Port of Call: Santiago and San Juan Hill

San Juan Hill (Heights)

Santiago de Cuba is known as the "hero city" for it's role in defeating the Spanish troops in the Spanish-American War and later, the Cuban Revolution. A lot of the buildings suffered damage during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Restorations projects have been underway but to restore all those beautiful buildings will take a lot of time.

The first thing that impressed me about Santiago was the architecture. While resembling European and Spanish style it still has a flavor all its own. Definitely not the typical Caribbean structures. It is sad that so many are in disrepair. There are obvious signs (hanging laundry for one) that some of the buildings/homes which look uninhabitable still have residents in them.

Santiago served as the capital of Cuba for almost 100 years before the Spanish decided to shift it to Havana in 1607. Because of its location on the southeast end of Cuba, it became a major trading post for slaves from West Africa, Haiti, and Jamaica.

Monument to 71st New York

The backdrop to Santiago de Cuba is the Sierra Maestra mountains where Fidel Castro hid while assembling his supporters for the revolution to come.

An interesting note: The city is 41 miles away from Guantanamo Bay which was established in 1903. The area is 43 square miles and an 8 mile long cactus wall was planted in an effort to keep Cubans from sneaking in and asking for sanctuary. It is the only place in Cuba that has any fast food franchises. The song Guantanamera is actually from a poem written by Jose Marti one of Cuba's heroes and speaks of a peasant girl from Guantanamo.

In 1898, Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders among several other troops arrived in Cuba and fought the Spanish in a place now known as San Juan Hill. Our guide said it is actually San Juan Heights. It is an elevated area above the city. There were no horses for the Rough Riders as they could not travel with them. The hill was taken and eventually the city when the Spanish fleet was defeated by the US Navy.

Cuban Soldier Memorial

Fidel Castro and Jose Marti are both buried in Santiago. When Castro began his revolution and came down from the mountains, he took Santiago first and then marched across Cuba to Havana when independence was declared. When Castro died, his remains were taken over land retracing his steps back to Santiago where it all started. We only saw pictures of his grave since our tour did not stop at the cemetery. It is just a plain large rock with his name on it. He did not want a monument.

Speaking of monuments, we learned that if a rider's horse has his fore feet in the air it means the rider died in battle. (Tuck that away for a trivia game.)

Port Of Call - Santiago de Cuba

Our tour time was an early call at 8:30 AM. Armed with our passports and visas and some bottles of water we left our ship, the Oceania Sirena, to start our Cuban adventure. Everything went pretty much as our Enrichment Lecturer, Sandy Cares, had said. Immigration went smoother than I expected. Passports were checked and stamped and a transit ticket issued. (It would be collected upon our return to the ship.)

Across from the immigration building was the money exchange and again, things went smoothly. We did not need to have our passport to make the exchange but apparently things are always changing in Cuba so you never know. CUCs in hand, we boarded a very nice bus for our tour. That was another pleasant surprise. We were told that the buses are new and will be used for tourism for a few years and then replaced and retired to public transportation use.

The weather was quite pleasant but promised to heat up. We headed out for our first stop, El Morro Castle. The castle actually has a longer name: Castillo de San Pedro de la Rocco del Morro. There is also a Morro Castle in Havana. This castle or fort--it seems like they used the terms interchangeably--was begun in 1638 and took 42 years to finish. In 1898, it played a part in the Spanish-American War. The fort overlooks the bay where the US naval force destroyed the Spanish Armada.

The primary purpose of the fort was to guard against commercial and political rivals in the Caribbean region, European colonies, and raiding pirates. The fort also served as a prison for a time during the fight for independence.

The fortress, or castle, offers beautiful views of the coastline. One of the things we found fascinating was the ammunition elevator that got the cannonballs up to the top where the cannons were placed. I don't know how it worked exactly but it was impressive.

Inside the chapel door sat a trio of ladies singing. I think this was part of our people-to-people requirement--cultural exchange.

Walking back to the bus, we got a good look at the lighthouse. Playing in the courtyard there was a little boy. I don't think he was a scheduled part of our OFAC requirement.

Wordless Wednesday

Cruise To Cuba: Getting A Perspective Of History

Over the course of an afternoon and a full day at sea, we would get a little more perspective on the history of Cuba. Most of us aboard this cruise remember some of the more recent history growing up as kids but Sandy Cares, our Enrichment Lecturer, would give us an overall picture of the history from Cuba’s beginnings in the 1500s.

Of course when Columbus arrived in 1492 there were indigenous people here. Cuba was soon declared the key to the Americas. You can see a key on the country’s coat of arms along with the Royal Palm tree that is the national tree. When the Spanish arrived in full force, they used the indigenous people as slaves and between that and the diseases brought with them, the original inhabitants died off. 

Cuba is the 17^th largest island in the world and has a population of around 11 ½ million. It consists of one large island and a smaller one called the Island of Youth. It also has thousands of small cays.

Velasquez who colonized the island started out by creating seven villas. In 1540, as more Spanish galleons arrived, they decided to build forts to protect them from pirates. In 1762, the British captured Havana but in the Treaty of Paris of 1763 Spain got back Cuba in exchange for Florida.

As Velasquez was trying to colonize the island, a native, Hautey, who was fleeing from Hispaniola and the Spanish there arrived in Cuba with 400 others in canoes. He tried to warn the Taino people of Cuba and organize them against the Spanish. Eventually he was captured and burned at the stake. Before they lit the fire a priest asked him if he wanted to accept Jesus so he could go to heaven. Basically he said if there were any Spaniards there, he'd rather go to Hell. Hautey is memorialized on the labels of some cigars and beer.

In the 1800s, sugar and tobacco production flourished but led to many slaves being brought in from Africa. Eventually, in 1886, slavery was abolished but the number of Africans remaining in the country led to a strong mix of African and Spanish culture. 

Cuba remained loyal to Spain despite the revolutions in other countries around them. The fight for independence was started by a wealthy landowner, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes. In 1868 he declared independence for Cuba and thus began the Ten Years War. At the end of the war, inhabitants of the island began calling themselves Cubans. 

Jose Marti was another figure that is recognized in the struggle for independence. There are several monuments to him. He was a poet and journalist as well as a patriot involved in the movement for independence.

Our lecturer told the story of Evangelina Cisneros, an attractive educated young woman who tried to free her father from his exile to the Isle of Pine in Cuba. She was imprisoned when she refused the advances of a colonel and was declared a rebel. The publisher, Hearst, heard about it and decided it was a great story that would boost his newspaper's circulation and outdo his rival, Pulitzer. He appealed to the Spanish government with petitions and letters to no avail. Finally he sent in a "swashbuckling" reporter named Karl Decker who rescued the damsel in distress--basically breaking her out of jail. She was disguised and put on a ship for New York where she began fund raising for Cuban independence.

The Hearst story of Evangelina's escape would soon be overshadowed however with the explosion of the USS Maine which along with Spain's brutal treatment of the Cubans and the continued losses of American investments in Cuba would begin the Spanish-American War. That war ended with another Treaty of Paris in 1898.

One of the final blows struck the Spanish was in Santiago de Cuba, the first of our stops in Cuba. In the bay of Santiago was where the US naval ships defeated the Spanish Armada.

Cruise Time: The Beach And The BBQ

Our first stop on the way to Cuba aboard Oceania’s Sirena was the private island beach of Stirrup Cay. We’ve visited before but this time our ship was the only one there and since it was a smaller vessel there were less people to fill all the lounge chairs along the beach.

We picked two chairs in the shade and settled in. There would be no swimming. The direction of the wind was sending waves crashing into shore. If I remember correctly, the last time we were there we had the same problem. With a new knee that is still healing I didn’t want to take a chance on not being able to get in and out safely. Others did brave it, laughing when they spilled into the water and sand.

Something that I’ve never noticed before was a shark watch. One of the lifeguards spotted something suspicious and that sent another guard out on a wave runner to check. They warned people to stay out of the water until they deemed it safe. The wave runner went back and forth in a grid and to my knowledge didn’t see anything although I think some people were still a little leery of getting in after that.

Our BBQ was typical cruise beach cuisine: hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, fruit, ribs, chicken and fish. We ate and headed back to the ship. We aren’t really beach people. All that sand and sun, you know.

Our day would continue with more information about Cuba. I would learn more history in these next few days than I remember assimilating in high school or even college—especially since I didn’t like the courses I took. There is something about traveling and putting together places you see with events from history that sheds a whole new understanding of it.

Anticipating Cuba - The Enrichment Series Begins

Our first evening aboard the Oceania Sirena upon leaving the port of Miami and having dinner, was the beginning of our enrichment series with Sandy Cares, the Enrichment Lecturer for our cruise. You never know what you’re going to get with lecturers but Cares is a gem! From the start she was entertaining as well as informative. Energetic, charismatic and knowledgeable. It was an unbeatable combination. If I had had history teachers like her in school, I would have retained a whole lot more.

This first night was an introduction to what we would find in Cuba. She explained the money system saying that though there are two types of money, the CUC (Convertible Pesos) or cuke as we came to call it phonetically is the one to have. Some vendors and places will accept USD but not all. The exchange rate was 13-15% so if you gave them a hundred USD you got back 87-85 CUCs. Roughly the USD equals a CUC. Easy enough. [Note: upon leaving Havana we exchanged our CUCs for USD at a 5% rate.]

Contrary to what I’d seen on the internet (horrors, could the net be wrong?) you will not find ATMs and if you do they will not accept your American bank card. Credit cards as well will not be accepted because the Cuban banks will not do business with American banks (or vice versa).

Then we were introduced to the US OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) regulations. These are the regulations set up for Americans traveling to Cuba. OFAC is a part of the Department of Treasury which recognizes 12 general licenses of authorized travel to Cuba. People-to-people travel is one of the ways to visit and covers cruising. But what do they mean by people-to-people?

The definitions of people-to-people is a bit vague but according to HorizonTravelPress.com, the rule states travelers must “maintain a full-time schedule of educational exchange activities intended to enhance contact with the Cuban people, support civil society in Cuba, or promote the Cuban people’s independence from Cuban authorities, and that will result in meaningful interaction between the traveller and individuals in Cuba.” It also states that travelers must keep a record of all their transactions while in Cuba for five years to demonstrate that they complied. Thankfully by taking only the cruise excursions we were assured that they would keep the records for us of what we’d done. If you did tours with other individuals or on your own, you were. . .on your own.

There was a whole list of hotels, stores, government offices, and tourist agencies that were restricted. Somehow this all goes back to the 1960 embargo which, while President Obama tried to ease some of the restrictions in 2014, is still in place. Basically the embargo stems back to when Castro took over American assets in Cuba without compensation.

On board our ship, several staff members had been instructed in the OFAC rules and were available in case there was a question about what you might want to do on shore on your own. We were happy to just participate in the excursions. They were an excellent introduction to Cuba.

Hello Oceania!

Some of you who follow our travels may think we’ve cruised on all the cruise lines. We haven’t. Hearing some good things about Oceania and seeing their itinerary that had three stops in Cuba with an overnight in Havana, we decided it was time to give them a try. So far we are so glad we did. As I write this we are half way through our cruise and enjoying the Sirena, one of the smaller ships of Oceania.

Minutes after stepping aboard, we were wide eyed and in wonder. The main atrium area is absolutely beautiful. Carpeting throughout the ship in the public areas resembles lavish Oriental rugs and compliments the deep wood paneling of the halls and open areas. Several lounges have fireplaces and cozy sitting areas with comfortable couches and chairs.

Service has been outstanding from the initial embarkation to our room stewards and dining staff. Somewhere I read that there is 1.7 passengers to each crew member. I haven’t seen any .7 persons though. (Joking!)

The food has been what you would expect from a quality cruise line. A little salty for my taste though in most cases but I’ll forgive their eagerness to season. For Halloween night they served a cute little dessert shaped like a spider. Very clever. Our favorite meals so far have been standing rib and the Dover sole. Delicious!

The dining room is classic and we take most of our meals in there. I’m not fond of the area they have for the buffet on Deck Nine. It’s a narrow passageway between two counter areas where the food is displayed and served. It can get jammed up during busy times. On embarkation day it was impossible to find a seat anywhere and we wandered for a while, checking out the grill area outdoors which was too warm to enjoy lunch. Finally one of the dining staff quickly directed us to a table that had just been vacated but again, trying to see what was available to eat and dodging people in the serving area with plates was a little trying.

Our room is very nice. We are on the concierge level which gets us a balcony but not a bigger bathroom. The bathrooms are small and the shower is one of those that gives you an intimate relationship with the shower curtain. The room steward we have is a hoot and along with her assistant have not only given us a beautifully cleaned room but also some laughs along the way.

Sadly we heard that the ship will be refurbished soon and updated making it more modern. That’s exactly what they did to many of the Holland America ships and took away much of the old world charm. I hope that will still be intact here when they get done. Actually, we couldn’t understand why they would do it. The ship appears to be in excellent condition. The one improvement they did talk of that will be nice is that they are replacing the shower curtains with glass doors. How that’s gonna work is beyond me but at least you won’t be wrapped in a curtain before you’re done showering.

One last observation. There are no professional photographers onboard. Yay! No one to stop you and beg you to pose for a picture. Finally a cruise line has realized that no one buys those pictures anymore. We’ve all gone digital.

Wordless Wednesday

Books For The Road -- The Armand Gamache Series by Louise Penny

Read the first book and you will be hooked. Louise Penny has created not only a major character with as much depth as I've ever seen but she has surrounded him with group of supporting characters that are each unique and intriguing in their own right. Armand Gamache is a detective with the Surete, the police force for Quebec. His position in the Surete changes as the series goes on but he is always solving crimes and mysteries. He is quite a gentleman, an intellectual, with a kind heart and a quick wit. There is great strength and depth in him.

The books are set in Quebec and the little town that many of the stories center on is called Three Pines. As Penny is from that area, she brings scene descriptions to life. When it snows, you feel the cold and the snow and you see the beauty as well as when the sun shines and the flowers begin to bloom.

When you join the characters at the Bistro or a dinner at home, you can almost smell the food. Don't read if you're hungry. You will be salivating.

Mystery and detective work are made even more interesting with the characters applying quotes and lines of poetry to philosophical approaches as they arrive at solutions and answers.

Of course there is the most colorful character who is a bit crude and has a duck for a pet, but I'll let you discover her.

There are thirteen books in the series right now and number fourteen will be out in a couple of weeks. Start with Still Life though and try to read them in order. It will help you to understand the history of the characters and you can see them develop that way.

Enjoy the reading trip!

A Little About Cuba

Our 50th anniversary cruise will take us to Cuba. It was on the bucket list for a while and now is a reality. I thought I should get a little background before we go and I found a timeline that gave a little glimpse into Cuban history.

The timeline started with 1492 (I immediately remembered the rhyme) and Christopher Columbus laying claim to the island for Spain. Apparently that wasn't good enough because the next date is 1511 and says there was a Spanish conquest led by Diego de Velazquez.

The timeline continues on through the slave trade and then Havana being captured by the British in 1762 but returned to Spain the next year.

There were several wars of Independence but I was surprised to see that in 1898 when the US deefeated Spain the island was ceded to the United States.

The US stepped in to help with elections and several other political situations until 1924 when Gerardo Machado established a dictatorship.

Machado was overthrown by Batista in 1933. In the 40s, the US withdrew from its influence in Cuba, Batista retired for a time but then returned in 1952 to establish his regime.

In 1959 Fidel Castro led a guerrilla army of 9,000 into Havana and ousted Batista. With his brother Raul and Che Guevara they begin their leadership of the country.

A US supported invasion by Cuban exiles fails at the Bay of Pigs in 1961 and Castro claims a communist state for Cuba. He begins to align the country with the USSR.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the very first major world events that I took real interest in as a young person. I was in awe of President Kennedy. The crisis occurred when Cuba, fearing a US invasion, allowed the USSR to deploy missiles to the island. The standoff was resolved with a compromise. No USSR missiles in Cuba for no US missiles in Turkey. I often wonder what my parents were feeling then. I was too young to understand all the consequences. They'd already seen a war.

With a new socialist constitution in place in 1976, Castro is elected president. Following that for several years, Cuba became involved in some political events in Africa, then over 100,000 Cubans fled to the US.

Soviet military advisers leave Cuba in 1991 with the collapse of the USSR. There follows embargoes and other actions between the US and Cuba with one being an agreement that I didn't remember.
The US agreed to allow 20,000 Cuban refugees into the country and in return Cuba would halt the exodus of refugees.

I do remember the fight over trying to keep young Elian Gonzalez from returning to Cuba after he had fled with his mother to the US. He eventually returned to his father in Cuba.

Of course the more recent history includes easing of travel restrictions to Cuba and the move to establish some diplomatic relations again. Fidel Castro stepped down when his health began to fail and his brother Raul became president. Fidel Castro died in November of 2016.

I'm sure that we will get a lot more interesting facts and history as we attend lectures during our cruise but this was a good refresher for me and I learned some things I didn't know. That's the neat thing about travel. You are always learning new things.

Why Do We Travel? The People We Meet

What can I say? We have met all sorts of people from all over the world. Some have become friends. Some close friends and others we keep in touch with on Facebook. Others are just people we've met in passing but have left a mark on our lives by the impression they left with us.

Early on in our travels we did a trip to Paris with a church group to help a church group there renovate an old movie theater into a church. On our first day, the missionary in charge of our group took us to a park for lunch while he gave us an orientation talk. As we ate our lunch, a little boy and his mother sat across from us but when a few pigeons landed nearby, the boy started running after them and chasing them into the air. My thought was kids are kids the world over. It was reinforced when we saw two little ones squeeze together under a sign in a park in China and sat there giggling over their accomplishment.

We have met some characters as well. On a cruise one evening at dinner, a fellow who joined our table told a touching story about how he held his wife as she passed away from suffering with cancer. We were all sniffling. Then he said she was always with him and he kissed his diamond ring. "Yes sir. Always with me," he pointed to the ring, "and never talks back." Then he proceeded to explain how her ashes were made into the diamond he was wearing.

In Trabzon, Turkey, we were exploring on our own off the cruise ship. I was fascinated with the barrels of olives that a shop keeper had displayed. As we slowed to look, the man sitting in the chair by the door of his shop asked, "Deutscher?" (German). I shook my head and said, "American". He smiled. Bob held out a hand and the man shook it. They exchanged a few words. I don't think the man knew much English but somehow I had the feeling that we'd connected.

One of my favorite encounters was in Lichtenstein, the country so small that it's nicknamed "the postage stamp". We stopped in a little bakery shop along a trail we were following and the lady greeted us in German. I said something back in greeting using my ancient German language skill acquired years ago in high school. She asked if I spoke German and I answered how I had learned in high school many years ago. Then I noticed that there were colored eggs on the shelf behind her. It wasn't near Easter and I wondered why they were there. I tried to ask in English and she answered, "Auf Deutsch, bitte." (In German, please). I struggled but she spoke slowly to me and helped me along. I felt like I was back in school again.  I left feeling good about myself having obtained an answer that I could understand. But after I thought about it for a while I figured she could probably speak English and was just making me exercise some old language skills.

Oh, by the way, the eggs were colored so that you could tell which ones were hard boiled.

Why We Travel? -Oh, The Food!

Trying new foods is always an adventure. Some are more pleasant than others. When doing the land tour part of our Asian cruise, we were introduced to a lot of new things. Unfortunately most of the places we visited offered the same things. We were a group of 76 so most of the places we ate were like a hall where they catered. Think of it this way, most banquets are pretty common here in the States with what they offer--chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans. In China it was fish (with the head on it), duck (which usually was good), bak choy (always steamed) and of course rice. There were some other things which we didn't always recognize. I was sure I would lose weight.

Then there are those places though where the food was memorable. Wiener Schnitzel in Austria (the size of the plate), Green Lipped Mussels in New Zealand, Lamb in London and Australia and New Zealand, Moussaka in Greece, Crepes filled with Nutella in Paris, Lion Fish tacos in Grand Cayman, Soft Pretzels in Bavaria, and any kind of fresh pasta in Italy.

Of course it's always fun to check out the familiar fast food places that we have here in the States and see how they are the same or different elsewhere in the world. On our first few trips to London we found a McDonald's where we could get coffee that didn't grow hair on your chest. It took a while for the Brits to learn to make good coffee. Of course imbibing in tea in the UK is an art. We've found strange additions to the menu as well like bacon sandwiches for breakfast or some other tasty items a more in keeping with the country they are in. The McCafes are usually a whole lot better than we're used to. Many times the coffees come in ceramic cups with the foam decorated like in a fancy cafe.

One of the more unusual finds for fast food was Hungry Jack's. It looked like a Burger King, tasted like a Burger King, even the sign looked similar. Come to find out it is a "Burger King". They just can't use the same name because another restaurant in Adelaide has already trademarked the name Burger King.

KFC is big in Japan--especially at Christmas. Lines will form around the block to pick up their orders for Christmas dinner. And it's a lot more expensive than we are used to.

The best dessert experience we ever had happened in Adelaide, Australia. Pavlova is a favorite Australian dessert and I always thought that it was only made with meringue and fruit and topped with whipped cream. Not so. There are apparently countless ways to make it. On a visit to Australia we dropped in to surprise a pastor friend of ours and his church ladies were so excited to have someone visiting from the USA that they insisted we return that evening for a special event to taste pavlova. There must have been more than a dozen different versions of the dessert. Yup, we tried them all. Didn't want to disappoint any of those sweet church ladies.

Wordless Wednesday

Why Do We Travel? Catching The Cruising Bug

It was our twenty-fifth anniversary. It just seemed appropriate to take a cruise, something we'd never done since we started traveling in the late 80s. We went to a local travel agent who specialized in cruises. She spent a little time asking us what kinds of things we liked to do and what our interests were. She wisely chose a Celebrity cruise for us in the Caribbean.

The cruise began in Puerto Rico so we flew down a day early to San Juan just to be sure we would be there in time and also to catch our breath before boarding the ship. It was a good move. I was really excited about the cruise. It was nice to not be hurried from the airport and straight to the ship.

The cruise line picked us up at the hotel late morning and took us to the ship where our luggage was taken care of and we were checked in and directed to where lunch was being served in the buffet. I have no idea what I ate. I just remember taking the tray to the outside seating at the back of the ship and sitting down to eat. That's when it hit me.

I"m here! Cue the Love Boat song (wrong cruise line but what did I know then). The sun was shining. It was warm and comfortable and my husband of 25 years was sitting across from me. It was only the beginning.

No one told us that we didn't have to do everything that was on the schedule. We ran from one thing to another trying to cover it all. Between the onboard activities and the excursions on shore, we sank exhausted into bed each night. It did not deter us from booking another cruise though.

As we got more experienced, we paced ourselves and didn't go to everything, taking a little time to just relax. We also found that there were some places we wanted to return to but not for just a day. That's when we began planning land trips to some of the port areas that piqued our interest.

Unless you have a really bad first experience or can't cope because of motion sickness, once you've cruised you'll return again and again.

Why Do We Travel? --How It Started

It was a business trip, one that would take us out of the country (other than visiting Canada) and across the pond as they say. Bob had a sales representative, David, in London who convinced him it would be to his advantage to set up a booth at a trade show that was happening in London and would attract a lot of European interest.

Passports in hand we flew to New York and then on to London and got our first taste of jet lag. Not only were we exhausted from not being able to sleep on the plane from all the excitement and, I'll admit, anxiety but when we found David and were seated in his car, we were completely disoriented. David was sitting on the wrong side of the car and horrors, he was driving on the left side of the road!

I blame the jet lag for the terror when I looked down and saw how fast he was going. The speedometer showed the needle at 100! It was a few days later when I realized that the speedometer was in kilometers not miles and he was really only doing about 60 on the freeway.

It was early morning when we arrived so before settling us into our hotel room which wouldn't be ready until the afternoon, David drove us around London pointing out landmarks to us. I could not begin to tell you what we saw. Between being on the wrong side of the road, watching the speedometer and struggling to stay awake, I was useless.

Finally, we made it to the hotel and checked our bags until we could get into the room. David walked with us to the nearby tube station. Tube? He explained that it was the subway fondly called the Tube by the Brits. We changed some money and he showed us how to buy a ticket. That would be our transportation for the duration of our stay. David would be coming into town by train from his home outside London to get to the trade show.

It was a great trip. While Bob worked the show for a couple of days, I ventured out on my own only getting disoriented once. I got off at the wrong station and was followed by a woman obviously begging. She kept saying something in such a cockney accent that I couldn't understand her. I finally back tracked and got back on the Tube and found my stop.

For a few days after the show, we visited the must sees in London and promised ourselves that we would return. And we did. Many times. The last time we saw David, years after Bob had retired, he laughed heartily when we told him that all of the world traveling we'd done was his fault. He'd gotten us started.

Now I'm wondering who I can blame for my chocolate addiction.

Cruise Wardrobe Malfunctions

Perusing the Cruise Critic forums/boards you can not only find great tips and suggestions for your upcoming cruise but you can also get pulled into reading some of the "seedier" comments. What to wear on a cruise or what the dress code is for a particular cruise line always incites a great conversation and lots of stories about what's been seen. And if you've cruised a lot, you've seen a lot.

An article on Cruise Critic cites several no-nos and starts out with nixing Speedos. Now there are some things Speedo makes that aren't bad but take a middle aged to octogenarian and put him in a little Speedo and, well, it's not the nicest thing you've ever seen. And yet those fellows who tend to wear them strut as though they still have their young Adonis bodies.

Now the ladies are not without their bad choices. There's a saying, just because they make it in your size doesn't mean you should wear it. There should also be one that says just because you wore it when you were a teenager or a twenty-something doesn't mean you can wear it in the golden years. Revealing a bit too much as you lounge around the pool may not be embarrassing to you but it could be disturbing to fellow passengers.

While a lot of ships are getting more casual there are still some guidelines and certainly some common sense that should reign. Bunny slippers at the dinner hour are not the rule and neither are pajamas and robes at breakfast unless you are eating in your room. Those and more have been spotted  and reported on the forums according to the article.

There will always be the person who throws caution to the wind and will display some sort of unusual wardrobe choice. That kind of entertainment is not on the cruise program but it is amusing. Check out the article on What Not To Wear On A Cruise. It'll bring a smile and offer some other suggestions as alternatives.

Anticipating Sea Days

It's been almost a year since we've cruised. That's a long stretch for us but a new knee takes a while to heal and get strong again. I'm more than ready. This upcoming cruise will only be ten days. Long to some but short to us. Still ten days and some very interesting ports are eagerly anticipated.

Along with the port days will be sea days--those days where it takes a full day to get from one port to another. Or as some might expect, a day or two at sea to rest from port activities and as most cruise lines hope, spend money on the ship. Chances are we won't be spending a lot on the ship. We have learned how to budget sea days. There are plans though.

First of all is downloading several books. Finding a cozy corner or sitting on a veranda with a good book is one of my favorite things.

There will be time spent in the gym for me this trip. I need to keep my new knee in shape and am counting on some of the machines and the bicycles to help me with that.

As I researched some of the available activities on our ship (a new cruise line for us to try out) I found several comments about the excellent lectures on Cuba that will be offered. This was our primary reason for taking this particular cruise--to see Cuba before it gets too touristy. I'll look forward to hearing more about its history and culture.

I'm sure there will be several special demonstrations. In the past they've been napkin folding, ice sculpting, cooking or fruit carvings. It's amazing what some of the chefs can do with a watermelon.

Whatever is presented, I know there will be plenty to keep us busy or not busy. Sometimes just sitting and looking out to sea is enough. It's relaxing and you never know when you might see a pod of dolphins or a whale spout or my favorite, flying fish. Can't wait!

Wordless Wednesday

Disembarkation--A Little Review

It's been a while since we've cruised but now with my new knee in place and rehabbed, it's time to board ship again. Just to make sure I'm not rusty (nothing to do with the knee), I thought I would take a look at the Cruise Critics list of things to remember at disembarkation.

First on their list is to check your bill before you get off the ship. We always do this. As a matter of fact, Bob usually checks half way through the cruise as well. Better to resolve any differences before you leave.

If you are really in love with a photo that was taken by the photographers, be sure to get it before the last morning. It may not be there or the photo shop may not be open on the last morning. The pictures, even if electronically stored will not be there to purchase after you get off the ship.

I know this sounds a little elementary but check the room and recheck the room before you leave it--especially the safe. While we've never left anything in the safe, I have left behind a hair dryer/curling iron and favorite visor because we didn't recheck once. I really miss that dryer.

We always have breakfast before disembarking. After all it's free--make that included. We get up a little earlier if we have to to have time in the dining room to sit down and eat so that we are relaxed before we begin that trip home. You never know what awaits you at the airport.

One of the newer things most cruise lines have established is letting you handle your own luggage on disembarkation which gets you off the ship a little earlier. It's one of the reasons we are careful not to overpack. It sure beats having to leave your luggage outside the door at night and rummaging through the mess on shore to find it. Plus we're out a little earlier to catch a taxi which can sometimes get scarce if the port is really busy.

There are several more points that the article makes. You might want to check it out. It's called What Not To Do At Cruise Ship Disembarkation. 

Okay, No Straws But Don't Take My Bottled Water!

A Cruise Critic news article caught my attention recently. Cruise lines are joining the ranks of restaurants on land and banning the use of plastic straws. No alternative was given other than to say that if a straw is requested it will be available and if you order a slushie type drink that requires a straw, it will come with it. That didn't bother me so much but what followed did.

There is also an initiative to ban all one time use plastics. Now you are pinching my nerve. That would mean there would be no bottled water. The suggested solution is to supply refillable containers. That's fine but not always a pleasant alternative as you would need to refill them with ship's water and let's face it, it doesn't always taste as good.

And then they moved on to no plasticized take out coffee cups. I didn't know they were plastic other than the lids. Is there no alternative? Where are our inventive designers of such products? I've used refillable coffee mugs before. After a while they taste bad and are hard to clean. I doubt they are recyclable.

The last question I have is, what will happen to all those people who use recycled plastic to make new products? Does this mean their market is going to phase out as well? Will we return to glass bottles that, heaven forbid, should they fall in the ocean will at least break apart and become sea glass and be made into jewelry?

What will be next? Once the plastic is gone, the plastic recycling is over, will paper and cardboard go? What would they replace it with? Of course, ceramics! All the potters will be happy. And then the archaeologists of the future will be able to dig up our old dishes and cups and piece them together to see what life was like back when they banned all the plastic.

Okay, my rant is done. I'm as concerned as anyone about the ecology of the ocean (and land for that matter) but before you start taking all those plastics away at least offer some better alternatives. (Guess I wasn't quite done with the rant.)

What Do You Do After All The Canning?

It's autumn here in the north even though some days are feeling the nip of winter coming. We've brought in all the rest of the tomatoes from our plants and the last of them are turning red. I didn't do any canning or freezing since we really aren't around in the winter to eat what I might preserve. But I know many of you are busy putting things in jars and freezer bags and soon it will be time to sit down an put your feet up. Why not read a good book while you're resting from all that hard work? Here's one about a lady who turned who pickling into a business. Unfortunately she got into a little trouble when marijuana got into her recipe by mistake.

It's a fun read. Available at Amazon.com. 

What Working Together Accomplishes

A couple of weekends ago we were privileged to watch a high school band show that involved about six bands from the southern Ohio area. I was impressed with all of them from the smallest of about 50 to the largest ones over 100. But what impressed me most was at the end after the whole show was finished.

Two schools whose football teams had played each other on the same field the night before decided to do something special. After the game, the visiting band stuck around for a short time and along with the home band put together a routine that blended both bands.

What impressed me so much? All the time I watched I kept thinking of how much better so many things could be if we only worked together and put aside differences and rivalries.

Preparing To Cruise

It won't be long before we are cruising again. It's been a while and I am going over some of the things we need to remember to take along.

1. Need to check our take along med kit. In it I have Tylenol, Ibuprofen, cold tablets, Bonine for motion sickness, a small Vick's rub, antiseptic spray, and bandaids. I need to refresh some of that as it's been a while since we've added to it. If you do nothing else, pack some bandaids. Walking a lot more than usual will ensure some blisters no matter how good your shoes. I also pack a couple of large square stick on bandaids as well. There was a time when I skinned my knee and the only thing the ship's medical office could give me was huge gauze pads and some tape.

2. Bob will be gathering all our documents--passport, boarding passes, etc. You still need to print out some for boarding purposes and now most cruise companies have you print out your luggage tags. I hate the new way of doing that. The old tags were easier to just loop on a handle. Now we take a small stapler so that we can staple the luggage tags on just before we go to the ship. It's also a good idea to make a copy of your passport to tuck away in case your passport is lost or stolen.

3. Digging out our adapter comes next. While the ships have both North American and European outlets, an adapter will let you plug in a few extra electronics to charge. Just remember that you can't plug a hair dryer or curling iron into the adapter--unless of course you like to see sparks and smell smoke and do without it for the rest of your cruise. Don't ask me how I know.

4.  I'll need to buy some packages of peanut butter or cheese crackers. They come four or six in a package and because they are pre-packaged, you can take them with you on an excursion just in case it goes a little longer than you planned and there is no stop for a snack or food. Fresh fruit is usually not allowed to be taken from the ship to shore so you can't count on grabbing an apple or banana from the buffet at breakfast.

5. A couple of ziploc bags are always a handy thing to pack. If you should happen to need an ice pack it will be convenient to have the bag to use. A gallon sized bag can hold a wet bathing suit in case you need to pack before your suit dries. A quart sized bag will help protect your phone on the beach from water and/or sand.

6. Open the file I have with my cruise packing list in it and print it out. Long ago I decided to put together a list of things we usually take. Sometimes I add to it. Other times I delete some things. A lot depends upon where we are going and what cruise line we are sailing with. It does save a little sanity and panic over what I might be forgetting.

Okay, now I need to get busy and start gathering it all together. The dining room table is where it all accumulates. When it's all there, we can decide what suitcases to use or go over the pile of clothes and things and decide what we can cut back on. Even though we've traveled a lot there is still that little voice that says, "Don't forget." As long as that little voice speaks up before we are on our way, it's a good thing.

CLEMET Zoo--Cornstalks and Pumpkins and Ghosts, Oh My!

The tiger is made from bundles of straw.

The hot weather finally over, we took a trip to the zoo for a little exercise. I forgot that Boo At The Zoo was coming but it didn't take long to realize that it was soon to happen. As we started down the trail that leads around the African Savanna a worker smiled at us and said, "Be careful. It's scary down there."


We assured him our hearts were strong and we were brave and we continued on. Not very far along the path we found two witches stirring their brew and chanting. Further on we encountered skeletons, large spiderwebs with hairy spiders and ghosts. The decorating was still going on so I'm not sure how much more would be set up.

Through out the zoo there were plenty of cornstalks with pumpkins and blow-up displays that were ready for inflation. Some lighted displays that were in the shape of animals were also set up. Pumpkins were in some of the exhibits for the animals to have some fun with as well.

Of course we walked our usual route which took us past the Asian Highlands exhibit just in time to see the little snow leopard cubs come out with their momma. They have grown since last we saw them in the summer when they first went on exhibit. They are still playful but not in the same way they were. Guess they are growing into "teenagers".


Momma snow leopard took a post on one of the wooden platforms in the exhibit and kept a wary stare at all the visitors below. From her expression, she was one momma you wouldn't want to cross.


The merkats didn't seem to mind the cooler temperatures. They were busily digging and of course the ever present sentry was perched high and keeping watch to the sky for any danger. They are still my favorite to see.


Our favorite place to have lunch is in the Rainforest Cafeteria and I enjoyed a delicious bowl of butternut squash soup. I couldn't pass up the chance at a soft pretzel that turned out to be very fresh and yummy. Bob enjoyed a bowl of chili and we left just as the school kids were coming in to have their lunch.


If you haven't been to Boo At The Zoo consider taking the kids. They were also setting up a row of canopies that appeared to be the area where there would be trick or treating going on. In the large food pavilion there is a hay maze and 4-D movies as well. The event takes place over the next three weekends. Check out the webpage.

Through My Lens - OSU Visit

Wordless Wednesday