Signing Off

The clock on this monitor has just rolled over to 3:45am. We are in the Calgary airport.
We began this saga more than 24 hours ago when we got the wake up call on the Caribbean Princess. We had been in isolation for the past 2 days so it was going to be good to get out of our cabin. I turned on the computer to get any last minute e-mails and discovered much to our horror that our flights had been changed. Instead of flying from FLL to Toronto and then on the Vancouver with touchdown on Sunday evening we would now go from FLL to Toronto and then on the Calgary and then on to Vancouver with long delays in between flights We would arrive in Vancouver 12 hours later than planned. YUCK! I had to quickly send a message to Kerri so she would not be waiting for us. This cold is one that as soon as you lie down you begin to cough. The cough sounds as if I am about to die. The other passengers are not going to be pleased and travelling with little or no rest for 28 hours is not exactly the perfect prescription for getting better.

I had to take pictures of this waiting area. Ken is trying to sleep and the airport is so empty and so still. It is waking up now. A few minutes ago an older Sheik gentleman began walking back and forth with a floor cleaning machine It looks very much like a walk behind Zamboni. It is so unique that I decide to get a picture of it. As the operator walks by he smiles for me.

I am wondering when they turn on the moving sidewalks when suddenly the one in front of me comes to life. Three workmen and visiting and laughing as they ride and walk on this amazing mode of transportation. There is a Tim Horton's across from where I am sitting and they have begun their day. Muffins are in place and the coffee aroma slowly floats over to me.. The clock now says 4 so soon we will be on our way again. We are due to board at 6:45. But there have been so many delays that I won't be surprised if there is another. The snow is coming down quite heavy and the pilot said it was minus 16 out there.

Because of being in isolation we were not permitted to go to the dining room for breakfast and we had to be escorted off of the ship. We were required to keep our luggage in our room and in the morning we were let directly to the sidewalk and the waiting cabs. No waiting in line for us.
We received the bill for services rendered and in total for the both of us it came to about seven hundred dollars. So much for having a small bill when this holiday was over. Hopefully insurance will cover all or most of it

We asked our table mate Candi to take our tips and thank you notes to Pat and Darwin and Rui. We still have half a bottle of wine that we planned to have on formal night. So we wrote and asked Pat to serve it to Candi and Sherri and Angie and Nathan. We were able to thank Rakesh our selves. I had plans to purchase tees for Emmie and Leo but that plan died with the isolation.

We did have a most enjoyable month at sea. We really missed Fred and Mary and Randy and Janeen when they left but it was nice to meet new table mates also.
We saw and did lots of amazing things and made lots of good memories.
The little glitch of the Flu was just that a glitch. It could have been so much worse if it had happened at the beginning of the cruise instead of the end. All of the changes and delays to our travel plans for the trip home was not pleasant but it really would have been a disaster if we has been travelling with small children.

We are headed home to lots of snow which is a complete surprise. I expected to see my daffodils poking through the ground.
We have 3 weeks to completely empty the house at Waterleaf. What a challenge that will be!~!
We left so early that all of our Christmas decorations are still in place. Perhaps I will add some hearts to everything and call them Valentine decorations.
I have only completed 4 of the hundred toques that I need to have done by the beginning of October so all of my evenings will be taken up, that is for sure.
I am looking forward to doing a lot of entertaining in our new home. Lots of dinner parties including old friends and hopefully new friends also.
We have not made definite plans for the summer but we know we will be doing something special to celebrate an important birthday.
We cruise with Fred and Mary in January and hopefully Randy and Janeen will find that they can join us.
I can't say for certain when the blog will continue but check in August, the birthday month.

Till Then
Choose to be happy
We are going this way only once.

Carolyn

A Change of plans:-(

This is not the day I had planned.

I got little or no sleep the past 2 nights so I decided that I had to do something. Sitting on planes and in airports for almost 18 hours when you are coughing that hard would not be a good thing.

I decided to go and see the doctor on board. This is the first time in over 400 day at sea that I have gone to the medical center. Even a broken ankle did not send me there so you know I was feeling pretty rough. I was in the waiting area only minutes when I began to cough. There were only seconds before a nurse was bringing me a mask. Ii told them I was there to get some cough medicine. I agreed to have a consult with a doctor ( cost 94.00 ) After a few routine tests she informed me that the islands were full of a flu virus that was H1 N1 and something else ( I don’t remember) but all I had to hear was H1 N1 and I agreed to a flu test. I did not have a fever. Of course they wanted to test Ken as well. I call the room and Ken joined me. He was also given the test. To make a long story shorter Ken tested positive and since he got feeling ill a day or two before me it is assumed I will test positive later as well.

I gather that this particular strain begins with this tight chest cough and then moves on the fever and sore muscles and congestion etc.etc.etc.

 So we were given prescriptions for Tami Flu and cough syrup and throat lozenges and antihistamines and we are quarantined—confined to our cabin for 24 hours. If Ken’s fever is gone and I do not have a fever tomorrow we will be set free. The cost of all of those meds is not yet on our shipboard account so that surprise s waiting for us. Our travel insurance should reimburse us some if not all of it. I wish she had given me a prescription for Tylenol; my ribs are so sore from coughing. I will have to get some when they set us free.

BUT this is the day of the most travelled passenger luncheon. We were both looking forward to attending that for the first time ever. I am so disappointed but we know that H1 N1 is nothing to fool with so perhaps this is our guardian angel continuing to look after us. I guess we will just have to keep cruising and hope we get another invitation some time.

At three o’clock was the wine tasting, this evening is the lobster dinner and tonight is the captain’s circle party with free cocktails and we will be missing it all. It is good that we got to take all of that in on the previous 3 cruises.             

So since we are confined to quarters I do not know what else we will do. I tried sleeping and I was able to sleep for about 45 minutes before the coughing began again. Ken is sound asleep as I type.

The blog will not be very exciting if all I have to talk about is the animals I saw in the clouds.

A Party Bus!!

Is This A Party Bus??

We did not plan an excursion this time in Aruba but we went to the shore excursion desk and managed to get a beach day planned, here is what the description said:

The adventure begins when you board your fun and unique mode of transport for the day-a banana bus, Take a short trip along Aruba’s stunning west coast to your first stop of the day, the California Lighthouse. This brief photo stop offers panoramic views of the island. The building itself is a fascinating structure, named for the steamship “California” which sank off the coast of Aruba. Climb back into your banana bus and travel to MooMba Beach, a watering hole in the hotel zone of Palm Beach. Relax on the sandy beach in your complimentary lounge chair, and enjoy the stunning surroundings. MooMba Beach also offers a full service bar and restaurant, restrooms and changing facilities, outdoor fresh water showers and a gift shop for souvenir hunting.

That description was very accurate. The ride was in a banana bus.

A banana bus is a vehicle which has had its sides painted in amusing graffiti with lots of bananas. Two buses were waiting for us.

 One had both sides painted and I would discover at the lighthouse that only one side of our bus was complete. We all offered to paint it if they would supply the materials.

The windows had been removed and the first bus had amusing wooden doors.

 The seats were metal and not very ample. I wondered how some people were able to sit with their partners. Anyway our tickets were taken as we boarded the bus. As soon as the bus began to roll the driver introduced himself, Gerald was his name, and he told us about our journey. He pointed out some of the sites along the way and then the music began. It blasted through-out the bus and through the neighboring streets since there were no windows. Soon passengers were singing along and cheering as we travelled along the beautiful countryside.

Our first stop was at the lighthouse. We had been here before and we were pleased to note that it was freshly painted. There were vendors there selling beverages and souvenirs. They were not pushy.

When we arrived at MooMba beach we were shown where the restrooms and showers were and we were shown where our lounge chairs could be found. We chose a spot where Ken could be in the sun and I could be in at least partial shade. We spent time in the water and in the lounge, enjoyed a smoothie and just relaxed. The sand was soft like icing sugar and the sun was warm and there was a wonderful cooling breeze. It was a special morning. We had to meet the bus at 12:45.

We gathered our things and went to the assigned meeting place. As we boarded the bus we were each given a noise making gourd. The loud music began and soon everyone was singing along and shaking the maracas. Macarena was the loudest song. At one point the driver said we were approaching his ex girlfriend’s house when we got there young women with long range water guns sprayed the bus and since we had no windows some of us got wet.

They have round abouts on the island and twice when we got to one the driver gunned the engine and raced around two or three times to the screaming delight of the passengers. Passing car drivers were startled by the sudden noise and loud music. When they saw a bus load of crazy adult tourists they had to smile and they returned waves as we shook our noise makers out of the windows.

When the 2 buses arrived at the terminal we created quite the sensation!!

A party banana bus full of seniors causes quite a sensation and lots of smiles!!!

Our Day In Curacao

Hato Caves,

If you read the description of our tour you know what we did for the day.

First stop was the Curacao Museum. It really was as good as or better than we expected. Our guide was very good and she explained all of the pieces that we saw. There were lots of mahogany pieces. We saw bedroom and dining room furnishings and the design of the houses so they took full advantage of the trade winds was really interesting.

There was a reproduction of a kitchen and it was amusing to see that the walls were brightly colored and decorated with large poka dots. They said that the dots confuse the flies. They do not know where to land so it keeps the flies down in the kitchen.

Outside there was a display of some of the various kinds of housing that was used by the early people of Aruba. There were the thatched structures used by the Arawack Indians.

The simple structures used by the freed slaves

The tin can houses that were used by the early workers in the oil fields

.

When we were finished at the bus we boarded our bus and headed to the caves. We had to climb 49 steps but the steps were very well made so they were not difficult. The caves are amazing and really worth visiting. There was one spot where were allowed to take pictures . I tried to get some good ones. Again the guide was excellent and we received a lot of information. The tour took almost an hour and it was well worth it.

Our final stop was at the Curacao distillery. It was the same as it was 2 weeks ago when we were here. We enjoyed a strawberry smoothie.

Then it was back to the ship. We had our lunch in the Internet Café.

We had a rest

We went for dinner and enjoyed the company of our table mates. We went to the show at the theatre and it was Broadway Ballroom. They did a fantastic job. Even better that last time.

We finished the evening by sitting on our balcony , enjoying the warm tropical evening air and a cup of hot chocolate.

Another evening and another day had come to an end.