Category Archives: Travel

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St. Thomas

October 8, 2012 Andi Leave a comment

This morning we woke up and went up to get breakfast. Overnight we had made our way to the island of St. Thomas. The view from the boat was beautiful.

Seeing the houses on the island and the very blue water reminded me a bit of Greece.

Once we got off the boat we walked around a bit and found a beach to go to. We got in a cab and went to the beach. Our excursion wasn’t until 1 pm so we had some time on our own.

It was here at the beach we discovered that our old underwater camera wasn’t waterproof anymore. On our last trip in Belize the SD card holder broke in the underwater camera. Since then we had taken it to a repair man but were unsure if it would still be water tight…it wasn’t. Not a complete loss though because before this trip we had bought the new updated Olympus Tough camera. It was just kind of a downer because we thought we would both have Tough cameras haha.

I can’t remember the name of the beach but it was very beautiful.

At 1 pm we went back to the boat to meet for our Snorkeling Trip. The snorkeling was good, but definitely not as good as Belize. We did see turtles though! We didn’t get good pictures of the turtles because they were far away. But we did get some good pictures of a Sting Ray.

After snorkeling we went to an awesome beach and had some rum punch.

Once we got back we got cleaned up and went to the dining room for dinner!

Bloggings, Travel

San Juan to Carnival Cruise Ship

October 7, 2012 Zepo Gnod Leave a comment

Today I intended to wake up around 8 am but forgot about the hour time difference and got up at 8:30. There was no hot water in the shower. That was very disappointing. Then we decided to go out for breakfast. We found a diner like place down the street from our hotel. I had 2 fried eggs with ham and toast. Don had 2 fried eggs with bacon and toast. It was okay breakfast. I can’t remember the name of the place.

After breakfast it was around 1030 and we decided to try to figure out what to do with our luggage while we explored more of San Juan. We had to check out the hotel at 11. We talked to the hotel manager and she said we could keep our luggage in their luggage room until 4 pm, so that was perfect. We got our luggage all situated and then checked out to explore San Juan for the few more hours we would be there.

It was so hot outside! We couldn’t decide what to do. We knew we wanted to get on the boat around 2 or 3 to check in. So our options were check out a couple of forts or the Bacardi Factory Tour. We could see one of the forts from where we were standing and it just looked like the sun was beating down on it. I knew the Bacardi Tour was free and I had seen a sign for it earlier so I convinced Don we should do it. He was a little unsure of it because we had a feeling we had to take a ferry to get to it and he was worried about time.

We went to the port to check it out. The guy said the boats run back and forth every half hour and the tour was only 45 minutes. So we decided to go for it. The ferry ride was 50 cents each way. The next ferry was taking off at 1130 so we had about 15 minutes.

In the ferry terminal a young woman came up to us and asked if we were going on the Bacardi Tour. She said she heard you had to take a taxi once you got there to get to the actual factory. We didn’t know this; we just thought the ferry would take us right to it. She asked if we wanted to share a cab and we decided yes. Her name was Anda and she was from Romania. We started talking while we were waiting and a man came up to us and introduced himself as Larry from LA. He had a friend with him named Anne. We all started talking and decided we would try to fit in a taxi together.

On the ferry over to Catano we made friends with an older couple of women. They were also leaving on the Carnival cruise with us later. I can’t remember their names right now. I wonder if we will see them on the boat sometime. They gave us some tips since this was like their sixth cruise.

Once we got to Catano we were hurried to a taxi, which was really like a shuttle bus so we could all fit in it. It was $3 per person. Once we got to the Bacardi Factory we signed up for a tour. We had to wait for the English speaking tour so we had a 45 minute wait. They gave us each 2 tickets to get free drinks at the bar. We all quickly went to the bar and got a drink. Don and I both got Bacardi Coconut with pineapple juice. It was delicious, much better than Malibu I think. Don, Anda, Larry, Anne and I all sat at the same table and talked and enjoyed our drinks. The grounds of the factory were beautiful so we took a lot of pictures.

My second drink was some kind of raspberry mixed drink. It was good, but not as good as the coconut.

Finally our tour was called and we went on the tour. We got on a bus to go over the factory, which was a very short ride but for some reason they said you were not allowed to walk. The tour was pretty good. I learned a few things about rum. The highlight of the trip though was the free drinks and meeting the people. Once we got back from the tour we checked out the gift shop. Then somehow we all got another free drink. I got the coconut and pineapple again because it was so good. We hung out for a little bit because it started raining. Once the rain seemed to have quit some we all ran to the shuttle bus. Once we got off the shuttle bus it was pouring. The ferry was leaving in 5 minutes so we all quickly paid and ran to the ferry in the rain. Then we got back to San Juan and said our goodbyes. We exchanged emails and names for facebook.

Then Don and I went back to the hotel to get our bags to take to the ship. It was raining. We got our bags and walked in the rain to the ship. It was about a 10 minute walk. Luckily the rain started slowing down. We went through the whole check in process and that took probably an hour. We saw our room. It is on the 1^st floor and has no window. It is pretty small but we expected that. Then we decided we would go to starbucks back up on shore so Don could do something for work online. We had been to starbucks earlier and there was a free wifi connection. The wifi on the boat is very expensive. So we got off the boat and went to starbucks. Of course the wifi was not working. And we both ordered ice coffees and they were horrible. So then we went to CVS down the street because we found out you can bring bottled water and soda on the boat. I got an 8 pack of Dr Pepper and we got a 12 pack of water. It’s just easier to have your own water for excursions and stuff.

Then we got back on the ship and Don had to suck it up and purchase some internet. We figured the best thing for us would be just to use the 75 cent per minute package. We won’t use that much. Around 630 pm Michael called our room and we decided to meet for dinner at 730.

We had dinner at the buffet. It was pretty good. We were so hungry since we hadn’t eaten since the morning. Then we just walked around with Mike and Teresa and explored the boat some. At 915 pm we had to do the mandatory safety thing where everyone has to go watch how to put on a life jacket and see where they go if there is an emergency.

After that we went back to the top of the boat to watch the boat sail away from San Juan. Don and I got some beer and we all went to the very top. We found a pretty secluded spot and we gave each other our own space. Then we looked over and Mike was down on one knee proposing to Teresa. We knew it was going to happen we just were not sure when. She was so surprised. So now Mike and Teresa are engaged!

After all that we went back to our rooms and slept because we were freaken tired.

Bloggings, Food Blog, Travel

San Juan Puerto Rico

October 6, 2012 Andi Leave a comment

Today we woke up around 5 am and quickly got ready. We ran to kinkos real fast to print another luggage tag for the cruise. We decided to check a bag with our fins. Then we got in a cab to head to O’hare.

We had a some breakfast and then had about an hour to spare before boarding. We started boarding on time at 8 am. Once we started moving and getting ready to take off though we sat in one place for a long time. Finally the captain said we had to go back to the gate to get a mechanical issue checked out. That was annoying to hear but also scary.

We went back to the gate and sat. Why is sitting in an unmoving plane so much harder to do than when you are in the air? I get so irritated. Luckily the problem was fixed quicker than I thought it would be. We finally took off around 930 or 10.

The flight was about 5 hours. I hate long flights! We sat next to a family that had 3 young kids. They were cute and luckily they were also well behaved. We landed around 3:30 pm, an hour later than scheduled.

We got outside in San Juan and it was hot! We got a taxi to our hotel. It took about 20 or 30 minutes to get there. I was so tired and hungry.

Our hotel looked very cute when we got here. It’s called Casablanca Hotel. We picked it because we could get a night here free through Hotels.com. The guy at the front desk is from Indiana. He asked how the weather was in Chicago. We found out our room was on the 3rd floor and no elevator. We are used to that by now. I was shocked at how small the room was. It is probably the size of our living room if not smaller with a bed, couch and a tiny tv. It looks nice though.

I quickly changed into some more weather appropriate clothes and got ready to go out. We started walking around Old San Juan. The area is very cool looking and everyone walks. Things are very close. We saw where the cruise ship will take off from.

We were having a hard time finding a place to eat so finally we asked these 2 guys. They gave us 2 restaurants that were authentic Spanish food. We decided on Mojitos. It was pretty good. We had a mashed plantain appetizer. I had skirt steak with fries. Don had a pork chop with rice and beans. The food was good, I ate all of it!

Then we started walking around more. We went down by the water and came to a plaza that had vendors selling food and purses. We got a bag of churros. They were delicious. Then we sat down for awhile because it looked like a concert was getting ready to start. But after sitting for a long while we decided to go back to the hotel because we were tired.

Now we are just chilling in the room. Not really sure what we are doing tomorrow before we get on the ship.

Bloggings, Snorkeling, Travel

Belize-Snorkeling South Water Caye

August 2, 2012 Andi Leave a comment

This morning we got picked up at 7 by Avadon Divers. We didn’t have time for breakfast. We met another young couple that was staying at our hotel, Andrea and Kyle from Michigan. They went on this snorkeling excursion with us.

Once we got to the dive shop we filled out paperwork and got sized for fins. We brought our own snorkels and masks. When we finally got on the boat, it was awesome. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It had an upper deck and a bathroom. They set out some coffee and banana bread for breakfast. When the boat started moving we stayed mostly on the bottom. We went up top for a little while, but I really wanted to stay out of the sun.

The first snorkel site was really cool. It was a small island that had a marine biologist resort there along with a couple of other resorts. Our guides James and Giovanni did their best to point out the different sea life. We saw a couple Barracudas and many smaller fish. It was really cool to see the coral because I’ve never really seen anything like that in the wild.

The island looked so cool but after the first snorkel we got back on the boat for lunch. They had made tuna, chicken and egg salad to choose from. I had the chicken and the egg. It was pretty good, although I have to say I was expecting a better lunch from some of the reviews I read.

For the next snorkel location we were in the middle of the sea and jumped off the boat. The water was deep, probably around 15 feet, but you could still see the bottom perfectly. There was so much coral and so many different types of fish. We saw a sting ray! And a lobster!

During about half way through the snorkel I could feel the back of my arms getting burnt. It was such an intense burning feeling, like nothing I’ve ever felt. Pretty much every time I’ve gotten burnt I haven’t felt it until afterwards. This was like my skin was frying. It was pretty bad, some of the worst skin pain I’ve ever felt. It made the snorkeling not so great but I didn’t want it to ruin my trip so I tried to ignore it.

We got back on the boat and James cut up a variety of fruits for us. My arms felt like they were on fire. I’ve really never felt anything like it. If any sunlight touched me I felt like I was burning, like a vampire. I sat with my towel draped around me. It was so uncomfortable. Sometimes it felt like I was getting an Indian Burn over and over.

Once I got off the boat the sun was so intense I just wanted to hide from it. We took a picture with the guides and got in the van to go back to the hotel. By now I am feeling the burn on the back of my arms and the back up my legs right below my butt.

After getting cleaned up we biked to the grocery store to look for aloe. There was none. So we biked to Singing Sands Inn because Don said their gift shop had a lot of stuff. Luckily they had a bottle of aloe. We also bought tshirts from our hotel that we could wear the next day because we booked another snorkeling trip.

We ate dinner at the hotel. I had a spicy chicken sandwich, which I didn’t really like at all. Luckily Don shared half of his pork sandwich with me. What a nice husband. My sunburn just felt weird…and wasn’t very red when I went to bed. I really lathered on the aloe.

Bloggings, Reviews, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Belize-Monkey River

August 1, 2012 Andi Leave a comment

We woke up this morning and had time to eat breakfast. Don had the Bacon Egg Burger that I had a few days ago and I just had a bagel. Then we had to walk to meet our guide at 745. We met him about 10 minutes away at a dock on the lagoon side. His name was Evaristo.

It took about an hour to reach Monkey River Town. On the way Evar pointed out many different types of birds. He was an expert at spotting them out. He was also an expert boater. We raced through the mangroves at high speeds. Sometimes we had to turn off the engine of the boat to hear if another boat was coming towards us through the mangroves. It was a little scary for me at first but he maneuvered the boat so freely.

Once we got to Monkey River Evar told us to go to Alice’s Restaurant and place our order otherwise it would not be ready for later. The village looked very small. The restaurant looked like someone’s house. We told the lady there that we were with Evar and wanted to place our lunch order she said “okay, I have rice beans with chicken and plantain.” And so that is what we ordered haha.

Then we got back into the boat to go down Monkey River slowly to try to see some wildlife. The first monkeys we saw were in a tree by an abandoned house. They were kind of far but you could see them. We saw several types of birds and their weird nests that they make. Then we saw a big iguana up high in a tree. How Evar spotted it, I have no idea. The guy was good. He pointed out a small crocodile just chilling in front of some tall grass. It was probably about 4 feet long.

Then we got off the boat for a walk in the jungle. We layered on the bug spray! Almost immediately we saw a big land crab. It was walking around a tree.

I was being careful where I stepped because who knows what is on the ground in the jungle. Evar warned us watch out for ants because they could be crawling on you and you might not notice until it was too late. I saw a big black spider crawl over Evar’s shoe and I told him. The spider was just sitting in some plants and I was trying to show him but he couldn’t see it. Finally he saw it and told me it was small. It was not small! This is when he learned I was afraid of spiders. He told me I should be afraid of snakes instead.

Then we came upon a family of monkeys high in the trees. They were pretty easy to spot though. Evar said he was going to scare another tour group coming at us so he got out his machete and started banging it against a tree. When he did this the monkeys started howling and screaming. They were called howler monkeys. The howling they did was so loud and so intense. It was awesome. I think we got some good video of this.

We saw a lot of cool plant life also. One of the coolest parts was the bamboo. At one point there was just bamboo towering over us.

Evar was always leading and at one point he started backing up and saying whoa whoa. He had walked into a big spider web with a big spider!! It was freaky. He said that this kind of spider makes a very strong web and he didn’t even break it.

Then we got back on the boat and continued down the river. We didn’t really get any bites in the jungle, which was cool. The rest of the trip we saw mostly birds.

Then we went back for lunch. I was so hungry and the food was really good.

Then we got back on the boat to go back to Maya Beach. But first we were going to look for manatees. Evar knew right where to go. Right when he stopped the boat we saw a manatee pop his head up for a breath. Another tour boat pulled up for a look at the manatees but they didn’t stay long and I think they missed a lot. We stuck around and saw manatees poking their noses up for air. It was very cool.

When we got back to our dock we saw a giant iguana. We saw everything on the tour that was listed except for dolphins.

On our walk home we made a detour to go to the grocery store. I got a Dr Pepper and we got some sunblock. We walked the beach home. Don was hoping the fins we had lost had washed up. When we got back we showered and then decided to take the bikes to Bonefish Grille. It was about 1.5 miles away. The bikes were good. Riding on mine made me want to get a new bike.

The Bonefish Grille is in the Singing Sands Resort. Right when we got there I got bit by a mosquito. We got bit here more than we did in the jungle! The restaurant was very dark and made you feel like you were in the jungle. It was really cool looking.

The waiter was really nice and we had some really good drinks. The restaurant was like an Asian Thai fusion. I had a spicy pork sandwich and Don had a Korean beef bbq sandwich. The food was really good and it was a really cool atmosphere. The only problem was there were a lot of mosquitoes and bugs that were biting us. The pool looked awesome and the resort itself looked really nice too. I picked up a brochure for the place and found out they have glass bottom kayaks!! That would be so cool. Then we came back and went to bed.

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