January, 2024 -- Meandering in Central Ameria

Day 1, Wednesday, January 3, 2024 -- All Aboard

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.

Relaxing at the beach

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!

 

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.

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.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Cozmel

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

The Belize Flag -- the only
natonal flag with two people
on it

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.

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 17^th 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.

Sloth napping in a tree

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

Coming into the first locks, Gatun Locks

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

Going up in the second Gatun Lock

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!

San Antonio, Texas -- Day 6, January 27, 2023

 

San Antonio, Texas – Day 6, January 27, 2023

We ventured outside the San Antonio ring today, traveling through a portion of what is called the Hill Country northwest of the City.  Fredericksburg is a City in the Hill Country with a strong German heritage, a place that we enjoyed exploring most of the day.  A stop at the Visitors’ Center caused us to realize we should spend several days here because there’s so much to do!

We started with The National Museum of the Pacific War, recognized as a world-class culturalinstitution, affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute. Spanning over six acres, it is said to be the nation’s most comprehensive account of World War II in the Asiatic Pacific Theater. Facts, stories, authentic artifacts of the Pacific War … including submarines, both American and Japanese planes, the case of the atomic bomb, clothing and other personal effects of service members, stories of witnesses to the various battles and war-related paraphernalia. We studied for about hour or so before leaving, not even getting through half of all the information.  Bob stayed behind but joined us for lunch an hour later, then went back to continue exploring the museum.  And he didn’t finish even after a couple more hours of time spent there.  You can probably guess that he’s the history buff in the family … and loving it!! 

We never did get over to the Admiral Nimitz Gallery portion of the museum, a tribute to Fredericksburg’s own native and fleet Admiral of the Pacific theater.  There is also the Japanese Garden of Peace and the Memorial Courtyard that would have been nice to visit if we had the time.  But the lure of strolling the Main Street’s boutiques, galleries, cowboy wears, etc., was just too tempting!  Of course, in the spirit of “doing what the natives do”, we opted for a nice German lunch at the Silver Creek Beer Garden and Grill.  Their German beer was very tasty, their German sausages outstanding, and the Rueben and Schnitzel sandwiches were delicious! 

We continued with more strolling in and out of shops along Main Street after lunch, admiring the Cowboy stores with that wonderful smell of leather!  And one cannot pass by a Chocolate Shop without stopping in to indulge … cabernet- or tawny port- or whiskey- or bourbon-filled chocolate … yummm.  The kids didn’t get any of those, of course! St. Mary’s Catholic Church was also a good stop.  The stained-glass windows depicting the various stages of the life of Jesus, the colorful pieta, and the very lovely altar all provided a peaceful respite for a few prayers before leaving town.

But wait … as we came into town this morning we saw a big sign saying “Das Peach Haus” with such a cute antique-type facade, we just knew that this Peach family had to stop there on our way back … which we did.   A peach orchard was planted in 1928; a roadside produce stand opened in 1989, and the specialty food company founded by Case Fisher and Mark Wieser grew from there. They do over 150 specialty sauces, jams and jellies. They host a cooking school plus a tasting room for their wines!  It really was a fun little stop – a great place to find all things “peaches” … or jalapeno, raspberry, berry, salsa, flavored balsamic vinegar, etc. , etc., etc.

After enjoying a day of meandering around a portion of Texas and then picking up a few items needed for tomorrow and the trip home, we relax with a couple movies and chill out with the family. 

God Bless!

San Antonio, Texas -- Day 5, January 26, 2023

 

 San Antonio, Texas – Day 5, January 26, 2023

The Lackland AFB graduation ceremony on this somewhat chilly morning was very moving and touching. The Air Force works very hard to instill a sense of patriotism and excellence in these young men and women who have now become part of the larger force which defends our Nation.  The sound of 561 new Airmen saying the Air Force pledge and taking their oath, in unison, brought shivers over me.  Their pledge is one that every person should strive for!  We are very proud of our Isabelle!

We all had a delicious Mexican breakfast/lunch at Martinez Café, then drove downtown to explore the Spanish Governor’s Palace.  This Presidio … and numerous other mission churches and forts in the area …  was  built during the time of rivalry between Spain and France in an attempt to guard against France advancing further into eastern Texas.  This building was originally constructed in 1722 as a one-room house for the Captain of the garrison, but the building was expanded to include more living area, an office, bedrooms and a kitchen.  Another room was added when the captains starting to sell merchandises brought up from Mexico to supplement their income.  The space ceased to function as a military post in 1821, after which the building was used for commercial purposes until the 1920s. The City of San Antonio started restorations on the building in the 1930s, continuing that restoration even today. 

One of the functions of the Presidio was to protect the priests at the local Missions including the Alamo as well as the families that came to settle here. In 1731, fifteen families from the Canary Islands immigrated to establish the town we now call San Antonio. They also established what is now the Cathedral of San Fernando located just a few blocks away.  While they are doing restoration on the outside of the front entrance to the Cathedral, the inside is so beautiful.  The most striking is the beautiful golden altarpiece, the large three-dimensional Stations of the Cross, the beautiful wooden Pieta and the beautiful wooded carving of St. Juan Diego with Our Lady of Guadalupe’s image on his tilma. There was also a very beautiful … new-to-me … image of Our Lady … Our Lady of Candelarlia, Patroness of the Canary Islands. It was donated to the Church in honor of those 56 immigrants from the Canary Islands who had such a significant influence in the settling of this area.

Next up … a very leisurely stroll along the River Walk … enjoying the beauty of the walkway, the varied types of restaurants, some shopping, the theatre area, the ducks, the tourist boats … a delicious ice cream cone!!  The River walk is the icon of San Antonio, and they certainly do a nice job of creating an inviting environment.  All of us, most of all Isabelle whose been up since 4 a.m., were tired; so we came back to the house for relaxation, more family time, Texas BBQ for dinner, then … after an emotional final good-bye … taking Belle back to the base.  Again, so, so many Blessings!!