Why Do I Blog? (2025 )

 Wednesday, February 26, 2025

I have several reasons for blogging. Here they are, in no particular order:

My blog is a diary

I blog for the same reasons people keep diaries. Keeping a blog helps me make a record of our travels. Writing about a trip helps me remember much more about the trip. It forces me to think about what I liked and what I didn’t like, and why. A diary is a place to process emotions and reflect on the day’s experiences and observations.

It is a finite project! Hurray for that!

My blog is a way to keep in touch with friends and family

I want friends to know about our travels (if they are interested).  I especially want our kids to know where we have been and what it was like. Some friends would like to plan trips to the places we visit and ma find our experiences informative. Some friends are unable to travel, but they enjoy reading about exotic cultures and distant lands.

To practice/improve my writing

Blogging is very good practice. It makes me think about how to be more descriptive, how to make it more interesting, how to weave the day into a story. 

I can try out different writing styles to see what works. 

I have to think about what should be fact-checked, which words should be spell-checked, what supplemental information is needed to provide context or background. 

Sometimes I come up with a word I want to use and realize I don’t actually know what the word means, so I look it up. That can be enlightening.

I think a lot about precision and accuracy. I try to keep bias and privilege from creeping in. I get practice being objective. I try to remember what I learned in anthropology classes in college. I found a good explanation of how an anthropologist approaches the observation of another culture at a website for the University of Arkansas Little Rock:

An anthropologist is a trained observer who knows the importance of collecting data, in listening and watching what  others are doing, in reflecting on what has actually as well as apparently occurred, in researching the context, in applying various explanatory models, and in adopting a broad perspective for framing an understanding. Whatever the topic of research, anthropologists share a particular holistic vision that requires using a repertoire of methods in order to forge a deeper understanding of situations. This holism characterizes the best anthropology and imparts the perspective for which the profession is valued.

I try to practice ethical writing by obtaining consent from people in photos (not always feasible) and giving credit to others when using their words or photos.

All of the above features of writing are skills that are continuously being honed. I am learning by doing and by thinking more deeply about some of the issues while doing.

I think reviews are important

I write blogs to review ships, restaurants, hotels, tours, etc. Many of our friends like to travel and it might be helpful for them to know about specific experiences and about what we liked and didn’t like. Sometimes it might sound like I am complaining or being nit-picky, but this is when I have my reviewer hat on. 

I find reviews very helpful. Often it is a little thing that helps me decide which hotel to stay at (or not stay at) because the big things are all the same. To me the little things are very important. It is probably no surprise to many of you that I am very detail-oriented.

Blogging changes the way you see the world.

This is why I keep blogging. It makes me really think about what I saw, what happened, what I felt, what I learned, and what was interesting. I have to think about my experiences in real time. I ask myself, “Is this something I could write about? Should I pay more attention to it?”

I look at things a little differently because I know I will be blogging later. It’s hard to describe, but it is real and it is worthwhile. 

Today’s fabric is Pen Pals on Purple - Large, by carabaradesigns for Spoonflower.

Tobago Sauce

Thursday, February 13, 2025

For breakfast I tried the Dutch breakfast plate. I liked the herring, but didn’t know what to do with the rest of it. Was I supposed to make a sandwich, a salad, or just eat it like I would eat a cheese plate?

Trinidad and Tobago is a country consisting of two main islands, namely: Trinidad and Tobago. The primary industry in this country is not tourism, but petroleum. 

The capital, located on the island of Trinidad, is Port-of-Spain, a reminder that these islands were once controlled by Spain. In fact, Christopher Columbus was the one to claim Trinidad for Spain, in 1498, and he gave it the name Trinidad. The name of Tobago comes from the shape of the island. It resembles a cigar, hence it was called “tobaco”and that drifted to “Tobago.” Before Spain colonized these islands, of course, they were occupied by indigenous peoples, and they had other names.

Today we are visiting the city of Scarborough, on the island of Tobago, a reminder that the British controlled these islands from about 1802 until the country gained independence in 1962. Scarborough is the capital of Tobago, and has a population of 17,500.

We did not find any of the tours offered for Tobago to be of interest. (We try to avoid bus tours.) Our plan was to just walk around Scarborough.

And we did. It was very hot. The walking was difficult due to lack of sidewalks in some place, crumbling sidewalks in other places, lots of traffic, complete absence of way-finding, and not much to see. We walked parallel to the shore until we came to the “end” of the area where we felt comfortable.

When you stand behind the G, the cannon points straight at you. 

I am not sure why people are wearing costumes. I think it has something to do with Carnaval.

The heart looks like the flag of Trinidad and Tobago

Elongated pineapples for sale

Interesting fruits and vegetables for sale

We had a mission to purchase three items: a souvenir magnet, body powder, and some Carnaval masks. 

I couldn’t find the magnet I bought, but here are the other items acquired in Scarborough. 
Mission accomplished!

In the evening we went to a show by vocalist Maria Campos. She sang Broadway songs that became Hollywood classics. She was a good singer, but I didn’t love the playlist she used for her show.

Finally, tonight’s towel art: I am not sure what it is. It might be perceived as something X-rated. I am CERTAIN that this was not the intent of the Housekeeping Department. If you have an G-rated idea of what this is, please put it in the Comments. If your idea is X-rated, you don’t need to comment. I think we all know what you have in mind.

Today’s fabric is Hummingbirds of Trinidad and Tobago, by Rachel Lee Young, at landofthehummingbirds, for Spoonflower

Resort for a Day

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

According to Wikipedia, Saint Lucia is one of two sovereign states in the world named after a female. The island was first inhabited by the Arawaks. After the arrival of Europeans, control of the island went back and forth between the French and the British around 14 times. Saint Lucia, with a population of around 180,000, is now an independent state and a Commonwealth realm. The residents of the island speak English.

We docked in the capital, Castries. We have been here several times, so we decided to try something different - we got day passes to a resort through an outfit called “Resort for a Day.”

The package included pick-up at the cruise dock (and return), admission to the resort (Bay Gardens Beach Resort), chairs and towels, lunch, 4 drinks, and a choice of either a 20-minute massage or admission to the “water park.” It was all quite nice, and I would go again. The downside was that the resort sold too many day passes. When we arrived, there was a long line checking in and it took us 35 minutes. By the time we got in, all the chairs and all the shade were taken. I believe the majority of the people had booked their passes through some other company. They did not seem to be able to eat in the resort’s restaurant, which was fine with me.

We eventually got two chairs on the beach with a bit of shade. The beach was nice - it was not too crowded, there was a roped off area for wading and swimming, and there was a soft, sandy bottom.

The water park

I chose the massage over the water park. It was good, and I had an interesting conversation with the masseuse about life in Saint Lucia. We talked about schools and jobs. She said a lot of people from Saint Lucia have moved to New York City. 

When I was done with the massage, I found out that a water aerobics class had just started at the pool. I ran over to see what it was like. It seemed very doable, and there were only about five or 6 women in the pool participating, so I quickly entered the pool and had a very enjoyable experience. The instructor was outside the pool, and this made it easy to follow the class.

For our lunch, there was a buffet in a little restaurant by the pool. There were a lot of local foods, and it was fun to try them. The staff was very helpful. We had the first (and only) of our four drinks. They were very strong. There was another couple from our ship there, and the woman passed out from her drink and spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping.

On the way back to the ship I think I left my hat in the taxi. I hate when that happens.

Saint Lucia has two iconic mountains called the Pitons, visible from Soufriere Bay. We were promised a scenic sail-away past the Pitons, but our ship’s departure was delayed. By the time we reached Soufriere Bay, the sun was starting to set.

Right before we re-boarded the ship, I bought a bright blue hat with the Pitons on it to replace the one left in the taxi, so I will be bringing a bit of the Pitons home with me. Look for the new hat in future photos of me. 

One of the Pitons

Back on the ship we had dinner and went to see a comedian by the name of Simon Cotter. We thought we had seen him before, but he had a lot of new jokes and his show was very entertaining.

We forgot to take a photo of tonights towel animal. :(

Today’s fabric is St Lucia, from Fryett’s Fabrics in the UK.

Golden Beach Day

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

The island of Saint Martin is divided into two countries. One country - also called Saint Martin - is a “collectivity of France.” I am not sure what that means, but we did not go to that part of the island. We went to Sint Maarten, a “constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.” (Of course we did - this is a Holland America ship.) Our ship docked in Philipsburg, the capital of Sint Maarten.

We were taken to another dock, a five-minute walk away, where we boarded our catamaran, Golden Eagle III. This is probably our third time going on a tour with this tour provider. This tour is all about relaxing and enjoying the sun, sand and beautiful azure water.

There were about 50 or 60 passengers joining the tour on the Golden Eagle III today and the catamaran did not feel crowded. To start, we motored to a nearby reef for snorkeling. Ken and I did not wish to snorkel, so we just lolled on the deck while about half of our complement snorkeled for 45 minutes, accessing the water via a ladder at the back of the boat.

Just look at the color of that water!

During this break, I started thinking about catamarans, and about the word “catamaran,” and I made up a little game for myself. 

How many words can I think of that begin with C-A-T-A?

The words can’t be different forms of the same word. For example, if I were thinking of words that begin with C-R-U-I, I could count cruise, but not cruising or cruises or cruised. By the end of our visit to St. Maarten, I had 10 words. You are invited to play.

After snorkeling, the catamaran sailed to Mullet Beach. Getting off was optional, but we did and loved it. We climbed down the ladder into water too deep to stand up in. I borrowed a noodle from the catamaran and we swam to shore. One of the crew from the catamaran was there with a zodiac for anyone who might need help. 

We managed to swim to the beach without needing to be rescued, and we sat in the sand and let the warm waves wash over us. Aaaaaaaaahhh.

Meanwhile, back on the catamaran, it looked like this:

We were served rum punch (or beer) by the crew, along with sandwiches, while we sailed back to the marina. Everything about this excursion was just right, and I would readily do it again.

Upon disembarking from the Golden Eagle III, we decided to take a taxi into Philipsburg so we could look around and look for a couple of geocaches.  Philipsburg is a cute, tidy, slightly Dutch-looking little town with a lot of shops catering to tourists.

The main shopping street

This clock might be wrong

We decided to walk back to the cruise terminal, about a mile and a half away. It was pretty hot by this time. Approximately every thirty seconds a taxi passed us and wanted to know if we needed a taxi - all the way back. Sometimes the driver would shout to us through the window, but often the driver would stop his taxi, jump out, and run back to us to see if we might possibly want a taxi. We found one of the two geocaches as we walked back, so it was worth it to walk.

In the evening, we attended a concert by pianist David Howarth. He played my favorite movie themes. Well, actually they weren’t my favorite movie themes, but that’s what they wanted me to think. 

Upon returning to our room, we were greeted by some new towel art:

Today’s fabric is Pink Catamaran, by mia_valdez for Spoonflower.

Samba Over the Rainbow

Monday, February 10, 2025

Brazil is about the same size as the Lower 48 states of the US. Brazil is the seventh largest country in the world, with a population of 212 million, compared to 335 million for the US.

But we are not there yet. We are still at sea, somewhere in the Caribbean. A whole day lies ahead of us, with no chores or obligations, so we will continue our Portuguese Immersion.

First up was another Portuguese language class. I think languages are lots of fun, so this is even better than blogging (and I am falling behind even further).

Lerio, from “Oi, Brasil,” presented Brazil Unveiled, a Deep Dive into Biomes and Cultures. It was like a short Ted Talk.

Of course we had to attend “Learn to Samba.”  Ken worked on swagger, and he looked pretty cool wearing a samba hat. We have to try to find one for him.

Maybe a hat like this. How would we get it home?

The samba is a fun dance because the music is so lively and there really are no specific steps. You just do it. Looking good doing it is a little bit harder. I worked on my hips and my ending pose. I am not yet ready to perform in public, so don’t ask for photos or video.

We have been trying to get a standing dinner reservation for our group of six for 6:00 or 6:30 pm. What it boils down to is that “anytime dining” means you can dine at 5:00 pm or at 7:30 pm. If you want any other time, you will have to wait for it every night, as you can’t get a standing reservation for any other time. We are going to try 5:00 pm, but it is too early. The samba class runs from 4 to 5. Many other classes and tours don’t finish until 5:00 or 5:30. There is no time to have a nice cocktail before dinner. This is frustrating, but we will try it.

The show tonight was a pair of male singers called The Showmen. It wasn’t my type of music. 

It sounds like I am not happy, but I am really quite pleased with this cruise overall. We have a fairly calm cohort of passengers and the ship has a great vibe.

Last night I forgot to mention the surprise when we came back to our room after dinner.

Tonight we had this napping doggie waiting for us.

Today’s fabric is brazilian samba, by angelameijer for Spoonflower.

The answers are False, True.

 

Portuguese Immersion School

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Buenos Dias! We have arrived in Cartagena, Colombia. We plan to see the aviary at the port. It’s full of colorful exotic birds, with some monkeys and sloths for good meas. . . . . . . .

Zhzhzhzhzhzzzzuoooooop!

Thwock!! 

Pooof! 

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Sunday, February 9, 2025

OMG! We found the Colombian Worm Hole and we were able to instantly jump forward one week and move from Colombia to somewhere in the Caribbean, about a day south of Miami - just like that! Wow! And “Bom Dia!”

(Really, I simply fell too far behind on my blog, so I thought it would be best if I skipped the end of our Panama Canal cruise, because there is a NEW adventure, and it starts NOW. Sort of. It really started a week ago, but I am pretending it is now a week ago, for artistic purposes. Let’s get started.)

We boarded the darling Zaandam yesterday in Miami. Boarding was delayed for about 3 hours, but we finally boarded, dropped our carry-ons in our cabin, and headed to the Lido Deck for some food. I was so hungry I immediately went off my healthy diet and ate the first thing I saw, which was a cheeseburger.

Home, sweet home

Our sitting room

The Zaandam was built in 2000, and thus it is two years older than the Coral Princess. It has a very retro vibe, but it’s very classy and elegant, but with lots of comfortable nooks, but not any crannies to speak of. All of the cabin doors have a beautiful wood veneer. (I don’t know, maybe it’s Formica.)

It’s got the lo-oo-ong straight passageways that characterize many older ships, and the classic black and white Holland America livery. 

Here are some of the interesting things we encountered as we wandered around.

In the center of the ship is a 3-story atrium. There is a bizarre objet d’art in the center, occupying all three stories. I believe it is an organ. I have no idea whether it is functional. There are numerous figures on it - some of them in modern dress, some of them in more classical robes or tunics. It’s surprising to see such a ginormous piece in such a confined space. You can’t really get a good look at the whole thing.

Looking up from the lowest level

The mid-level

The upper level

On the lowest level of the atrium, in out-of-the-way display case, we found treasure. This is a Meissen Schneeballen vase, from the second half of the 19th century. I would like to know how they stabilized it for life on a ship. It is about four feet tall - and certainly heavy. I don’t think museum putty would be strong enough.

Look at these desks and chairs (it’s hard to see the second desk). They are incredibly beautiful. The dark inlaid wood makes them so interesting.

There are a few tableaux, straight out of a museum. One of the plaques reads (sic):

   ‘A gentleman’s full dress suit’

velvet with silk embroidered, satin

style: Empire

Great Britain, circa 1780/1790

These suits appear to be in “like new” condition. They show no evidence of age or wear. I don’t know if they are real or reproductions. I’m going with reproductions.

Zaandam is small, carrying only 1360 guests on this adventure. This number includes our friends, Janice and Brock, and their friends (who we hope will become our friends, too), Linda and Patrick.

I have to say, I think there might have been some mistake in the worm hole. I thought this would be a cruise, but it is more like a Portuguese immersion school. 

There is a fantastic group of Cultural Ambassadors on board. They are experts on all things Brazil and they are full of pep and fun. They led classes today in things like Learn to Speak Portuguese, Carnaval Mask Making, Samba, Gafieira (a type of Samba for partners), and lectures about Brazil.

While I went to learn how to say “hello” and where is the bathroom?,” Ken went to a lecture on “The Discovery of Brazil”. (This included the earliest migrations across the land bridge and down through Central America, as well as the later arrivals of Europeans.)

I wanted to go to the mask-making class but both sessions filled up impossibly fast. It was challenging to find the brand new Art Studio because it did not appear on all maps of the ship yet. It was added during the dry dock that preceded this floating Portuguese Academy.

Ken and I went to the Samba class out doors by the pool. It was loud and easy and great fun. We had some very skilled teachers who knew how to encourage all of us to just get up and move. Gustavo only knows a few words of English. Most of the time he was able to use those few words to manage the class. Occasionally he would stop and say “Yes or no?” Of course everyone said “yes”, with excitement! He often spoke in Portuguese to us. (Immersion!) When necessary, an interpreter provided clarification. This was my favorite event of the day.

The bread plates are charming, and not all of them are the same. You definitely know you are on a Dutch ship, even when there is Portuguese immersion.

Today’s fabric is Brazil by Lunarable, a waterproof 100% polyester tightly woven Turkish dock fabric, available on Amazon. I don’t know why this type of fabric is called “Turkish” or “dock”. My hunch is that it is very similar to “Panama duck,” and “duck” and “dock” mean the same thing: waterproof. For some reason, you can’t buy this fabric made up into a dog crate cover. Really. Here is the link in case the photo doesn't show up when I publish today’s post.