I wrote about Cartagena in 2015 (see my post “Colombia’s Hidden Secret”) and now, on my third visit to this beautiful city, I am still captivated. Forget what you might think still exists about gangs and drug lords of the past. Cartagena de Indias, as the city was known in the colonial era, has been…
Continue reading →I love living in the bow of the ship. It has its drawbacks for sure. Every seasoned cruiser will advise against choosing a cabin in the bow, arguing that low and center is preferable for optimal stability. And to prove that theory, our first four days of this journey were spent relentlessly rocking and rolling…
Continue reading →The third most photographed home in America, after the White House and Graceland, Villa Casa Casuarina regularly attracts a throng of tourists and curiosity seekers at its address on Ocean Drive in the swank and wealthy neighborhood of South Beach, Miami. Perhaps due to its opulent Mediterranean revival architecture that stands out among the Art…
Continue reading →You’ve heard of the affliction called “homesickness”, impassively defined as “a longing for one’s home during a period of absence from it.” Well, I’m feeling that now, but for another kind of home…my sea home. Knowing that we have spent much time on the cruise ship Insignia, our friend and Oceania butler, Priyan, sent a…
Continue reading →Bonaire is the “B” in the ABC islands, along with Aruba and Curacao. It is a small island with a desert landscape of succulents, cactus and eroded coral cliffs, conquered by the Dutch in 1636. Bonaire is not for everyone, but it is for divers and snorkelers who want to immerse themselves in the vibrant…
Continue reading →The “C” in the ABC islands is Curacao. You might know the name better from the local liqueurs, with the same name, that the island is famous for. The largest of the three islands, Curacao also has the biggest population and one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean due to its well-developed…
Continue reading →The western-most Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, in the Leeward Antilles off the coast of Venezuela, are collectively known as the ABC islands. They share a Dutch colonial history, a West Indian heritage, and are fortuitously situated outside the tropical hurricane belt, making them an attractive playground for laid-back globetrotting sun seekers and snowbirds….
Continue reading →On embarkation day, we checked into Insignia, dropped our bags in our suite, and called our friends, Andy and Tammy Heath. They were our Cruise Director and Assistant Cruise Director respectively for our 2015 Around the World voyage on Insignia, and live in our home town, so we have become friends on sea and land….
Continue reading →There is nothing like being a tourist in your own country. But in our very own Miami, everyone seems like a tourist in this melting pot of a city, with people from everywhere including Cuba, the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, Europe… and, did I mention Cuba? Our hotel was right on the Miami waterfront where…
Continue reading →Packing to live somewhere else for 6 months feels a bit like moving. When I travel, I always have the best intentions to pack a simple, capsule wardrobe with basic necessities. In fact, I tend to pride myself on efficiency in packing, finding multi-purpose in items, and knowing I can always do laundry to save…
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