Wonderful Day

Our eat drink and dance excursion was everything it was said to be and more. We did everything mentioned in the description and we had a wonderful time.

The cruise terminal was amazingly attractive. Lots of shops and lots to do. Because of our tour we did not take advantage of all there was ...next time.

The cruise terminal at Amber Cove was amazing

Next stop was independence square. It was bright and colorful and bustled with activity.

Popi was our guide and Dep was our driver. Popi talked all while we were driving and he told us all about his country.

First stop was for souvenirs and I found a very nice wood carving to be our souvenir of this trip, I also bought a pendant of Maralargo and Amber.

There was a large catholic church in the square. The population is 69% catholic, but JW

missionaries were this with their literature.

We then began our drive out into the countryside. Popi told us about their lives and their standard of living. ( Minumum wage is $230.00 dollars a month and gas is $5.00 a gallon). They lead very simple lives.

The highways were not bad but the 16 KL of dirt road was a bit of a nightmare. Senior Dep got us safely to Hacienda Catalina.

This place was amazing. The murals and the woodwork and the food and the birds and the gardens and it goes on. I will just post pictures to give you an idea of what we experienced.

There was a gentleman there and he was opening coconuts for us Then Popi was topping up the coconut water with coconut rum.... YUMMY.

At one point I took what I thought was an amazing picture of a butterfly. It turned out to be a garden ornament. The silk butterfly was on a wire and the wings fluttered in the breeze. I was positive it was real and that I had taken a very special picture. NOT!!!

The washrooms were bright and modern and clean. The ladies room was marked with a painting of a chicken and for the gents it was a rooster.

One of the staff was wearing an apron with Canada written on it. I asked her if I could take her picture since I was from Canada. She smiled and obliged. However she thought I wanted her to remove her apron so she did that and posed smiling. My request had lost something in the translation. I have 2 pictures of that lovely lady.

When visiting the birds in their large cages I did the usual and spoke to them in a silly high voice saying “Pretty Birdie” much to my surprise when I got to the cockatiel It replied “Olla” in an equally high pitched voice.

With unlimited fruit and main course and an open bar we really got our money's worth. We danced, we drank and we ate and soon it was time to reboard our bus.

We got answers to our questions and sang all of the way back to the cruise terminal. I took more pictures of what I had missed in the morning.

This was a wonderful day.