We just returned from a pretty exciting trip starting with a swim with manatees in Florida, a visit to a sloth sanctuary and Caimans and alligators. We started with a visit with Dave and Ann, high school friends of my parents. Now here is the weird thing - my parents started dating when they were 15 and are still married. Dave and Ann also dated in high school and are still married - now that is rare. We heard some pretty interesting stories about my dad's college days - or as Larry David would say "pretty pretty pretty interesting"!
Cliff and I actually flew in a day early to brave the rollercoasters of Busch Gardens Tampa. There was one new coaster that drops you 90 degrees. The lovely designers thought of everything including stopping at the top so you can hang there looking straight down. Although I just about had a heart attack while waiting in line, it turned out to be one of the best coasters I've been on in awhile. We ended up going on it again! The next morning we picked my mom and dad up at the airport and headed out of Tampa, north to Dunnellon. That day we had the pleasure of swimming with the manatees. Sadly, manatees are endangered species, mostly due to man, but also they are sensitive and if temperatures fall can die from pneumonia. Swimming with a mammal that can be over 1000 pounds can be intimidating but leave it to me, I just jumped right in. They can't be any worse than diving with ornery sea lions?
In fact, they are the most gentle creature I have ever been in the water with. One young manatee was very interested in my flipper and kept pushing on it with his nose. Another one would swim up to people and roll on his belly for some belly rubbing. To learn more about the manatees you can visit the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park website.
The next part of our journey brought us to Fort Lauderdale to board the MS Volendam, a Holland America Line ship that weighs in at 61,000 tons and can accomodate 1,485 passengers. You can click on each port of call listed below to view the photographs from that location.
Itinerary:
3/12 - Fort Lauderdale, FLA
3/14 - At Sea
3/17 - At Sea
3/19 - Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
3/20-22 - At Sea
3/23 - Disembark, Florida Everglades
Instead of writing a novel about our trip I'll sum it up with these bullet points. Please beware, I'm just going to put it all very bluntly:
- Cruises where the average age is 75 might not be for me (or Cliff)
- Sea Sick patches are nasty business. While it did keep Cliff from getting sea sick, his eyesite was so blurry that I had to read everything to him. Hmmm, maybe that will be what it is like when we are 75...
- Running on a treadmill while the boat is rocking is very difficult
- Humidity is hell for my hair. Don't bother to bring a flat iron!
- Spray on suntan lotion led to one of the worst burns I've had in a LOOONNNG time - spend the time putting the cream on - messy is good!
- The scuba and snorkeling in Aruba and Curacao is out of this world
- Aruba is pretty commercial - if you are looking for a more remote island try Curacao and Bonaire (we like remote)
- Panama made Mexico look clean
- The mechanics of the Panama Canal are fascinating, especially considering it was built in the early 1900s
- Costa Rica is a place that I want to go and spend some time - absolutely beautiful
- Choose drink mixology classes over exercise (I took spinning classes which conflicted with the bar mixology class - my mom and I exercised early on the last day of the cruise and attended the class - this is where all the fun people go!)
- Sloths are not lazy and are one of the most elegant creatures on the planet. To learn more about sloths visit the sloth sanctuary website.
Enjoy our pictures and feel free to ask if you have any questions!