Caribbean Day 8-10 - Miami / Fort Lauderdale

Caribbean Day 8-10 - Sea, Miami / Fort Lauderdale


After two sea days, we got off the boat and decided to take a random Shuttle service to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale.  The price seemed reasonable and we were the only ones in a large Expedition, so that worked out better than Uber or renting a car.  Once we got to the hotel, we decided to find a restaurant and headed toward the restaurant district.  Our Uber driver took us on a slightly longer route for the same price to point out all the important sights - he had lived there since childhood.   We found the restaurant but it looked too fancy so we just started walking down the street to find another one.  I had booked a bay tour, so we needed to be done in time to find the boat which was docked nearby in one of the many canals.  It started pouring rain, so we hastily decided on a Mexican restaurant.  The food was a little pricey and not the "TexMex" our kids were used to (think fundido, not queso), but it hit the spot.  The waiter explained everything to us in great detail as if this was the first time we had ever been to a Mexican restaurant in our lives: "A taco is a fried crispy tortilla with meat and lettuce and tomato and cheese."  "Oh, like taco bell?"  Anyway the food was good and then we headed to find the boat. 



The tour was a privately operated boat with just us and two other people.  I thin they did dinner cruises and you could bring your own drinks on board.  The tour was through many of hte canals that make Fort Lauderdale the Venice of the US.  Along the canals are the expensive homes and yachts of many famous people.  Our guide pointed out the interesting homes and told stories of who lived there and how the homes were designed.  It was relaxing and a nice way to wind down our vacation.  After the tour we headed back to the hotel and got some fast food dinner.  Our flight back to Austin leaves very early in the morning.



Tired Kids on the Plane

Caribbean Day 7 - Aruba

Caribbean Day 7 - Aruba



Today we are going to Aruba on a 4x4 adventure.  The company picked us up from the cruise terminal and took us a short distance where we had a short safety course and then loaded into these 12 person jeeps/safari vehicles.  Then we went through town toward the northwest side of the island where it was basically a rock mountain.  Despite having a tiny trail, the vehicle sort of had to make it's own way over the very rough terrain.  It was a thrilling, jarring ride to the top and then a slippery slidy ride to the rest point on the other side.  Glenn had a bad back, so stayed on the ship with Michelle to get some medical attention - it's a good thing - he would have been in major pain if he had gone.  On the way, we blew out TWO tires on the vehicle and just kept going. 

They repaired the tires at the rest stop while we made our way down some stairs to a beach area with a natural tide pool.  Getting in the pool was a little tricky climbing over the rocks, but once inside, it was nice.  The pool is a about 50 feet across and the wave slam into it from the other side and you can get sprayed.  You can also jump off some of the rocks into the pool.  We had a great time there. 



After we climbed back up the steps and the vehicle was repaired, we made our way to the Natural bridge - a rock bridge formation that was nearby.  We stayed there for a few minutes and got refreshments.  It started raining a little, mostly just sprinkles and we got back in the 4x4 and went to the abandoned gold factory.  This is a ruined mill for gold processing - you basically just climb around in the ruins in the rain and that's about it - 10 min tops.  Then we drove through the rest of the island looking at the narrated sights including a unique rock formation and then headed back to the depot. 










Once we got back to the cruise port, the kids went back on the ship to find friends and Shellie and I went to buy souvenirs at the shops.  We spotted a Casino and went in to try our luck.  As usual, Shellie hit a jackpot in the first five minutes - like $300 - and then we took our winnings and went home.  The next two days are just at sea heading back to Miami.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caribbean Day 6 - Curaçao

Caribbean Day 6 - Curaçao





Today when we arrived in Curaçao, outside our balcony we had a parade of ships and very low flying helicopters.  I was wondering if some famous person was being escorted.  It was quite a show and we got some cool helicopter pictures as they flew by the cruise ship.

US Coast Guard ship and Helicopter

Cruise Port

Old Fort Wall

Curaçao is part of the ABC islands, just north of Venezuela (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) and is a Dutch colony.  There are lots of evidences of Dutch culture here, which were familiar to me from living in the Netherlands for part of the Summer 1989.  We didn't plan a fancy excursion here, either, just take us to the beach and let us relax.  We walked from the ship to the right to an old fort which has been converted into a shopping center and hotel area.  We shopped and has a couple beers and hung out for about an hour. 

Bix shopping for BIG Backpacks



Glenn went BIG shoe shopping

Then we got a great cab driver who suggested Mambo Beach.  This place was great.  It had a nice sand beach (chairs cost extra), lots of shops, and a huge tidepool (think 300+ yards/meters long).  You could swim to the rock retaining wall and they also had a big floating barge to swim to and jump off.  We spent several hours here drinking, relaxing, and enjoying the water.  There were nearby places to stay also, with their own private beaches. 



Ma'am don't stand on the paper
mache decorations

Our same cab driver picked us back up at the designated time and took us to a place to eat which was walking distance to the ship.  This place had several restaurants in the same outdoor complex and we chose an Italian place called Dal Toro because they had a burger for Bix.  They also made their own pizza in a big stone oven and had a wide selection of pasta.  Most of us got the Italian food which was really good.  The table was right on the ocean and we saw a huge eel swimming right by the table.  The waitstaff were really excellent and I'd definitely recommend it.



After dinner, we walked back to the ship, but to get there, we had to cross the inland ship channel, which you do by taking the Queen Emma floating bridge.  This is a huge bridge that is "parked" alongside the channel's shore/boardwalk to let ships pass.  Then the driver drives one end of the bridge over to the other side to let people walk across.  This is not a small bridge - it is 548 feet long and about 30 feet wide, with a lighted arbor at night.  It was a really cool thing to see and the perfect ending to our great day in Curaçao.  We intend to go back for a longer stay.

 

 

 

The trademark pastel buildings of Willemstad

 

 

 

 

People of Curaçao love baseball - I remember their team in the Little League World Series

Caribbean Day 5 - Dominican Republic

Caribbean Day 5 - Dominican Republic



Today we spent the day at the port of La Romana, Dominican Republic. 


We really didn't find much in the way of excursions, so we decided to go to the new Old Town called Altos de Chavón.  Basically, this place is a town that was built in the 1980's to look like an old 16th century village.  It is built on an overlook of the Chavón River which is a pretty view. 











They have artisans and a small museum there, but there's really not much to do other than shop.  We had a light lunch which was pretty good and then took the tour bus back to the ship.  We heard some people went into town and it was kind of dicey so you might want to avoid that. 

Dominicans love their baseball

There were a couple of other water-based excursions to an island and rafting the River.  Those might have been better options.  Bix went to the DR last year and did dune buggy driving which was really fun, he said.  He might have been in a different port. We had some other friends who spent a week there and they went to Saona Island which they enjoyed.  There are many golf courses, but I didn't see any golfers. One weird thing we did see is a guy riding a horse on the golf course - like galloping full speed. 

 

 

 

 

Caribbean 2018 - Day 4

Day 4 - Grand Turk




Today we had our first stop in Grand Turk.  I didn't see much too Grand about it.  Very small island with a little port with some shops.  Our plan is to just get on a catamaran, go snorkeling and to the beach and get back on the ship around noon.

The catamaran was very smooth.  I get seasick easily, but on this one it did not bother me at all.  When we got to our destination they provided instructions on the protocol for hand signals and we got in the water.  The snorkel site was at the edge of a huge underwater cliff known as The Wall.

You are snorkeling in about 30 feet of water and then suddenly there is no bottom.  (There actually is a bottom, but it is so far down you can't see it).  According to the article the bottom goes down 7000 feet (over a mile).  It was really disorienting if you snorkel under the water - you lose your bearings and don't know which way is up - slightly dangerous.  Luckily I made it back alive.





After snorkeling, we got back on the boat and even though it was only 10am, it was time for the rum punch party.  I was still concerned about seasickness so I didn't partake, but Michelle and Shellie got their drink on.  We stopped at a beach along the shoreline of Grand Turk and spent about 45 minutes drinking more rum punch and playing in the surf.  It was fun and we got back on the catamaran to go home.  We hit the dock by about 11am and  were back on the boat by noon.  We were able to eat boat food - Bix recommends the tacos at the Blue Iguana - and then we relaxed the rest of the day.  Tomorrow we will go to the Dominican Republic.

 

 

Caribbean/Miami - Day 2 and 3

Day 2/3 - Cruise at Sea

I returned the car in the morning which was a hassle - there are no normal lots in South Beach, just a storefront, so I had to find a spot down the block then go to the storefront, then I had to get the car and the sole employee had to leave the store to put the car away.  Took way longer than expected (and I forgot to gas it up), but luckily the dropoff was only two blocks from the hotel, so Shellie and the kids checked out while I was screwing with that.

Miami's South Beach, from the ship

We got to the port just ahead of Michelle and Glenn, earlier than our projected time, and they joined us in line.  Simple procedure to give porters the bags and just head into the terminal.  In no time, we were on the ship.  We are sailing on the Carnival Vista, the newest and biggest ship to date, however our fist impression (and last) was that this ship sucks.  It's very compartmentalized.  For example, the atrium only goes three stories, unlike most ships where the atrium is very grand with glass elevators that go to the top.  Also, getting around is more complicated with more corridors.  I think part of this is due to the IMAX on board (which we never saw, but takes up massive space). 

Shellie and Michelle get crazy at dinner

Our rooms were adjacent on the 11th floor near the pool, which we thought was going to be noisy (wasn't) and cheaper (wasn't).  Adjoining rooms also only house three (3) beds instead of four (4) so, there was no bed for Brooke.  We booked 3 and 3 for the rate, but planned to sleep 4+2, but we didn't realize the cabin only had one bunk per room also.  It was actually a big hassle to have Brooke on Michelle's room instead of ours for charge reasons.  Never again.






The first two days are just at sea.  So we spent them just getting to know the boat and watching some shows.  Then we are in port four consecutive days - Grand Turk, La Romana Dominican Republic, Curacao, and Aruba.  Then two more days at sea to get home.

Miami/Caribbean - Day 1 - Miami

Day 1 - This trip is going to be the first trip with my sister, Michelle, since we were kids, so I'm really looking forward to it.  We are going to Miami, then taking a cruise to four places I haven't been.  Dominican Republic (Bix went last year), Grand Turk, Curacao, and Aruba.

Prep:  We took a LATE flight into Fort Lauderdale (FLL) instead of into Miami to get a better airfare.  It's only a short 30-45 drive down I-95 to the Miami area.  We took an Uber right to the hotel and checked in to the Confidante on Miami Beach using our Hyatt points.  The plan was to get into town two days before the sail date to see Miami and to have an easy trip to the cruise port on the morning of the cruise. So day one starts tomorrow.

In the morning, we determined what we wanted to go see. We definitely wanted to see South Beach.  My sister is in another hotel with her husband Glenn and they are staying in South Beach.  Michelle has been to Miami many times, so she knew where she wanted to stay.  We decided to rent a car for this day because we expected to be seeing a number of things in the island and in Miami, and parking seemed pretty easy, so it was the better solution.

We had breakfast at the hotel, which is a popular spot even for locals and people not staying there. 
Then we walked around the grounds and out to the beach.   Pretty nice play to stay.


We started the day by driving to the south end of the island (aka South Beach).  We found a parking garage and headed to see the beautiful wide beach.  It was really hot, so we just did a quick look and did not plan to spend a lot of time there / playing in the water.  Instead we headed back to the main street and hit a bar which served huge expensive drinks and watched people go by.  Miami South Beach is a freak show, so people watching is pretty good here. 







We circled the block, bought some souvenirs and got some needed AC, and headed to lunch at the Sugar Factory.  Like everything in South Beach, Sugar Factor is expensive, but the food is good and the drinks were insane (some were smoking, some had gummies or candy on it, etc).







After Sugar Factory we decided to head back to Fort Lauderdale to find the Casino and horse races.  We go to Gulfstream before the first races and were able to learn how to bet and saw the horses parade before the first race.  Then we headed to the stands and watched about four races. 

There's a lot of stores and things to do right around the track, so we ate at a burger place (which is not there anymore (update 2019)).  Shellie wanted to go to the Casino, so we went to the relatively small casino for a little while and I lost my money and Shellie won, so that was normal.  We had dropped the kids off at the bowling Alley, but they couldn't bowl unsupervised, so they just played video games.



Jai Alai beer by Cigar
City Brewing - had it in
Miami and can get it
many places in Austin

We headed to another casino to meet up with Michelle and Glenn, but they had other plans.  One of my goals to see in Miami was a live Jai Alai game and so we found out that the Magic City casino had live Jai Alai so we headed there.  There are other places in Miami that also have it.  It's cool because you can bet on the players to win, place, or show just like horse racing.  After we understood the rules, we actually won a quinella in the fourth game and won almost $200 on a $2 bet.  The kids loved it and Shellie got to go to the Casino. 

Kids and me at the
Marlins game

Marlins Park

After the casino, we got the worst Taco Bell bean burritos ever at the Little Havana Taco Bell and then we headed back to the hotel to park the car before the Marlins game.  We chose to take an Uber to the game, so we could drink beer.  We headed to the park around 6pm - tickets were easy to come by; the Marlins aren't very good this year.  The park is pretty modern, built near little Havana in downtown Miami.  Bix bought a hat and we watched most of the game, and as is our custom, we left a little early to beat the rush and catch a ride home.  The Phillies won 2-0. 

Bix and I hung out at the pool for a little bit.  Tomorrow we head out on the cruise.



Hops 4 Teacher beer
at the hotel

View of Miami at night from Marlins Park