We love when family come to visit us and their visit to Okalossa Island was the best. We wished it was warmer, but they still enjoyed the area and the beach.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Christmas 2014 - With Grandkids In Florida (Destin)
Highlight of December - Our grand kids Ivan and Paige Monterrosa came to visit us for Christmas. We were so very happy to spend the holiday with them. They loved this area especially the beach. Ivan and Lana loved the water but most of all trying to catch a kite was Lana's best part of her trip.
We love when family come to visit us and their visit to Okalossa Island was the best. We wished it was warmer, but they still enjoyed the area and the beach.
We love when family come to visit us and their visit to Okalossa Island was the best. We wished it was warmer, but they still enjoyed the area and the beach.
Monday, December 8, 2014
December 8th thru 19th 2014
Fabulous Holland America Cruise to Panama Canal - December 8 thru 19, 2014
What a fabulous last minute 11 day cruise with our friends Kathy and John Borja. Attached is the map of our trip, however disregard the dates:
Half Moon Cay - Beautiful Small Island in the Bahamas. Our ship was awesome. We wish we could say here forever. Beautiful beaches, lots of stingrays and very relaxing.
Aruba - we had been there before so we just did a short walk and then returned to the ship.
Willemstad, Curacao - This was a very interesting island in the southern Caribbean and one of our favorite stops. The Queen Emma bridge is a swinging bridge (swinging old lady) that swings opens for boats. If you are on the bridge at the time it is opening, you will enjoy the swing. We took a tour of this area and the building and homes are brightly colored. We were told the Governor did not like all the homes painted white and hurt his eyes, so he declared everyone was to paint their homes and businesses of color. Come to find out the Governor owned the local paint company on the island. (Not sure if this is true - but cute). Needless to say the colors made this a very unique island. The green house is what they call a wedding cake home. Colors and architecture beautiful. Over 150,0000 people live on this Island. "Dushi" is a expression of sweet, nice or good which perfectly fits this island. Curacao is famous for their bittersweet oranges and the liquer carrying the name. We toured the small factory.
Cartegena, Colombia - a city in the northeastern coast of Colombia and capital of the Bolivar Department. Over a million people in this area. We took a tour of this area and went to the Convento La Popa De La Galera (highest point in the city). The views from here were outstanding and stretch all over the city. We also visited the Emerald gem factory, which was very interesting.
There was a fortress in the city, the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. It was built by the Spanish during the colonial era and was originally known as Castillo de San Lazaro.
We were taken to Las Bovedas (The Vaults) which is a place where you can shop for souvenirs. We stopped here for a short shopping trip and the guys bought cigars. Then we left and went to the Old town of Cartenega. There we found beautiful architecture, Santa Domingo church and this area reminded of us New Orleans. Beautiful area of Cartenega.
As we left Cartagena, I noticed this statue in the water. It is the statue of the Virgin of Carmen and is said to protect sailors traveling the seas.
We could not leave without taking a pictur
e of John by La Gordita (fat lady).
This was another great place to visit and probably need more time to see all of the great sites. Would be an area to return.
**********
Panama Canal - The highlight of our trip where the Atlantic Ocean is connected to the Pacific Ocean. We entered into the locks, which is a system that lifts a ship up from 47 feet to 85 feet to the main elevation of the Panama Canal and down again. It has a total of 6 steps for a ship passage. The engineering of this locks were one of the greatest engineering works. This was so interesting to watch. They are now expanding the canal.
The old French Cut.
Here we went kayaking. This was fun and we were able to see the rain forest and some of the monkeys in the trees. We also seen a village with natives that are still uncivilized. Great!!
*********
Puerto Limon, Costa Rica - Limon is the capital city and main hub of Limon province. Here is where we decided to go zip lining at the Veraqua Rainforest Park. What an awesome time and we would definitely do this again. Long zip lining and lots of forest.We spotted slots while we did this. It was so awesome and would recommend to everyone.
What a fabulous last minute 11 day cruise with our friends Kathy and John Borja. Attached is the map of our trip, however disregard the dates:
| Day | Date | Port | Arrive | Depart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 12 Jan 2015 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US | 04:00 PM | |
| 1 | 13 Jan 2015 | Half Moon Cay, Bahamas TR | 08:00 AM | 02:30 PM |
| 2 | 14 Jan 2015 | At Sea | ||
| 3 | 15 Jan 2015 | Oranjestad, Aruba | 01:00 PM | 11:00 PM |
| 4 | 16 Jan 2015 | Willemstad, Curacao | 08:00 AM | 05:00 PM |
| 5 | 17 Jan 2015 | At Sea | ||
| 6 | 18 Jan 2015 | Cartagena, Colombia | 07:00 AM | 01:00 PM |
| 7 | 19 Jan 2015 | Enter Panama Canal CristobalCO | 05:00 AM | |
| 7 | 19 Jan 2015 | Cruising Panama Canal and Gatun Lake CO | ||
| 7 | 19 Jan 2015 | Gatun Lake, Panama SC | 09:00 AM | 10:00 AM |
| 7 | 19 Jan 2015 | Cruising Gatun Lake and Panama Canal CO | ||
| 7 | 19 Jan 2015 | Exit Panama Canal CristobalCO | 01:00 PM | |
| 7 | 19 Jan 2015 | Colon, Panama SC | 03:00 PM | 07:00 PM |
| 8 | 20 Jan 2015 | Puerto Limon (San Jose), Costa Rica PR | 06:30 AM | 04:00 PM |
| 9 | 21 Jan 2015 | At Sea | ||
| 10 | 22 Jan 2015 | At Sea | ||
| 11 | 23 Jan 2015 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US | 07:00 AM |
Willemstad, Curacao - This was a very interesting island in the southern Caribbean and one of our favorite stops. The Queen Emma bridge is a swinging bridge (swinging old lady) that swings opens for boats. If you are on the bridge at the time it is opening, you will enjoy the swing. We took a tour of this area and the building and homes are brightly colored. We were told the Governor did not like all the homes painted white and hurt his eyes, so he declared everyone was to paint their homes and businesses of color. Come to find out the Governor owned the local paint company on the island. (Not sure if this is true - but cute). Needless to say the colors made this a very unique island. The green house is what they call a wedding cake home. Colors and architecture beautiful. Over 150,0000 people live on this Island. "Dushi" is a expression of sweet, nice or good which perfectly fits this island. Curacao is famous for their bittersweet oranges and the liquer carrying the name. We toured the small factory.
Cartegena, Colombia - a city in the northeastern coast of Colombia and capital of the Bolivar Department. Over a million people in this area. We took a tour of this area and went to the Convento La Popa De La Galera (highest point in the city). The views from here were outstanding and stretch all over the city. We also visited the Emerald gem factory, which was very interesting.
We were taken to Las Bovedas (The Vaults) which is a place where you can shop for souvenirs. We stopped here for a short shopping trip and the guys bought cigars. Then we left and went to the Old town of Cartenega. There we found beautiful architecture, Santa Domingo church and this area reminded of us New Orleans. Beautiful area of Cartenega.As we left Cartagena, I noticed this statue in the water. It is the statue of the Virgin of Carmen and is said to protect sailors traveling the seas.
e of John by La Gordita (fat lady).
This was another great place to visit and probably need more time to see all of the great sites. Would be an area to return.**********
Panama Canal - The highlight of our trip where the Atlantic Ocean is connected to the Pacific Ocean. We entered into the locks, which is a system that lifts a ship up from 47 feet to 85 feet to the main elevation of the Panama Canal and down again. It has a total of 6 steps for a ship passage. The engineering of this locks were one of the greatest engineering works. This was so interesting to watch. They are now expanding the canal.
Here we went kayaking. This was fun and we were able to see the rain forest and some of the monkeys in the trees. We also seen a village with natives that are still uncivilized. Great!!*********
The best cruise we have ever gone on. Excellent ports to see, the ship, the food, the overall experience with our friends was awesome. Would do it again!!!
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