rosedraws

We just got back on Saturday. I was surprised how many people explored on their own. I heard one amazing trip a group took with an English- speaking taxi driver. It may be uncommon to find that though. On the other hand, our Carnival excursion was mediocre.

It's an amazing place. See the tourist spots, tour neighborhoods, definitely find real artisans. Have lots of single bills to give everyone, you'll need coins for the bathrooms, and bring your own tp and water.

The bus was awesome, wonderful seats and ac. (The heat was almost unbearable). Our guide was good. They had water, but it tasted bad. The tour was mediocre, no interaction with people (wasn't that the whole point?), not enough time to shop. The market was too huge and full of rip offs. No one was glad to see us, just lots of begging. If you could find a taxi driver that speaks English well, that might be much better (I suppose you'd also have to be able to tolerate the heat.) . Take notes, pix, receipts, and spend 7+ hours doing the best things.

I saw comments from people who didn't have an English-speaking driver. That would be a drag.

You probably know that a short trip won't fulfill your travel requirement. We met a woman who had the best tour ever with an amazing taxi driver who took them all over. But she might have just gotten lucky. She took pix, notes, and saved receipts for documentation.

Just got back on Saturday. We thought the shows were fantastic, one of the best parts of the cruise. Great talent, cool set design. Everything seemed ridiculously too loud, so get there early to get good seats.