Author: Kristin
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Aruba
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Our final stop before Miami was Aruba, another island I had never visited before. I started by hopping on the Oranjestad trolley that goes from the Cruise port to the downtown. It makes six stops along the way. The stops include the House of Parliament, National Archaeological Museum, Fort Zoutman, the Protestant…
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Curaçao
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The next stop after two days at sea was the island of Curaçao. Lying 68 miles off the coast of Venezuela, it is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Willemstad, its capital lies in Schottegat Bay, one of the finest natural harbors in the West Indies. It is part of…
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Two Sea Days
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Heading to Curaçao We were supposed to stop in Cartagena, but because of the political situation, we went past to Curaçao. For more than two centuries, Cartagena was the main gateway through which the Spanish Empire transported the riches of South America to Europe. Gold from Colombia and Peru, and silver…
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At Sea
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Wednesday: 10/8 Today we continue our route southeast along the coastlines of Costa Rica and then Panama. We will travel about 505 nautical miles, and the course will take us around Isla de Coiba and Punta Morro de Puercos in the Peninsula de Azuero. We are close to shore, only 25…
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Traversing the Panama Canal
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Today started early. The pilot came aboard around 5 am. There are two sections to the canal: the old Canal for smaller Paramax ships and the newer Canal for larger, new ships. The Queen Elizabeth is the largest of the Paramax ships, so we used the old canal. New, larger ships are…
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Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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Tuesday 10/7 Puntarenas is called the Pearl of the Pacific. It sits along the Gulf of Nicoya on a peninsula in Costa Rica. It is the largest city in the central Pacific and home to fine Spanish colonial architecture. The first European to discover Puntarenas was Gil Gonzalez Davila in 1522. The…
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At Sea–Heading to Costa Rica
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Saturday: 10/4 As we were having breakfast we were treated with another pod of dolphins, some spinners, entertaining us with their jumps and flips. There was a huge number of them, and the show continued for quite a while. We were warned that we were travelling through a tropical depression, and…
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Los Angeles to Cabo
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Tuesday 9/30 This morning, we arrived at the Port of Los Angeles, which is actually in San Pedro, south of Los Angeles. Again, having lived in the area, we had no desire to go offshore; however, Bob needed to get a prescription filled, so he walked until he found a…
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San Francisco
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Sunday: San Francisco 9/28 Overnight, we picked up our pilot to guide us under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. That all happened before I awoke, so I will have to see it when we leave tonight. We docked at Pier 27 on the Embarcadero, close to Fisherman’s Wharf. Since…
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Leaving Seattle
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Thursday: 19/25 The day has finally arrived; we are packed and just waiting to leave for Pier 91. I did not see the Queen Elizabeth arrive this morning although I did see the Coral Princess come in. It will be paralleling us to Los Angeles and then will return to Vancouver, B.C.…
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Columbia Icefield and Athabasca Glacier
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It was another early morning, so we ordered to-go breakfasts from the restaurant in the hotel. We were picked up at 7 a.m. for our long day exploration of Banff and Jasper National Parks. The Ice Fields Parkway is a 144-mile span on the highway from Banff to Jasper in Alberta. It…
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Lake Louise
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Originally the indigenous Stoney or Nakota people named the lake “Ho-Run-Num-Nay” which means “Lake of Little Fishes”. In 1882 a native guide took Tom Wilson to see the lake; he was the first European there. Wilson called it “Emerald Lake” because of its color. Two years later in1884, the Canadian Geographic Board…
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Rocky Mountaineer–Day Two
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Kamloops to Lake Louise It was another early morning, but when we got to the train about 6:30 coffee and a scone were waiting for us while our big breakfast was prepared and served. The menu choices were different from yesterday, and again it was hard to choose; the food was…
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The Rocky Mountaineer–Day One
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Vancouver to Kamloops The Rocky Mountaineer is a beautiful train. The car we were in had large windows and comfortable, roomy seats. As soon as we were situated, an ample and delicious breakfast was served. First a linen place mat was placed on our trays. Then coffee and a scone was delivered and…
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Seattle to Vancouver
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In August, we embarked on our Canadian Rocky trip at King Street Station in Seattle. There we caught a train to Vancouver. The 4-1/2 hour trip took us along the Coastline of Puget Sound, past islands up to Vancouver, stopping at several small towns and larger cities along the way. Immigration was completed…
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Colonial America–Charleston and Cape Canavaral
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Charleston was established in 1670 as Charles Town, named after King Charles II or England. Settled by English colonists, it soon became a key port and trade center. In the colonial era, plantations grew rice and indigo for trade. It soon became a cultural hub known for its antebellum architecture and arts. Charleston…
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St Lucia
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The Motto of St. Lucia is “The Land, The People, the Light” and the flag represents that. The Blue is the sky and sea surrounding the island. The Black and White Triangle symbolizes the African heritage living peacefully with the Europeans. The triangle points upward, signifying the hope and progress…
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Bermuda
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The third leg went from Miami to Bermuda; Charleston, SC; Port Canaveral, FL; Nassau, Bahamas; and back to Miami. We were supposed to stop in Norfolk, but rough seas kept us out to sea. I am going to split this into two posts: Bermuda and Colonial America. Since we had two days…
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Mexico and Central America
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This leg of the trip is a week long and will go to Cozumel, Mexico; Belize; Roatán, Honduras; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Miami. We traveled 1,815 Nautical miles. Since we had been to Cozumel and the Belize stop was a Cruise island, not a native island, we planned to disembark…
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St. Barthélemy
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The first thing that caught my eye when we entered the port was the beautiful, huge yachts in the harbor. This is surly a place for the wealthy. When we were there only two cruise lines were allowed to dock in the port, so most of the tourists were from the…