Cruising the Yangtze

For some reason I was up at 3:00am – oh, I know the reason, we have a rule at our house that also seems to apply when traveling – ‘When Thomas is awake, everyone is awake.’ So since I was awake and couldn’t for the life of me get back to sleep I worked on editing photos. I am having a hard time connecting to the internet so I am unable to post pictures on Facebook or post any blogs. So I decided to type out my blog post on a Word document and them when I have internet connection I can just copy and paste them. I also did a little reading and enjoyed the quiet that seemed to engulf the ship. Once it got light outside we found our view obstructed by fog. There was also a mist hanging in the air and our balcony was damp. I took a few pictures and enjoyed the hazy morning. I got all the posts typed up and then tried the internet again. This time I got a connection but it was slow and spotty. So I got one post uploaded with pictures and then I decided to take a shower and get dressed. Once dressed I straightened up the cabin while Thomas showered. When he was done we headed out to breakfast. We had a nice relaxing meal with some friends we made on this trip – George and Mario (from Philadelphia). After about an hour we left the restaurant and returned to our room. I was able to get on the internet and upload yesterday’s blog post and also post some pictures on Facebook. After getting this done I did some reading until 9:45am when we had to participate in a muster drill. The drill lasted about 20 minutes and then we returned to our room. I decided to continue reading my book until it was time to go to lunch. So far the fog has persisted all morning and we aren’t getting any views – at times we can’t even see the shore line.

At around 12:30pm we headed to the dining room for some lunch. There was pasta and salad at the buffet and there was a small menu of items you could order. Thomas had pasta from the buffet and I had a salad. After my salad I ordered a chicken quesadilla. We didn’t eat much, we were still full from the wonderful breakfast buffet this morning. After eating we returned to the room to relax some more. There are some lectures and activities this afternoon that we may attend.

I decided to attend a lecture this afternoon at 2:15pm on the Yangtze River. It was a very informative and interesting talk. It was given by Angie who is the program director on the ship. The Yangtze is an amazing river and is important to everyday life in China. When the talk finished I returned to the cabin and worked on a few things before heading out again at 4:00pm for an afternoon tea. Just a little before 4:00pm we headed to Deck 6 and went to the afternoon tea. We had tea with finger sandwiches and some pastries. We visited with another couple and relaxed for about 45 minutes. Afterwards we returned to the room and ended up reading for about an hour and a half. Then we got ready for dinner.

At 7:00pm we made our way to the dining room and had a wonderful Chinese meal. There was a choice of four starters and seven main dishes. Everything was brought out and put on lazy susans in the middle of the table and you could take what you wanted. We tried everything and most of it was delicious – there were a couple of dishes that I didn’t really care and probably wouldn’t want to have again. Dinner lasted about and hour and a half. We then returned to the room. I took a shower and then worked on editing pictures and this blog post.

Today was a nice relaxing day but I was getting a little bored. So I am glad that tomorrow we have some shore excursions but nothing starts until 9:00am so no need to get up early. Looking forward to seeing more of China. The weather today has been overcast with a light mist and a little chilly. Tomorrow the forecast calls for a light drizzle. I am hoping that we see the sun soon.

Flight to Wuhan & Boarding the Viking Emerald

This morning we woke at 6:00am to get showered and dressed and to have our checked baggage outside our hotel room for the porters. We are flying to Wuhan where we will board the Viking Emerald. Once we had our bags outside the room we got a few other things organized and then we went down to the restaurant for breakfast. I really loved the breakfast buffet – lots of choices and all delicious. After eating breakfast we returned to our room to get any last minute things done. Once our carry on bags were packed, Thomas read and I worked on editing photos and writing blogs.

At 8:00am we went down to the lobby to meet our group. At 8:30am we left the hotel and headed to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA). Viking handled all of our flight details and Arnold handed out our boarding passes. Once we had our boarding passes we had to go through security and then make our way to Gate 63. Going through security was quick and easy. First, they checked your boarding pass and passport, then, you went through the metal detector. You didn’t have to take off shoes or belts but you did have to empty pockets and put any electronic devices in a basket. It was so easy! Then we made our way to the gate. We only had a 20 minute wait before we started boarding flight MU2506 on China Eastern Airlines [We were in seats 51AB]. The flight was to be one hour and fifteen minutes. It was a short flight but they still served us a light meal consisting of fried rice, some vegetables and a cookie. I read during most of the flight and Thomas ended up visiting with the woman sitting next to him. We landed in Wuhan at their new airport [Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH)] – it was enormous, clean and beautiful. We made our way to baggage claim but we didn’t have to handle our bags, Viking did that for us. Once all the bags had been collected we made our way to the bus. We couldn’t board the ship until 4:00pm so we had a little outing before heading to the ship.

When we left the airport it was drizzling a bit but it wasn’t bad. We were taken to Qingchuan Pavilion Scenic Area. We learned a little history about Wuhan and the park and then we had free time to explore the area. We spent about an hour at the park and then headed back to the bus so we could make our way to the port.

The line to board the Viking Emerald was short and it didn’t take long to get through security. On our way to board the ship we were greeted by drummers and a dancing dragon - a wonderful way to start the cruise. After security we checked in at the front desk (where they took our passports) and got our room keys. We were escorted to our cabin [212] and give a quick orientation. We then unpacked and organized the room and relaxed for a bit before heading out to explore the ship. At 6:15pm we left the cabin and made our way to Deck 6. We walked around checking out the areas and we went out on deck to marvel at the light display on the buildings of Wuhan. While we were doing this the ship left port and we began our cruise on the Yangtze River (the longest river in China and the third longest river in the world). We slowly made our way down to each deck, checking our the area on each one before continuing down to the next. When we reached Deck 2 we found a place to sit and relax while we waited for the dining room to open for dinner. When they open the doors we waited for the small line to clear and then we entered and found a table. It is open seating at round tables that seat eight people. We found an empty table and eventually it filled with six other people. We had a Western menu to choose from and Thomas had a beef tenderloin with vegetables and I had roasted pork. The meal was delicious and the company was enjoyable – we all raved about how Viking has everything organized and ready and all you have to do is sit back and enjoy. Around 9:00pm Thomas and I left the dining room and returned to our cabin – it had been a long day and we needed some rest. Tomorrow it is a full day of cruising as we make our way to Jingzhou.

A Day in Shanghai

After yesterday’s grueling airport and airplane adventure we arrived in Shanghai and were exhausted. Finally, around 9:30pm (Shanghai time) we went to sleep. I don’t know if I am excited, nervous, energized or whatever but I was awake at 3:30am. I couldn’t seem to get back to sleep so I started a new book (I finished my other book on the flight to Shanghai) and have already read about 35%. So at 5:15am I got up and got some things organized for the day and straightened up my suitcase and backpack. I am trying to keep things organized because we are going to be moving around a lot and we have six internal flights in China so I need to make sure everything fits and that my luggage doesn’t weight too much.

At around 7:00am we went down to breakfast. They had the most amazing breakfast buffet with traditional Chinese foods and Western foods. The choices were overwhelming. So we had a nice relaxing breakfast and prepared for the busy day ahead. We tried some fruit we had never heard of – dragon fruit and longan – they were both delicious. After eating we returned to our room to brush our teeth and wash our hands. We then gathered our things and went down to the lobby to meet with Arnold (our tour guide for the trip). Before we boarded the bus Arnold handed out the QuietVox. These are receivers with earbuds so that you can hear what he says without having to be right next to him. Then it was time to head out for a day in Shanghai.

The bus took us to Old Shanghai – what our tour guide called their “Chinatown”. We got off the bus and walked a few blocks while Arnold told us some of the history and explained the culture. He pointed out things with daily life (like hanging clothes out to dry on pipes hanging in courtyards) and architecture and adornments. It was interesting and overwhelming (so much history for thousands of years). He also stopped at a food shop and pointed out some “street food” that they pick up as they go about their day. Some of it looked delicious and some of the things I was skeptical of whether I would actually eat it. We spent about 45 minutes walking around while at the same time heading in the direction of our next destination. Eventually, we arrived at Yuyuan Garden. To get there you cross a bridge that has nine angles (they believe that ghost can only travel in a straight line and so this prevents them from crossing the bridge and the number nine is good luck). So after crossing the bridge we entered Yuyuan Garden (or Yu Garden as the locals call it). The garden was actually the home of Pan Yunduan who created the garden over his lifetime. We saw some amazing ponds filled with extremely large carp, beautiful architecture and some interesting rocks placed around the five acres. The time we spent here was relaxing and so enjoyable. After the garden we had about 40 minutes of free time to walk around and explore the area. At 11:10am we met up with the group and went back to the bus which took us to a silk embroidery gallery. At the gallery they showed us a demonstration of how the separate the silk threads and how they use different thicknesses to do the embroidery. Then we got to look around the gallery and enjoy the amazing work on display.

After the gallery we headed to a local restaurant for lunch. They served the dishes on a large lazy susan in the middle of the table and you just took what you wanted. We tried everything and we loved most of it. There were two dishes we tried but we didn’t like them at all. It was a great lunch and we enjoyed the family style sharing. Then after lunch we headed out to the Shanghai Museum. The museum had four floors of collections. We started on the fourth floor and worked our way down. We visited the collections of jade, currency, minority clothing exhibit, sculpture and furniture. They had some items in the collections that dated as far back as 4000BC. We were given an hour and 40 minutes but after an hour Thomas and I had enough. So we left the museum and went hang out on a bench outside and just people watched until it was time to return to the bus.

From the museum we headed back to the hotel. But before heading into the hotel we walked across the street to the river for a talk about The Bund which was across the river from us. Then we had some time to walk around and take some pictures. Thirty minutes later we were done and we could do whatever we wanted until 5:00pm which was dinner time. We decided to return to our room and freshen up and relax before dinner.

At 5:00pm we made our way to the eigth floor for dinner. It was a set menu of garden salad, roasted chicken with steamed vegetables and cheesecake. It was a good meal, delicious. Then at 6:30pm we met in the lobby to out to see the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe. The show lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. Some parts of the show were excellent and other parts kind of hokey. But overall it was a fun outing. It was about 9:30 when we arrived at the hotel. We finished packing and got our checked baggage ready to be put out in the morning for the porters. Time for bed so we can be ready for our flight to Wuhan in the morning.

We are Off to China!

We leave today for our Roof of the World tour with Viking River Cruises! Our alarms went off at 3:30am, we got up and dressed, did a few little things to finish up and then we loaded the car & headed for the Albuquerque Sunport. Yesterday I tried to do online check-in but I got a message we had to check-in at the airport with a ticket agent. We left the house around 4:00am and by the time we parked at Airport Parking and then took the shuttle to the airport it was 5:00am. We got checked in and found out why we couldn’t do online check-in – it was because we had to have a visa to visit China and they have to check your passport. Then we headed for security. Everything there went quickly and in no time we were at Gate B1 waiting to board our first flight to Dallas/Fort Worth airport. We only had to wait about 25 minutes before boarding and then we were off. [We were in seats 23BC]

During the flight I read (started a new book called Haunted on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase) and visited with the woman next to me. Her name was Sandra (from Belen) and she was heading to Cancun to meet up with her sister and niece. Other than that the flight was uneventful and went by quickly.

We landed at DFW at Terminal A and had to make our way to Terminal D for our connecting flight. It was a quick and easy trip on the tram and in no time we were at Gate D30 for our flight to Shanghai. As we arrived at the gate they said that boarding was delayed for about 20 minutes. Finally, we boarded our 787 for China. The plane is configured with two aisles with 3 seats on one side (A, B, C); 3 seats in the middle (D, E, F); 3 seats on the other side (G, H, I). We arrived at row 33 and there was a man in seat A, I was in seat B and Thomas was in seat C. Then suddenly the flight attendant asked the man in seat A if he wanted to move to a row with only one other person. So he moved and now Thomas and I had all three seats. We are very comfortable now!

I did a little journaling and then I watched a movie (Zoo – it takes place in Ireland during WWII). Twenty minutes into the flight they served us drinks and snacks (pretzels) and now they are getting ready to serve lunch (beef or chicken). At noon we got our lunch (salad, shrimp with noodles, bread, chicken, quinoa, carrots and an Aztec Cinnamon Bar (chocolate covered brownie with cinnamon oat crunch on top) for dessert. While eating my movie ended and I started watching Hotel Transylvania 3. The lunch was only okay – but what did I expect – it was airplane food. I finished lunch and now I am enjoying my second movie. Once the movie ended I went back to my reading and read for about two hours. Then I took a break from the book and played a couple of games on the TV screen. I quickly got bored with that and went back to reading. A half hour later they brought us more food. This time we had a ham sandwich, some chips and ice cream. While eating I started watching Priscilla Queen of the Desert. We still have about seven hours left on this flight before we arrive in Shanghai. When the movie finished I went back to reading. An hour later I finished my book. So I took a break to stretch my legs and walk around the plane and went to the bathroom. [This is the first time I have left my seat the entire flight.] When I returned to my seat I played a game for about 20 minutes and then I started watching Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

I have been pretty miserable the whole flight. My allergies are acting up and I keep sneezing, have a runny nose, my eyes itch and I have pressure between the eyes. These long flights always do me in. I took some medicine and it has helped a little but not entirely. I have not felt tired so I haven’t tried to sleep yet. And as it closer to us landing in Shanghai I guess I should just stay awake and I will really sleep well tonight. We get into Shanghai around 4:00pm and then by the time we go through customs and get to the hotel I can probably just take a shower and go to bed. We will see what happens.

After the movie I got some things organized into my backpack and cleaned up around our seats. Then they served us a quick breakfast meal and by the time we finished eating we were making our decent into Shanghai. We landed and it seemed to take forever to get to the gate and then to get off the plane. Finally, we made it to customs and passed through there quickly. Then we headed to baggage claim to get our bags. After we grabbed our luggage we found a currency exchange and got some yuan. Next we met up with the Viking representative and then were shuttled to our hotel. We are at the Fairmont Peace Hotel. It was an hour ride from the airport to the hotel. After getting checked in we went back down to the lobby to get something for dinner at the restaurant in the hotel.

We are so tired. We have taken showers and now we just want to get a good night’s sleep. We have a busy day in Shanghai tomorrow.

Arriving in Cuba

This morning is overcast and cloudy with a light drizzle. Thomas and I woke up around 6:30am and went out onto the balcony to see the beginning of the day. Today we anchored off the coast of Cuba at Cienfuegos and will be tendered onto shore for our excursions. We don't meet for our excursion until 9:00am. So we showered and dressed and then went for some breakfast in the World Café. We returned to our cabin around 8:00am and got our things ready for the day. We need our passports, visas, custom forms, ship ID card and our shore excursion tickets. Of course, I had my camera with extra batteries, our hats and sunglasses, and some toilet paper, wet wipes and hand sanitizers. We were warned that some of the public restrooms lack toilet paper and soap. So once we were ready we just did a little reading until it was time to go to the meeting area for the tender to shore.

We arrived at the Star Theater at 8:55am, were told we were in Group 6 and then we found seats to wait until we were called. At 9:05am they called our group and we made our way to Deck A and climbed aboard the tender. It was a 10 minute ride to the dock. Once on shore, we made our way through customs. First, we entered an air conditioned building where a man watched a computer screen. We noticed a camera on the wall that pointed to about head level. When we reached the computer we saw on the monitor a thermal image on the heads of the people walking through. We assume they were checking people for a fever to make sure no one was sick - not sure if that is correct or not. Then we entered a second building with agents at booths where we had to turn in our customs forms, give one half of our visa and get our passports checked. Then we went through a gate and were directed to the bus for our excursion.

On the bus, we met our guide (Letty) and headed for our first stop - Laguna Guanaroca. The bus ride lasted about 30 minutes. We parked in front of a small hut with a covered patio area. There really wasn't a parking lot, we just parked in the grass off the road. Our guide divided us into two groups and then we had to wait for a second guide to take our tour of the park. The weather was overcast and cloudy but luckily we had no rain. When the guide for our group showed up we headed out for the tour. We followed a small path for a little while. Along the way our guide pointed out a few things. We saw large ant hills along the trail and termite nests in the trees. We also saw some calabash trees (Crescentia cujete) along the trail. The tree produces a gourd like fruit that they use to make maracas. The trail led to a small dock area where we saw some small row boats with rowers. We were divided into small groups of three to a boat. So me, Thomas and Deanne got into a boat and our rower took us out into the lagoon. He paddled out to the middle of the lagoon where we saw a flock of about 26 flamingos. Our rower paddled us around the lagoon but didn't get too close to the flamingos and we were able to get some pictures. The lagoon was beautiful - surrounded by mangroves with some views of mountains in the distance. On our way back to the docks our rower took us to the edge to the mangroves and caught a small crab that was climbing up one of the trees. I loved being on the water and seeing the flamingos in the wild. Then we got off the boats and then finished the trail and returned to the patio area. When the second group returned we got back onto the bus and headed to our next destination - Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos. The drive to the botanic garden took us about 15 minutes. We stopped at a visitor center and picked up a guide for the gardens and then drove a short distance down the road. The bus stopped and we all got off and then the bus continued down the road. Our guide walked us along the road and talked about the trees and plants along the way. We learned about bamboo, different fruit trees, flowers palm trees, banyan trees and brazil nuts. After about an hour the tour ended and we returned to the bus and headed back to the port. Our drive took us abut 45 minutes and we got a tour of the outskirts of Cienfuegos and then the city itself. Most of the buildings were run down and needed a lot of TLC. You could tell that once upon a time it was a beautiful place with lots of color and splendid architecture. I loved the lagoon and gardens but would have liked to see more of the city. We made it back to the dock and boarded a tender and we were taken back to the ship.

Once back on the ship we headed to the World Café for a late lunch but it was closed so we ended up at the Pool Grill. Thomas and I had a burger and fries and we just sat and relaxed by the pool and enjoyed the afternoon. After an hour and a half we headed to our cabin where we took showers and rested for a bit. At 5:00pm we met Dave and Deanne in the Explorer's Lounge for a drink. We relaxed and talked and then at 6:00pm we headed to Manfredi's for dinner. We had reservations in this specialty restaurant (no extra charge) for a nice, special, delicious Italian meal. The meal was so good and we all enjoyed ourselves. It was a quiet, relaxing dinner that lasted two hours. After dinner Thomas and Dave went back to the cabins and Deanne and I went to the Explorer's Lounge for another drink. An hour later I was ready for some sleep.

We had a great day in Cienfuegos and a wonderful meal back on the ship. We have to be up early tomorrow for our trip to Havana so it is time to hit the pillow.

A Relaxing Day at Sea

Yesterday afternoon we left Key West and started cruising for Cuba. And today we have the entire day at sea with nothing planned. I did get up at 6:00am and go to the fitness center. I walked on the treadmill for about two miles and then went onto the jogging track and did one lap.

Wintergarden

After walking I returned to the cabin to shower and get dressed. At 8:00am Thomas and I met Dave in the restaurant for breakfast. Deanne decided to go to the World Café. After a nice breakfast I returned to the cabin to get some papers filled out - we need visas to get into Cuba so we needed those filled out as well as a customs form. We also needed to fill out a disembarkation form and an embarkation survey. It took me 30 minutes to get all that done. Then I took everything down to the guest services desk to get checked and turned in.

With all of that completed I decided to wander the ship and take pictures.

Explorer Lounge

Last night Deanne and I had a drink in the Explorer Lounge but we only saw one small area of it. So this morning I explored the entire area (both levels). I have to say that I think is the most beautiful and relaxing part of the ship. And my second favorite is the Wintergarden. I didn't get to see the entire ship but I did get a lot of pictures. Then at 11:00am we all went to the Star Theater for a lecture about Cienfuegos. It was called Port Talk - Cienfuegos. We learned a little history and a little about the culture and then we got some information about the excursions we are going on while in Cuba. The talk lasted about 70 minutes and by this time we were ready for lunch. We ate at the buffet in the World Café and just relaxed as the ship glided through the water.

After lunch we returned to the cabin, did a little reading, organized a few things and relaxed. At around 3:00pm Deanne and I headed to the spa.

We did the Nordic Bathing Ritual. This was described in the spa booklet as . . .
Bade [Bathing] - The tradition of alternating sauna bathing with cold dips or snow runs in our Nordic culture. It detoxes the body, relaxes tired muscles and boosts circulation.
And this is how it is done . . .
* Relax in the sauna
* Dip into the cold plunge
* Heat up in the sauna again
* Step into the refreshing snow grotto
* Repeat as many times as you like

It was invigorating and relaxing all at the same time. After enjoying the ritual we found a couple of lounge chairs and relaxed for a while before returning to our cabins to get ready for dinner.
Thomas and I met Dave and Deanne in the Explorer Lounge for a drink before dinner and then around 6:30pm we headed to the restaurant. Thomas had Caesar Salad, Szechuan Style Beef Tenderloin, and Walnut Cake. I had Shrimp & Corvina Ceviche, Gambas Sauté Provençal (shrimp with rice), and Maple Pecan Bread Pudding. Another incredibly delicious meal. After dinner we walked around the ship a bit and then returned to our cabin. It has been a relaxing day and now we are ready for Cuba. In the morning we dock in Cienfuegos - I am truly excited about the next three days.

Cayo Hueso, Key West, The Conch Republic

Cayo Hueso translates to 'Island of the Bones' which was what Key West was named when Ponce de Leon arrived in 1851 to find nothing but a burial ground. Later the name was changed to Key West and then for a short period of time it became The Conch Republic in protest of a blockade on US1. To get a better history of the island go to The History of Key West. So, as you can guess, today we are in Key West, Florida.

Surise

Why did the chicken cross the road?

My day started at 6:00am when the alarm went off. I got dressed and made my way to deck 2 to the jogging path. I met Dave up there and we walked a couple of miles. It was a great way to start the day and we got to see the sunrise as we walked. After completing the two miles I returned to the cabin and took a shower and got changed. Then Thomas and I met Dave and Deanne in the World Cafe for breakfast. Here there is a buffet but you can also order eggs the way you want. So we had a leisurely breakfast and made plans for the day. At around 9:00am the ship docked in Key West. To get into town we had to take a trolley. We docked at a naval base and you are not allowed to walk through or take pictures. You can only leave and enter on the trolleys and you have to show your ship card and a government photo ID. So we took a shuttle which dropped us off in Mallory Square.

"Embracing Peace" by Seward Johnson

From here we walked along Front St. for a while and then turned around and went back to where we started. Then we walked down Duval St. for a while. We just enjoyed looking at everything and went into a few shops. Around 11:15am we got back on the trolley and returned to the ship for lunch. We ate again in the World Cafe at the lunch buffet and then relaxed in our cabin for a short time before leaving the ship again - this time for a guided Trolley Tour. We were on the Old Town Trolley Tours which is one of those hop-on/hop-off tours. There are 13 stops on the tour we took. For the most part we stayed on the tour until we got to the stop for the Southernmost Point of the Continental United States. We got off the trolley and walked about three blocks to the marker. We had planned to all take a picture here but when we arrived we noticed a line that was almost two blocks long of people waiting to do the same. I just went and got a picture of the marker and then we decided to just walk along Duval St. back to Mallory Square to catch the trolley back to the ship.

The trolley driver/tour guide was extremely talkative and funny. One story he told was of the three names that Key West has had as I mentioned in the title and first paragraph. The interesting part was the name 'The Conch Republic'. It started with a blockade by the border patrol to fight illegal drugs and immigration. This was an inconvenience to tourist and Key West relied on tourism. So, to fight this they decided to secede from the United States in 1982. Of course, this only lasted a short time (only a minute), and then The Conch Republic surrendered and then demanded one billion dollars in foreign aid to rebuild their nation. You can read more about this at Our History - The Conch Republic. Their motto is "We seceded where others failed.".

Once back on the ship we went to our cabin, showered and changed for dinner and then joined Dave & Deanne for  drink in the Atrium. While having drinks the ship left Key West and we set sail for Cuba. At 6:30pm we headed for the restaurant for dinner. Tonight Thomas had the chicken and I opted for the destination menu. I had Key West Conch Chowder, Cilantro Crusted Grouper and Key Lime Pie. All were amazingly delicious! After dinner Thomas and Dave went for a walk around the ship and Deanne and I went and worked on a jigsaw puzzle and had another drink. We weren't worried about making it an early evening as tomorrow is a day at sea with nothing planned.

Sunset

We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Key West but we would have loved more time. No problem, we will plan another trip just to visit the Keys. So far the trip is definitely living up to expectations.