Posted in Calgary - boy it is cold

We have had a wonderful two months plus away from work and no, we are not missing our jobs. But, reality prevails and we must work for a while longer and take some time to plan future excursions.
We both consider ourselves fortunate to have the health and opportunity to travel as extensively as we have and we both hope to continue for many years more.
Some of the places we have visited have been memorable for good reasons and others for the not so good but all added to the overall experience of a memorable and exciting trip.
Mexico was our least favourite country to visit, mostly because of the very visible police and military presence but we took this as a positive reminder to be a little more cautious when we were out and about.

In Panama we had our most memorable experience when we visited the Embera people in their village. They live a very simple life relatively far removed from civilisation and we hope they can maintain this simplicity for a while longer.

In all places we visited we found that if you engage the local people in conversation and show interest in their way of life they are very welcoming. We were impressed with their friendliness and how they were as equally interested in our lives and way of living as we were of theirs. Though snow, ice and negative temperatures are a very difficult concept to grasp for people who live in the tropics and have had no opportunity to travel.

Children are the most entertaining and we had some very happy interactions with them. Some were shy, some were precocious, others were just curious but all were precious in their own way. In all of our travels, it is our interaction with children that has provided our best memories.
Below are a few snapshots which provide a reflection of the variety of experiences we enjoyed on our trip.
We will continue to blog from time to time when we have an event which we think may be of interest to others.

 This little girl was at a market with her grandmother.
 Bird condominium?

 Boatyard on the beach.

 

 This brother and sister bless their hearts "guided" Ed on his visit to some hot, bubbling, volcanic mud pits. Only $1 - very cheap sir.

 Markets are the heart and soul of all villages and small towns.

 

 Street dogs are everywhere - most are ugly - none are aggressive (too hot)

- but some are just weird looking.

 A young girl at the Embera village - how sweet is she?

 Embera mum and baby - chubby and healthy looking.

 Embera women - the body patterns are not tattoos but are natural ink from plants and painted on with a stick. Clothing is optional in their culture and we were assured by our guide that all of the village would be near naked after we departed. How sweet is the simple life.

 Hammocks are a way of life in many undeveloped countries - mostly because houses are often small, perhaps only one room and there is no space for permanent beds - or for sleeping outside and up off the ground  where it is cooler and away from crawling nasties.

 A weaving workshop - very primitive, noisy and a total lack of safety features - do not get your finger anywhere close to a pulley or belt.

 Many do not have access to a motor vehicle - horse drawn carts and push carts are very common for transport and moving goods around.

Wherever in the world they may be, kids know how to play and be happy.

At sea returning to San Diego

Sadly the trip is rapidly coming to an end but we have two days at sea to enjoy the ocean, do a bit more reading and mentally prepare for the cold and snow and our return to work.
Ed did  a 5km walk on deck to raise funds for the cure for breast cancer and spotted a lot of whales as he was doing his circuits of the promenade deck. Whales were very evident on both sea days and provided a lot of excitement for the ships passengers. It is great to see that these great mammals appear to be making a  comeback from near extinction. There she blows!!!
As we progressed toward the North the air temperature became noticeably cooler and on our second sea day we woke to the sound of fog horns - very spooky knowing the ship is traveling at 20 knots towards a white wall. This is where you must trust your captain and his ability to navigate through the fog.

 Days at sea very soon become the same and you quickly lose track of what day it is. Although it doesn't really matter if you know or not, the ship's crew kindly change the mats in each elevator to reflect the day of the week.

State rooms with windows on public decks are mirrored for privacy. This feature presented a great photo opportunity. Can you figure how Ed got this shot?

The dining room entrance - 5 star dining three times per day with opportunities in several other places to have almost constant access to snacks, sandwiches, pizza, fruit and ice cream. Coffee and tea were available 24 hours per day. We were very spoiled and it is very easy to over indulge if you are not careful. 

 The library was well stocked with a great selection of fiction, non-fiction and reference books. This was also the quiet area with very plush seating and it provided a great place to relax.

 Fresh flowers were placed all around the ship and orchids were on every dining table - a very nice touch.

 A view from the promenade deck as we approached our port of entry into Panama.

 Our cabin staff were very attentive to our needs and kept our room in perfect order and well supplied with essentials. Their daily gift to us was a towel animal - very amazing what they could fashion from towels - we had elephants, lobsters, sting rays and many other animals and birds, certainly a different one each day.

Christine would occasionally guard the ship while Ed was ashore exploring. I know the captain was very grateful for her caring.  Is she looking for a permanent assignment in the security department?

Manzanillo - Mexico

This our last port of call prior to two sea days and our return to San Diego.
Manzanillo is a working port and town and not touristy at all. How would you know this - store prices are in Pesos and not US$.
It is not a large town but we did manage a fairly extensive walkabout and got the opportunity to wander into the side streets and local stores.
After lunch Ed ventured out on his own to do a bit more exploring but the further he wandered away from the central part of town the less safe he felt - he took that as a cue to retrace his steps to the area walked earlier in the day with Christine - he did not want to take a chance and become a statistic mentioned on a news programme.

 This representation of a Blue Marlin dominates the waterfront. It is 50 to 60 feet high and can be seen from quite far out to sea. The travelers palm in the foreground arrays its branches in a flat arc and all palms in the same hemisphere are naturally aligned to the same direction.

 We are almost done for this trip but Christine still has a knowing smile on her face - she must have our next holiday already planned.

 This is a hardware and general dealers store - it was full of wonderful "stuff". What a giant sling shot would be used for, I do not know.

 This is a typical scene at a bank in South and Central America. The street is totally blocked with traffic and the bank customers are lined up outside - a security guard holds the door and persons are allowed inside the bank one at a time. Too bad if you are in a hurry for some cash.

 This old fellow was camped out in the forecourt of a gas station trying to sell his one fish. He was very energetic, swinging the fish around and shouting to attract a buyer - very funny.

Mid afternoon - the fishermen are getting the boats ready for their next day early morning departure. It was very interesting - they had motors apart, they were fixing holes in nets, stringing hooks on long lines and being generally very busy. Assuming they fish five, perhaps six, days a week this is a very hard way to make a living.

Zihuatanejo - Mexico

This is a very small fishing town which is mostly unspoiled by tourism. There are very few street vendors and there is no exposure to the high pressure selling which is typical of most everywhere in Mexico. The main tourist area is Ixtapa which, fortunately, is 10 or 15 km distant. There was a very evident military presence but we had no issues with a feeling of being unsafe while wandering the streets. Ed took a fairly extensive exploration walk which took up the better part of two hours. Of course this is very thirsty work and the obligatory visit to a beach bar was squeezed into the excursion. This was a very pleasant way to spend the day a gave a good opportunity to observe and interact with the local people.

Most big fish when caught for sport are returned alive but some are brought ashore. This scaffold is used to string up the trophies for photographing with their captors.

 Most of the fishing is done from small craft with only two or three men in each boat.

 Slim pickings today - I hope this is not a sample of a typical catch - if yes, a visit to the store will be required.

Perhaps this big fellow made off with some of the catch when the fisherman had his back turned.

Fishing is hard - it takes it out of you and what better way to recover?

Acapulco - Mexico

The Bay of Acapulco is very beautiful and why the city is such a popular place to visit.

Fishermen selling their catch in the early morning at the beach. 

 Old town Acapulco, lots of activity, colour and street cafes - a very interesting part of the city.

A view from the fort to our ship - if this had been 500 years ago, we may have been in trouble.

While on our way to Acapulco we learned that there had been some very severe violence a few days earlier with several fatalities. It was obvious that if we did venture out and about we would need to be very cautious. We figured that early morning before few folks were up and about was the best time for getting around safely - so we were off walking just after 8:ooam. As the streets became more busy we made our way back to the centre of town where there where more people and policemen - safety in numbers is always a good strategy. After lunch Ed took a walk up the hill to the old fort and then spent an hour wandering along the tide line at the beach. We did enjoy our visit to Acapulco but it is not a great feeling to be constantly on high alert for signs of danger.

                           Street vendor selling fresh fruit and juices - if you want to risk a bad stomach go ahead and sample.

Huatulco - Mexico

 The ever present militia - this is a purpose built and fairly new militia and coast guard base.

Huatulco is a very pretty and somewhat undeveloped area. There are nine bays along the coast and the plan is to build resorts , hotels and golf courses. There were many buildings which had been started but put on hold because of the recession or financial problems.

Ed took an opportunity on this visit to go white water rafting - great gift from the kids - thanks. It was good fun but could not be described as white water - it had not rained for months so the trip could be better referred as a leisurely float down the river. Sorry no photos of this outing as I expected to get soaked. It was a great opportunity for bird watching and many species of native and migratory birds were seen - hawks, kingfishers, humming birds, vultures and many song birds also lots of butterflies.
Paddling is thirsty work so Christine and Ed spent a pleasant afternoon quaffing a few cervesas at a beach bar - lazy days are great - cheers to you all.

Chiapas - Mexico

All of the countries we have visited recently in South America have shown a very high military and police presence but Mexico has even more out in the streets and offshore. As our ship came into site of land we were joined by a gunboat with a full complement of well armed personnel.
Signs and do not enter tapes were evident to help the tourists make the correct decisions on where they could be. Ed wandered a little to close to one of the area boundaries and was redirected by the point of a gun.

Chiapas is a small working port very close to the most southerly border of Mexico and smuggling is a big issue in this area - hence the security.

 The two figures at the end of the pier are sailors on guard in full sun. The guy on the right was leaning on the concrete bollard and kept falling asleep - it was funny to watch.

This was not a great place to visit - it was a very small town and the restrictions made it mostly off limits for wandering - 30 minutes or so and we were twiddling our thumbs.

OK lift the anchor and we will catch up with you all in a day or so.

Manta - Ecuador

 This is the guy that Ed aspires to be - hammocks are the best - so comfortable.

Manta is a great place to visit, very interesting, friendly and lots to see. We were told that over 150 tons of tuna fish are landed every day and this does not include all of the other kinds of fish brought ashore.
This is also the home of the Panama hat would you believe. They are hand woven and the best quality take several weeks to make. We saw large wooded fishing boats being built by hand on the beach - labour is very plentiful and very cheap. We visited a factory where buttons are made from nuts . very noisy and very labour intensive.

 Christine is wandering around the market looking for Ed while he is taking her photo from the steps of the church on the hill.

 Local lady hand weaving a Panama hat.

Tuna fish being offloaded from fishing boat - they are flash frozen on board - hence the steam-

We are now in Mexico and the blog is up to date as of this morning - it has been hard to keep on top of it with very limited internet acces but no worries we are on holiday.
We have taken our trips given as gifts from the kids - thanks a bunch Roxcie, Scott, Katie and Adam we have had great fun.
Ed still has his white water rafting day to come and he will report on that as soon as he is able to.
Take care all and have as much as we are having.

Guayqil - Ecuador

Guayaquil is a beatiful river town 15 km or so inland from the ocean. Very quiet and the locals were so friendly and very approachable. We had avery enjoyable vist to a nature reserve and got a snap shot of local wildlife, birds and butterflies. The area is suurounded by mangrove swamps and backwaters and was a favourite hangout of pirates back in the day. Ed is convinced there are still some hanging around today.

 Make your boat from a tree and get going - all you need is a good axe and a strong back.

 The Malecon is a paved walkway along the river side through town and is a great place to hang out and see how the locals go about their day.