Encore / Live / Solo(*)- Dec 1-8-2019...

[dcipjr]

16 hours ago, Snick500 said:

I was wondering how the feral cats made out during the hurricane.

 

We first visited in San Juan in 2015, and enjoyed seeing the cats around Old San Juan. After the hurricane, we too wondered what had happened to them.

 

You'll be glad to know that they seem to have made it through just fine. We stopped there on a cruise this past March, and walked the Paseo de la Princesa around the fort. The cats were there, and by all appearances, were thriving!

 

Old San Juan is beautiful. I love the colonial Spanish architecture.

[Von & John]

17 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

San Juan looks like I would imagine an old European country would... Not that I've ever been to Europe...

 

 

Sid  --  You do know you can fly to Europe, spend a few days / weeks & take a cruise...

Or - cruise T/A to Europe & spend a few days / weeks...

Or  --  fly to Europe, spend a few days / weeks & take a T/A cruise to the US

[Von & John]

17 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

We just continued on, even though I had no idea where we were going... I had a pretty good idea of which direction the ship was, but I'm also not Magellan...

 

 

Sid  --  where are the famous hand-drawn maps?

[iguss]

What time did you arrive in San Juan?

[sid_9169]

3 hours ago, brooklintee said:

Hey, there are 10 of us that really want vibe passes. Can you tell me what time we should be at the Port in order to be in the first/second group for boarding?

Thanks.

If you arrive at about 9:30 you should guarantee group one or two... Security doesn't start letting people thru until ten, so you would be among the first in the terminal.

[sid_9169]

1 hour ago, Von & John said:

 

Sid  --  where are the famous hand-drawn maps?

I used one in Miami and San Juan...

[sid_9169]

37 minutes ago, iguss said:

What time did you arrive in San Juan?

Arrival time said 5:30, but we ended up there early, about 4:30

[dshefter]

1 hour ago, Von & John said:

 

UGH!

Caddy Shack Baby Ruth...  Now that was funny 🤣

"I want this entire pool cleaned and disinfected." "Don't touch it." "Duty!"

[sid_9169]

I'm back on board now after my adventure in St Thomas... And, it was quite an adventure... When I arrived back to my cabin, Pam and Jovo had sent some gifts...

 

 

[deedle7544]

Open it up and let's get the day drinking started!

[SenatorsFan]

Impressive, you didn't get the usual NCL sparkling wine! Win. 😄

[sid_9169]

I'm showered off from the ocean, and about to try and start uploading my day in St Thomas...

 

[sid_9169]

Since I had slept in wayyy too late, I had to try and make something out of this day... I figured that I would recreate, in part, my very first time here. I had read all about the public bus, or the dollar bus, as they call it here... The first time, I ended up getting on at the wrong place, and ended up as far in the wrong direction as I could get from where I was planning on...

 

Today, when I exited the ship, the taxi drivers all tried to take me, saying that the public bus doesn't go where I'm trying to get to... Of course, I knew otherwise. We walked what seemed like much farther than I remember, but arrived right at the bus stop in front of the hospital. About ten minutes later, we were on leg one of the journey. Up and down and around the island, we navigated. About twenty minutes later, we arrived at the top of the hill for Sapphire Beach...

 

There used to be a great food truck at the top of the hill, but it's been gone for a few years now. We walked down the steep hill, and about seven minutes later, we were almost at our destination.

 

 

[sid_9169]

Finally, we made it down the hill, but near the marina and not the actual beach, just as I had done the very first time here.

 

I walked around, and took a few pictures. Actually, I had considered not even bringing my phone today, but I knew that I would have wished I had if I didn't...

 

 

[MzShae]

Great pictures! Looks like a postcard!

[sid_9169]

There was a lady selling bracelets and other stuff sitting under a tree, so I figured that she must be a local... I asked if it would be cool to leave our bags on one of the chairs while we went in the water. She said it wouldn't be a problem until about an hour, when the next tour arrived. At least my bag was off the sand and in the shade. It was just a plastic Target bag, so it looked like nothing anyone would want to steal. Of course, nobody knew that my phone and a lot of cash was in there, along with a butt load of handi wipes...

 

I went in for a swim, and the water felt cool at first, but after a minute I was plenty comfortable...

 

I stayed out there for quite a while, and just thought about wanting to stay there forever. Not really in St Thomas, but anywhere else than where my life is now. I don't particularly like my job, and I'm never going to get anywhere working there. I have an apartment that I like, in a good part of town, but I can barely afford it, and as a renter, it'll never be mine. I figured that I have spent about a quarter of a million dollars on rent in my life, and I currently have zero equity in anything, other than a 2013 Honda and a motorcycle...

 

Wow, I really went off on a tangent there, didn't I?... I warned you that it would probably happen...

 

 

[sid_9169]

After a while, my skin was starting to prune, so I knew it was time to get out of the water... I needed to find a place to wash off my feet, so I could put my shoes back on. There was a foot bath near the beach, but it was totally surrounded by sand. What good is it to wash off your feet if there's nothing but sand in every direction?

 

I scouted out in front of the condo building, and found another water spicket, where I could wash and dry my feet without getting sand all over them again. So, there I was, sitting on the ground, washing my feet off, and trying to keep them off the ground, until I could dry them off and get my shoes back on. I must've looked like quite a spectacle... Anyhoo, mission accomplished, and we were walking back up the big hill towards the road.

 

Soon enough, the lady that was selling bracelets came driving by, and asked if we wanted a ride to the top. We got in, and said we were trying to catch the bus to Red Hook... Well, she was driving there, so we got a free ride to where I thought would be close to where I was trying to get to next...

 

We got out, and started walking. I knew that it was a little bit outside of Red Hook, but not exactly how far... When you look at it on the map, it seems like it's right there close.

 

Well, we just kept walking, and it was hot, and there were hills, and oh yeah, there are no sidewalks where we were going... We were basically walking in the road for a good bit of the journey. I know "C" was probably thinking "what in the heck have I gotten myself into"... Except, she probably would have been thinking of a different word than heck...

 

We kept going, and I sensed that we were getting close. I knew that it was near a curve in the road. Pretty soon, (well, probably close to a half hour) the place was in sight. All I could think of was the air conditioning that I was about to enjoy. Well, it turns out that this particular establishment is an "outdoor" type of bar / restaurant, with fans, but no "indoors" or "air conditioning" whatsoever...

[sid_9169]

Ok, I'm going to go to dinner now at Los Lobos... I will continue where I left off in a bit...

[Snick500]

2 hours ago, dcipjr said:

 

We first visited in San Juan in 2015, and enjoyed seeing the cats around Old San Juan. After the hurricane, we too wondered what had happened to them.

 

You'll be glad to know that they seem to have made it through just fine. We stopped there on a cruise this past March, and walked the Paseo de la Princesa around the fort. The cats were there, and by all appearances, were thriving!

 

Old San Juan is beautiful. I love the colonial Spanish architecture.

 

[Snick500]

Thanks a lot!  That is good to hear.  The cats around that walkway were cute and looked well cared for.  I am glad they survived.

[sid_9169]

 

[sid_9169]

After the really long, hot walk, we finally made it to our lunch destination... Taco Chelles, which I found on TripAdvisor... Hopefully, it would live up to the hype, after what I went through to get there...

 

Just a little road side taco stand, but I've heard (read) that they have some really great, and unique tacos...

[sid_9169]

Current situation: table side guacamole...

 

And, a spicy margarita with Don Julio...

 

[AmyJA]

 

26 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Ok, I'm going to go to dinner now at Los Lobos... I will continue where I left off in a bit...

 

Great!...this is where the Momster has chosen to have her birthday dinner....waiting for your report. 

 

Oh.....and love the skull sculpture there!!!

 

[Mutumbojimbo]

The current situation is looking good!!