Traveling? Do your homework.

​   Truth in Advertising 

     

   There’s no doubt that traveling this world costs a lot of money. And in this economy, we like to know what we are getting for our money before we commit, not after. To do that we usually jump on the Internet and do a Google search for the places we want to go. We look at travel brochures, travel videos, or, in the old days, make a trip to the library. The Internet can give you whatever you want to know. That App like Google earth will give you birds-eye view photographs, providing you have the address or coordinates. When we rented our condo  on Luquillo, Beach, Puerto Rico, we did not have the address. it was FlipKey‘s policy to not provide details, until after one paid the fee.  Even communication with the owner was monitored by FlipKe and the owner was not allowed to send private emails to potential renters who might ask for current photos.  FlipKey provided their own photographs and property descriptions, which usually helped promote their facility.

            

   The photographs in this blog shows the difference between what was advertised and what was actually there. The first photograph shows a nice beachfront beyond the property fence, teaming with tourists enjoying the sand and surf. We rented this condo for 30 days. Never once was there a sandy beach with tourists and sunshine. Yes, we had the sunshine but that was all. The other photograph shows the coastline towards yonder trees with sand and surf all the way. The truth is, there was no beachfront for the entire month we were there.   The beach in front of our condo property would’ve been impossible to walk in the pounding surf that continually crashed into the concrete seawall protecting the backyard. Access to the beach was farther down on both sides. The closest access was to walk out the front door to the street, turn right and walk about a block to a basketball court. One could walk across the court and  out onto the sandy beach. The other direction was much farther to walk . 

  

   Had we known there was no beach access as depicted in these photographs before we rented, would we still have rented? Perhaps. But it was disappointing to know that we could not step out our back door onto the beach as it appeared in the FlipKey photograph. As you travel this world, you are at the mercy of the advertising department.  Sometimes, what they claim and what is real, May often be different. 

   

Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman

 

   Grand Cayman was our final stop in the Caribbean before heading back to Florida. We arrived just after 7:00 Friday morning. Debby, Nancy and Rhonda had arranged to go on a dolphin encounter, stingray encounter and a sea turtle encounter. Steve, Ron and I had no specific plans. We got off ship and winged it. We decided to take the 7-mile Beach tour. It was $35 each. We thought that would be a good thing to do, giving us an overview of the island.

   The tour was in a nice air conditioned 12 passenger van. It was nice and roomy, not cramped up or hard to see out of like the other vans we had. I didn’t think there was much to see in Grand Cayman. The island is virtually flat, so there are no vistas or high points except on the occasional overpass.  Am exception would be the debris mounds at the land fill.

   A couple of the highlights the locals  thought we should see were  the Governor’s mansion and a little community called Hell. One of our stops included the dolphin encounter pool where the girls were having fun. We got to stay there about 30 minutes before heading back to the boat. That was about it. Grand Cayman is noted for its banking business. There are no taxes here, thus a good place to do business. This island has about 600 banks you can choose from.

   Grand Cayman is a British island. Many moons ago about nine British vessels ran aground on a sandbar and destroyed their ships. The locals went out in their boats and rescued everyone to the last man. In appreciation, the King of England declared this island would no longer be required to pay taxes to Great Britain. That promise is still going on to this day. Everything seems to be financed by Britain.

   Even though there was little to do here, there was always shopping. We had a good time, but failed to see anything that would draw us back.

     

Jamaica

Jamaica. 

   We finally made it to Jamaica. I have thought about coming here for so many years it’s not even funny!  Many years ago when one of my best friends got married here, I knew I needed to come check it out. So here we are!  To e honest, it’s not quite like hoe I imagined it to be. It’s nice and all but in a different way.  I thought of Jamaica as the land of steel drums, you know, those they hammered out of the tops of old oil drums that made a unique sound.  They do have steel drums here, more professionally made but mostly played in clubs or hotels or even aboard a cruise ship.

   I was surprised by the heavy traffic and left side driving, although the British were here long ago running slave operations in the sugar industry.  We saw the town square in Montgomery Bay where they used to hang slaves and even white folks trying to help the slaves.  The old sugar mill still stands but has since been abandoned.

   Monet go Bay was a bustling city with a huge International Airport.  There are many shops and places to eat.  It has most of the fast food burger joints like Wendy’s and Burger King.  Didn’t see any McDonald’s, however.  We did see Starbucks and a Margaritaville, near  the beach.Our tour driver, Ian Morris, said Jamaica has more churches per square mile than any other place.  The Chinese have their footprint imbedded here, as they do in many other islands in this part of the world.  They are buying up property, opening businesses and taking over properties.  China seems to be growing in population and must go somewhere, I guess.

   Ian said there are no mean, wild animals on the island.  Also no snakes.  At one time, the Mongoose was imported to keep down the snake danger in the sugar cane fields, probably by the British.  When the snakes were all eaten, the Mongoose went to work on the chickens!  

   We got off the Regal Princes land entered the city.  There was no one checking passports or id anywhere.  We bought and shopped using American currency.  I think Jamaica has their own currency but we didn’t see any of it in circulation.  This place is dependent upon tourism and many Americans come here to vacation or cruise.

   W enjoyed our short stay.  We were here for about 8 hours today.  We sail away about 5:00.  

Grand Tueks

​Grand Turks 

Grand Turks today. Not much here to see except the sea. The square is full of souvenir shops and about 12 to 15 thousand tourists from two cruise ships.   The other ship is the Carnival party boat.   Those young  tourists have spread out on the beach and have filled the swimming pool in town square. 

   My honey lost her vaccination card and couldn’t come ashore. The cards are required for entry, even though Ron and I wasn’t carded. 

   About an hour is plenty for us.   It’s hot and about 300% humidity.   Grand Turks is the country that had stringent rules about importing dogs. Toronto would not have liked this heat and big crowds. I’m glad he got to stay at home with Matt. 

   Tomorrow is a sea day. We get to lounge around in deck chairs, have boat people bring us drinks and eat all day as we sail towards Grand Cayman and Jamaica.  

   Rhonda and Steve are on some kind of beach excursion today. As they are younger and have more energy, we wish them well!   After Ron and I return to the ship, we went into our individual rooms and cranked down the air conditioning temperature! Debby and Nancy are, either went for hot tea or gelato. May? I sit here in the cool working on my Facebook posts and updating my blog.

   As I said, tomorrow is a sea day. That means after cruising all night tonight we continue cruising all day tomorrow and throughout the next night. Sometime day after tomorrow, probably between 9 AM and noon, we should reach Grand Cayman Islands.

   We have rented space inside an air conditioned room called Sanctuary, with plush, cushy, lounge chairs on the forward upper deck. It is a kid free zone with thick, comfortable lchairs overlooking the ocean with a half moon view.  Reservations are required and it cost a little extra for this sanctuary room. Princess gave all of us veterans $250 onboard credit to use however we wish. I thought it was use it or lose it but someone said they received a check in the mail, during their last voyage of the remainder, they did not use on board. No matter. I am on endless vacation!  😎

Princess Cays

Western Caribbean 

 

Early Sunday morning, we came back to Florida for a few hours. Finally was able to get our text messages and emails that were backlogged from lack of internet  service. I think Debby and Nancy had more than a dozen messages from Walmart wanting to know if they were okay!  So we caught a cab and went to Walmart for some junk food. While we were close, we walked across the street to Krispy Kreme to consume vast quantities of health food. 

   This will be another week-long journey, but  to the western half of the Caribbean this time . I will blog in whenever I can. Today, Rhonda and Steve Lewis joined our cruise. Ron and Nancy and Debby and I now make six for dinner. It will be fun!   

   After all of us were on board and settled in our own cabins, we all met in ours for a church service. We have been missing our assembly with the believers back home, but this little group is just fine. We listened to our  Robinson Avenue church on YouTube with songs and communion. Soon afterwards we net in the restaurant for dinner together. After dinner, Debby and I retired to our cabin to find a little rest. I think Ron and Nancy went to the theatre while Steve and Rhonda found chairs around the pool to watch the big screen movie under the stars. 

  The next morning we anchored off-shore at Princess Cays, the cruise lines win private island complete with lounge chairs, towels and lunch. The ship anchored off a ways from shore and large boats tendered us to shore for a day of beach tanning, swimming, and a great shore lunch. The Beach was white sand with sparkling turquoise water. It was refreshing!  This is the stop we missed out on last Monday because of heavy ocean swells and high wind. Today was perfect weather and everything was easy. 

      

   

Saint Kitts

​St. Kitts

 

   The next morning about 8:00 A.M. we docked in St. Kitts, a small island of about 68 square miles and 47,000 people . Our captain parked near two other larger cruise ships. As we disembarked, the captain of Royal Caribbean’s largest cruise ship squeezed in between us and the other ship. I believe I overheard someone call it, Navigator of the Sea; that it holds passengers and crew of over 7,000. This made 4 cruise ships in port. That means we increased St. Kitts’ population by more than 20,000 tourists!  Amazing the local facilities can handle this number!  

   Once again we bought a ticket for an island tour. Once again we drew a fearless driver who made good time on these narrow windy roads. At least he stopped on occasion to let us get out and snap photos and walk a bit.  He was a big man who’s broken English was a rich Jamaican type accent. He pointed out various landmarks,buildings and facilities along the way. There seems to be a lot of two-year universities here where one can study things like medicine and veterinarian training. But to be more proficient, and earn a bona fide degree, they must leave the island and go to another country to finish their studies and graduate.  

   St. Kitts apparently has a problem with the monkey population. Although we never seen one crossing the road or sitting in trees in the wild, or attacking anyone, we did see some babies in captivity at a small, off-road tourist trap. They were very cute. It would cost five dollars to sit on your shoulder for a photo. . I never realized the deal until it was too late. I just hope Toronto doesn’t see the photograph.

   About 2/3 the way around the island we pulled off to visit another tourist trap and check out black lava rocks in the surf. We were about halfway to the overlook when a torrential downpour came in with a blast of wind. We ducked under shelter until it passed. Reminded me a lot of being in the Philippines in the mid 1960s.  Both islands, St. Thomas and St Kitts, have one high mountain that was once a volcano. They are tall enough to condense moisture and get a lot of rainfall.   

   Next we stopped at another overlook to see a short mountain range with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Caribbean Ocean on its right. At another place, we snapped a photo of the Atlantic touching the Caribbean separated by a line of white water. Quite interesting! 

   From this point we were driven directly into downtown. Our driver was bent on getting us back as quickly as possible. It was like when you are horseback riding and the horse smells the barn!  Katie bar the door! He dropped us off near the ship in an area full of souvenir shops after souvenir shops, all swarming with hundreds of tourists, from four huge cruise ships!   As we approached, the Princess, we notice people were still leaving the gigantic Royal Caribbean. 

   St. Kits would be our final stop before heading back to Fort Lauderdale. It was about 5 o’clock when we set sail. It will take two days to get back to Florida.  We are scheduled to dock about 6:00 A.M. Sunday morning. This would mark the end of our first week of cruising the Caribbean. This week we cruised the eastern Caribbean and beginning Sunday afternoon we enter the western Caribbean. Looking forward to seeing Jamaica! Y’ah,, mon!

     

 

 

Saint Thomas

​Saint Thomas and Saint John Virgin Islands

 

   We set sail out of Fort Lauderdale late Sunday afternoon. The next day we were scheduled to visit a small island owned by princess cruises called, Princess Cay. Because of strong winds and 6 to 8 foot swells, the captain decided to push on to Saint Thomas for the safety of his passengers. Princess Cay has no port, so the ship would need to anchor, offshore and passengers be tendered to the island using smaller boats.  The high swells and strong winds would create a hazard for loading and unloading passengers.

   It was about eight in the morning on Wednesday when we docked in Saint Thomas. The sun was shining, the seas were calm, and it was a beautiful, warm day. All on-shore Princess-directed excursions had been filled weeks ago. However, we found a source for local excursions. Saint Thomas is geared for tourism, and there were plenty of sightseeing taxis available for a good price.

   First step, we opted for an island tour. We were soon on board a 12 passenger van and touring a portion of the island. Saint Thomas is beautiful with volcanic mountains and 

    scenic overlooks. We had great vistas of the city as well as places like Megan’s Bay.  We stopped at several placeS along the way to take photos, go  shopping and buy drinks. Our tour lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Our driver dropped us off near our ship.

   From St. Thomas, we took a ferry boat ride to visit the nearby smaller island of St. John. The sign said tickets were $25 and $6 for those over 70.  We liked that price much better. Unfortunately, another sign said the $6 was for local residents only. Bummer!  

   Our son, Matt, said St. John had very beautiful beaches. The ferry docked near what seemed to be downtown and we entered a bustling community of shops, shoppers and sellers.  Mostly we were hungry and our thoughts turned to lunch. We sat down in an outdoor café and ate delicious food while chickens and roosters walked around our table and between our feet as we ate. Very interesting.  

   After lunch, we caught a taxi. The driver took us to a beautiful place called  Trunk Bay. This area was inside another US National Park. At least we would get in for free because I still carried my National Park pass, or so I thought.  I showed my pass at the entrance gate and the lady said my entrance fee would be half-price, but everyone in my party had to pay five dollars each.   As we had no choice, we forked over the money and walked down to the beach. Matt said this was one of his favorite beaches. Indeed, it was beautiful! Pristine turquoise water and white sandy beaches, a rare and beautiful combination! we did not bring swimming gear with us, but we could get our toes wet. The water was comfortable, clean and clear! This would be a beautiful place to sit and simply look upon its  beauty. The tide was coming in and people with lounge chairs kept moving them back to higher ground.  

   For our excursion to Trunk Bay, our taxi driver could best be described as a fearless maniac behind the wheel . He drove so fast on these narrow, winding roads that we had to hang on for dear life. He passed by a couple of scenic overlooks with no thought of stopping or slowing down. if someone wasn’t driving fast enough, he would find a slot and speed around them. It’s a good thing the gas pedal could go no farther than the floor!

   We found a different taxi for our return trip to the ferry. I told him about the other driver. He asked me what color the taxi. I told him red. Somewhere along the way back. He asked me if he was driving as fast as the other guy. I said, “Not even close!”

   After returning to the St. John’s port, we didn’t have to wait long for our ferry ride to St. Thomas. We spent a little time shopping but headed back to our ship earlier than we had planned. It would be 9:00 P.M. before we set sail.  

Regal Princess

​Princess Cruises

   

   It was Sundae morning when we boarded our ship. We settled into our cabin on the 16^thfloor forward. Ron and Nancy were assigned a cabin on the 15^th floor directly below ours and one cabin over. The rooms were small but adequate. There is a small shower , toilet and a deep sink. With practice you have just enough room to change your mind. We had a small, two-person couch next to the bed. Next to the sliding glass door was a desk with chair and two electrical outlets for our use. A small refrigerator was to the right of the desk. The sliding glass door went out onto our private balcony. It was only about 3 feet by 8 feet but had two sitting chairs in front of the tinted glass wind screen. It was a good thing to have whenever the seas got rough. 

   During the days when the ship is at sea, the deck chairs go fast. People have people place towels on empty chairs by the dozen, saving them for family, friends or friends of friends. Passengers are not supposed to save chairs but everyone does. Saturday was the first day we actually got chairs because Debby and I were on deck at 6:00. A.M.  when the chairs we’re supposed to be set up; all of the poolside chairs had already been taken. 

   The 100 degree hot tubs should NOT be called a hot tub!

   

   The Princess is not a huge ship. I think it Carrie’s about 3600 passengers and crew. The 16^th floor, the Lido deck they call it, has a couple of swimming pools and hot tubs for the passengers. Lounge chairs and other types of chairs and tables are throughout the ship. The Lido deck has a couple of gigantic food buffets where one can eat most anything all day long!  A huge big screen looms over the pool area where movies under the stars are shown. During the day it usually shows some sort of entertainment. The poolside bars offers not only what you are drinking but you can also order food like pizza or  burgers. 

   Other floors have various restaurants, shops, casinos, parlors and entertainment. Whatever you can think of, these cruise ships offers about everything. The live stage shows are well done with professional quality entertainment. The casino is pretty much like all others. It doesn’t take all week to lose your money!

   If you have never taken a cruise, you should try it. Destinations are all over the world. Pick your place, pay the money and prepare to be pampered. 

   Drawbacks?  Yes, there are drawbacks.  When you dock at some exotic port, you may find there are other cruise ships there.  When we docked at St. Kitts, three other cruise ships also came into port. Two of those ships carried more than 6,800 passengers each!  The two smaller ships were carrying about 4,000 each. So that sleepy little town in the world now has an extra 20,000 tourists shopping, sightseeing and taking tours. It sometimes gets very crowded making your trip to a secluded beach something you didn’t count on. 

   If you are susceptible to seasickness, don’t leave home without the proper medication.  Obtain a prescription from your doctor for the small patches you stick on behind your ear. Or visit your pharmacist and bring along some Dramamine. Rough seas can make the trip miserable. 

   If you don’t like loud music and parties, do your homework and avoid the party boats like Carnival. 

   If you aren’t fond of a bunch of noisy kids running around, ships like Viking often are much smaller ships with no kids. 

   By the way, we still never found the “poop deck”!

   

 

 

WRer Taxu

​Water Taxi and Beyond

 

   We listened to Wyndham’s sales pitch and a couple of hours later we were able to get free tickets for the Water Taxi.          The main canal is part of the Inter-coastal Waterway that spans nearly 3000 miles. It begins up in the Northeast corner of the United States and ends up in Texas, I believe.  In Fort Lauderdale there are tributaries off the main canal , much like side streets off a city Main Street.  Along this canal one can find homes that are anywhere from expensive to VERY expensive, with expensive Yachts parked out front. They run in all sizes and costs, up to many millions of dollars and hundreds of feet long.

   The water taxi service allows you to gelt on and ride as much as you want.  There are about 18 stops that can take you to great shopping, restaurants, the beach and unique residential areas where there are no cars, only yachts.

   We ate lunch at a waterside seafood restaurant.  It was very good.  We spent the day traveling from one end to the other land back again.  We caught an UBER from our Wyndham Worldmark to the  north end of the canal.  We returned that evening to the same place to catch our ride back.

   Toronto was with us all day enjoying the sights and sounds of the boats on the canal.  As we disembarked and called for an UBER to take us home, an interesting thing happened.  I got in the front seat with Toronto on the floor between my feet, as we usually rode all other times.  When the driver got back into the car, he saw Toronto and went ballistic!  He did not want a dog in his car.  He didn’t like dogs and created a scene.  He didn’t care that Toronto was a Service Dog or not.  He told me that he didn’t like dogs because they stink.  I told him Toronto was probably cleaner than him.  The driver told me I also stunk and told us to get out.  I suggested that perhaps the smell was him and not us.   Anyway, we called another UBER and reported this driver on the UBER website.  

   UBER’s policy and Federal Laws permit Toronto to be anywhere people can go.  Regular people can object to Service Dogs inside their cars, but lUBER drivers are not regular people.  They are classified as public vehicles.  I could have insisted, and even called the PoPo but I didn’t want to ride with this psycho now anyway.

   Since then, UBER has reached out to me and apologized for this driver’s behavior and assured me this behavior was not their policy.  They would be deciding what to do about having this driver on their team or not.  They made sure we would not be charged for the fare and even gave me fifteen dollars credit towards my next UBER ride. 

   My son, Matt, flew to Fort Lauderdale to pick up Toronto and take him to Oklahoma as I would not be able to take him on the second half of the cruise.  Caicos and Grand Turks have stringent rules on importing animals to their island.  The nine pages of paperwork I needed to fill out was so strict that I  was not able to comply.  Matt suggested he take Toronto home with him while we did the Cruise.  I appreciated that offer and was happy to take him up on it. 

   Matt left with Toronto on Saturday and our cruise ship set sail on Sunday.  It worked out just right.  

   The Wyndham sales pitch we had, (trying to sell us more shares to use the resort more often), was interesting.  They really tried to get us to bite, even telling us that the last offer to buy in 2020l was something we should have taken advantage of because now that offer is much more costly.  The manager of the sales department did make us the same offer and said it would not ever be offered to us at that price again.  We let it pass … again.

 

Fort Lauderdale, Fl

FORT LAUDERDALE 

          

We arrived in Florida early this afternoon and took a cab to our Wyndham Palm-Aire Worldmark Resort not far away.  The manager snagged us right out of the gate to sign us up to listen to a sales spiel tomorrow in exchange for some yacht tickets to cruise the canals and look at the way the rich and wealthy live.   So we bit like an old Carp in murky water. They will have a hard time landing this old fish as we haven’t been happy with the way certain resorts are impossible to get into, like Saint Thomas in the Caribbean. We have been on a waiting list to get into that one for two years!  Now you can’t convince me that we aren’t getting bumped by their favorites!

   Our Wyndham two-bedroom unit is okay; adequate but nothing special or extra ordinary. It is on the third floor overlooking a parking lot and a noisy street. Had we gotten a room on the other side of the hallway, our balcony would have looked over into the interior courtyard and a large swimming pool. It would have been much less noisy, too. One would think if they had intentions of trying to sell us a $16,000 membership upgrade, schmoozing us with a great room should be considered. We are here for the next 5 days so we’ll see how it goes tomorrow. 

Dog Gauntlet

​Luquillo Dog Gauntlet

 

     I just wanted to show you what me and Toronto have to endure most every time we go to the beach.  The Barrio is home to many neighborhood dogs.  Luckily, most are enclosed behind various kinds of fences.  There are six or eight close by us that roam the streets and cause trouble.  I call this the “dog gauntlet”.  Fortunately whenever I have my cane in my other hand, they respect its reach and stay back.  Perhaps they have experienced the stick before.  It reaches about five feet when I open it up.  The sneakers, those mutts trying to sneak up behind me do not go unnoticed.  I just swing the cane around behind me and the noise of it going through the air is enough to make them jump back.  I’ve come close to connecting with a barking face a few times but they are too quick. 

   Dogs in the neighborhood is the main reason I stay in my own neighborhood, especially behind our privacy fence.  I would love to walk up to the Kiosks or to a tent at the entrance near the highway where a local sells BBQ.  It always smells good driving by.  Also the beach is nicer up by the food Kiosks.  It would be a mile of dog encounters and I don’t want to do that to Toronto.

 

   Disclaimer:  No dogs were killed or injured during my stay in Luquillo Beach.

 

Naguabo

​Near the eastern entrance of El Yunque National Rain Forest-is a 500 year old settlement called Naguabo. This small town is populated by about 28,000 people. It’s here that a friend of mine lives. Jose Rivera is a fellow blind Veteran of the Vietnam era  I met Jose during my stay in the Gulf Coast Blind Rehab last October. It was good to see him again on his own turf. He seemed happy to be able to show it off. 

   Not having a vehicle in which to run around in, we hired an UBER to take us to Naguabo, about 45 minutes drive away. As UBER drivers are scarce in Naguabo, we made a deal with our driver to be our tour guide for a while before taking us back to Luquillo Beach. So we picked up Jose and headed for the beach and to lunch. 

   Things worked out quite well. We were able to drive around and have Jose show off his town as well as slow down and watch him call out to some of his friends and cousins as he laughed and cut up with them.

   Lunch was good although a little costly for us buying lunch for Jose and Matthew, our driver. But all in all it was worth it. Puerto Rican restaurants do  not cook food ahead like we find in the states.  After ordering, the cook prepares the food fresh; no fast food here, nor any food fast. Except on our way back from Naguabo we had our driver run through the KFC drive-thru so we could take home a box of fried chicken. Luckily it was already cooked. 

   After lunch we toured the area a bit more. It was good to get to see where my friend lives before we go home Tuesday.  It was sad to still see a lot of Hurricane Maria damage. This community may take many more years to rebuild and get back on their feet. 

   A quick run through KFC and we headed home. We tipped our driver quite generously for his kindness and took a nap.