The first cruise to the Caribbean started less than three weeks after we got home from the Mexican one – and it was excellent 😊. This was a nine day cruise to the ABCs (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) with the first two days being at sea for New Years Eve and New Years Day 😊. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale without incident, took a taxi to the and checked in quickly to the Holland America Eurodam. This was the second time we had booked an aft balcony cabin –and it was probably the biggest cabin we have ever had 😊! The balcony was centred over the back of the ship; and we had room service bring us breakfast in the morning several times – so relaxing to have breakfast looking out over the wake of the ship😊. The Eurodam is a beautiful ship – although built in 2008 it does show a little wear and tear - and the service from the staff are amazing and the food is excellent 😊. We had booked this cruise to be with several friends that we had met over a year ago on the Konigsdam. We spent most of our time during sea days (4 of them) at the Seaview Pool at the back of the ship; or at the Casino (although the Casino has to be closed down in port); or playing trivia at the Billboard Bar (we won once, came in the top 5 all the other times); or relaxing up in the Crowsnest. The first two full days at sea
The first port was Willemstad, Curacao – we had been there many times and we really love the city and its surroundings. The old fort, the colourful buildings along the inner harbour, the bars and restaurants downtown – it’s an amazing place to visit 😊 !! One new addition that we hadn’t seen since our last trip there in 2017 was the lock heart sculptures (picture on the left) on the other side of the floating bridge. The initial sculpture was a wire mesh frame of a heart – it was expanded to 3 hearts later – that visitors and tourists can attach locks to with their initials or any messages! Kelly had brought along 2 locks with our initials painted on them and we attached them to the sculpture (picture at left) 😊. It was a little cloudy and rainy that day so we didn’t go to a beach but we still had a great time strolling through the town and spending time at a restaurant bar that overlooked the inner harbour 😊.
The next day found us in Oranjestad, Aruba. Another port that we have been to many times – but not one of our favorites. It’s very expensive – lots of high end stores, hotels, and casinos – tons of casinos ☹. About 15 years ago they closed down a lot of places in Oranjestad and moved them out to Palm Beach (very, very expensive) and left the downtown vacant and rundown. But around 8 years ago they started renovating the downtown area – built a few resorts, a trolley line, and a couple of new high end malls. However, they have just recently closed down the famous gingerbread mall across from the cruise terminal and are turning it into expensive condos. Kelly and I walked around for a while and then spent some time at the Balashi Bar along the waterfront. Visitors sign U.S. dollar bills and stick them up all over the bar (picture at left) – so we left ours as well. Back in 2012 we were at the Balashi Bar with friends for 12/12/12 12:12:12:00 😊.
The last port in the ABCs was Kralendijk, Bonaire. Bonaire is our favourite island in the Caribbean – there is no other place that looks like it and it is probably one of the most relaxing places we have ever been 😊. We have been there many times and have explored most of the island – the mountains and the desert to the north and east (and the many beaches that are renowned for scuba diving and snorkeling – Bonaire is surrounded by the third largest barrier reef in the world); and the salt flats, marshes (with hundreds of flamingoes), and a few beaches to the south of the island. Kelly and I had booked an excursion to Sorobon Beach (one of the world’s top windsurfing and kite sailing spots). The excursion took us to the salt flats (picture at left), the slave huts, the old lighthouse, and finally to Sebastians Beach Bar for a couple of hours 😊. The beach was amazing, there were dozens of windsurfers and beach goers, a great bar, and it was very relaxing. The bus took us back to Kralendijk where we wandered around the market and the stores and spent some time at our favourite bars – El Mundo, and of course Karel’s on the water 😊.
The next two days were sea days, heading back to Florida – relaxing on the ship, going to excellent restaurants (Tamarind and Morimoto’s) and having fun with our friends – old ones and new ones just made 😊. The last day on the ship was spent at Half Moon Cay – Holland America’s private beach. We tendered to the beach and spent a few hours relaxing in the sun before heading back to the ship – and packing for our return flight the next day. And it was great to come back and see Doug, who had been in the kennel for this cruise as well 😊.
So all in all an excellent time and we are looking forward to our next cruise on Celebrity Eclipse in 3 days time which will be 10 days sailing the Eastern Caribbean (Tortola, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Kitts) 😊. This cruise will primarily be a beach trip – with the exception of possibly Barbados (we haven’t made up our minds yet – beach or excursion) we will be going to beaches on the other four islands 😊. Valley Church in Antigua (where we were married over 18 years ago); Cockleshell in St. Kitts (our favorite); Cane Garden Bay in Tortola (haven’t been to Tortola since 2008, this will be great); and a new one - Reduit Beach in St. Lucia (we have been to St. Lucia many times but never to Reduit)… And then we come back home for 20 days of rest; and then go on a seven day cruise to Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel on the Holland America Statendam!! 😊 Lots of cruises in the past few months but then it will be time for a break… until the summer when we go to Alaska 😊.
The inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump will take place in another 3 days – 20 January – coupled with Martin Luther King Day this might not be the best day to be flying down to Fort Lauderdale for the cruise ☹. Trump is still intent on brokering an agreement between Ukraine and Russia on ending the war – he probably has dreams of winning the Nobel Peace Prize – but his plans are still pretty vague – no longer the ‘I can end the war in 1 day’ speech that he said over a year ago. Putin has agreed to meet Trump in person – no date has been set yet – and have talks in order to consider a cease fire and possible compromises over ending the war with Ukraine – which means nothing as he still envisions a new Russian Empire with himself ensconced as Czar – Ukraine will not consider any peace plans that doesn’t return all the territories that Russia illegally seized or annexed since 2014. Zelensky will be meeting with Trump soon, but no dates have been set for that either.
Trump has already started make waves by threatening Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs on his first day in office – unless they make concentrated efforts to curb the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders. Canada has already responded by investing over $1 billion dollars in strengthening their borders – 2 Black Hawk helicopters, over 60 drones, and several surveillance towers. All of the Canadian premiers (with the exception of Danielle Smith of Alberta) are banding together to fight any tariffs imposed on Canada by Trump ☹. However, the announcement of the imposed tariffs have had another casualty; the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau – after disagreements with his financial minister and deputy premier, Chrystia Freeland, and lack of support from the Liberal Party caucus – announced that he would be stepping down from power. A new Liberal leader – and therefore new prime minister – will be selected by vote on March 9th. There have been several candidates announcing their plans to enter the leadership race – however, the front runners will probably be Mike Carney (the former Bank of Britain and Bank of Canada governor) and Freeland herself. I will put my money on Freeland winning 😊. However, the other political parties – notably the Conservatives (led by Polyidiot, uh Pierre Polievre) and the NDP (led by Jagmeet Singh) – still intend on having a vote of non-confidence and bringing down the current government. This would result in a new election being held - and as the Conservatives have a two digit lead in the polls it would be extremely hard for the Liberals to maintain power ☹.
The war in the Middle East is still ongoing – however, Hamas and Israel have tentatively agreed to a cease fire which should take place on this Sunday (one day before the Trump inauguration) if everything works out according to plans. Let’s see how long this will hold up – I give it a week at most as both sides will be waiting to see if they get any new concessions from the new U.S. president ☹.
The war in Ukraine and Russia has escalated, both sides are still trying to achieve major gains before the inauguration of U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump in January ☹ The Russians have increased their attacks in the East and have gained significant success in capturing some villages in their attempt to capture Pokrovsk, an important crossroads and logistics centre for Ukraine. However their success comes at a severe cost – it is estimated that over 815,000 Russians have been killed or wounded since the war began ☹. North Korean troops have become involved in the war fighting on the Russian side – mainly in Kursk. DPRK troops have already incurred heavy losses with over 100 dead and 1000 injured in combat against Ukrainian forces. 2 DPRK soldiers were caught by Ukrainian troops this week. The Ukrainians continue their hold on the Kursk region – however Russia has regained 40% of the territory originally lost - as well as bombing military installations and fuel depots deep into Russia. A massive missile and drone attack by the Russians earlier this week heavily damaged the power infrastructure all over Ukraine leaving thousands of civilians in the dark and without heat and power. This has become a war of attrition – both countries trying to hold onto or achieve new territorial gains to use as bargaining chips when Trump is inaugurated in January. On a brighter note the outgoing Biden administration has said that their financial and military commitments to Ukraine will last at least to the end of 2025. The U.K. signed a 100 year partnership agreement with Ukraine on January 15th in order to support Ukraine with military and financial support.
As early January has seen us being on a cruise (again) not a lot of home cooking has been going on – it’s the usual simple dishes that use up any fresh ingredients in the refrigerator ; Chicken Curries; Paninis – Pastrami and Montreal Smoked Meat; Steaks; and a few pasta dishes – remember we have only been home for 7 days!! However, the food on the Eurodam was outstanding; in particular at the Tamarind and Morimoto (in Tamarind) specialty dinners. Tamarind we stayed with the staples that we had enjoyed on the Konnigsdam: Lobster and Shrimp Potstickers, and Tom Kha Kai for appetizers; Red Thai Curry, Panang Red Coconut Chicken, and Thai Szechuan Shrimp for the main course; and Yuzu Cheesecake for dessert. At Morimoto’s Pop-up dinner (at Tamarind) we had Fresh Tuna Pizza (see picture at left), Tori Ramen Noodle Soup, and Pork Gyozo Dumplings (see picture at left) for appetizers; Angry Lobster Pad Thai (picture at left), Shrimp Three Ways for the main course with side dishes of House Fried Rice and Wok Seared Bok Choy for side dishes; and for dessert Dark Chocolate Sphere and Baked Tofu Cheesecake (both pictures at left). All dishes were amazing!! 😊
On the Netflix front: We have finished a couple of series in the past week: Season 3 of ‘Maestro In Blue’; and ‘1992’. ‘Maestro’ tied up all the lose ends in it’s final season – killers were revealed; people were killed; and people and their romantic partners were reconciled. ‘1992’ is a Spanish police drama / mystery / action series about a woman – upon being widowed by an mysterious explosion – teams up with an ex-homicide policeman to determine who killed her husband and why. Seven episodes with each episode ending on a cliffhanger – good fun to watch and well acted. I watched all 7 episodes of Season 2 of ‘Bandidos’ – a Mexican action series about a gang of thieves looking for the lost treasure of Montezuma and specifically for the ‘Tear of Fire’, the largest diamond ever found. The series is fast paced and I enjoyed it immensely 😊.
On the NHL front – The regular season continues to plod along after the holiday season– the Toronto Maple Leafs are 27 – 16 – 2 good for 2nd in their division and only 7 points behind first place Washington, and the Seattle Kraken are 19 – 23 – 3 tied with Anaheim for 12th place in their division😊.
On to golf … The PGA started their regular season tournaments with The Sentry Tournament in Hawaii which ran 2 to 5 January with Hideki Matsuyama winning and setting the tournament record while taking home $3.6M U.S. for the win. Corey Connors tied for 5th place taking home $744K U.S. while Taylor Pendrith tied for 13th taking home $410K U.S. . Last week saw the playing of the Sony Open in Hawaii won by…. Nick Taylor of Canada on the second playoff hole!! Taylor takes home $1.55M U.S. and exemptions for the 2025 Signature events, the Masters, and the PGA Championship 😊. …And now he has moved up to second place in the FedexCup rankings 😊 The American Express tournament is on in La Quinta California this week – after the first round Taylor is tied for 8th 😊.
NFL news – The Seahawks finished the regular season 10-7, the same record as the LA Rams – but they lost the division lead due to ‘strength of victory’ ☹. However, it was the first time that a first year Seattle head coach – Mike MacDonald – had won 10 games in their rookie season 😊. Now we just have to see how Geno Smith’s contract extension will work out. The wild card weekend took place last week with no upsets happening – the divisional playoffs are this weekend with Detroit playing Washington; Buffalo playing Baltimore; the LA Rams playing Philadelphia; and the Houston Texans playing Kansas City Chief. It should be an amazing weekend for football😊. Right now… since Seattle is out of the picture … I will be rooting for Detroit and Buffalo to win and move on – that would be a great Superbowl, neither team has ever won the championship 😊.
Have a great and safe month … we will see you in a bit!! 😊