Day 1, Wednesday, January 3, 2024 -- All Aboard
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| Oeania's Sirena |
We’re up early so Jean and Lance can drive us to the airport
by 7:30 a.m.
Waiting in line for 40
minutes to go through security, a quick breakfast and a short flight brought us
to the Miami airport where Frank and Suzanne had arrived at approximately the
same time.
A very helpful Oceania
greeter helped with the luggage (and Frank too … Bob’s still incapacitated
somewhat with fractures in his right wrist … yes, a dive for the volleyball
while trying to avoid trampling a grandson – his Christmas day present!!) By
12:30 we were all checked in on board Oceania’s Sirena, eating lunch at the
Terrace Café.
The rest of the leisurely day was filled with exploring the
ship a bit, unpacking and settling in, a delicious dinner in the Grand Dining
Room (Frank and Suzanne enjoyed the specialty Tuscan Steak restaurant), then
flopping into bed early. Frank and
Suzanne did enjoy the comedian performance after dinner. We are so very Blessed to be able to enjoy
this experience, and especially to do so with Frank and Suzanne!
Day 2, Thursday, January 4, 2024 – Great Stirrup Cay,
Bahamas
Our bodies enjoyed a long, good night’s sleep, ready for a
relaxing day at Great Stirrup Cay. This little island is privately owned by
Oceania, so all benefits enjoyed aboard ship are also enjoyed on the
island. As we tendered into a little
lagoon, one cannot help but marvel at the warm, clear blue and aquamarine water
which invites you to jump in! Hundreds
of blue beach chairs surround the two larger lagoons that are protected by
relatively high walls of rock which were once living coral under the water. Of
course, bars and eating facilities are available as well as various forms of
activities if one is so inclined – kayaking, zip lining, paddle board,
snorkeling, parasailing, etc. etc. We
just took advantage of the “day at the beach”, getting a bit of sunburn even
though we stayed in the shade most of the time! The Sirena is a small ship –
only 684 passengers -- and we were the only ship docked, so the fact that it
was not crowded was also a plus! It was
a simply perfect day at the beach. Once
aboard ship, Frank, Suzanne and I basked in the heavenly hot tub in the spa
while Bob enjoyed the cuisine at the afternoon tea.
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| Relaxing at the beach |
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| An iguana sunning itself on the picnic table! |
After the cocktail hour, all four of us had an excellent
dinner at the “Red Ginger” a specialty restaurant on board with an Asian flavor…
the service was exceptional and the food absolutely delicious. We agreed that we need to make reservations
to come back again before the cruise is over!
I think today’s sun tired us all out, as the bed called early! A day
like today is why I love cruising!
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| Scrumptious Sea Bass at the Red Ginger |
Day 3, Friday, January 5, 2024 – At Sea
It’s one of those relaxing days at sea where there’s nothing
to do except eat and drink, enjoy whatever activities are provided, catch up on
blogging, napping, basking in the sun on the deck around the pool, etc.,
etc. We slept in a bit, enjoyed a light
breakfast and listened to a fascinating lecture on the Real Pirates of the
Caribbean. Afterwards, we met Frank and
Suzanne (who had put us to shame by already exercising in the fitness center), booked another evening for dinner at the Red Ginger, reviewed upcoming days and activities planned, lunch at the Waves Grill, and, for us, an afternoon of relaxation on the balcony off our stateroom!
The
Captain’s welcome event offered free drinks for much of the evening, and it’s
always interesting to meet the senior Staff who hail from so many different
countries! Dinner this evening in the Grand Dining Room was again a most
delicious experience. The evening ended with the entertainment of comedian Phil
Tag -- many laughs! Unfortunately, the sea tonight was quite rough ... hanging onto to the rails while walking was a must do; but we both slept
through the rolling, which sometime in the night did lessen considerably. Life is good aboard a cruise ship!!
Day 4, Saturday, January 6, 2024 – Cozumel, Mexico
We arise fairly early … the ship already docked in Cozumel …
eat breakfast in our stateroom and ready for the day. We have no excursions today, so the four of
us walked off the ship and strolled the street of San Miguel which immediately
line the shore and which are packed with stores and hawkers selling souvenirs,
toys, clothing, Mexican leather goods, Havana cigars, etc. etc. etc. One gentleman did catch our attention and
convinced us to take his taxi on a private tour of the island. The price was right … and it was indeed the
right thing to do. Manuel was so
knowledgeable and accommodating to whatever we wanted to do.
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IX Chel
Goddess of the moon and fertility |
As in all of Mexico, the history is fascinating; and that of
the Mayans on this island off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is no exception. Archaeological evidence has shown that the
Mayans arrived on the island about the first millennium Ad and provided an
important trade center. In addition, the highly respected goddess of the moon
and fertility, IX Chel, brought people to the island often, many of them from
the mainland, to worship and to ask for prosperity, fertility, health and other
petitions. The Mayans believe that in
1518 Hernan Cortez was the first to arrive on Cozumel and celebrated the first
Mass right on the shore close to the docking area. In fact, the Vatican has recently built a
small church on that spot as a memorial of that event. We also visited Manuel’s church, Our Lady of
Guadalupe … it was small but very beautiful and colorfully decorated for the
Christmas season (today is Epiphany, the last day of Christmas!) Next there was
a stop at a little shop where a gentleman explained how he takes an important
plant from the ocean which is known to be important to the filtration of the
water. The black c oral plant hardens
when brought up from the ocean floor, and is then made into a plethora of
necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc. It
is all quite beautiful … a fascinating process.
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| Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Cozmel |
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The Memorial for the First Mass
on the Island |
Then we drove to the other side of the island, which is
about 30 miles long and 10 miles wide, where there are no buildings, no
electricity, just the jungle of mangroves and palm trees, all protected by the
government. But the road along the
water’s edge provided beautiful views of the very high waves of the Atlantic
crashing into shore, an occasional restaurant, a few thatched-roofed souvenir
huts and one “resort” (none of which has electricity). It was all so lovely. Driving back into town, Manuel dropped us off
at an authentic Mexican restaurant where we enjoyed tacos, burritos and a nacho
dish the way they are meant to be prepared!
Of course, there was the entertainment of a large group of young people
thoroughly enjoying a number of shots of tequila as well as music provided by
two Mexicans playing a xylophone! Is
there anything better??
Aboard ship we relaxed a bit, dressed for dinner and had
another wonderful meal in the Grand Dining room. Since I’ve been grossly over indulging the
cuisine, it was an early evening to just flop into bed, knowing we will be up
early tomorrow for an exciting excursion in Costa Maya, Mexico.
Day 5, January 7, 2024 – Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico
At 8 a.m., the ship docked at Puerto Costa Maya, an
exclusive facility specifically built on the Yucatan, to accommodate cruise
ship passengers! After a quick breakfast
in our stateroom, we met Frank and Suzanne for our excursion to explore the
Chacchoben Mayan Ruins. The Mayans have such a fascinating history … here’s a
summary of information we were provided on Oceania Cruises’ Currents for today:
To date, that which has been discovered or uncovered, the
partial unraveling of the mysterious Mayan civilization is one of the most
dramatically interesting stories of world history. It speaks of ancient Mayan kings, priests and
astronomers who, using only two wooden sticks and extended time, produced
celestial observations and mathematical calculations. Their accuracy staggers the imagination of
modern astronomers. The history
continues with an account of a truly amazing people who built remarkable cities
using little more than stone tools and bare hands. It’s an extraordinary civilization whose
precise calendrical system continues to confound experts.
On the tour we also learned of their complex written
language, letters consisting of pictures … all decoded by a German, so
historians have now learned so much more about the Mayan civilization. The ruins of Chacchoben, translated “The
Place of Red Corn”, date back to about 1,500 years, but possibly as far back as
200 BC. In the 1940’s, a local Mayan
farmer was clearing the land and discovered the wildly overgrown site, but it
became a playground for his children. In 1972, Dr. Peter Harrison, an
archaeologist from Tulane university, flew over the area in a helicopter and
spotted the mysterious mounds rising out of the relatively flat jungle. After exploring the site, he informed the
Government of Mexico of its existence; and two decades later the site was
secured and excavated. We viewed and
climbed to three different sacred temples … fascinating! But much of the complex remains covered by
the lush jungle of the area. We were also entertained by two monkeys, and I did
see a couple parrots fly by but wasn’t able to identify them. As always, when walking through the jungle,
the types of trees, plants and flora are very interesting and foreign to our
little piece of the world!
Once back in the city, hawkers greeted us at every gift
shop, restaurant, beauty shops, etc. But
there were also the delightful dolphins and flamingos (Frank and Suzanne saw
the dolphin show while we were entertained by the beautiful flamingos
elsewhere!). As we were returning to the
ship, a 4,000 passenger Norwegian ship had just docked, and thousands of people
were streaming from the ship, walking toward us, being greeted in the City by
bands, people dressed as ancient Mayan chiefs beckoning on-lookers to step up
to take a picture with them, a couple dressed in typical Mexican garb, as well
as a group of others dressed in ancient Mayan garb providing entertainment on
the street. This was all very entertaining. Because it is Sunday, the Feast of
the Epiphany, and because we were unable to find a church in which to attend
Mass, we spent some time in our room with Frank and Suzanne praying over the
Mass Readings, listening to a reflection on the importance of this day in our
lives and praying the rosary before going to another scrumptious dinner. We
ended the evening by attending the Acoustic Session staring the Sirena
Production Company performing pop music in a live band setting rich in Elvis Presley
renditions, as his birthday is tomorrow.
Very entertaining!
Day 6, January 8, 2024 – Belize City, Belize
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The Belize Flag -- the only
natonal flag with two people
on it
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We thoroughly enjoyed visiting the country of Belize. It’s the second smallest country in Central
America, only about 9,000 square miles with a total population of only 400,000
… 90,000 of which live in Belize City on the coast, making it the most
populated city in the least populated country in Central America! It boasts of the longest barrier reef in the
Western Hemisphere and is very proud of its Mayan heritage. It’s a young country, gaining its
independence in 1981 from Great Britain, though it remains a British
Commonwealth. It is an English-speaking country, though most people also know
Spanish and Creole. The Creole here is
not like that of the French Creole in the US Louisiana area but is a mix with
English or Spanish in which its only special language is their variation of
English! Its government is similar to
that of Great Britain, but there are no government handouts for any reason …
nothing for the poor, nothing for Covid, etc.
People are expected to work!
Children between the ages of 6 and 16 are required to attend school … no
exceptions. And if they don’t, the
parents can be fined or even jailed.
They have a very high literacy rate of 92 percent. School is not free, but there is some
assistance depending on income levels and the academic achievement of the
student. Uniforms in the schools are
required. However, the cost of living is
high, as at this time they import more than they export.
Our excursion was to the Mayan archaeological site of Altun
Ha, meaning “rockstone pond” because so much of the rock was taken from an area
that it created a deep lagoon which to this day is filled with water and
teaming with wildlife, including huge crocodiles! It was discovered when a
national road was being put through the vicinity in the 1950’s. This appeared
to be a smaller Mayan community than what we saw yesterday. While not
everything has been excavated yet, one could see the four temples and various
places where housing would have been. We
climbed up one small temple to get a nice panoramic view of the area. It is believed this community was more for
commercial trading than for ritual sacrifice, though that too was done at the
larger temple. All in all, it provided
another fascinating glimpse into the ancient Mayan civilization.
Belize is very environmentally conscience, set on preserving
its natural habitat, especially the mahogany tree, the national tree of the
country. Those trees were very heavily
harvested in the past, but now the government protects them by not allowing the
cutting of any of them without a special permit. I did purchase a small mahogany bowl as a
memento of Belize! Once back into town,
we did stop at a local hole in the wall to feast on the national dish … rice
and beans (the secret … cooked in coconut milk!). It was very good!
Tonight, we had dinner at the Tuscan Steak Restaurant … oh my,
how does one describe escargot, baked onion soup, filet mignon and Crème Brule
for dessert! We’re certainly getting
spoiled!
Day 7, Tuesday, January 9,
2024 – Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala
This morning our ship docked
in the deep-water port of Santo Tomas.
Guatemala has only 70 miles of shore on the Caribbean side, which makes
this an extremely important commercial shipping port for the country. The
temperature is hot, the humidity high, and getting around to the closest city
or tourist attraction is not easy or cost effective when you don’t have an
excursion.
Similar to the other Central
American countries, the ancient Mayan civilization riddles their history and
culture. They too have unearthed
numerous ancient Mayan communities all around the country, with many of the
locals still worshipping the gods of ancient Maya. There are 19 ecosystems in the country
including palm lined beaches, cloud forests, rugged mountain ranges, scrubby
dessert valleys and rain forests full of tropical flora and fauna.
We browsed through the
nearest Artisans’ Market, noted for their elaborate embroidered shirts, bags,
table runners, etc. Wood and stone
carvings were also prevalent, as well as ceramics, jewelry and very colorful
paintings. One gentleman had painted
amazing, life-like portraits of his grandparents … such talent!! Without an
excursion, we didn’t get to experience as much of the culture as at other
stops; so in that respect that stop here in Guatemala was disappointing. Part of the reason was the heat and humidity
was exhausting, plus we were warned that it is not safe to venture too far
away, so we opted to walk back to the ship.
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| Still celebrating the Birth of our Lord |
We took in the delightful afternoon tea, then had dinner with Frank and Suzanne at the Red Ginger once
again. And once again, what does one say
about such scrumptious food as lobster salad, tiger prawns, sea bass and
lobster pad Thai, just to name a few dishes!
The Thai beer, French wine and, of course, the service was outstanding! Every time one of us left to go to the
bathroom, they take away our napkin and replace it with a new one! Now that’s service!
Day 8, Wednesday, January
10, 2024 – Roatan, Honduras
So today there are six
cruise ships docked in the port of Roatan, Honduras. That makes for a whole lot of crowded people
once on shore! Roatan is the largest of
three islands a few miles off the northern coast of Honduras. The name means “Isle of Women” … never did
find out why. In the 17th
century, as many as 5,000 pirates lived here; but today it is a bustling place
(when all us tourists are in town!), is known for its long white beaches, is
proud of its world’s second largest coral reef where snorkeling and scuba diving is about the
best, is the first mountainous island we have encountered with an economy
closely tied to tourism. The ancient Ganifuna culture is still practiced here
in both its language and customs.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t
feeling well this morning, so we opted to recover my body rather than go on our
planned excursion. It was very disappointing, and we did miss out on learning so
much more about Roatan and Honduras itself. But we did tender in later in the
day, navigated the hustle and bustle of all the local crafts, restaurants and
bars, purchased a few gifts and enjoyed a local beer (Bob) and pina colada (me)
as well as enjoyed the Garifuna folklore bongo drums and dancers … typical
Caribbean, right?
Once back on ship, I took
advantage of a little time for a nap while Bob and Frank went to afternoon Tea
and Happy Hour. We chose to have dinner up
in the Terrace Café tonight which featured the Chef’s Caribbean Menu. I particularly enjoyed the garbanzo bean
salad, the jerk shrimp, roast pig, and fried conch … probably the best conch I
had ever tasted! This evening’s show was Sirena's Production team consisting of 2 female and 3 male singer/dancers, performing
many of the Rat Pack songs from the 40s and 50s. It was very enjoyable, though I don’t think
Frank and Suzanne recognized many of the songs … we sure did!!
Day 9, Thursday, January 11,
2024 – At Sea
We slept in a bit, had a
delicious breakfast in the Grand Dining Room, then listened to a very
interesting speaker, Wendy Van Norden, educate us on the history and building
of the Panama Canal. There were trails across the Isthmus of Panama, then a
successful rail system; but getting a canal across it proved to be much more
challenging. The French Chief Engineer
of the Suez Canal between Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula became famous for
successfully completing that feat with ease and with no locks. But he was a dismal failure when he tried to
build the canal across what was then a part of Colombia. There were enormous
cost overruns, over 500 men died for every mile they worked on, mostly because
of yellow fever and malaria, and their attempt to construct the canal without
locks proved to be unfeasible.
When France gave up their
efforts, they lobbied the US to do the construction. The US finally agreed, and
it was then that the US helped the people of that area, who wanted to become
independent from Colombia, to achieve that goal by sending the US navy to
blockade the Colombian army from repressing the rebellion and immediately
recognizing the new Panama Republic. Panama reciprocated by agreeing to let US
build a canal. Then the issue was to eliminate the diseases. That too was
successfully completed by clean sanitation, eliminating swamps and standing
water and doing whatever it took to eliminate the misquotes carrying those
diseases. It took 10 years and 3
different Chief Engineers to accomplish it, but the Panama Canal was officially
inaugurated in 1914. However, President Jimmy Carter initiated the action to turn over the canal back over to Panama. When done so in 1999, Panama then actually
constructed another canal parallel to the original that is wider to accommodate
the wider vessels of the day. It was completed in 2016.
It was a leisurely afternoon
of sitting on the balcony, enjoying the rolling sea and cool breezes, reading,
napping, etc. Suzanne and Frank took advantage of pool time! Of course, the afternoon Tea was lovely, and
the Cocktail Reception with the Captain was delightful. Another great dinner was enjoyed in the Grand
Dining Room with Frank and Suzanne, followed by entertainment by
instrumentalist Andy Hackbarth, a very talented guitarist. How Blessed we are!
Day 10, Friday, January 12,
2024 – Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
Costa Rica, only the size of
New Hampshire and Vermont together, has a population of around 5 million. The
City of Puerto Limon, basically a cruise ship destination, claims Christopher
Columbus became Costa Rica’s first tourist when he landed here in 1502 during
his fourth and final voyage to the New World. Except for a few skirmishes with
the Spanish, Costa Rica has a long tradition of peace and democracy. Though the population overall is poor, it has
a rich culture, is very rich in its natural beauty of beaches, volcanoes, rain
forests and diverse animal life and has become one of the world’s greatest
ecotourism destinations. Tourism is its main economic driver, followed by the
exportation of coffee, bananas and other fruits.
We did not have an Oceania
shore excursion; however, there was a private tour available to us once we got
off the boat, which proved to be the right thing to do! We received a nice overview of the City, including
a stop at a lovely Catholic Church … Catholicism being the dominant religion in
the country. After driving along the
shoreline to the country, we veered inland and stopped at a banana plantation …
a new experience for Frank and Suzanne.
We also had a wonderful guide on an hour-long river boat ride as we saw
many local birds, as well as some of the same ones we have in Florida, numerous
iguanas, and even a few sloths … one of
which we rescued as it got stuck in a branch in the water. Sloths are fairly common throughout the area,
found even in the trees of residents. It
was an extremely hot day (about 100 degrees), so the caiman and monkeys were
deep in the shade and, unfortunately, we weren’t able to see any. Overall, it
was a great tour.
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| Sloth napping in a tree |
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A sloth we rescued that was
stuck in a branch in the
water |
After browsing through some
of the local wares, we returned to the ship, cooled down a bit, relaxed at the
Afternoon Tea, listened to another lecture on the Panama Canal …. this time on
how it works … and once again enjoyed a great dinner with Frank and Suzanne at
the Grand Dining Room … porcine pate,
borscht soup, beef wellington, Florida lobster, topped off with either Key Lime
pie or strawberries Romanoff or Limoncello
soufflé or chocolate cake with coffee toffee ice cream! All this was followed by an outstanding performance
of the Sirena Production Company featuring Motown favorites … my favorite
performance of the entire trip! We set our clocks ahead an hour to Eastern
Tine, so we lose an hour of sleep tonight and must rise early tomorrow for our
entry into the Panama Canal!
Day 11, Saturday, January
13, 2024 – The Panama Canal
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| Coming into the first locks, Gatun Locks |
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On the right, a ferry going through its last
lock to get to the Atlantic; we are in the left lock behind
another vessel in the lock ahead of us |
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| Going up in the second Gatun Lock |
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The electric "mules", one on each side of the ship,
used to guide the ships through the locks |
Our ship was one of twenty
scheduled to go through the Panama Canal Atlantic to Pacific today. Because of the severe drought in this area … at
the present time, Gatun Lake, the highest point of the canal, is down 6 feet! …
fewer ships are going through. There are
actually three canals … the original built by the US has side-by-side locks for
two-way traffic; the third, built by Panama about ten years ago, is deeper and
wider to accommodate larger vessels. Sirena is a smaller vessel, so we are going
through the original locks. The 51 miles
across the Isthmus of Panama consists of three locks on the Atlantic side, called
the Gatun Locks, which raises our ship a total of 85 feet to the level of Gatun
Lake. This freshwater lake was man-made
as a part of the waterway by damming up the Chagres River. The dam has a
hydro-electric generating station creating electricity to operate the locks and
for the surrounding area. After going through the first three locks, we sail 21
miles across Gatun Lake to the Pedro Miguel Lock. About a mile and a half across
Miraflores Lake, we enter the two Miraflores Locks where we drop 54 feet to the
sea level of the Pacific. We reached our
destination, Panama City, almost 15 hours after we entered the canal at Colon
this morning.
The entire venture was very
interesting and quite different than what I had envisioned. I wondered why it took so long to go through
such a short distance. As with so much
else we do, it’s a “hurry up and wait” event.
We wait for our turn to get into a lock; wait for the water to either
rise or lower to the next level in the locks, wait for a “crippled” vessel to
clear the lanes, etc. Plus, even
crossing the beautiful Gatun Lake took time because the “speed limit” is 10
mph.
We arrived in Panama City
about 9 pm. By then we were almost done
with our last dinner aboard ship, were packed with our suitcases out our
stateroom doors for them to be hustled down to the dock for pickup after we go
through customs tomorrow morning, and then we climbed into bed, exhausted after
a very interesting day of leisure aboard ship!!
Day 12, Sunday, January 15,
2024 – Homeward Bound
We needed to be out of our
staterooms by 8 a.m. After a brief
agonizing moment of trying to find my passport … how can it be misplaced in
such a small room?? … we say goodbye to everyone and board the transit bus to
go to the airport. Frank and Suzanne had
earlier flights and left the ship a couple hours before us. We had a brief tour of Panama City, a
surprisingly modern city with extremely high, mostly white, skyscrapers
visible for miles around. We’re told all of this was built in the last 24 years
since the country took control of the canal, with the city becoming a bankers' haven, especially with the lucrative fees charged those who go through the
Canal which saves a 9,000-mile detour around South America through the stormy Juan
De Fuca straits! But there was also the
extremely poor side of the city as well.
It turned out to be an
extremely long day of traveling, but we’re finally back in Orlando where Jean
and Lance, God Bless them, met our delayed flight … arriving back at their
place about 12:30 a.m. But overall, it
was an absolutely wonderful adventure encountering, for us, 6 new Central
American countries. The culture, historical
sites, cities and countryside were all very interesting and educational and, of
course, the people were beautiful. We
are so Blessed to be able to meander through this little portion of the world!
And, of course, cruising is awesome too!
