Fort Lauderdale

By now I am running out of enthusiasm to write about the last week as our holiday is almost over and it seems to have gone by in a blur. If I don't write this now I will lose all motivation so for the last hour on our flight from Ft Lauderdale to San Fran I will give my impressions.

We disembarked from our lovely ship & left our lovely cabin with much reluctance on the Friday. Nicki & Richard made the hair raising trip from their house to the port to meet us which was great.  It's always lovely to see a familiar face on the other side of customs, even better when you haven't seen them for almost 3 years.  They took Mum & Shirene back to the house we had hired while Jon, Malcolm & myself went to pick up our rental car.

Ft Lauderdale is very flat so it's difficult to get your bearings as there are no landmarks.  Lucky the streets are in a grid pattern but even so it's confusing in which direction we are heading and with everything back to front it took a long time to get the hang of it.  It's also very expansive.  The roads are long so if you go anywhere it's like "travel 5 miles north then turn right and travel 10 miles east then turn left.....' There seems to be no heart to the city with shopping malls scattered all over the place.  Most houses must have been designed by the same architect who also happened to like semi circular driveways.  I had the immpression it would be like the Gold Coast.  There were parts that were similar like the canals and some of the beautiful houses on some of the canals and a few high rises but that was where the similarity  ended. 

The first day was spent doing some basic shopping then we went to a BBQ that night to where Nicki was staying which was a half hour drive that turned into an hour with the heavy rush hour traffic.  Thank god for GPS is all I can say.  We met the brides family there and a couple of the guests as well as having a wonderful BBQ, first normal meal we had had for a long time.

Next day we meet up with Nicki, Richard & Rose down on Fort Lauderdale beach just to say we had been to the beach.  Had a looooong lunch, which was very nice once it arrived and headed back after them to go to Williams house where he was staying. On the way we got distracted by a market that was being held that weekend down Las Olas Blvd so we had a stroll through that instead.  By the time we had seen all that it was time to go home.

Sunday was the bucks party.  This is the day Shirene, Nicki & I had been looking forward to as it meant the boys would be away so the girls could play.  We all meet at Williams place where, by this time Tom, Kate & Emma had all arrived. Poor Emma had only just arrived at 5.30 that morning after a very long flight from NZ but she still got dragged away for the hens do, what a trooper.  The boys were picked up by a black beast, a big black party vehicle is all it can be descibed as with a pole in the middle.  Not sure what that was for.  Tom organised for all the blokes to go to a football game down in Miami so they were carted away in this bus, not to be seen again until early evening and all the worst for wear.

The girls took the bride away to a flash hotel where they swum and lay in the sun all day.  That left the 4 Reid girls to hit the streets of Las Olas Blvd for some serious shopping.  We inspected the inside of each shop thoroughly and in one I finally found the dress of my dreams and one suitable for the wedding.  I thought to soften the blow for Jon, I had better buy him something too so he couldn't growl at me so I picked him up something he had seen the day before & really wanted.

That night Steve & Mary arrived in the middle of a big thunderstorm but fortunatly for them, just in time for dinner!

Monday was the air boat adventure on the Florida Everglades  Something I had always wanted to do ever since watching Gentle Ben. Unfortunately, there was a nasty 24hr bug going around & I got it that morning so I couldn't enjoy it to the fullest.  At one point I thought I would be feeding the local alligators a bit of burley but I managed to hold out until the carpark, where it just couldn't be helped.  As the week went on I think just about everyone got this bug, not many were spared so at least I wasn't alone.

That night we went to the brides parents place for a lovely soirée by the pool to meet all the guests coming to the wedding and dine on little delightful nibbles that must have taken Catherine, mother of the bride, days to prepare.

Tuesday was the big day and full of mystery. We had only been told the night before the address we were all to meet up at but we suspected it was not the end venue.  Luckly it was not until 5pm which gave us all day to go and have our hair & nails done and relax a little bit by the pool before jumping into the taxi at 4 for our mystery date.

The address was at the Hllton Hotel which is on the riverbank.  Moored on this river was a enormous boat looking like it was all decked out for a wedding. Here was the surprise.  It was all aboard by 5.45pm and we were ushered to the top of the boat which was open but did have a roof over 3/4s of the deck.  A bar was one end and all the seats were lined up facing the back and a large white horseshoe shaped alter.  The sides were decked in white netting with little fairy lights entwined around the rails.

The bride arrived up the stairs looking absolutely gorgeous in her over one shoulder white slimline dress, roached to the side, hair tied up and a glow that lite up her face.  The service was short but they both looked so happy and in love it almost bought a tear to my eye!  We were then lead down the stairs , passed the middle deck to a lower deck that we hadn't seen but it almost took our breath away.  It was decorated like a fairy wonderland, the tables decked in red, softly lite by flower lights, our names were on little white boxes with a flower on top and sugared almonds inside with a fan to one side for the women in a white net bag.  The attention to detail was amazing and made the whole experience quite exceptional.  Food was plentiful and extermely filling then there was time for a quick dance before docking again after 5 hours of cruising the canal, seeing the sun go down and the bridges go up to allow us under, drinking, eating, dancing and seeing my baby nephew get married.

When we were on the cruise we wondered how William was going to be able to top that, but somehow he managed to do it!!

The next day we all met up again for the last time for a white BBQ where we all had to wear white.  On the way we stopped at a swap meet that Jon had eyed up the day before.  It didn't look much at first glance but once we found the building and went inside it was enourmous.  It just seemed to go on and on.  It was like a Paddys market and even tho most of it seemed like junk there was the odd little treasure stashed around that needed to be hunted out.

The day started good but about an hour before the end of the BBQ the heavens opened up and down came torrential rain which sent everyone flying. A shame to bring the party to a close but most of the guests including my sister & all nephews & nieces were off to Orlando that afternoon so after a sad goodbye we all packed up and left.  Our reunion was all too quick and over before we knew it. 

Our final day we thought we had better go and see Miami after coming all this way we had to at least say we went to Miami beach.  The weather wasn't great, very overcast and sporadic rain but off we headed.  I say again, thank god for the GPS even tho we made a couple of turns that took us on the scenic route we finally managed to find Miami beach and walk the walk where all the beatuiful people go.  We actually made it to South Beach which is the Art Deco district, most of the buildings and hotels where lovely Art Deco and very reminiscent of Napier.  Apparently it  looks even better at night.  

After a quick romp on the beach and a slower walk around the shops and an even slower lunch we made it back to the car just before the rain started in earnest & drove back along the beachside all the way until almost home.  Then it was the scary task of packing all we had bought back into our tiny cases and eat & drink everything we had left before packing up in the morning and making the first leg of our sad journey back home.

Half Moon Cay

Don't make the mistake of many and pronounce it 'Kay'. To save all arguments, take it from me it is definitely pronounce 'Key'.  But no matter how you say it, this little island in the Bahamas is indeed an island paradise.  It belongs to the shipping company, or at least they have a 99 year lease on it and worth every penny.  I think they are slowly developing it with lovely cabanas that can be hired for the day for a mere $3,000 (cheap if you had a few people chip in), walking paths, a few shops and bars and a big BBQ area with lots of covered huts scattered amound the vegetation where you can sit and eat the huge lunch they dish out.  The sand is silky white and the water is the most aquamarine blue you have ever seen with crystal clear clarity along with a pleasent 28 deg temperature and enough salt to make an elephant float.

There is not much else I can say about this place except that we spent a few glorious hours here, floating in the water feeling we had not a care in the world.  It even turned my water hating "don't get my hair wet' sister into a water baby and that is REALLY saying something.  Well, at least she got her swimmers on and went in a couple of times.  To her that is being a water baby.

If this is what the Bahamas is like then it is definitely the place for me to be. 

Cartagena

We had our day all sorted out. Eta at Cartagena (Cart-a-hane- a) was 12pm so we were going to have a leisurely morning, late breakfast, had a couple of lectures lined up and was going to write up about Panama. The sun rose early so I sat up in bed and looked out the window. There seemed to be a lot of boats around and I could see land.  The next thing we knew was we were docking in port. We went in nose first & I thought the bow was going to go straight through the containers In front. This was 6.30am by now, almost 6 hours earlier than expected.  What on earth was going on.  It wasn't until after 8am that it was finally explained to us that there had been yet another medical emergency overnight so he had to put his foot down on the accelerator and hoon into port to get rid of them.

It was a real bonus for us as we were only meant to be there for 5 and a half hours but now we had the whole day, how good is this. After a quick breakfast we were ready to get out there and see the city. I had read in my notes that even tho kidnapping and murder rates had dropped, they still remained high and it was best to stick to the main tourist trails. This didn't seem too comforting but we thought if we stuck together we would be fine.

The first surprise of this port was the actual port. We caught the free shuttle to the port building which was a lovely big duty free shop with lots of souvenirs and things to buy. We didn't delay here as we wanted to spend as much time in town as we could so we walked through to the other side of the building.  It was like walking out into the jungle book. Here there were large fig trees, tropical plants and exotic birds flying everywhere. There were brightly coloured macaws, toucans, flamingos, rabbits, red squirrels, deer, iguanas, peacocks and other unidentified creatures just flying or roaming around free. We had spent lots of money and time trying to find all these animals and now here they were for free in plentiful supply, unbelievable. This is the only port I have ever seen with this type of animal and garden display.

As there was another cruise ship in port we were fighting the hordes of milling people & trying to break out to find a taxi driver to take us into town.  It is walkable but with the heat & humidity it's really not advisable. We were touted by a taxi/tour guide to take a 2 hour sightseeing trip around the city and as there didn't seem to be much other option we agreed.  Trouble was he needed 12 people and even tho we helped to make up almost half he had to sell the other seats before we left.  Unfortunately he did manage to sell them to some more annoying Americans who's accents were starting to drive us mad.  Anyway we were finally off.  The tour was to show us a market in the new part of the city then take us for a walking tour in the old city then finally a photo stop at the fort on the hill before returning to the ship.  Our plan was to get off in the old city and have a wander around & make our own way back.

So, first stop was at the 'market' in town.  We pulled up outside an expensive looking jewelry shop & he said that as there was no parking & this spot was reserved for customers only so please do him a favour and go & look in the shop, we didn't have to buy. So we were all hearded into this shop 'just to look'. The hard sell came from the proprietors within.  We escaped as soon as we could and started looking for the rest of the market. It wasn't what we thought a market to be, just a lot of emerald shops along a road  with street vendors selling hats, tablecloths & other tourist ic junk from their stands. We walked around the whole block and it was all the same.  If you were looking to buy quality emeralds then this is the place you really need to come to as they are in plentiful supply and reasonably priced.  If you didn't want to buy emeralds then there was not much else.  They really did hassel you to come into their shops to look too.  

We did find one shop that was lovely & cool, didn't hassel you and had a variety of nice souvenirs and packets of Coloumbian coffee to buy as well as to drink.  As we were the first lot there because all the other tours did the old city first, we had the shop to ourselves which was great. The other thing you can do while there is to hold a sloth for $2 should you so wish.  I wouldn't have minded except we were warned not to touch them due to the multitudes of parasites that dwell in the fur.

Next stop was to an Emerald museum.  The bus pulled into a small car park then a big metal gate was shut behind us.  Jon & Malcolm both managed to escape before the gates were closed, there was no way they were going in there!  It was interesting as we did a little tour of where they were all working at cutting the gems then through a museum and mock up of the gem mines in the mountains and cases of old artifacts and gems found in the past.  Then last, of course, was the jewellery shop where you could purchase the finished product, all glittering & looking lovely under the lights and glass cases, just in case you missed buying them at the first stop.

The third stop was to the old town at the dungeons.  This use to be the city jail but has since been turned into a truely colourful market. The old cells are now shops filled to the brim with brightly coloured clothing & wares. There were also very colourful women all dressed up in the local costumsof  bright yellow dresses and scarves wrapped around on top of their heads to carrying the huge baskets of fruit or goods.  They weren't selling anything out of the baskets, instead they were selling a photo oppurtunity of themselves.  For a mere $1 you could have your photo taken beside them, where they will hold out the side of their dress to get the full effect and smile sweetly at the camera. The smile disappears fairly quickly afterwards but they do look gorgeous with their black statin skins against the bright colours of their dress.

Then he took us for a walking tour first passed some living 'statues' dressed in silver explaining if you give them money they will move for you. They were like any busker you find in any corner of the world but some people fell for it and gave them money.  When I looked back after we were gone they had given up their staute pose and were walking around jostling & laughing getting ready for the next bunch of tourists. Next we stopped at a street artist and he made us wait for ages as people were in front of us so we waited until they left so we could see how amazing this guy was.  By this time Jon had given up the ghost and gone wandering.   We came to the conclusion that this tour was really a moving cash cow for the tour guides mates and not only must he be getting paid by us but no doubt he received a back hander from them as well. He did take us to a couple of squares & explained the history of the place as well as to his next lot of break dancing mates in the square, where of course they asked for money once you watched them dance, then passed a few more vendors before bundling everyone back on the bus to see the fortress of San Felipe.

This fort, built to protect the city from pirate attacks, played a major part in the defence of the city and helped to prevent the British taking it over in 1741.  If they had, northern Sth America would now be English speaking instead of Spanish.  The brave Spaniard of the day was a chap called Don Blas de Lezo. He was commander of the Mediterranean fleet for Spain and in previous battles lost his left leg to a cannonball in the battle for Gibralter against the British, his left eye in the battle of Toulon and his right arm in the siege of Barcelona.  Sounds a bit like the Monty Python character in The Holy Grail.  Anyway King Phillip of Spain got wind that Admiral Edward Vernon (the same Vernon of Mt Vernon) was planning an assault on Cartagene so he sent off the one legged, one eyed, one armed Don to defend it and defend it he did.  He had only 6000 men including slaves, indians & regular troops at his disposal against 186 ships and 27-30,000 military personnel of the British.  The British managed to break through the first line of defense after a month & after big losses it occurred to Vernon that attack by sea was useless so they decided to come overland. When they finally got to to make a full assult on Fort Felipe the Spanish were ready and the rest is history.  The Bristish lost 18,000 men and of the 3,500 Americans only 300 survived. King George II forbade anyone to speak or write of the defeat, so bad it was.

So, this fort is up a big hill and the only way up is to walk it.  If you want to see it, the cost was $10 & $6 for the headphones, the walk was free.  This was the end of the tour from the bus and they weren't going to take us up, just let us take a photo of it.  Mum decided she had had enough by this time as it was really hot so she wanted to go back to the ship.  Everyone bar the 4 of us sailed away in the taxi as we were left wondering how we were going to get back to the old city again.  While we decided, we found a nice cool cafe with clean toliets and cold drinks & an interesting menu to sit at while we contemplated.  The menu was entirely in Spainsih so we pointed at the pictures and got a couple of surprises when the dishes came out but all in all it was worth it, even just to cool down.  The colourful passing parade was also interesting to watch.

We did manage to find a taxi after that to take us into the old town so we had a couple of hours to wander around the streets, walk on the old wall to see the sea before heading back to the ship at the end of the day.

I loved Cartagena as a stop.  It was the most colourful & exotic city we had seen to date. Along with the wonderful wildlife we saw as well as the colourful people & equally colourful history of the city. Founded in 1533 by the Spanish conquerors as a main port to transport gold, silver and treasures plunded from the natives of Sth America to be sent to the Old World and bring slaves from Africa to be sold at the markets there. These riches in turn attracted pirates and privateers such as Sir Francis Drake (one of the most successful pirates of all times)   & whose sacking of the city led to the construction of the fortifications around the city.  The well preseved old town with it's brightly painted colonial & Italian styled architecture and lots of green plazas and unique handcrafts & goods make for a photographers paradise  & great destination for a Europe weary traveller. As the taxes & tariffs are so high on imported luxury European goods everything is locally made from coffee to emerald jewellery, clothes, accessories, leather & even hand rolled cigars. 

As long as you keep your head down, stick to the tourist areas and don't stay long enough to get kidnapped or murdered, I would highly recommend this place to be seen at least once in your life.

Safe way to travel!