Cruisin' Mexico

Because of the propulsion issue, we ended up making two stops in Mexico.

A dolphin experience we watched in Costa Maya, not Cozumel where we did ours.

When I get our disposable camera developed, I'll tell you more about our first stop in Mexico: Cozumel. We started with a dolphin experience where, besides the 'normal' dolphin encounter, you also got a "pull" (hanging on to her fins) and a "push" (using a boogie board and her pushing on your feet... what a thrilling ride!) After the dolphins, it started raining really hard and getting cooler. We did walk around some Mayan sculptures, visit a Mayan hut where we sampled fresh tortillas, and watch our friends come in on their glass bottom kayak adventure. We also had a nice Mexican buffet. But, we ended the day early because of the rain and cold.

Although the cruise line put together some last minute excursions, we decided to not take any in our second port of Costa Maya. Instead, we went with our new friends - Jill and her college-age daughter, Natalie. We first visited the high-pressure shops and Alex bought some sunglasses which she needed. Then we climbed this tower. There wasn't a lot to see, but we could see our ship!

Natalie went back to the ship while Alex & Jill hung out in beach chairs and I visited the tide pools that were right there at our port! I LOVE tide pools and enjoyed exploring these. I found several chitons which are mollusks with hard plates. They are about 2 inches long.

Dozens of shells - probably hermit crabs?

 

 

A little bitty sea urchin!!! I believe this is my first in a tide pool. It was smaller than a marble!

 

 

This is what I believe is a piece of coral. It was about the size of my hand.

Gorgeous! And so fragile looking! It reminds me of a leaf skeleton.

 

 

And, a little striped fish that got caught in the tide pool.

 

 

A self-portrait by the tide pools. You can see our ship in the background!

 

 

Alex & Jill relaxing by the ocean.

 

 

After this, Jill headed back to the ship and Alex and I found two hammocks! We had the BEST time hanging out in these! I could have stayed for HOURS, but we hadn't put on sunscreen because we thought we'd just be shopping for awhile.

 

Just relaxing! (Alex loves to take angled photos... they do turn out neat!)

 

 

And, a zoomed-in view of Costa Maya from our balcony. We took that little red trolley back. You can see the flag that I took a photo of, the yellow tower (behind the orange building) that we climbed, the shops (brownish triangular roofs) where we shopped, the beach (in front of umbrellas) where I looked at tide pools, and right behind the umbrellas were the hammocks where we laid out.

We Were "Stranded in the Caribbean"

Yes, we traveled on one of the Carnival ships that experienced difficulties recently. For Spring Break, we flew to Tampa, Florida to set sell on the Carnival Legend cruise. Our 7-day cruise was to visit four places: Cozumel (Mexico); Belize; Roatan (Honduras); and Grand Cayman. However, after our first stop at Cozumel, the ship just sat there... 

 

We ended up leaving 1.5 hours later and didn't think too much of it. But, the next morning, we learned we were having "propulsion issues" and our ship was not able to go at top speed. So, instead of reaching Belize for our 2nd day on shore, we stopped for a second day in Mexico - this time in Costa Maya which is about 120 miles south of Cozumel.

After Costa Maya, we did make it to Roatan, Honduras for our 3rd day of excursions. Later that day, we were told they were unsure if we'd make it to Grand Cayman or Belize for the 4th day on shore. But, then, we got the disappointing news that we wouldn't be stopping anywhere - we were headed back to Tampa.

Carnival did compensate us for our messed up travels. We received $100 per person to spend onboard or take home. And, we received vouchers for 1/2 off our next cruise! There are guidelines, though... like it has to be 7 days or less and take place in the next 2 years.

Will we travel with them again? Maybe. Alex is eager to go on another one next year with some of her new friends. But, for now, I think we'll wait and see what happens on future Carnival cruises. I hope they get all of their problems fixed quickly!

Images of a Baltic Sea Fortress

While visiting Finland, we took a ferry tour out to the island sea fortress of Suomenlinna, "fortress of Finland." This fortress was originally built by Sweden starting in 1748. In 1808, the fortress was surrendered to Russia during the "War of Finland." And, after Finland's declaration of independence in 1917, Suomenlinna was officially a part of Finland starting in May 1918.

 

 

Part of the island fortress.

A seagull that flew alongside us during our ferry ride.

This is Neck, a Nordic water spirit. According to tradition, he lived in the sea and parents used him to scare children to keep away from the water. He could also attrack people with his magic songs. He is now a 'guide' at a museum on the island fortress.

This poster is showing the channel of Sarkaa during the Crimean War. An underwater obstruction was built here to keep ships from passing through the channel.

The fortress island has museums, shops, boat docks and more!

In this building, they were building a boat!!!

And I loved this paint-splattered floor.

There were LOTS of baby geese! Some of them as big as the mamas & papas!

And, I loved this old building...

And this one, too.

Helsinki & the Lutheran Cathedral (Finland)

We only spent one full day in Finland and most of it was on the fortress

island of Suomenlinna. But, I'll start by blogging about Helsinki itself.

This is what Helsinki, the capital of Finland, looked like as we flew in. The city is on a

peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, which is an arm of the Baltic Sea.

We arrived during the night so this was our first view of Helsinki in the morning.

We walked to our first stop of the day...

 

 

Senate Square. Helsinki was founded here in 1640 and, according to a sign, this area has been the 'centre of the city ever since.' Also, according to the sign: Finland was for centuries a part of the Swedish Kingdom. After the war of Finland in 1809, Finland was ceded to Russia as an autonomous Grand Duchy. Helsinki became the capital in 1812. The city centre was rebuilt and gradually assumed its present look. Finland became independent in 1917.

This morning, bands were practicing for a concert this evening. It was

for the "2012 Helsinki: European Athletic Championships."

Looking over Senate Square is the Lutheran Cathedral which was finished in 1852.

It was built as a tribute to the Grand Duke, Nicholas I, the Tsar of Russia.

(The previous photo of the stage was taken from the top steps shown here.)

 

The cathedral was built in neoclassical style which can be recognized by:

tall columns, symmetrical shapes, triangular pediments, and domed roofs.

The gorgeous organ!!!

 

That evening... the concert was ON and the crowds were OUT!

Paris: La Defense

Our last hotel in Paris was the Hilton in La Defense, the business district of Paris. It is also at one en of the historical axis ("Axe historique") or the Triumphal Way ("Voie Triomphale").

image from Wikipedia

At the other end is the Louvre. And, in between are places such as the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, and the Luxor Obelisk.

The large monument in La Defense is this large, cube-shaped arch known as the Grand Arche which was completed in 1989. It was built as a monument to humanity and humanitarian ideals. My brother and daughter are climbing the many steps in this picture!

And, here's a picture of the Grand Arche from the distance. On the left side, close to the arch, is a mall called The Four Times (or "Les Quatres Temps"). We shopped and ate here as our hotel is just to the right of this monument.

And here's the view (zoomed in) from the top of the steps of the Grand Arche. You can see down the busy street of Champs-Elysees to the Arch de Triomphe.

On our last morning in France, we split up and I took a photo walk while the others shopped. Here's a better view of Champs-Elysees and the Arche de Triomphe. I really wish we would have went to the top of the Arche and looked back towards La Defense!

A very neat looking water-fall.

 

 

An interesting sculpture.

 

 

A self-portrait (& I did do a little shopping... for sweets! Ha!)

 

 

I played with my camera's settings... a black & white with the colorful fountain in front and the Grand Arche in the back.

 

 

Images of buildings in a building (in b&w).

 

 

Another self-portrait with another setting...

 

 

And the "Carrousel; Jules Verne". This was so amazing with the beautiful artwork!

 

 

I tried to read it when I got home, but had trouble sticking with it. I loved these images though!

 

And, with that, we left Paris... and France...

A Paris Cruise: Bridges & More

We got caught in the rain on the day we decided to take a cruise down the Seine. In Paris, there are 37 bridges over the Seine. Each is unique and we enjoyed seeing a handful of them.

But, before we get to the bridges, here's a view of the Eiffel Tower on this rainy day.

 

 

And this is Pont Alexandre. (Pont is French for 'bridge'.) It was built between 1896 and 1900 for a world's fair. It is named for Tsar Alexander III of Russia and his son, Nicholas II, laid the first stone. It features art nouveau lamps and Nymphs of the Neva with the arms of Imperial Russia (double- headed eagle). On the other side would be Nymphs of the Seine with the arms of France.

 

 

The golden winged horse is also part of Pont Alexandre. The building with the glass roof is known as the Grand Palais (which we did not visit). This was also built for the Universal Exposition, or world's fair, of 1900. Today, it often hosts art exhibitions.

 

 

This building was also finished in 1900. It was originally a terminis for the Paris-Orleans Railway. It now houses the Musee d'Orsay which we visited on a different day.

 

 

A couple on the bridge of "love locks" which we walked across on another day.

I think this image looks so Parisian! Maybe they were putting on their own lock?

 

This is Pont Neuf, which means "new bridge". However, it is actually the oldest bridge crossing the Seine in Paris! King Henry III laid its first stone in 1578 and it was completed in 1607 under Henry IV! There are almost 400 of these faces on the bridge. Each of them unique! They are called "mascarons" which is Italian for "mask."

 

 

More mascarons on Pont Neuf.

 

 

This bridge is the Pont Saint Michel which was built by the request of Napoleon III.

 

 

A view of Notre Dame from the 'back' showcasing the flying buttresses.

 

 

This bridge is the Pont de Bir - Hakeim which has two levels - a lower one for vehicles and pedestrians and an upper one for the Metro. I believe this statue is called "Labor"

by Jules-Felix Coutan.

 

 

This is the same bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

 

 

And, after we got off the boat, we came across this... the "Flamme de la Liberte"! It is an exact replica of the flame held by the Statue of Liberty which was, of course, a gift to the United States from France!