Port Canaveral-Forida

Port Canaveral – 9^th June

Today Doreen and Geoffrey parted company – Doreen going on a modest three hours wildlife pontoon lagoon cruise and Geoffrey on a grueling eight hour Kennedy Space Centre and NASA close up tour.

Doreen’s cruise was very relaxing and enjoyable. She saw manatees, dolphins, pelicans, egrets, herons, osprey and many others. Unfortunately Doreen was only armed with the small camera, so spot the manatees!

From the ship we could see the Kennedy Space Centre, so it was only a short coach drive to the Centre.

Geoffrey then transferred to a second coach which drove around the 2,000 acre site passing the buildings where the Shuttles were constructed (the tallest single story building in the world). We then went past the launch pad 39B which is being dismantled and on to 39A with the Atlantis Shuttle in place ready for its 8^th July launch. (This will be the final Shuttle launch). We passed the Shuttle landing strip on the way back to the Control Centre, where we went to a Shuttle simulator to experience a Shuttle launch, complete with sound, vibration, and G-Forces (an exhilarating experience).

Geoffrey had no time to take breath as we were whisked off to go to the Apollo Centre, where we were taken through a series of exhibits witnessing footage of the launch of Apollo 9. After this we walked around and looked at the actual Saturn rockets, space capsules etc. and a very quick lunch. Geoffrey also watched a phenomenal 3D film about the Shuttle and repairs to the Hubble telescope. Again a fantastic experience.

Geoffrey returned to the ship exhausted, but he enjoyed sitting on our balcony with Doreen watching a fabulous sunset. The perfect end to a perfect day.

Port Everglades-Florida

Port Everglades – 8^th June

Today marked the start of three hectic shore days in Florida and South Carolina and our eight hour tour was Millionaires Miami and the Everglades. After a short coach ride we arrived at the Everglades National Park for an exhilarating airboat ride through the shallow waters.

On the short ride we spotted lots of wildlife, including alligators, herons, ibis and many others.

We re-boarded our coach for an hours drive into Miami, stopping on route for a Cuban lunch. On arrival in Miami we got on a luxury cruise liner for a two hour cruise around Biscayne Bay to view where the rich and famous live. It was interesting to see how the other half live and Doreen picked out the house she wanted when our Lotto millions arrive, it was priced at $26 million.

Geoffrey always kept his eye open for the local wildlife!!!!

After this we boarded our coach for a drive to Miami Beach, along Ocean Drive, which is featured in many films and tv shows (Nicola CSI Miami) also this area is renowned for its art deco architecture and upmarket restaurants.

Cozumel-Mexico

Cozumel – 6^th June

Doreen and I went our separate ways today. Doreen stayed in Cozumel and walked round the shopping area and I went to Tulum, to see the ruins of the ancient Mayan civilization. This involved a 45 minute ferry trip to the Mexican mainland and an hours coach ride.

Unfortunately the weather was showery but warm (we are in the middle of their rainy season). The trip was interesting with nice views of the coastline. The photos do not show the area at its best because of the weather.

After walking three hours around the ruins we returned to Playa del Carmen where Geoffrey found the nearest bar for some welcome liquid refreshment (dos beer).

Doreen, after spending five hours in town sat on the balcony and watched the ferry return.

Limon-Costa Rica Part 2

Limon 4^th June - Tortuguera Canals

This visit to the Canals is a repeat of the trip we did last year, when we visited the Caribbean. We were looking forward to spotting wildlife and we certainly were not disappointed. No sooner had we started the boat trip we encountered a two toed sloth at close quarters,

Following this we spotted many different types of birds including heron, egret, kingfisher, and even a toucan.

We then spotted a male Jesus Christ lizard (the fastest lizard in the world that can walk on water) and his girlfriend following which we visited a tree, which this year only had four long nosed bats on it.

The highlight of the canal trip was spotting three of the four variety of monkey found in Costa Rica. They were the Spider Monkey, the Howler Monkey and the “chip” something monkey, which was smaller monkey and had a white face - it was known as the local trouble maker. Unfortunately the monkeys moved so fast through the trees that Geoffrey was unable to capture them on camera, other than a silhouette of a spider monkey high up in the tree.

This was a long and tiring, but exceptionally good day. Thank goodness we have a day at sea tomorrow, to recover.