February 5 - Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

I have been to this port before, when I went through the Panama Canal in 2019. The only interesting excursion was up to Antigua, Guatemala, which is an old colonial town. It was a 5 hour tour and 3 hours were spent getting there and back, so I elected not to go.

My friend and I decided we would just wander around the port. We were greeted by a band under the watchful eye of the leopard. I found out they would stamp my passport so I ran back onto the ship to retrieve my secondary passport, as RC had my primary.


We then headed over to the local Jade museum. It wasn't the one that Mary Lou Ridinger (Mayan jade hunter) runs in Antigua. However, it was good enough for me and we got to watch her "Lost Jade of the Mayans" video and we didn't have to pay for the excursion. I was surprised jade comes in a variety of colors, based on what other minerals it encounters on the way to the surface. Translucent jade it the most valuable.
        


I also found out according to the Mayans, I am a Kej or a deer. It is kind of like their astrological signs and based on your birth date. Kej symbolizes the four cardinal directions and elements. It represents the four pillars that hold up the sky and earth, the forces that can change the destiny of humanity. It is the guardian of nature, the keeper of balance between humans and mother Nature. We are intelligent and charismatic and quickly adapt to changes in our lives to turn them in our favor. 

Then it was off to a local restaurante for a cerveza 

     


The captain announced the seas are going to be rough from 2:00am till 9:00am, tonight on our way to Cabo. I can't wait


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

April 7 - Forbidden City, Beijing, China

Image
After 40 years, I finally made it to China! And I'm going to walk on the Great Wall. Wohoo! But first we are going to The Forbidden City. We ported in Tianjin, and were greeted with a heartfelt welcome from the Chinese government.  They provided entertainment, including the revered Dragon Dance (the dancers in blue), which I caught on video.  And to no surprise and they caught everything on CCTV.  As I was watching the entertainment, the drone was literally in my face. And later when I headed out on the excursion, the film crew followed me. If you see me, please forward me the link.  It was quite smoggy in Tianjin, so my pictures may be a little blurry. We found out later that the Chinese government moved all smog producing factories out of Beijing and into Tianjin, to clean up the air for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. It was a 3+ hour drive to Beijing. We were lucky that we didn't arrive yesterday as it was a day a remembrance. It is a day when all Chinese visit...
Read more

December 27 - King Neptune's Equator Crossing Cerimony

Image
We passed the equator on December 25 th ; however, King Neptune was a little busy. So, he arrived today to commemorate our Crossing of the Equator. Our Cruise Director, Joff, emceed the ceremony and welcomed King Neptune and his wife, Amphitrite, on behalf of the crew and passengers.   The line-crossing ceremony is conducted as a sort of admittance into the ‘Court of Neptune.’ This ritual is also a way of appreciating the prowess of the cruisers who are able to brave the uncertainties and dangers of the sea. A cruiser who is relatively new or has not crossed the equator is termed as a Pollywog. To be more precise with the colloquial term, the inexperienced cruisers are termed as ‘Slimy Pollywogs’ who are not yet adept with the ways of the sea. On the other hand, the cruiser who have crossed the Equator are initiated as ‘Trusty Shellbacks’ into the court of Neptune. We found out we had scoundrels on board who had crimes against the guests and Neptune's realm and they were brought fo...
Read more

September 10 - The Party is Over, Time to Head Home

Image
It's over, I'm all packed.  Hello Miami, we're back, right where we started from.  There was a great homecoming with lots of decorations and music.  And we can't forget the certificates. One for completing the Fourth Segment, and one for completing the Ultimate world cruise.  I had to laugh when I saw on Facebook the Activities Team stole the decorations and posed for us.  My Condo never looked better and my fridge and liquor cabinet was fully stocked. Which was great, because I wasn't ready to drive, yet. Two hours after arriving home, it looked like a bomb went off in my condo, as I attempted to unpack. No pictures because as of a week later, I'm still unpacking
Read more