2019 -wow. We are having temps in the 30's (1-2C) and 20-25 mph (32-38kph) breezes. Not all that much fun to be outside! So I'm going to talk about our trip through the Panama Canal. It was more like 85F (30C) most of the time down there!
So we leave the Vegas airport at 01:00 in the morning on Thanksgiving day. What a treat! Well, it all started with a little drama. This drunk guy was trying to convince the airline people that they should let him on a plane. They kept refusing and he kept insisting. He started shouting and swearing coming pretty close to hitting someone. Finally the airline people called the cops and just in time because he did finally take a swing at one of the guys from the airline. The cop was a little guy but he threw the drunk on the floor and eventually got some help to take him away. Nice little drama to keep us awake!
Anyway we didn't land in Miami, the origin of the cruise, until mid-afternoon. Yeah, really lousy! Anyway, we finally made it to the ship. The ship was the Viking Star; sistership of the one we took across the Atlantic earlier in the year. It is virtually identical to the other ship. We got on about 14:00 and were underway by 18:00. Goodbye Miami!
We had a day at sea and then entered the harbor at Santiago de Cuba. Santiago is a good sized city on the southern side of the island. The revolution had some beginnings there but it was quite a change from Miami! There was the usual convoy of buses to take folks sightseeing. Highrises, not so much!
Cuba is quite poor and some things are just really amazing. Of course we went to the main town square where the cathedral is found. There were plenty of beggars around as well. They were fairly aggressive about it.
After seeing a bit of the downtown we wandered off into the country to see another church. Here I found a rather old fashioned means of getting around. It was a donkey cart and it wasn't the only one I saw.
Finally the bus took us back into town where I saw what is used for public transportation: old trucks.
Back on the ship and off to visit the next stop on our cruise; Cienfuegos, Cuba. The Cienfuegos harbor is on this little river/bay that takes some getting into! The pilot certainly earned his or her fee. We had to anchor out and the lifeboats are used as water taxis. They aren't very comfortable and got really warm in the afternoon.
Here I am on the way back to the ship in the lifeboat.
We paid extra for a tour of the harbor and felt pretty unhappy when the tour consisted of going back out to the ocean then coming back in just as the ship had just done! There were photo ops of course. A local ferry.
A boat, maybe a fishing boat, that didn't make it back home or maybe was just left there.
The town had a cathedral of course. And happily fewer beggars.
After Cienfuegos we went back to sea for a couple days. Next up will be Cartagena, Colombia but that will be next time! Until then let me wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2019! Take care!
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