5/1/23

Today’s Monday, and the first day I felt like posting anything. We drove to Dallas on the 14th to fly to Miami and we got there in two hours and 40 minutes. However, that’s when we began to circle the airport like a giant buzzard looking for roadkill. We circled until we were fixing to run out of fuel, so we flew to Tampa to get more. We sat on the tarmac there after we refueled and waited until the weather cleared in Miami. No one got off. No one got on. The flight attendants had to explain to us again how to fasten our seatbelts since no one had been in a vehicle for the past 50 years. We flew back to Miami and we made our two hour and 40 minute flight in only five hours. We took a shuttle to the Doubletree and checked in. The concierge asked us if we would like a shuttle to the cruise docks in the morning. We said yes and filled out all the paperwork and got a receipt. We were downstairs at 9:30 AM to catch our shuttle. We waited until 10 AM, and he still hadn’t shown up so he looked up our information. Apparently the guy didn’t turn in the ticket. So, no shuttle. He called a cab that held seven people and we loaded up. It was apparent that we were not all going to fit, so the concierge called Uber. It’s a 30 minute drive from the Doubletree. The Uber driver had never been to the docks before, but we made the 30 minute drive in only an hour and a half. Needless to say, we missed our boarding time. No one on the ship cared anyway.

We boarded with no issues, and sailed away. The first day was a sea day. The second day we were at Grand Cayman. We signed up for an excursion that day, and went snorkeling. It was a great day. However, David started to feel crappy, and I am trying to keep my distance as much as possible. Following day was another sea day, and he was no better. The next day, we were in Costa Rica. I was not impressed.  

Day five we were in Panama. That was a fantastic day. We got on the bus, drove to the pacific side, got on a ferry, and went through the locks back to the Caribbean. I learned a lot, and we were on the tour for seven hours. I started to feel puny that day, but David was feeling better. Day six, was Cartagena Colombia. We had an excursion to visit a fortress. It was difficult for me to breathe and climb at the same time, but I did it. The fortress was cool, Columbia is a dump. Day seven, we were in Aruba. We found a taxi to take us to a snorkel beach and we stayed there the majority of the day. It was very pretty, and I enjoyed the snorkeling. I was glad we took our snorkel gear. It was difficult to breathe while snorkeling, but it was worth it.

Day eight was Curaçao and we had an excursion to see some caves. It was another hard climb for me, but I made it. The next 2 days were sea days and I was pretty much worthless. I spent the morning sitting on our balcony and the afternoon sleeping. The next day we were in the Bahamas and we went to the beach in the afternoon. I mostly layed on a beach chair, but it was a gorgeous day, so I was glad we went. 

When we got back to Miami, we got off the ship early and headed to the airport. Uneventful trip home and by then I was miserable. I slept all day on Friday and didn’t get up until 3 pm on Saturday. I took a Covid test and it was positive. I wasn’t sure what to do on a weekend, but Sunday morning I was worse and called my oncology office. The doctor on call told me to go to the hospital.  David took me to the ER and they ran a mess of tests and sent me home. They said I can’t take the Covid drug because I’m on blood thinners. Great. What a waste of time. Now I’m on day 12 and still feel crappy. 

The entertainment on the ship was absolutely wonderful, and I’m glad we took the cruise, even though I got sick. I always wanted to go to Panama and go through the locks, and now I can cross it off my bucket list. It was a 12 day cruise and the food was divine, but I still lost 3 pounds.