Florida Coalcracker Chronicles: Home From Our 12 Day Trip in the Tropics

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Home From Our 12 Day Trip in the Tropics

Part of Miami Beach from our plane home.
I think Lulu would move here if I wanted.

Friday morning in Miami Beach

Cozumel shirt

We are safely home after 12 days in the Tropics and Exploring the Panama Canal. As you get older - you judge a trip by how many things you're lost - how sick you got - and how much weight your gained. I am proud to say we lost nothing - neither of us got sick - and Lulu lost 2 pounds and I gained 2 pounds.

Simply we flew to Miami on Monday the 6th - caught our ship Norwegian Sky. We sailed and stopped at - George Town in the Cayman Islands - Cartagena in Columbia - The Panama Canal - Colon in Panama - Limon in Costa Rica - Cozumel in Mexico - and finally back in Miami Beach. After a lovely day in Miami - we flew home from 6 pm to 7:30 pm. Our cab had us safely in our house at 8 pm - Friday - 12 days later.

The highlight of the trip for me was passing through the locks of the Wonder of the World - the Panama Canal. It was built in 1913 - and is the world's greatest short cut from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is less than 50 miles long and saves ships thousands of miles - days - and fuel. It is a Wonder of the Modern World - and still works perfectly fine. The USA built the canal but in 1999 - gave it back to the country of Panama. It still makes lots of money - our ship paid $350k to just pass ½ way through and back.

The weather on the trip was hot and humid - mostly in the 80s. We had some nice breezes but no rain. On our ship we enjoyed eating our meals on the fantail. We had a breeze and a nice shaded area. I had more steaks in 12 days than I usually eat in a year.

Lulu just loves the shopping. All the towns we stopped at cater to cruise ships. Everything is for sale. All countries were very gracious to us. We took guided tours in Columbia and Costa Rica.

I love the cars - trucks - scooters - etc. We did not visit any rich countries. Costa Rica was the richest with the average income of $12,000 a year,

The last port of call was Cozumel - Mexico. This is a large touristy city with plenty of hotels and beaches. It also had the largest shopping areas. There were 2 large stores we visited that reminded me of Walmart and Target. The prices were best there. Lulu loves to shop but she hardly buys anything.

Friday morning we pulled into Miami early. We got a cab and went to the Dolphin Mall. While I found a nice place to sit in the food court and watch our bags - Lulu was free to sample the diverse shops of this new mall. It is about 6 miles to the airport. We also watched the FSU girls play in the NCAA playoff here. Let's just say our season is over - boys and girls.

We were home at 8 pm - we unpacked - started the laundry and zonked out.

This trip was sorta like a 52nd honeymoon. Our ship was not very big - but it was full at 2000 people. Most of them were very old. Lots of canes - walkers - and mobility scooters. Everybody was very cordial. You had a choice of eating alone or being at tables that held 6. We did both. We were on deck 10 - on deck 11 was a fantastic buffet. We liked getting our food and sitting on the fantail. A giant tent protected you from the sun but allowed nice breezes. There was a great variety of food and it was endless. There were so many workers busy cleaning surfaces - you felt like you were in the intensive care unit at a hospital. We tested regularly for covid - and never got it - thanks to 5 shots so far.

Our next adventure is the Everhart 10 together at Watercolor/Seaside FL. In April - they are all flying in for family time. You may recall we rented a large home there 2 years ago. It was so nice - we are going back. It is about 100 miles west of us.