If you knew what was out there, you'd never stay home

As far as I'm concerned there are only two ways to travel: by boat or by train (I guess it's in my blood; my dad & numerous family members on both sides have worked in the railroad industry). Cruising is very romantic & by that I don't mean romantic love, although I did have one offer from the Flamenco guitarist that I'll go into later! I love the allure of the sea & the new people (it's the people who are most memorable), the new places, new experiences, & the food.

Thanks to my parents, I was lucky enough to travel on the M/S Radisson Seven Seas Voyager, which at this moment is cruising the world....probably right now in French Polynesia & The South Seas, {a rueful sigh}. If you have the money, I highly suggest this cruise line. They have beautiful ships & the happiest, friendliest staff I've ever met on three cruises. And you only have 700 other passengers so it's very intimate & at times, it seems you have the ship all to yourself. Ooooooh, and the food. Two of the restaurants are run by Le Cordon Bleu. I still dream about the meal we had in Signatures. I'm not going to be able to travel any other cruise line after this!

The voyage began on Dec. 27 in Fort Lauderdale. From there we traveled to Key West, The Panama Canal, Puntarenas in Costa Rica, Mexico (Huatalco, Acapulco, & Cabo San Lucas), San Diego & Los Angeles (what a crappy airport LAX is! We are so spoiled by PDX!).

My only problem with the trip was coming back to reality afterward. I've had some trouble readjusting. Some days I'm fine. Others I feel restless, bored, depressed & overwhelming wanderlust. If I didn't have a job & a boyfriend I love, I'd find a cruise job & travel the seven seas. Or maybe it's just the lack of rich food & alcoholic beverage?! ; >

First & foremost I made some wonderful new friends: Adam, Felimo, Vicky, Matt, Chetaun, Rachel, Karen & Paul, Jean & Paul, Della & Sarah-Jane, & Ben. Not to mention the other wonderful people I played croquet, bocci ball, or trivia with!

Here are some thoughts & highlights from my trip.

Key West - I had to visit the Pirate Soul Museum. Yarrr maties!!! We also went to the ship wreck historeum, which was a big industry because of the storms & geography of the area (Kimba you probably know this being a native Floridian). Very fun! The views were great from the historeum's tower. We had some excitement while leaving port....a sailboat came a bit too close to us as we were backing out. We had to stop while a motor boat came out to pull him away from our ship. He must have been a new sailor, he looked a little shaken.

My dad surprised my mom with a ceremony to renew their vows on board. This was done by the Captain on the Bridge just for them. I loved getting to see the bridge...it was very uncluttered & in my favorite color too (blue). Everything is digital. TV screens showed the radar, etc. Alas, there was not an old fashioned steering wheel or telepgraph in sight.

The captain is Norweigan & very outgoing & charming; yes, he rocked. My dad teased my mom because she thought he is so handsome, so from here on out we call him Captain Hunk. Apparently, we are not the only ones who like him. He has many groupies who follow him from cruise to cruise; most of the people are repeat cruisers...several were going on the 4-month world cruise - one lady had been on something like 79 cruises!

2006 was my best New Year's Eve yet & it will be hard to surpass. We were in the Panama Canal! I wasn't overly excited about the Canal but at 4:30 a.m. I woke up & thought "are we there yet? I can't miss a moment!" It turned out to be a highlight of the trip. We started transiting the canal at 6 a.m. There are 3 different sections of locks. Trains hold each ship in place so it doesn't move while it's rising or falling in the lock. The first section has 3 locks. After this first lock we anchored in the canal & then tendered into the Gatun Yacht Club. We went on eco cruise & hike. I saw a monkey, a sloth, a variety birds & the Butterflies of all colors - were everywhere. For our excursion we drove through the canal, the roads move out when the ships transit - we had to wait awhile before we could go through.

I took a dip in the Gatun Lake of Panama Canal!!!!!!! I tried Panamanian beer! They also had various Panamanian groups singing & dancing for us & a huge BBQ that the ship's staff put on with great views of the Canal & ship.

Panama was Incredible!!! We didn't have enough time, so I'll definitely go back. Interesting fact about Panama: Their currency is the US Dollar.

In Puntarenas, Costa Rica we went for a a canopy hike in a rainforest about an hour away from the port. On the way there, at the side of the road, we saw a bunch of white faced/capuchine monkeys, up close & personal!!! When we stopped to gawk they hissed at us to get out of their space. We also saw a kinkajoue (spelling is not correct) sleeping inside a tree trunk. Again, the butterflies - it's just amazing all the different colors & varieties. I was a bit worried I'd be freaked out by the heights of the hanging bridges we had to cross but they had them rigged so they didn't swing badly & even looking down underneath the bridge didn't bother me. Afterward I ate local fruits & tried a CR beer (Imperial). I'll definitely have to come back to Costa Rica too. Next time I want to fly through the tree canopies on a zip line.

Interesting facts about Costa Rica (whose motto is Pura Vida). They did away with their army in the 1970s/1980s to avoid coups; the $ that would be spend on an army instead goes to education & health care. That's so cool!

Jan. 2 was even more memorable than New Years. We rendezvoused with Voyager's Big Sister Mariner at 11 p.m.ish. It was beautiful & exciting to watch the ship come out of the complete blackness. The ships stopped, we greeted each other & the champagne flowed. Crew members took a motor boat over to the other ship with a special delivery of a magnum of champagne & other goodies, all in a wooden crate signed by many of us. They returned with a map signed by the Mariner's people. Crew & passengers shouted happy new years to each other & waved. We played music; including two of my favorite songs - Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea" & the Titanic song, which I admit you may not want to hear in the middle of the ocean but it was still a beautiful thing! I thought the other ship was playing the same music but it was actually our music hitting the other ship & echoing back to us! Then each ship slowly circled the other before continuing on their charted course. I watched & pondered until the Mariner was just a lone blip of light on the black horizon.

We had three stops in Mexico. It was very touristy & our excursions were not as cultural or as active as the previous. We basically had a tour of the cities, which were nice, but I'd have enjoyed it more on my own, so I could get off & take pictures of the Zoccalos & shrines, & other interesting stuff.

Acapulco's famous Cliff Diver's were amazing. They have to climb down a cliff, swim over & then climb up another one. At the top they say a prayer at the alter to Mexico's patron saint La Virgen de Guadalupe before they jump. They have helpers who make sure there is no flotsam/jetsom that will hurt the divers. I saw someone on the opposite cliff tossing a line, as if he was gauging the water depth to tell them when to jump.

In Cabo San Lucas we wandered on our own. After some shopping, Dad & I went out on a glass bottom boat for a tour of the rocks at the end of Baja California Sur, where the Sea of Cortez & the Pacific meet. We saw seals, lots of Pelicans, and fish. Although people on other excursions saw whales, we didn't. I think it was too early, considering Jan. is a good month on the Oregon coast for watching whales as they go south. After seeing Los Arcos, the Window, & Mexican Rock & Roll, we jumped off the boat to spend 1 1/2 hours at Lover's Beach, which can only be reached by boat. That was an experience! We had to jump down into the water from the front of the boat. They had guys who came out to help you down or back up for tips. After sunbathing & swimming in the Sea of Cortez, we got back on the boat for the trip back.

Before I left I told myself "no sleeping in & missing anything like on other vacations...there's too much to do & see." And it worked, I couldn't sleep more than 4 hours per night for most of the trip. To get myself out of my shell a little bit & avoid feeling regret, I spent evenings in the lounge talking to interesting strangers (some of whom became friends) & I spent the several of the last few evenings in the night club dancing. People probably thought I was weird dancing by myself, but I don't mind. Nobody was asking me to dance & even Ben wouldn't have asked me to dance if he'd been there, so I might as well enjoy myself!

For my single lady friends, you could find boyfriends on a cruise & there's no lack of good looking guys to flirt with. I had one offer from the Flamenco guitarist, who was amazing. He reminded me of Schultze from the German movie "Schultze Gets the Blues" until I found out he was Hungarian. For those who haven't seen that movie, he's completely bald & looks like he might like to eat. When he'd see me coming he'd say "here comes Heather, Light as a Feather". He came over to our table one evening & said to me, "Dahlink, I love how you look at me." Yikes! It's called listening, I thought but was too polite to say it. He even asked me to go sailing in Cabo & wanted to take me on a flight simulator in San Diego. This from a man who is old enough to be my father & has a daughter probably around my age. Yikes! My parents are so dense. I told him I'd have to chat with them & see what we were doing but they said "we don't need you to chaparone us." No wonder I'm naive sometimes! The dorks!

I kept telling myself I was just being vain - he just wants a friend. {NOTE TO SELF: pay more attention to your female intuition!!}. On the last final night I go up to say goodbye to the crew in the lounge who I'd made friends with. He stops playing & asks me for a kiss. Again, I, naive at nearly 30, think "it must be a European thing", give him a kiss & realize later probably a nice look down my blouse (because I leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. {SHUDDER}.) Then he asks, "how do I keep in touch with you." Now, I'm thinking, "You don't" but not having cultivated my inner bitch & not wanting to be impolite I say instead "don't you have my parent's information?" He doesn't so I write down my email address only (I learned this lesson when I was 17 & riding a train across the USA...never to give a guy the information you don't want them to have!). Again, naive me, who could have given him a wrong email address, writes down my correct email address! When I give it to him he asks, "Are you old enough?" I freeze. He can't mean what I think he means! "What?" I don't remember his response but it basically was are you old enough to have a boyfriend. At this point I have to control myself from running back to the room & taking a shower. Ick. Ick. Ick. "Yes," I tell him, "but I already have one." I must have given him a sufficiently horrified look because I haven't heard from him.

Even if it's a from a letcherous old man, it's nice to be admired!

Now, if I can only get my pictures online, you'd have a great commentary to go with them. ; >