Wk 10 The Big Easy

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Geo: 29.9546, -90.0751

Saturday 17/03/12 Limon, Costa Rica 25c overcast with tropical showers

We'd booked a trip today to visit a sloth sanctuary, whilst a lot of people may not be familiar with sloths they are delightful creatures who are blessed with an almost permanent smile, spend most of their lives high up in the trees only coming down once a week or so to defecate and urinate so it really is life at the top.

Our guide for the morning was English and she went on to explain that whilst on a cruise ship she came to visit the sanctuary some 8 years previous, fell on love with the sloths and after returning home sold up and went to work at the sanctuary as a full time volunteer. She were informed us of the problems the animals face in the wild, aside from sometimes being rejected by their mothers, or being stoned by local youths as fun, an awful lot come in with severe burns having climbed electricity pylons and end up losing their immensely long and powerful claws which then means they can't climb trees or feed naturally. Whilst looking around the sanctuary we were treated to the aerobatic displays from a troop of howler monkeys whilst carrying their young on their backs whilst all the time making an enormous din calling to each other.

Shortly afterwards it was time to take a journey through a portion of the adjacent forest with a local guide who pointed out all the plants and explained their original practical and medicinal qualities, as well as the burrows of land crabs and other small animals, after which we journeyed downstream in a small skiff to watch the wildlife. Whilst paddling along we were fortunate enough to see sloths, as well as more howler monkeys, numerous birds of which I have no idea of their names, but there were Kingfishers, Eagles, Egrets, as well as water fowl of all kinds. Along the river bank we came across blue clawed crabs, termite mounds high up in the trees and pygmy bats suspended underneath decaying hollowed out trees overhanging the river, all in all a really pleasant 4 hours with the added benefit of knowing that all proceeds go toward the upkeep of the sanctuary.


Sunday 18/03/12 At Sea 27c Hot & Sunny

I've been meaning to tell you for some weeks about a story Debbie told me about their first around the world cruise some 3 years previous. They're both avid golfers and were pleased to discover that there was a golf practise facility on deck, so they packed a complete set of golf clubs along with their golfing attire in preparation.

At the first opportunity they donned their best golfing gear and took their clubs up to the 12 deck, where as they strolled (you've really got to try and imagine this) around with their golf bag looking for the green when they eventually found the golf practise nets, these are a netted enclosure some 10' long by 7' wide and 8' high and then it dawned on them, how embarrassed were they with other passengers looking on incredulously. To their absolute credit they can look back and laugh about it now, as well as being open enough to share their most embarrassing moment with us.

Monday 19/03/12 Roatan, Honduras, 33c Very hot and sunny

We arrived in a small crescent of a bay called Mahogany Bay which looked very pretty and upmarket compared to some of the other facilities we'd berthed at and only later discovered that in fact it was owned and purpose built two years ago by Carnival Cruises the parent company of P&O even down to a couple of rusting hulks of ships towed there to provide the right feel for the location!

We'd decided to take an excursion to see the Eastern side of the island which is the least commercialised part being mainly where the local population lives. We stopped at panoramic view points where the beautiful turquoise seas crashed over the second largest barrier reef system in the world after the Australian Gt Barrier Reef it was really idyllic. On the way back we made a compulsory stop to visit a cultural centre where we were introduced to the history and customs of the Garifuna people who were the original inhabitants of the island after which they performed some of the traditional dances for us.

Thea last but most interesting stop for us was at a Iguana sanctuary where we had the opportunity to photograph and feed the numerous iguanas on site ranging from the little ones to larger ones over 4 feet in length. The site shelves down to the beach where from the pontoon you can watch Barracuda, and other large fish swim nonchalantly by.

Tuesday 20/03/12 Cuzumel, Mexico 37c very hot and sunny

One of the highlights of this trip for us was to visit the ancient Mayan ruins at Tulum the only known Mayan site by the sea.

We had been informed that we were fortunate enough to have been allocated the premium berth in Cozumel making life much easier as it was closer to the ferry port where we would then catch the local ferry to the mainland. Unfortunately despite arriving ahead of time try as we might we were unable to get into the berth despite two aborted attempts due to exceptionally high winds far in excess of the ships operating limits, this meant we would have to be tendered ashore.

The thought of being tendered to our berth in relative high seas was not what we wanted to hear as not only would this now entail two crossings by sea to get to the mainland but the time constraints would mean it would have detrimental knock effect on the timing of the our excursion which was the only full day trip.

Fortunately the Captain managed to organise a high speed jetfoil ferry with a capacity of 450 which would take us direct to the mainland so alleviating the loss of time and putting things back on course. Fast it may have been but there was still a high wind and as a result the 35 minute crossing was shall we say interesting.

The ruins were everything we expected and more a stunning location up on the cliffs with fantastic views across unspoilt turquoise seas, the cooling onshore wind made a very welcome break from the stifling heat in the main part of the complex. After ½ hour or so checking out the ruins and temples on the cliff top we'd completely forgotten about the temperature difference until we finally turned inward to view the sights in the in the main part of the complex, as we descended down to the site (there isn't a big difference in height it's just sufficient to negate the effects of the cooling winds on the cliff top) it was literally like walking into an oven the difference took your breath away, we knew the midday temp was 37c but I suspect it was certainly higher here as the natural surroundings served to protect it from any cooling winds and the heat just seemed to build and build. All in all it was a fantastic day well worth the discomfort caused by
aggressive heat and the interesting ferry ride both to and from the
mainland.



Wednesday 21/03/12 At sea 27c bright and windy

A day at sea before reaching the Big Easy ( New Orleans) tomorrow mid day I've always wanted to visit this place since I was 16 am so looking forward to it.

The captain announced at mid day that there are severe weather storms predicted over New Orleans tomorrow, what a bummer!

Thursday 22/03/12 New Orleans 15c Torrential rains with thunder & lightning

We arrived on time but the trip up the Mississippi was spoilt by the overcast skies which were only broken by the lightning strikes and the torrential rain. Whilst we waited for immigration to process our entry we were informed that we would be processing small groups and could then go ashore rather than the normal practise of not allowing anyone ashore until all the passengers and staff have been processed.

Don't laugh but we'd prebooked the very popular swap tour for early afternoon so that we could have dinner ashore in the evening, thereby leaving the following day free for sightseeing, the only problem was the weather, although the torrential rain had subsided there were still intermittent heavy downpours but it did seem to be improving.

There were rumours that the tour was going to be abandoned due to the weather but on time we were called forward to the coaches and by this time the rains had stopped. We arrived at the venue and boarded a large aluminium skiff and set off along the waterways and bayous within minutes we noticing alligators on the sides of the river and soon they were swimming out towards us, most were young ones around 4 years old and approx. 4' in length after 20 mins it started raining nothing too heavy but the rain serves to subdue the bird population so little was being seen.

The guide talked us through the history and facts relating to the swamps, as well as the flora and fauna surrounding us albeit almost everything that wasn't in the water was hiding from the now increasing rains. After about an hour a thunderstorm broke nearby and although not particularly violent relative to those we'd already experienced we were in an aluminium skiff on the water, not a good combination so we made our way back.

We had already invited our friend Marie - Ann to join us for an evening meal and jazz session on a paddle steamer and she said she'd book it for us whilst we were on tour, she let us know that she'd arranged it and it sounded just the ticket and the boat was only moored a 10 minute walk along the esplanade from the ship.

When we returned to the ship we had a message from Marie - Ann telling us that the evening meal on the steamer had been cancelled at short notice due to lack of bookings, presumably due to the atrocious weather. Not put off we phoned for a taxi and made our way to the French Quarter and went to Tujague's the second oldest restaurant in town est.1856. The interior looked like it hasn't changed for ages and whilst dimly lit and surrounded by display cases of different miniatures, and signed photographs of such famous diners as Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Charles De Gaulle, as well as poets, actors, journalists and jet setters of note throughout the years; it all gave the place a relaxing ambience.

The waiter took us to our seats and proceeded to tell us what was available, we asked for the menu "we don't and never have printed a menu sir, came the response" so he went through it again only slower. We ordered aperitifs' with Linda and Marie – Ann having a hurricane cocktail and I asked what their speciality was and he replied with the name of something I didn't get then and still don't know now, suffice to say it was rye whiskey, bitters, liquorice, and lemon, how could I resist I'll have my Southern Comfort tomorrow. My drink came in a tumbler 3/4 full of red liquid! A quick smell and yup it was certainly mine as it reeked of liquorice, whilst it certainly tasted of whiskey and liquorice I can't really describe the drink in any further detail, it wasn't unpleasant but I wouldn't order it again.

The meal if you can call it that was 5 courses all served with fresh French bread, the appetizer, soup, house speciality and dessert all being fixed but there were 4 options for the entrée and it's this choice which sets the price for your meal although there's very little price difference ranging from $38-$42. The first 3 courses were very good with a heavy Creole influence, hot and spicy. For my Entrée I'd ordered a 12 oz fillet mignon, when it arrived it was a joint of meat 3” thick and approx. 5” by 4” it was enormous but it just melted in my mouth as was washed down with a good Sauvignon Blanc. A brilliant meal and a brilliant night.

Friday 23/03/12 New Orleans 17c overcast with intermittent showers

Went we went down for breakfast early as we were going to have a full day ashore and were amazed to learn there had been another major thunderstorm overhead in the early hours which lasted until 05:00 most of the passengers had hardly slept, us, we heard nothing not a peep, which is another good reason to have an inside cabin. As a result of last night's meal I settled for fruit and cereals and we were off.


We had a plan and caught the local train to take us to the French Quarter where we knew we needed at least 4 hrs and we also wanted to go to the Café Du Monde for their world famous coffee and Beignets that's all they do, when we got there around 10:15 we were greeted to the sight of at least 80-90 people queuing outside and another 40-50 still queuing inside! Sorry not for us we just don't have the time to stand in queues for an hour or so. We walked alone the riverside esplanade photographing the famous Mississippi paddle steamers, and different statues and monuments before returning to town.

By lunch time we need to find a rest room so rather than visit one of the many bars we opted to find a café just have a coffee use the facilities and move on, however Linda noticed on the dessert menu Pecan pie, knowing it's one of my favourites she suggested we'd have dessert and coffee; to be honest I really wasn't bothered as I was still stuffed from last night's meal, but hey ho this is the Big Easy so go with the flow.

The waiter arrived and then returned to present a plate with examples of the desserts from which to confirm our choice, the Pecan pie looked good although somewhat thicker than normal around 1 ¾ inches but the portion was reasonable at about 2 ½ inches around the circumference. When he returned my pie had grown in circumference from 2 ½ inches to something approaching 6 inches, it was enormous, ½ hour later I waddled out of the café lighter in the wallet but definitely heavier in other areas.

As we came out of the café the sun broke through and as we continued our walk around it got steadily hotter and hotter, by now we knew we would never accomplish what we'd planned so decided to visit the Cathedral Basilica of King Louis of France which was just stunning inside and finish up with the French Market, before catching the train back to the ship.

The big Easy is my sort of town I'm right at home here, I just know I'll be back even if it's only to sit in a bar and drink Southern Comfort which is the one thing I promised myself I'd but just never had the time. We made it back to the ship with just 10 minutes to spare.

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