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| View of Pool |
January 30th, we arrived in Venice, FL - Island Walk to stay with Kathy and Frank for a few days before our cruise. Kathy has been retired from Bridgestone for several years, but Frank just retired the end of August 2014. We have been friends with Kathy and Frank for over 40 years. They had a new home built in Island Walk so that they can winter in FL instead of northeast OH - great choice. They shared their beautiful home with us for a few days before we departed on our cruise. We walked around the complex and hung out at the pool, a beautiful place to retire.
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| Snook Haven |
The first night there we went to a place called Snook Haven for dinner. We traveled down this long tree-lined dirt road that felt like it was going nowhere. We ended up on a canal, a little spooky, but a really cool place to eat. They had good food and entertainment, an Elvis impersonator. We really enjoyed our first evening in Venice.
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| Sunset from Sharky's |
January 31st, we picked Barbie up at the Fort Myers Airport. Again we hung out at the pool and just lazed the day away. That evening we went to Sharky's on the Pier for dinner. We enjoyed great food and some wonderful drinks - a dirty banana, yummy. The sunset that evening was spectacular.
February 1st, we again hung out at the pool and were just very lazy. That evening we had a small fish fry (with some fish Rusty took to Kathy and Frank) and watched the Super Bowl.
February 2nd Rusty, Barbie and I headed to Fort Lauderdale to meet up with Gail and Dave as well as Barbie's husband Dave to begin our cruise. Kathy and Frank would miss this year's cruise due to all the new activity going on in their lives. We really missed them.
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| Pool |
The cruise departure was delayed because they were taking on new stores and equipment and it took longer than usual. So we just enjoyed the pool deck and a few beverages a little longer. Our dinner table was way in the back with 2 other couples, one of which only showed up one evening for dinner. Our other dinner companions were Dave and Tricia. They were a really nice, retired couple. We enjoyed their company.
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| Gang at pool |
Tuesday the 3rd was a sea day. It was a truly beautiful day for just laying around the pool and enjoying each others company. We have traveled several times with this group of friends and we always have a good time. Don't get to see each other often because they live in OH and we live in TN, but a cruise is always a good way to spend time with great friends. That evening was our first formal dinner of the cruise.
Wednesday the 4th our first stop was George Town, Grand Cayman. The weather was beautiful. The whole gang did the 7 Mile Beach Break at Tiki Beach shore excursion. We spent 3 1/2 hours just walking or lounging on the beach. The beach is a little rocky and you have to share it with the locals - iguanas, but it is beautiful.
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| Rusty and Barbie relaxing |
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| Parasailers |
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| Celebrity Equinox |
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| Local iguanas |
Thursday the 5th was another sea day. Another beautiful, sunny day spent around the pool deck. Although it was beautiful, it was also very windy and we experienced some very rough seas. Unfortunately, we didn't see much of Barbie and Dave as Dave was very seasick. Gail and I did the exercise class that was held on the pool deck. It was very much like Zumba. We had a great time.
Friday the 6th was Cartagena, Colombia. Rusty and I have never been here so we wanted to maximize our visit. We did the Deluxe Cartagena and Fortress tour that was very rich in history of the nation. They got their independence from England on 11-11-1811.
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| Cartagena from the sea |
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| Cartagena from the Fortress |
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| Fortress of San Felipe |
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| Lookout to sea below |
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| Rusty on Fortress |
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| Selfie from Fortress |
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| Stands guard every day at Fortress |
We made a brief stop at Las Bovedas Artisan Center for shopping along the way. Had our picture taken with some locals with some very colorful headdresses.
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| Me and locals |
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| Rusty and locals |
We walked along these colorful streets of Cartagena on our way to the Inquisition Palace.
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| Very colorful buildings |
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| Small shops along the way |
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| Colorful Cartagena |
As part of this tour, we visited the site of the Spanish Inquisitions - they certainly knew how to torture people. The feelings we experienced while in this Palace were very oppressive.
Torture devices
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| Torture for witches |
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| Witches torture |
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| Torture |
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| Stretching torture for males |
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| Poked out the eyes |
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| More torture |
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| Female torture |
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| More torture |
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| Chopping off heads |
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| Hanging |
The Inquisition Palace was very gruesome. But, we also visited San Pedro Clovers Sanctuary, much more upbeat and impressive.
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| San Pedro Sanctuary |
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| Church |
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| Bells as you enter courtyard |
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| Ceiling above sanctuary |
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| Burial crypt |
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| Altar |
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| San Pedro and his slave |
The street vendors are extremely aggressive in Cartagena. We speculate that once their tourism grows, they might not be as aggressive. Very enjoyable and informative tour. Braulio was our guide and Carmelo our driver. Both were very nice. It was 90+ degrees. The rest of our group took a Horse Drawn Carriage ride through Cartagena. They experienced quite a few of the same things as we did, they just weren't as indepth. They also enjoyed their day.
Saturday the 7th Colon, Panama. We were advised by our waiter that unless we had a scheduled shore excursion we should not go off on our own as it was too dangerous. We had previously visited Panama and gone to the Panama Canal so we opted to just get off the ship and explore the shops in the gated port.
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| Welcome to Panama |
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| Port city from ship |
We sat on the Sunset Deck as we departed Panama and watched the sunset as we sailed away.
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| Sunset as we departed |
Sunday the 8th Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. Rusty, Barbie, Gail and I took the Banana Plantation and Coastal Highlights tour. Dave G. and Dave F. opted to just hang out on the ship, neither wanted to go ashore. A lot of beautiful scenery along the way with a lot of rich vegetation. We saw cassava plantations, beautiful breathtaking vistas of the Caribbean seas as well as charming palm trees and huge rivers.
As we began our tour, our our guide David pointed out a small island Ovita Island - where Chrisopher Columbus arrived. Puerto Limon is roughly the size of WVA and has 5,000,000 people. 75% of whom are roman catholic. They grow bananas, pineapples and cocoa.
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| Ovita Island |
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| Equinox in port |
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| Barbie, Rusty, Gail |
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| Guide and driver |
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| Banana selfie |
As part of the tour we stopped at a roadside market and got the opportunity to sample some of the miniature bananas. They were very sweet and delicious.
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| Market |
Scenery along the way, including some howler monkeys we saw. The monkey is the dark blob in the tree with tail hanging down.
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| River |
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| Howler monkey in tree |
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| Lush greenery |
The banana plantation was not in operation since it was Sunday but several workers were available to show us the operations.
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| Plantation |
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| Rusty in "warehouse" |
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| Banana bunch |
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| Working cutting crop |
Monday the 9th was another beautiful sea day. We had no more instances of rough seas as we were closer to the shore line. We experienced a great sunrise in the morning. We spent a fun day on the pool deck. There was a volleyball game of ship staff against guests, complete with a mermaid. Dave G. was one of the participants. Very entertaining.
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| Sunrise |
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| Beautiful blue skies |
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| Merman |
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| Dave G. center back row |
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| Mermaid |
This last sea day was also our last formal night. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and entertainment that evening.
Tuesday the 10th was another beautiful day, you just can't beat February in the Caribbean. The port for today was Belize City, Belize. Belize has approximately 350,000 people, 30% are Mayan descendants. Rusty and I went off on our own again. We took the
Altun Ha Mayan Site and River Wallace tour. You just can't beat the lush greenery and amazing history that these countries have to offer. This Mayan ceremonial site is set in a pristine rainforest. It has 3 plazas and 13 structures within its epicenter and was a vital trade center during the Classic Period.
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| Mayan Ruin |
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| Stairs to top of a structure |
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| Another view of ruin |
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| Ruin |
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| Plaza of ruin |
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| View from top of main temple |
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| View from top of the structure we climbed |
River Wallace - we stopped here at a small cafe and had lunch. We then boarded a small flat bottom boat to continue our tour. Our guide and driver pointed out the many crocodiles, iguanas, howler monkeys (in trees) and various water fowl that we saw a long the journey.
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| Rusty on the River Wallace |
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| Howler monkey |
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| Howler monkey |
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| Howler monkey |
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| Crocodile in brush |
The crocodiles were hard to spot as their bodies are very good camouflage. If you look closely at the shore what you might think is a log is actually a crocodile.
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| Crocodile |
The scenery along this river was beautiful and the homes were amazing.
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| Beautiful scenery |
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| Beautiful scenery |
We saw this iguana in a yard. He scurried across the yard and climbed a tree. Who know they could move so fast.
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| Iguana in yard |
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| Iguana in tree |
Coming back into Belize City from our tour. Then we boarded the tender to get back to the ship. It was a long day but we saw some beautiful scenery and amazing sights along the way.
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| Belize City |
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| Belize City |
The rest of the gang just got off the ship and explored the port shops and bars. They had a great time too.
Wednesday the 11th was our last stop. It was Cozumel, Mexico and it was another beautiful, sunny day. The whole gang opted for the Deluxe Beach Break at Playa Mia. This included transportation to the beach resort, beach chairs, etc. There were 2 pools plus the white sand beach. There were great little shops to spend your money. We also had an awesome buffet and an OPEN bar all day while we lounged on the beach.
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| Playa Mia Resort |
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| Relaxing |
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| Getting settled |
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| Rusty and I |
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| Beach options |
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| The rough life |
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| Pelican |
One last day of relaxation on a white sandy beach.
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| One of the pools |
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| Relaxation |
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| Parasailing |
Thursday the 12th was our last day at sea as we head back to Fort Lauderdale. It was a sunny day but very windy. We still made the most of it and between packing and eating we hung around the pool deck.
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| Sunset |
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| Windy on the pool deck |
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| Dave F. and Gail |
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| Rusty and I |
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| Barbie and Dave G. |
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| We finally got a smile |
Dave G. was Mr. Participation on this trip and he kept us entertained. He played volleyball, got involved in nightly games and did the guest/officer dance one evening. We heartily cheered him on.
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| Game night (Dave on left) |
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| Dancing with the officers |
We have had a lot of great times on these cruises with our friends. You actually get the opportunity to sit down together and visit and share many meals and good times together. Until we sail again my friends.
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| Sailing into Fort Lauderdale |
After the cruise Rusty and I drove across Alligator Alley back to Venice to spend a few more days with Kathy and Frank. They are really enjoying their time in FL and retirement. We hung out at the pool some more, went to a free concert one evening at their community center on the lawn. We spent Valentine Day with Kathy and Frank, we wandered around downtown Venice and had dinner at one of the little cafes. We passed this Denny's/Hooter's sign several times when we were driving around, I thought it was amusing.
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| Fascinating sign |
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| Fountain in Venice |
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| Kathy drinking in kitchen |
Had dinner one night on the lanai that Kathy prepared, and apparently we drove Kathy to drink.
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| Frank on lanai |
One day we went to Gasparilla Island State Park and Boca Grande beach and spent the day. We walked around the small town, had lunch in a local restaurant and then hung out on the beach for a while. Another beautiful day.
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| Gasparilla Island |
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| Pretty hedge |
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| Boca Grande Beach |
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| Frank and Rusty |
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| Beach house |
We had a great visit with Kathy and Frank and it ended way too soon. But, we will be back for another visit. Until the next time.
