The City of Dreams - April 4-6, 2019

For our hero and his lovely wife, this would be their second sailing into New York City and this time, it would be in the light of the day. The first time had them sail under the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge and past the Statue of Liberty in the pre-dawn darkness. But it doesn't really matter, moving into that celebrated harbor and up the Hudson River, past that iconic skyline, is just as cool any time of day or night.

It was sadly the end of a long cruise made most enjoyable by a beautiful stateroom at the front of the ship, a room that it was hard to leave. The comfy bed, the beautiful décor and the abundance of space in this cabin, made the cruise a delightful experience. And as always, the attentive staff that serviced the room including the best butler that Gym and Mrs. Gym had ever had, helped this particular cruise shine brighter than some of the others. Inevitably though, the time had come to say goodbye to the Marina. So they closed the stateroom door one last time and descended to Deck 5 with their carry-on bags (the big stuff had been removed to the pier a few hours before).

Our intrepid couple had all day to disembark because they couldn't check in yet at the hotel they had booked. However, they weren't going to follow the color and number protocol for leaving the ship. They simply left when they got bored of standing in the lobby. Upon disembarking, they entered Pier 88 and its Custom's Hall to grab their luggage, breezed by  the U.S. Customs agent and subsequently,  they invaded the Big Apple.

This was to be the end of the cruise but thankfully not the end of the trip, as the plan was to spend a few nights at the Marriot Essex House Hotel, right across from Central Park. This was actually walking distance from Hell's Kitchen where the ship parked but moving the luggage would have been problematic, and so, Gym hailed a cab.

Originally, the goal was to see the play Hamilton during their stay in New York but after talking to some American friends two other options were presented. It turned out both of the recommended plays were in theaters located on the same side of 45th Street, just off of Times Square. The Ferryman and Come from Away were so close together that it seemed easy to buy tickets to both and giving our heroes an opportunity to walk through Times Square twice, on two consecutive days. Times Square is sort of like the beating heart of Manhattan's cheesy side, a definite wonder of the world in terms of colorful people and spectacles.

Come from Away was a feel-good play about the welcoming of planeloads of transatlantic passengers in Newfoundland, Canada in the aftermath of 9/11 when all air traffic was grounded. The Ferryman was a little darker play about an Irish family with an unfortunate connection to the IRA, during The Troubles in Ireland. The first play was a buoyant and delightful production leaving the traveling duo feeling good about humanity. The second play was delightful as well but as it was a Shakespearean Tragedy, so several characters got whacked at the end and it sort of left the patrons with a darker emotional experience. After some discussion though, both plays were a great investment in time and money and allowed for some nice strolls from W59th Street.

The intrepid couple also strolled into the Upper West Side on a couple of forays. These jaunts were usually connected to a search for sustenance. On one such occasion, the foray began north into Central Park and then west towards The Lincoln Center. The mission was to find a Mexican place that Gym and Mrs. Gym had eaten at before. When they found it, the line-up was so long they had to move on. As Gym got busy on TripAdvisor to find a suitable replacement, his lovely wife screamed, "Hey, that's Alan Alda" and Gym looked up to follow his companion's gaze to the back of a very tall and slender, white-haired man that had already passed by them on the sidewalk. Gym had to take his wife's word on this sighting. Eventually, after walking a couple of miles in a counter-clockwise loop and ending up back within a couple of blocks of the hotel, respite was found in a very decent little Italian restaurant where a good caesar salad and some delicious pasta filled the void.

The JW Marriott, Essex House is not a luxury hotel but it is a very comfortable older establishment and you just can't beat the location. We had a quiet room in the centre of the building and slept well on the comfy beds in the small but well-appointed room. The hotel has doors on both 58th and 59th Streets so, depending on which way you are headed, you can choose the most convenient entrance.
There is a very nice hotel restaurant on the ground floor facing Central Park. Breakfast was taken there each morning. On the final morning, a driver arranged by the from desk provided transport to Newark, New Jersey and the direct, Air Canada flight home back to Calgary.

"Mission Accomplished" on this springtime getaway. Our seafaring couple connected more dots on their quest to cruise around-the-world. They visited some new counties in Latin America and had some wonderful cultural, gastronomical and ecological experiences. They crossed from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the amazing Panama Canal. They hey visited several new countries. But most importantly, somewhere along the way they forgot about what a brutal winter they had just experienced and stayed warm the whole time.

Our heroine, has requested that the next trip be more of a "sit-on-the beach-type-experience" and Gym does what he is told. So in the fall of 2019,  Gym has booked some beach time in a surprise location. On the way there though their will be a stay in a city that will prove to have a few touring opportunities for Gym. Until then, stay tuned!

When you pass under this bridge you see Manhattan on the horizon.
The Verrazano Narrows Bridge is an impressive bit of infrastructure.

There she is, you never get tired of that thing.

Sailing past Wall Street

Steering into the Hudson River

A view looking over to New Jersey

This is a playground in Hell's Kitchen. It used to be a rough neighborhood
but now it is upscale, like everywhere in Manhattan. The ship docked only a few blocks from here.

And a few blocks farther east is the Theater District.

Before the second play our travelers grabbed a cocktail at the revolving restaurant on the top
of the Marriot Marquis at Times Square.  It was raining but still a great view.

Time Square at night

The famous NY hot pretzel.

Union Square is just two blocks from the Essex House.

This are typical shi-shi walk-up homes of the rich and famous in the Upper
West Side, one block off of Central Park, Near here Mrs. Gym spotted Alan Alda.

Carnegie Hall at night

The next trip should prove to be very interesting indeed. Trump has made it much more difficult to travel, especially when one wants to go back to Asia. Stay tuned!

Finally Back in the First World - April 1, 2019

In the quiet pre-dawn hours of April fools Day, as Gym slept like a stone, the ship sailed into Biscayne Bay and quietly docked in Miami. She was so expertly handled as it tied up at the cruise ship terminal on Dodge Island, that our travelers did not stir. Normally, our hero and his lovely wife enjoy watching the progress of the ship entering a new port. But they were totally oblivious on this particular occasion. Gym was first to recognize that the ship was completely still. With his dear wife still slumbering peacefully, Gym slipped out of bed and opened the curtains a tiny bit to see where they were. The scene laid out in front of the ship was the stunning skyline of Downtown Miami - a welcoming sight, in a special part of America. The intrepid couple had returned to the First World,  after steaming 2500 nautical miles along the mostly third world nations of Latin America.

Why does Gym think this is a special place? Because in recent years, Miami has become a second home of sorts. It can be explained by Gym's rekindled affair with the Miami Dolphins. Gym and his son Chris, an even more rabid fan of the team, have actually flown to Miami on several occasions in recent years to see the team play. And when the team is losing, how fortunate that both father and son have picked to be fans of the team located in the city with the most agreeable winter weather. These annual pilgrimages are great father-son bonding occasions, that also provide a reliable escape from the Canadian winter, whether the 'Fins' win or lose.  Sometimes they take Mom on the annual trip and sometimes they don't but for father and son, Miami is a special place. Gym can honestly say that he has spent more time in Miami than anywhere else in the United States.

On this trip, Gym and his lovely wife would not be able to walk the boardwalk in South Beach, see the Art Deco along Oceanfront Drive or visit their favorite restaurant, Cecconi's. They would only be there for a day and wanted to try something new.

Neither of our travelers had ever been on an air-boat and they had signed on to tour the Everglades in just such a craft. This would mean crossing Miami in a motor coach and returning to the same highway that father and son had driven to go fishing, on the far west side of the Everglades, just a few weeks before. The tour company was located about halfway across the Everglades in perfect alligator habitat. And if seeing alligators was the goal, they were very successful indeed. They saw a whole lot of alligators and some other cool stuff too. As for the air-boats though, both of our heroes were somewhat disappointed. These boats held dozens of people and although they operated like the smaller boats you see in films, the ride was not that special. They went off about 10 minutes south of the highway into the seagrass, made an abrupt u-turn and headed back to the highway where the less-than inspiring tour guide/driver collected his tip money and got ready for the next boat-load of tourists. All was not lost though, as the mediocre boat-ride was followed up by a kind of neat alligator variety show. The guide in this case, really knew his stuff. He educated us on everything-alligator, called some alligators by name and let us pat a baby alligator. At least that latter part of the excursion was worth the bus trip.

During our stay in Miami we learned of a change in itinerary from the Captain. Yet again mother nature would cause us to have to miss a stop that we were really looking forward to. This would be the third cruise on the same ship where this happened. Because of a big storm off Cape Hatteras, we would miss a planned docking in Norfolk, Virginia. At that port we had planned to re-visit Williamsburg, Virginia. That stop was scrubbed for the next night and we would instead inch up the Florida coastline and spend 24 hours in Port Canaveral to wait out the storm. Then we would make the long run to our final destination in New York City. The last leg would be one long passage up the eastern seaboard chasing the storm. The intrepid couple was very sad about Williamsburg, a magical place that Gym had taken his dear wife on a business trip some 20 years before.

As Cape Canaveral was just a parking place the next post will be about NYC.

The reason Gym slept so good the night before landing in Miami was the
Pancetta Wrapped Veal with Bay Lobster Tail Oscar Style

This is the scene upon opening the drapes early on April 1, 2019.
We had not seen a modern city- skyline since Panama.

As the sun rose over the city, a scene from the T.V. show Miami Vice materialized.

From our cabin our view across Biscayne Bay was quite breathtaking.

Let's go here!

These were not the boats Gym expected.
He thought they would ride in the small 4-man boats.

Welcome to the Everglades from our
Airboat Captain, a good driver but an uninspiring guide.

Speeding down the channel between carpets of seagrass and low,
 mangrove islands.

The boss spots an alligator.

A specimum catching some rays near a sidewalk.
Gym. would later return to this spot on foot. 

Another big one on a sand bar.

Some beautiful waterfowl inhabit the area too.

Don't pull it's tail Gym

Here is one you can pat.

Cute?

Alligator variety show.

Questing in Quintana Roo on March 30, 2019

After almost two weeks sailing up from Lima, the last stop in Latin America would be in the State of Quintana Roo in Mexico. Our valiant travelers had sailed well over 2000 nautical miles and when they ambled off the dock and onto Mexican soil, they had finally returned to their home continent of North America.

Of the 31 states in Mexico, Quintana Roo is lucky to be the one bordered by a crystal-clear Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean laps up against this state's long, white sand beaches which line up along the second largest barrier reef in the world. These stunning attributes coupled with a mostly warm and sunny tropical climate, make this part of Mexico a much sought-after tourist destination. And tourism is driving the economy of this state, as it has seen its population grow from around 250,000 in the Eighties, to over 1.5 million in 2015.  The statistics show that selling banana daiquiris is a better job than picking bananas and the growth in the number of jobs that support the state's tourism industry has been substantial. Many workers from other parts of Mexico have come here to work in tourism.

The other thing drawing in the tourists, is yet again, the excellent Mayan sites that connect across the borders from Belize and Guatemala onto the Yucatan peninsula. In past, pre-blog visits to the area, Gym and his lovely wife have visited Tulum and Coba. Today, they would take a guided tour of the Chacchoben Ruins.

Mrs. Gym would lead the expedition on that day as her hubby was still feeling like the giant bag of chalk. He pictured himself as looking like the Michelin Tire Man, on a bad day. The guide Yam, was a tall local fellow that was of mixed race but not so much of a Mayan in his overall appearance.  He reminded Gym of many of the Texans that he had met over the years, with his easy command of English and his laid back character.

Chacchoben was first reported to the Mexican government about 40 years ago by an archeologist working for the Royal Ontario Museum. He had flown over the site and noticed domed "hills" in an otherwise flat landscape. After the government became interested in the site, the land was expropriated from the local farmers and the area was studied more thoroughly. It isn't as spectacular as Tikal but there are some impressive pyramids and again a huge area surrounding the uncovered ruins that will provide jobs for archeologists for decades. The intrepid travelers were shown evidence of the red paint that was used on the exteriors of the buildings in Chacchoben. This red dye has survived on shady, north-facing walls, where the sun couldn't fade the coloration.

The tour was about 90 minutes and again we had to cut it short because they had to allot 90 minutes to drive us back to the beach and another 90 minutes for us to find our way from the strategic drop-off spot, to the dock. The tour company dropped us off at the entrance to another seaside mall that opened to a labyrinth of circular alleyways, ingeniously designed to take you by every storefront in the entire development. Kudos to the Mexicans who successfully tied the guided cultural tours to the unguided shopping experience and exposed the heavily laden American wallets, to the shopping mall obstacle. It should be noted that Gym is cheering for the Mexicans, as Mr. Trump has forced it's only two North American neighbors to re-negotiate a perfectly good free trade trade agreement. He is such a knucklehead!

That night, the intrepid couple had a reservation in the ship's Italian-themed restaurant, called Toscana's. Seated right next to them was John Taffer, an American television personality. Mr. Taffer is the host of the show Bar Rescue, where he goes into failing bars and rescues them from oblivion by tweeking their crappy business plans, doing a few renos and re-jigging the menus. Gym hopes he wasn't visiting Toscana's in his professional capacity because Gym thinks Toscana's is a pretty nice dining option.

That night the ship would begin the long passage over the top of Cuba and essentially east across the entire width of the Caribbean Sea. It would take 48 hours. Gym and Mrs Gym were looking forward to a day at sea and they would get one that proved to be uneventful and relaxing. Somewhere, north of Cuba, Gym started to feel better.

Welcome to Costa Maya and for our travellers, welcome back to North America.

The boss

Yam, the day's guide, an expert on Chacchoben

You can see here how the jungle was chopped away to reveal the
ruins and how the vegetation can slowly dismantle the ruins by
rooting on these derelict structures 

Unlike Gym's first experiences at Mayan ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula,
you are not allowed to climb the steeper pyramids here. That is a progressive moves
most likely due to the injury hazard on these crumbly structures.
In Tikal, the built stairways to the top and that might be the next step here. 

A beautiful Temple Pyramid at chacchoben.

Back at the shore and having maneuvered the shopping obstical unscathed, the travellers
gave pause to their positioning. With the exception of Cartagena they had been everywhere on the right
and were now headed for Miami, on the left.