RTW 2024 Carefree Travel

Yesterday we were back on the US mainland, visiting San Diego. We were told earlier in the week that *everyone* would have to get off the boat for a face-to-face inspection by the US Customs & Border Patrol. No big deal for us, and it turned out to be a 20-second meeting. However, it was incredibly difficult for a few of the mobility-restricted guests, as there were two steep ramps to traverse and apparently no wheelchairs. Not a great way to treat your citizens. We had an atypical San Diego day - with the weather being in the mid-50s and rainy/windy. I feel all that talk about the great climate of SD, and how it's always sunny is total BS. Maybe I'm a Rain God, but 90% of the times I've visited San Diego, it's rained. Hard. Before leaving the boat, we decided to download some Netflix and Prime movies and shows over cellular. You can't do that on the boat as the WiFi is really slow, and they firewall out streaming streaming services. It was a lesson in the power...

  After a number of cultural and historical tours, we decided it was time to have a really fun day, so we signed up for a luxury catamaran cruise of Banderas Bay. The bay is a protected area, facing West, and mainly shielded from the elements, so it was the proverbial smooth sailing. We walked off the boat, went around the corner, and immediately boarded the cat. Easy! In effect, we left a big boat and climbed onto a smaller one.  We sailed out of the docking area for the Mariner and straight into Bay. It offers a great view of the coastline of Puerto Vallarta - mainly hotels, shops and condos. We'd been sailing for about ten minutes when the dolphins and whales appeared. And for the next hour, we just had a marvelous display of the local sea life. The dolphins were playful and kept pace with the boat, while the whales seemed to be fighting and posing by slapping their flippers onto the water. The Bay is 3,000 feet deep in places and 26 miles across, making it the largest bay...

Another new country for both of us. Yay! Our latest port of call was Puntarenas on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. The Ticos and Ticas (as they nickname themselves) are a very eco-conscious country, so the excursion today involved an aerial tram through the forest, a horticultural and butterfly display, and many, many crocodiles. But - back to CR. The major businesses and exports of the country are medical devices (they bring in the parts and export finished supplies and devices) and consumables like coffee and bananas. Plus of course, tourism with a specialty in ecotours and surfing! The government, a number of decades ago, decided not to have a military. Instead, they invest the money they would spend into infrastructure and the people. There are heavy grants for anyone who grows coffee or lets their land "jungle over." Those grants are like an extra pension for many families. The first stop was the Tarcoles River Bridge. Translated, that means "River Of Many Crocodil...

  Yesterday (Jan 10th), we got to transit through the Panama Canal. It was a complex process, both for the boat and ourselves. Our day started at 6am with John jumping out of bed, hastily throwing on some clothes, and running up to the Observation Deck on Deck 12 to snarf a couple of front-row seats. I wasn't the only early riser, but I did get there in time to get two nice seats at the front. Regent was also in the process of setting up a nice breakfast area for the guests and laid out a good selection of food.  We passed under the Atlantic Bridge, the first of three large bridges that now cross the canal to provide an east/west road from one part of Panama to the other (long ago, it was all ferries). We then, very, very slowly, crept up on the Gatun Lake locks. So I'd originally thought that the Canal was this mega trench dug to connect the Atlantic and Pacific, much like the Suez was a big dig. Not so! Although there are a few lakes between the two ends, you need about a 9...

  Finally! Our first opportunity to get off the boat in beautiful Cartagena, Columbia. Cartagena is a large port situated on the Northern (Caribbean) side of Columbia. Fun fact - Columbia is the ONLY South American country with both Atlantic and Pacific coastlines. I elected to take a walking tour of the old city, whilst Allison took a panoramic tour of the entire city. Every tour starts at the  Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas fortress (see left photo) - a truly massive structure designed to guard the port from both land and sea attacks. The only drawback is that you're surrounded by street vendors the moment you step off the bus. Although they're mostly pretty well-behaved and well-regulated. We learned about Cartagena in English History class. Originally claimed by Sir Francis Drake (the Spanish Armada guy) in 1586, no one paid much attention to it, and it was eventually claimed by the Spanish, who converted its harbour into one of their major trade and military ports. Fas...

  One is a band, and one has sharp teeth. Our voyage got started last night with a Gala Dinner and then a performance from The Commodores (Next Generation). We got to hear Nightshift, Three Times A Lady, easy, and a finale of Brick House. They were pretty good, although the lead singer was a bit out on both rhythm and pitch. (And if I notice bum singing, well then ..)  It was, nevertheless, a nice start to the voyage. This morning (Sunday Jan 7th), I took a tour of the Florida Everglades by airboat. The weather was a little dodgy, so Allison (wisely) decided to stay on board the Mariner. There are apparently over 250,000 gators in the Everglades, and we got to see maybe 25 of them. Not too bad at all.  Also listened to a Gator lecture and learned some interesting facts. The top speed for a gator is about 16mph in both water and on land. That's faster than most of us can run and certainly swim. BUT .. if you survive the first 4-5 seconds without being caught, they give up....