Aboard the Rotterdam - Part 2

Falmouth, Jamaica. There's a pretty cruise port for the tourist. Past the gates lie the great unknown. We did the tourist thing and bought a t-shirt.

 

Home, even if for a short time only.

On to Belize City Belize. I overheard someone say they were surprised to discover that Belize was a country, not a part of Mexico. Heavy sigh! Some people never cease to bewilder me.

 

Beer & tourist.

 

Time for a trolley ride. The excitement of Belize City!

Buildings can vary greatly. Guest house, cafe, spa, etc.

 

 

Well kept and over 100 years old. Built back after the storms come through.

 

 

And not so well kept. Yet someone lives here. Note the laundry hanging on the porch.

 

And actually quite affordable in US dollars.

Chillin'

 

A few of the locals.

 

 

Heading across the river. Cruise ships at anchor in the background.

Hi guys!

Not where you want to be. It's the courthouse.

 

Typical Central America.

 

The next 2 photos are as close as we get to Cozumel. Early morning & the day is just getting underway. On shore is the same tourist ticky-tacky junk that was probably here during our last visit. We did not get off the ship & spent the day lounging by the pool.

Ah yes. The idealistic dream of life at sea.

Aboard the Rotterdam - Part 1

OneObservantLens reporting in. Yes, it's been a long time since the last post. About 1 week after taking our previous cruise aboard a Regent vessel in February 2020, Covid consumed the planet. Cruise ships were targets of the early news reports, with quarantines and port entry refusals. Happy to report the situation is improving.

My professional photo days are long past. But I had a good time taking snapshots. Nothing fancy, but enjoy the photos taken.

This is a story starting with changes. Original booking was aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam. That was cancelled and we were moved to the Rotterdam and got an extra day for the effort. Departure on the same day & port, but a flight change was necessary for the trip home. Rotterdam is quite new, starting service in July 2021. After 4 cabin changes we found ourselves in a Neptune suite. Not the average cruise ship cabin; a private lounge with multiple concierge services, a separate dining room for Neptune level guests, a service level one can only dream of, and a huge suite big enough for a king size bed, etc, etc. OneObservantLens can get spoiled with this level of amenities.

The cruise line required a Covid antigen test 2 days or less, prior to boarding. That was our biggest concern. A positive test meant no travel. But we have been good and our tests were negative. Covid precautions aboard were in place and were well thought out. Simply put: Wear a mask in inside public spaces while aboard the ship. The countries we traveled to also adhered to strong Covid protocols. You'll see locals wearing masks everywhere and making the US look rather dunce.

Ships' capacity was 2600 passengers. There were only 1500 aboard according to our concierge. Staffing was at 900. Works for me. The cruise lines are slowly ramping back up to capacity, adjusting along the way as they learn what works and what does not.

 

 From my observation post, it was good to be somewhere other than here.  

 

A few suite photos. Balcony twice the size of a normal cabin. Most cabins are 200 square feet or less. This suite was about 400 square feet.

Prior to departure, there's always time for snapshots.Take a look on the back of this yacht. Someones' helicopter is nicely tucked away. 

 

Looking across to the park.

 

Comparison time. Princess ship to the condos.

 

Living well really is the best revenge.

 

Goodbye Ft. Lauderdale, at least for the next few days.

 

Here is what we woke up to the next day. Half Moon Cay on Little San Salvador island.

 

Empty chairs? Who cares, we got blue water.

 

Yes, there were people, but no crowding at all.

Life at sea is good.

And someone got flowers.

From here, we'll visit Falmouth, Jamaica & Belize City, Belize.

In the footsteps of the Inca 5: Cusco

A few thoughts on the final Peru post:
In the first post I said you could go first class or not. First class means having guides and knowledgeable people to lead visitors. Well worth the few extra dollars as compared to the economy route that I saw. The mental comfort level eliminated a lot of goblins in my brain.
In a country where my native language is not the local native language, those guides showed their skills. With a few words to someone acting as a gatekeeper, we walked past the other tourists and into places many people could not go.


Our trip from the Machu Picchu pueblo to Cusco was aboard the Hiram Bingham, the evening dinner train.

The beige building is the Hotel Monasterio, our home in Cusco. Yes, it was a former monastery. No, lightning did not strike the building as I entered.

Elevation 11,000 feet.

The front courtyard. Peru uses 220V, so bring a converter. Outlets look like US 110V.

The back courtyard.

Lobby bar.

This entrance led from the hotel directly into the church next door.

Decked out for an event.

Wedding day for this lady!

Someone actually paying attention to a stop light.

The Incan empire was a thriving culture. Then the Spanish showed up and made a mess of everything. The lower stones are from the time of the empire. Civilizations have always built on top of what was already there. 

Elevation 12,000 feet. The site is Sacsayhuaman, Temple of the Sun. Pronunciation sounds like "Sexy Woman".

No mortar, no concrete, no glue.

With still functioning water troughs. This is the winter dry season, so nothing flowing.

Overlooking the city.

Nearby Q'enko. Someone has a private moment.

On this altar were coca leaves, just to the left. A number of the local people still practice the old ways.

And I'll close the Peru series with this. Once again, Spanish architecture on top of Inca stone.