Journey's End

November 25

Miami

It's been a great trip, but happy to be back home. Will deliver my collection of baby caps that I knit for the premies--one of which was done by our cabin stewardess with yarn I provided. 

In the U.S.--sort of......

November 21

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Yipes, bought a souvenir ornament and paid 11.5% sales tax. Maybe that's how they plan to solve their financial woes!!

Walked through Old San Juan with its lovely 16th and 17th century Spanish Colonial buildings. We also walked the El Morro national trail, part of the U.S. National Park system. 

Island Boy

November 20

Virgin Gorda, BVI

Out on a catamaran today to do some snorkeling and cruising the British Virgin Islands. Rick looks just like he belongs. 

Marvelous Martinique

November 19

Fort-de-France

Martinique is part of the Lesser Antilles, and is considered an overseas region of France--a French Department. 

We watched their Chef's Festival at the public market, dancing in the street, and iguanas at the beach. There is a lovely library designed by Eiffel. 

Barbados and Baobabs

November 18

Bridgetown, Barbados

Barbados celebrates 50 years of independence this month. All the buildings are festooned in blue and yellow and many people are wearing special celebration shirts. 

There is a baobab tree here that may be a thousand years old. Its trunk is 81 feet around. 

On the eastern side of the island there is great surfing and mushroom rocks. 

The Devil Made Me Do It

November 16

Devils Island, French Guiana

Visited the former French penal colony on Devils Island. The prison really exists on three small islands. They were made famous by the movie Papillion, which we watched the night before our arrival--you know, Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. It really made the place come alive. We walked among the ruins of the cells, church, hospital, etc. There is a new hotel on the main island. 

The European Space Launch center is on the coast of Fr. Guiana, so they have to evacuate Devils Island when they do a launch because of the trajectory of the rocket. There is actually a launch scheduled for Nov 17th, to put GPS satellites in space. 

Boi Bumba

INovember 13

Parintins, Brazil

The Boi Bumba is the second largest festival in Brazil after Rio's Carnival. The event has become a competition between two Boi (meaning "ox") teams. The Caprichoso team is represented by blue and the Garantido represented by red. Half the city literally sports red and the other half blue. Every citizen is fiercely loyal to either the red or blue team. Even the Coca Cola signs are blue on the blue side of town. There are dazzling parades with elaborate floats. 

Geocaching Manaus

November 12

Manaus, Brazil

Spent the day with fellow geocachers (Rui and Miyuki) who gave us a tour of Manaus while finding caches and took us to an authentic Brazilian restaurant. 

Meeting of the Waters

November 11

Manaus, Brazil is 900 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean.  This is where the mighty Amazon is formed by the merging of the Rio Negro with the Rio Solimoes.  The differing speed, density, and temperature of the waters prevents the immediate blending of the water so there is a distinct delineation between the two. Because the level of the river varies considerably during the year, the gas stations for the boats are actually floating off shore. 

Life on the River

November 10

Visited the village of Caboclos (population 75) at Boca da Valeria (mouth of the Valeria river that feeds into the Amazon).  The houses are all on stilts and there is a church and school. The residents all come out to sell their wares and have photos taken of their children holding jungle critters--birds, sloths, monkeys, and baby caimans, in return for a dollar, of course. 

Amazon Calling

November 9

Santarem

What!?!? The Donald is going to be our president? We awoke to the news. Still hard to fathom. 

Fortunately we are distracted by our journey up the Amazon. Today we arrived in Santarem. We were a little late because of the strong current flowing against us. And the waters are very muddy--tons of silt is deposited at the mouth every day. The Amazon is nearly 4400 miles long!

We walked some around the city center. What a lot of shoe and clothing shops, bikinis galore. But also very warm and humid. 

Crossing the Equator

November 7

Tradition has it that when a person crosses the equator for the first time, they must come in front of King Neptune and kiss the fish to transition from being a polliwog to a shellback. All the cruise lines provide this ceremony, and today was the appropriate day for us. We already had been initiated on a prior trip. 

Steel Drums

November 5

Port of Spain, Trinidad 

Did you know that steel drums were invented in Trinidad. We were greeted by that sound as we left the ship to explore the city. 

Trinidad and Tobago are a dual island republic just off the coast of Venezuela. They became independent of the U.K. in 1962 and became a republic in 1976. 

Zipping through the Jungle

November 4

Our first zip line experience, and we did it in the treetop canopy of St Lucia. Twelve separate lines in all and speeds up to 30 miles an hour. 

St Bart's

November 3

Our weather is already getting warm and steamy as we head toward the Amazon. Stopped today in St Bart's, St Barthélemy to be correct, a dependent state of France. The capitol, Gustavia, is loaded with high end shops, but it also has beautiful beaches. 

Life at Sea

So nice to be pampered--people to serve me meals, make my bed, and entertain me. There are only 402 passengers on our ship that holds 680. And passengers are outnumbered by 403 crew members. Don't know if Zika virus might have had an impact. 

Beautiful sunsets. 

 

At Sea

November 1

Fair skies and calm sea in the Atlantic Ocean. Eating, sleeping, reading, knitting,  ...........

On our way to St Bart's. 

Happy Halloween

October 31 

Hamilton, Bermuda

Our second day in Bermuda. We golfed at Port Royal golf club--a beautiful course on the water. We were almost the last people to get back on board, but we are now on our way to St Bart's. 

Hamilton, Bermuda

October 30

It certainly was a day to be wearing our Bermuda shorts--warm and sunny in Hamilton, Bermuda. Our ship, the Sirena, docked right at famous Front Street, and from there we could stroll the city. 

We were able to watch the first half of the Packer game at Flanagan's Sports Bar!!  I guess it's good we didn't watch the second half. 

The pastel painted buildings are lovely with their white washed roofs. 

Flora, Fauna, and Falls

October 28

We left New York harbor yesterday on our 28 day cruise to the Amazon--so named the Flora, Fauna and Falls cruise by Oceania. We passed Lady Liberty at sunset, and she was beautiful!  It was also exactly the 130th anniversary of her dedication by Grover Cleveland in 1886.

 

Michigan Lighthouses

Monday, October 3

Glen Arbor, Michigan

There are 106 lighthouses that ring Lake Michigan. We visited three today and will likely see more on our mini road trip to Michigan. 

Took the Lake Express to Muskegon on Sunday (fortunately calm seas), then golfed on our way to our first night stay in Whitehall/Montague (home of the world's largest weathervane!!)

Will now spend a couple days on the Leelanau Peninsula, which reminds us a lot of Door County. 

Au Revoir

April 16

Paris

Our last day and night in Paris--so sad. We finished off our days with a visit to the Sacre Coeur in Montmartre.  What had been a very Bohemiam area is now a huge tourist area. The church is recent--it was was finished in 1914. 

Ahh, gay Paree

April 14

Paris

Enjoying the sights of Paris--Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, strolling the Seine, but most of all sharing time with my son who turned 30 today. 

So much wine......

April 12

Beaune

We have toured six wineries in two days and have learned so much about Burgundy wines, most of which are Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. We sampled at least 30 wines and have learned how to read the labels and know what the appellations and domaines mean. We have a new appreciation for French wines. 

The Vineyards of Burgundy

April 10

Beaune

Touring the towns and vineyards outside Beaune--center of the Burgundy wine region. And doing a lot of sampling with Erich and Ashlee. Great to have the "kids" here!!

French Treasures

April 8

Versailles

Spent the last couple days visiting two of  France's national treasures--the cathedral at Chartres and the Palace at Versailles. Louis XIV built quite a place. Wow!!  Gigantic, ornate, exquisite. Best known for its hall of mirrors. 

Erich and Ashlee arrive tomorrow and then we are off to Beaune and Burgundy wine country. 

Second Smallest Country

April 5

Monaco

Only Vatican City is a smaller country than Monaco. Monte Carlo is quite a city, and there is oh-so-much wealth. The harbor is filled with gigantic yachts. And the cars pulling up to the casino are magnificent. Rick was happy to walk part of the F1 circuit. They were already setting up for the race at the end of May.

 

Ahh, the French Riviera

April 2

St Paul de Vence

Enjoying our time in St Paul de Vence at the Villa St Maxime, run by Jean's cousin, Ann. It makes up for the trip I missed in 2003 when we celebrated the 20th year of our book club. (Darn those kidney stones!)

In Roman Times..........

March 28

Nimes

We visited the Roman amphitheater in Nimes today. It dates back to the 1st century AD and is the best preserved arena in the world. Obviously it was used by gladiators, but it's had many other uses in its 2000 years. Today it is even used for bull fights!!

Then we canoed under the Pont du Gard--a three-tiered aqueduct that was once part of a 50km system of water channels built around 19 BC. Those Roman engineers were something!!

By the way, did you know that denim originated in Nimes and that in the nineteenth century Levi Strauss bought, by chance, a batch bearing the number 501!!  The rest is history. And 'blue jeans' is a phonetically anglicized form of 'blue de Genes'. 

What's more Swiss than fondue?

March 25

Geneva, Switzerland

Very quiet in the city on Good Friday. Museums closed but visited key sites--United Nations, old town, Reformation Wall--and had traditional "moitie-moitie" cheese fondue, half Gruyere and half Vacherin. Extra good washed down with wine. 

Adoption complete!!

Munich, Germany

We visited the BMW Welt today and came away with a brand new, shiny red baby--BMW that is. Left Munich and drove across Switzerland to Geneva. Nice ride!!

The World Isn't Safe Anymore

On the day we are to leave for our jaunt through France, we learn of terrorist bombings in Brussels. We will not be deterred, but we will be vigilant. On to Munich!!