’s over. Add to that, an effort to walk 10,000 steps per day (not always easy to do in this lazy lifestyle) and my fitness level is improving day by day.

The main pool at Robert’s Grove.

Living in Minnesota, I discovered HIIT last spring while reading the book, The Smarter Science of Slim by Jonathan Bailor I worked out five to six days a week for no less than one hour per day. Not surprisingly, I got into a monotonous routine achieving little results while barely maintaining my level of fitness.

This picture was taken this morning by one of the women I met in the workout room. 

Most of my life, I’ve worked out in a concerted effort to avert the many illnesses that ran rampant in my family history; heart disease, diabetes, joint and spine disorders, and in many cases, obesity. 

The wood sidewalk on the way to Robert’s Grove front desk where I pick up the key to the health club each time I work out.

Not entirely dodging the bullet, I’ve always felt that my exercise efforts paid off, coupled with tight controls on what I ate.  It was never fun and it was never easy. But I plodded along.

The walk along the main restaurant to the fitness room.

As I’ve mentioned many times in this blog, 20 months ago, both Tom and I drastically changed our diet to a renewed level of health and well being, that we’ve committed to maintaining for whatever time we are blessed to have left on this earth. He lost 45 pounds, was able to stop taking seven prescription pills per day, and continues to maintain his weight. (He’d better! His clothes won’t fit if he gains it back.  We’ve already replaced everything once with his weight loss).

The path continues…

It’s not always easy, especially avoiding all sugar, starch, and grains, but it’s rewarding figuring out meals that are both healthful and satisfying for both Tom and me. Tom is less strict than I, enjoying foods that would precipitate illness in me and as I’ve mentioned causing him no ill effects. 

Finally, the tiny workout room at Robert’s Grove, where I’ve worked out the past over two months.

During this morning’s workout, I met three other exercise enthusiasts, two women, and one man, all looking fit and healthy.  I had only encountered two men working out in all my prior sessions over the past two months.  With only one more workout before we leave Belize in six days, I’ll look forward to my workout facilities, aboard our upcoming six cruises over the next two months.

This is the tight interior of the workout room.  I use all of these machines at high levels (HIIT) for 10 minutes.

Working out around the world will continue, no matter where we may be.  If no facility is available, I’ll perform HIIT exercises inside or outdoors at our vacation home wherever that may be. 

Tom, much to my surprise continues to walk with me each day, claiming he’s doing it “for me.” 

For us, flexibility, being active, a healthy diet, some supplements, low stress, restful sleep, a harmonious life, mental challenges, including learning, searching, and discovering, surrounding ourselves with upbeat people, seems to have a profound effect on our health. Throw in a large dose of laughter on a continuing basis and we have our “prescription” for living a full and healthy life. 

Of course, there’s no guarantee for longevity or avoidance of illness.  But for us, it is a guarantee for happiness and well being, one day at a time.

Oh no, water trouble…

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This morning, with another sunny day upon us, I took this photo of the various boats available for resort guests to use. They were moved near our veranda over the weekend to make room further down the beach for a wedding.

Late afternoon on Easter Sunday, a notice was delivered to our villa that there were issues with the water supply in Placencia.  The letter asked that we use as little water as possible stating the water wasn’t fit for consumption until further notice.

Oh no!  Not again!  Luckily, we could flush and shower!  That’s a huge relief. 

It was no fault of our resort, we were sympathetic to the difficulty this presented to the staff at LaruBeya with a full house over the busy spring break/Easter week. They dropped off one liter of bottled water to get us through. Last night we received two more liters. Rationing.

Three liters in two days. We usually consume two liters each, per day. It takes over one liter to fill the coffee pot with an equal amount for my tea. As of this morning, there still was no word as to the water being fit for consumption. Soon, we’ll head to the office to check on the availability of more bottled water and ask when the water would be potable. 

Easter is celebrated over a period of five days in Belize.  That time was yet to end, surely having an effect on the water service to the area running properly.

Oddly, we had three water experiences in the four months since we left the US on January 3, 2013:

1.  January 3, 2013, Celebrity Century:  The afternoon we boarded the ship, our cabin toilet overflowed pouring gallons of water all over the tiny bathroom floor Luckily, the rim in the doorway prevented the water from flowing into our cabin.  The toilet wouldn’t flush.  Maintenance was quick to respond making the repair.  With a weak sounding flush we were tentative about the toilet during the entire 15 day cruise as it “acted up” from time to time, no fault of ours.  Later, we heard about toilet issues on the news regarding the two Carnival cruises with sewage running down the hallways.  One week from today we’ll board the Carnival Liberty with a bit of trepidation, rightfully so.
2.  January 29, 2013:  the little beach house water issues (again a result of local water issues) resulting in our moving one week later to LaruBeya.
3.  March 31, 2013, Easter Sunday:  Toilet works (yeah!), shower works (don’t swallow the water) and don’t drink the water for two or more days, yet to be determined.

Without wheels, we can hardly go to a store to purchase water. Plus, we don’t want to pay as much as $20 plus a tip for a cab when at any moment, it could become safe to drink again. The two-mile walk in the heat to and from Seine Bight to buy water would be difficult while carrying jugs of water. We’re not that fit! We don’t want to ask for more water since we aren’t the only guests here. 

Not soda drinkers and now out of our Crystal Lite iced tea (no water to make it), I have yet to make my hot tea today, a morning ritual after downing my usual single cup of coffee. 

Using a touch of our remaining bottled water this morning to brush our teeth, rinse our toothbrushes, and take our vitamins, we used the balance to make a short pot of coffee.  At least the toilet flushes, we can shower and wash our hands.

This is our fate. The familiar taken-for-granted utilities of everyday life in the US are gone.  Last week, the electricity was out twice, each time for more than a few hours, again affecting the entire Placencia peninsula. The resort’s generators were fired up a few hours later until the service resumed, later in the day.

The cable TV goes out several times each day. Every Sunday morning for years, we’ve made an effort to be up and dressed in order to watch Tom’s favorite show, Sunday Morning. This Sunday the cable was out until the last 30 minutes of the show. In Africa, we won’t have any US shows, only reruns of such shows as the Flying Nun, I Love Lucy, and Hollywood Squares.  We’ll adapt.  

As I was writing this, as Tom was taking out the garbage, Rene the concerned and conscientious general manager, handed Tom four liters of water.   Earlier, I had gone to the office to gently request more, if it was available.  Elated, we’re satisfied that this will get us through today. 

Yesterday, I packed most of my clothes from the drawers and the closet.  Today, I’ll pack Tom’s clothes.  Our bags to be shipped to my sister in LA will be completely packed by Friday.  Tom suggested I include all of my high heeled shoes placing them into the bags-to-go.  They take up too much space anyway Perhaps, I’m getting too old for high heeled shoes. 

I’ll keep two pairs of heels, one black, one to match my fancy dress for formal nights on the various cruises.  I’ll keep my water shoes, boots for Africa, workout shoes, multiple pairs of comfy sandals, and white leather Keds, leaving a total of eight pairs to keep. (Remember, we don’t have a home to go back to repack for the next leg of our trip. That which we have with us).

Today, I feel a little anxious. I promised myself I wouldn’t do this. But, old habits, die hard. Tom’s anxious too.  I can tell. He’s worried about our zillion pieces of luggage getting on the tender, out to the ship. I reassure him that soon, we’ll be much lighter. I chose not to worry about that part.   

Instead, my thoughts again swirl around the scary four-hour drive on the Hummingbird Highway. The van’s AC doesn’t reach the back seat and the windows don’t open. I was wrought with fear each time the driver passed a car on the narrow two-lane highway with poor visibility as he maneuvered the winding mountainous roads. The heat, the high-speed drive, the lack of airflow, the bouncy ride in the older van is the part I don’t like. It was a “white knuckle” drive for almost the entire four hours. I didn’t complain. I won’t complain this time either.

I’m running out of contact lens solution, placing a few drops as possible in each space in the case at night.  Unable to wash the case these past few days due to the potential for bacteria in the water, I’ve used bottled water placing the case in a mug in the microwave until boiling, letting it soak for a few hours.

The remaining solution must last until we get on the ship in seven days.  Surely, they’ll have a pricey little bottle I’ll happily buy, enough to last until April 13th, the day we arrive in Miami when we can restock at our planned trip to a nearby Walgreen or CVS pharmacy.

Challenges? Yes. In the realm of life itself, these events are insignificant and meaningless, especially when one looks back at a later time. Very small. But for now, we’ll allow ourselves a little worry and apprehension. Life is filled with a constant flow of inconveniences, annoyances, and apprehension. 

Having left our old lives behind for this year’s long journey surely doesn’t make us exempt from any of the trivialities of daily life.  In reality, we have upped our exposure with the vast opportunities for the “unknown” wherever we may travel.

The sense of relief at the other end is often comparable to making up with a loved one after a horrible disagreement. Its tender, its sweet and one appreciates having survived.  

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.