Spending almost a full day in Aruba

On October 26, 2019October 26, 2019 By notyouravggiraffeIn TravelLeave a comment

Our final port of call on this 16 day cruise was Oranjestad, Aruba. Luckily, we got 11 hours in this port, so it felt like we had so much time, as it was several hours longer than our other ports of call. We arrived around 7 in the morning and we proceeded off the ship around 9:30. We stepped out into an already warm day, but thankfully with less humidity than our previous ports. We walked along the first main road, filled with jewelry stores and along the coast before turning inward (slightly, the island isn’t too big) to find the Jewish center on the island. It wasn’t open, unfortunately, but I’m glad we found it, and were able to see it. Plus, we had some beautiful views en route, even if we roasted while getting there.

Since we had an afternoon excursion booked, we headed back to the ship for a quick lunch via the main street. Oddly, there didn’t seem to be much open, and what was there, were stores that can be found throughout the world. I was a little disappointed not to find more local stores or eateries, but perhaps we weren’t looking in the right area.

Following a quick lunch, our afternoon tour entitled “natural wonders of Aruba” began at 13:05. We boarded a bus, and set off for the Butterfly farm. Along the way, we were told all about the country, and shown more of the beautiful beaches associated with Aruba. The Butterfly farm was our first stop, and it was a very enjoyable one. We were allowed 45 minutes (which wasn’t nearly enough time), but in that short time, we learned a lot about butterflies. We were given a small “tour” where a guide told us about butterfly life cycles, how the farm creates the environments needed for butterflies to thrive, how butterflies can get hammered off of fruit, and about the various colorful insects they have living at their farm. After the talk, we got to wander the farm and look at all the butterflies! There were so many to see, flying all over, and in such beautiful patterns that I’ve never seen before. Some of them barely held still long enough for a photo!

After all the fluttering wings, we took off to the Aloe Factory, and got to learn all about Aloe (this was a very informative day). Aloe isn’t native to Aruba, but it is now grown there and through the factory, used to create the classic sunburn reliever, but also lotion, soap, gel, shampoos, etc… we got to see the factory in action, while learning about all the properties of the plant. We of course went back to the ship with some aloe goodies!

The Aruba aloe factory and its aloe plants

Our final stop on this tour was to the natural bridge. Unfortunately, it collapsed naturally a few years ago, so you can only see the remnants, but it’s still so picturesque and serene. We only had 15 minutes here so it was mostly just picture taking, but it was definitely a sight worth seeing.

Our tour ended as we pulled back into the cruise terminal around four hours after our journey had started. With our final few hours in port, we rode the local trolley down and back on its final ride of the day. It headed into the town center, and we got to weave through the traffic of cars both on and off the trolley tracks (yes, we did veer off to let another one pass). It was a fun way to end our Aruba experience.

Unfortunately, by boarding the ship in Aruba, I’ve boarded it for the last time before disembarking in Miami following two at sea days for the final time. It’s been quite the voyage and I’m certainly glad I was able to visit the places I was able to visit. As I said, our last two days are at sea, which should allow ample time for last minute explorations, and let’s be honest, packing. It’s time to go back to reality now!

Transiting the Panama Canal

On October 24, 2019 By notyouravggiraffeIn TravelLeave a comment

After two days at sea, our third was really a canal day as we spent the bulk of the time transiting through the Panama Canal. Our journey began last night when we anchored outside the canal for refueling. That was a decent and lengthy process, but meant that we had a stable ship all night!

We got up a little after 5:00 to be sure not to miss any of the crossing (although we did miss going under the Bridge of the Americas). We entered the first lock of the Cocoli lock a little after 6am, and it took us until after 11 to get out of it. Within the big lock, there are three locks where the water gets progressively higher. I’m not sure why it took so long and we got held up, but the process did take a while. It was interesting to watch the locks open and close, and observe the water level rising. We had a tug boat in front and behind us guiding us through. The ship opened up the crew area up front to have as a place for viewing so it meant that we could watch the locks opening from there, and closing from the aft side as well!

The day before the transit, I participated in a poster making event to celebrate the inaugural crossing of this particular ship. I opted to decorate mine with a Finding Nemo theme, and got to take some photos with it in front of the canal today. It was a fun way to celebrate the event, and to take home a personalized creation!

Taking inspiration from Disney to celebrate an inaugural Panama Canal crossing

As we exited the Cocoli locks, we were greeted with flashes of lightning and thunder, which quickly turned to rain. Luckily, we were into the lake section, so we felt we could retreat to the inside of the ship momentarily. It made a difference from the blistering sun from the morning, but it kept the 90%+ humidity up throughout…

One of the many bridges under which we sailed

Around 3:30, we began entering the second set of locks: Agua Clara. Unlike the Cocoli locks, this set descends into the Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean Sea. In three locks, the ship descended the 80m it had risen initially, to meet back up with the body of water on the other side. The three Agua Clara locks moved much quicker than the Cocoli locks, and by 6:15 in the evening, we had transited the entire canal. We managed to do it entirely in sunlight, which meant we could see the whole process, which was pretty cool.

It’s pretty neat to be able to say I’ve crossed the Panama Canal now, and have gone from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean almost as fast as I could by plane, but by water. We now sail onto Oranjestad, Aruba as our final destination on this cruise!

A day in Guatemala

On October 20, 2019October 20, 2019 By notyouravggiraffeIn TravelLeave a comment

Our day at sea took us from the coast of Mexico, all the way to Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala. When we got off the ship, we were greeted by a tourism office where we got our passports stamped, along with our own worry dolls and traditional lucky bracelets. It was exciting to get a passport stamp since usually you don’t get that during cruises. Since the city is primarily a docking place, we decided on an excursion to Antigua. We opted for “Antigua on your own” so that we could have free reign of our time once we arrived.

Antigua is located about 90 minutes from Puerto Quetzal so we boarded our bus and off we went! It ended up taking us almost 2.5 hours because of traffic and construction backups, but we eventually arrived. Antigua is at 5000 feet so the mountain climbing, combined with the fact that the big buses aren’t allowed in the city, means that the journey in certainly takes some time. We pulled up to the Jade Museum and Factory before setting off on our three hours’ free time. The town is full of people selling things on the roads, as well as colorfully painted walls.

Our first stop on our self-led walking tour was to Casa Santo Domingo. What used to be a monastery, has now been turned into a hotel that tastefully (and beautifully), surrounds the ruins. There are Macau’s perched on branches throughout, and the hotel looks very nice. In addition to the ruins, you can visit a fine chocolate store, a silver museum, and a church. It’s a beautiful space and well worth a visit if you’re in town.

From there, we walked four blocks (blocks in Guatemala seem sizably bigger than in the US) to the Central Parque before walking a bit more to the Santa Catalina Arch. The street was pedestrian as it was Saturday, so it was pretty easy to walk along the way on either side of the arch.

We wandered into a small textile marketplace on the way up to La Merced. We stopped in the church momentarily, before once again heading off in a new direction (we definitely did our fair share of walking in Antigua). We ventured towards the market but by the time we got there, we were a little close for time to spend a lot of time there, so we opted for the Central Park as our last stop. There’s a nice fountain in the middle of the park, and I can never pass up a good fountain! We left Antigua just as it started to rain, so it was all around perfect timing.

The journey back was thankfully shorter than the journey in, so we had some time to browse the handicraft market located on the pier before getting back on the ship. I love all the colorful things you can buy, and seeing all the options of color patterns.

The evening’s entertainment was a performance by Bernadett Nyari, a violinist from Hungary. She performed some great songs and it was a fun time, especially as I’m not usually a person who actively attends musical performance. A simple dinner was all we needed after a 12,000 step day. We now begin four at sea days, where one will include the transit of the Panama Canal!

Cliff divers and rain in Acapulco

On October 19, 2019October 19, 2019 By notyouravggiraffeIn TravelLeave a comment

Following a day at sea, we arrived into Acapulco at 7 in the morning. The skies were gray with some sprinkles as we disembarked, getting ready for our excursion of “historic, picturesque, and cliff divers” (I know, the title doesn’t totally make sense but that’s what it said on my ticket). We boarded our bus and set off for La Quebrera to see some cliff divers.

Unfortunately, the rain picked up while we were driving to our destination so when we stepped out of the bus, we definitely got wet. The cliff diving show is all outside with little cover, so we had to let ourselves get progressively more wet as the various divers took off from the cliff in the distance. We watched around seven divers flip, pike, and dive off the cliff into the water, and all of them definitely felt slightly dangerous. It was fun to watch a show of the diving, even if it was raining pretty heavily…

We were ushered into a nearby store for some shopping and drinks, which was welcome if only for the reprieve from the rain.

After drying off, we reboarded the bus, which took us to the Old section of Acapulco, and the San Diego Fort. It’s a star shaped fort, complete with several artifacts from the deep pirate history that affected the fort. The fort also contains the historic museum of Acapulco, so you can learn about the area as well.

Our last stop was to leave the old area of Acapulco, and head to the new quarter. It’s there that the million dollar houses are located with the million dollar views, in a place called las brisas. We had to get off the bus to get on smaller vans to get us up the steep hills which took us to the chapel of peace. Just outside houses a beautiful view of the bay and we could even see our ship!

We drove back to the pier where the sun briefly showed its face as we got back on for lunch. There was a mariachi band playing during lunch as well, which was fun to watch. I participated in the daily trivia of famous places, and managed to get 17/20! No prize this time but I still quite enjoy participating in them.

The evening’s entertainment was a performance of Footloose! It was a sold out show, and a lively one at that. Being the theatre nerd that I am, I can’t complain about getting to see a show while on holiday, especially one with so much dancing. Dinner was at the speciality restaurant: Q, Texas Smokehouse. It’s a country style BBQ place with many meat, potato, and typical bbq options. It was absurdly filling, but it all tasted good.

Even with a large amount of rain. I still had a great time in Acapulco. We embark on another day at sea tomorrow before arriving in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala! I’m excited to visit a new country for me and to experience the city of Antigua.

P.S. does anyone have any helpful tips for stopping bug bites from itching??

Soaking up some sun in Mazatlán

On October 17, 2019October 17, 2019 By notyouravggiraffeIn TravelLeave a comment

The third port of call of Mazatlan has been the hottest and most humid so far. Stepping off the ship was like stepping into a wall of steam. It was an early start with our excursion meeting at 8:15am. Even with a bit of a delay, we were still off the ship before 8:45am, and getting herded onto a “taxi” to take us through the dock (an under five minute ride but we weren’t allowed to walk it). As soon as we exited the pier, our excursion of “walking tour of Old Mazatlan” began.

We took a taxi from the pier to the starting point of our tour: the cathedral. The stained glass inside represents the colors of Mexico, plus yellow for the Vatican. It’s a fairly simplistic interior, but of high importance to the town, so worth a visit if you’re in the area.

We walked from the cathedral to a large market nearby, complete with stalls for souvenirs, produce, and various kinds of meats. Mazatlán is the number one tuna producer in Mexico so it stands to reason that the sea-life section was full of several different kinds of fish in large quantities. It was a bustling place, but I’ll say that the heat made it a little uncomfortable.

As the day heated up, so did our walking. We next arrived at the Angela Peralta Theatre, a beautiful theatrical building both inside and out. Plus, it had AC! Taking our reprieve from the heat, we also got to stand on stage and imagine how a full theatre would be during an operatic, or cultural, performance.

The second facade of the outdoor lobby at the theatre

From the theatre, we sweated our way to a store with an open bar for us (one water, soda, beer, or margarita) on the malecon. It was a jewelry store so our 20 minute break was mostly spent outside in a shaded alleyway trying to avoid the heat (I know I keep mentioning the heat, but I truly can’t do it justice, I think I sweated out my entire being multiple times).

After our brief refreshment, we idled down the malecon (boardwalk) in full sunlight towards more views of Mazatlan Bay. We got to watch some cliff divers before walking to our final meeting point: a restaurant where we waited for a taxi to take us back to the ship.

Colorful houses along the streets of Mazatlán

We arrived back at the pier and due to the ever increasing heat, we opted to just stay onboard. Since we had time before our departure from port, we tested out the pool. That, of course, included the two water slides onboard. The Aqua Racer is the more calm of the two, being an inner tube slide that takes you down one floor through lighted tubing. I found it a little tame, but an enjoyable descent. The Ocean Loop, however, is much more intense. You begin standing vertically waiting for the platform beneath you to drop out from under you, hurtling you through the slide out to the end all in under five seconds. I did this one twice but I’m not sure if I’ll return to it, it was a little too much for me but I can see how for more intense thrill seekers this would be one to do as many times as possible! When the sun is out though, it’s absolutely lovely to sit out on the deck, or in the pool. Be sure to wear shoes when walking though as the deck gets quite hot in the sunlight!

After such a busy day, a chill evening was well welcomed. We participated in a British Icon trivia, but didn’t fare too well considering some of the icon’s were from several centuries ago and I couldn’t identify them from photos alone! Tomorrow is an at sea day before our last Mexican stop: Acapulco!

Puerto Vallarta and Las Caletas

On October 15, 2019October 15, 2019 By notyouravggiraffeIn TravelLeave a comment

Second port of call: Puerto Vallarta! We were greeted with much sunnier skies this morning than yesterday, which was definitely a good sign.

We docked at 10am and started our excursion, “Las Caletas Hideaway” at 11. We started by walking about 15 minutes to a smaller ship, which would take us the hour journey to get to our isolated afternoon getaway. The mood was set immediately with a bar serving rum punch and lively crew getting us ready for our few hours away from the ship.

Las Caletas was once the private home of the famous film director John Huston, but is now an exclusive beach hideaway filled to the brim with activities. As soon as we arrived we had a beachside lunch buffet in the sun. After filling up, we explored a little, wandering along the beach to a 3:00pm cooking lesson. We made guacamole, while our other classmates made pico de gallo, and salsa. Of course we got to dive into them all afterwards! It was fun to make guacamole with my own hands, and learn some new efficient ways to open avocados and cut tomatoes! I’ve got a recipe to add to my mental cookbook, and can say I made guacamole in Mexico!

After eating yet more food, we strolled down to the beach to take advantage of the perfectly temperatured water. I wanted to try the teen adventure area with a zip line and water slide but by the time I trekked over in that direction, it was closed, so I had to make do with just the beach itself.

Ultimately, I feel like I just scratched the surface of all the things to do in Las Caletas. There was the whole teen zone, an orchid garden, and an entire ecological area through which you can hike – plus a spa! There’s an evening show as well but our ship wasn’t in port long enough to get to that. Another visit perhaps? The trip back was much the same as the way there, but with enthusiastic crew performing for us as we pulled into port.

Our evening’s entertainment consisted of a performance of “The Beatles Revolution,” which was a continuation of the earlier performance in the cavern. It went through several of the top hits, complete with costume changes and video montages. It’s always a fun show when it’s a full theatre and everyone’s into the show.

If you venture to Las Caletas, I recommend planning our your activities to make sure you get to what you want to experience, and bring plenty of sunscreen, and bug spray. I ended up with a multitude of bug bites and I wish I’d had a spray to prevent them – Incessant itching is no fun. Next stop: Mazatlan!

Cabo San Lucas

On October 15, 2019October 15, 2019 By notyouravggiraffeIn TravelLeave a comment

Cabo, and the Mexican riviera welcomed us with rain and high humidity. From the beginning, our day was a little thrown asunder as many shore excursions were cancelled due to the weather, including the one I had planned to experience. Instead of learning how to take “picture perfect” photos of Los Cabos, I discovered Todos Santos, a mission about 50 miles North of Cabo.

Since ships can’t actually dock in port in Cabo, you have to tender onto land. It took us over an hour to actually get clearance to leave on our tender for the shore excursion, so our departure time got pushed back severely. After tendering in, we were ushered to the bus that would transport us to Todos Santos. The drive took a little over an hour, and we had about 30 minutes to explore before we had lunch at the Hotel California (if you’re thinking that sounds familiar, yes, it is rumored to have inspired The Eagles’ hit song).

Our excursion included a delicious Mexican lunch at the hotel, complete with enchiladas, beans, guacamole, and a tamale. Following lunch, we took off to the nearby cultural center, to learn about the mission of Todos Santos. Our little walking tour covered local art galleries, as well as the mission’s church.

We were given an hour of free time after our tour, but seeing as we had been hearing thunder for the past couple of hours, it wasn’t the most pleasant time to be outdoors. As it started to rain, we quickly took a dash inside until our bus was ready to depart.

The streets of Todos Santos lined with papel picado to celebrate their local saint’s week

Unfortunately, due to the delay that occurred earlier in the morning, we had no time to do anything in Cabo itself. As soon as our bus pulled back up to the pier, we boarded the last departing tenders and got back on the ship as it prepared to leave. Having been to Cabo before, it wasn’t the end of the world, but it was a little disappointing to not get to experience the port at which we actually arrived.

It was a chill evening otherwise, and next stop is Puerto Vallarta tomorrow!

All aboard – first two days cruisin’

On October 14, 2019July 13, 2020 By notyouravggiraffeIn TravelLeave a comment

It’s been a while since I last went on a cruise, but as I hop back onboard, I’m doing it for a two week, 16 day repositioning cruise of the Panama Canal! This particular voyage is taking place on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Joy, and hits six ports, along with sailing through the canal. It’s going to be quite the adventure, and I’m looking forward to seeing some new places and experiencing the canal itself.

The ship itself is larger than any I’ve been on before, having 20 decks, with the upper ones housing laser tag, a speedway, and mini golf… all amenities which I may or may not check out during my 16 days of sailing. There are all the various restaurants for meals, and of course, the pools – although I will say that I’m a little disappointed in the actual size of the pools on this ship. Although they’ve got some cool water slides (more on that later perhaps), there’s very little actual swimming space.

Our embarkment day began quite early due to a 6am flight to LAX (absolutely a horrid time to have to be ready to take off in my opinion). After arrival at the airport, we met an NCL rep, and waited for a shuttle coach to take us to the pier. Traffic was, of course, a mess (classic LA) so it took a decent amount of time to get to the pier itself. Once there, we went through all of security, got our room keys, and headed off to get onboard! We couldn’t get to our stateroom immediately, so we opted for some lunch at the garden cafe buffet. The amount of food options is frankly stressful, since there’s really a bit of everything. At least it means you can try something different every day 🤷🏼‍♀️, only means that for someone like me who can rarely decide what to eat on a daily basis, that I’m overwhelmed by the options!

There was a mandatory life boat drill before the boat actually left, but other than that, the first day was mostly filled with raffles (every place wants to get you in the door) and getting settled into what will be a fairly lengthy sail. Having 20 decks, there’s lots to explore, including an observation deck, spa, fitness center, pool deck, and all the restaurants that are placed throughout the ship.

At sea days are never the most exciting, and unfortunately this voyage has many of them. The first full at sea day was pretty calm, both in the water and on board. I participated in “band emoji” trivia, and having only gotten two questions wrong, won an NCL sticky phone wallet! I was pretty proud of myself considering I’m not super musically inclined… I even checked out the gym so now I can check off working out on a not entirely stable plane from my list of things to experience.

Every evening, you receive a “freestyle daily,” with a detailed schedule of the next day’s events. You’re never short of options of things to do, either organized or of your own planning. It makes ensuring you can get to all the events you want to attend easier seeing everything lined up on paper for the whole day in one place.

There’s different entertainment every day as well, for a variety of all interests. The first night we only went to the welcome show, but the following night, we went to a “Beatles: the early years” concert complete with the four Beatles in the cavern – a smaller location built to replicate where they used to play in Liverpool. It was a lively and fun show, who can’t bop along to those classic songs? Live shows are a great way to spend some time and there are certainly plenty of them on this ship.

The first port of call on this trip is Cabo San Lucas on day 3 of the voyage! It’ll be nice to get off the ship, even if only for a bit to be back on land!

Not Your Average Giraffe

Month: October 2019