Annual 'Circle of Friends' Christmas Party

Left to right: Peter, Joan, Joyce, Tim, Wendy, Ron, Pat, Anne, Barry, Barb, Tricia, Greg, Murray (Joyce's), Hazel, and Tom. CLICK ON THE PIC!

For many years Wendy has been priviledged to be an incongruous part of a group of ladies who call themselves 'the Circle of Friends'. Each year the men are invited to share their presence at the Christmas Party. The ladies (except for Wendy) all met during their employment at the head office of the London Life Insurance Company based here in where else, London. There was only one couple missing: Bud and Mary-Helen who winter in Florida. As usual, it was really nice to get together and share experiences, especially for the guys who usually don't see each other the rest of the year. (The ladies try to hold a monthly dinner party at various residences and restaurants.) This year; as last, the party was hosted at the Riverside Retirement Home on Riverside Drive where Ron and Pat have a town house. We had a private room complete with a waiter named Jack, who catered to our every need.


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Christmas Insidiously Approaches

As we wind our way to Christmas, there has been a few seasonal events to snap us out of the Caribbean mood. I can see my tan fading each day as the grey skies of a Canadian winter restrict the sun’s rays.

Every year, Waverley Retirement Home offers a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings so we took the opportunity to visit with Wendy’s Mom Gene and Erin and Jake. The five of us had a table in the beautiful main dining room of the mansion. We even met David Suzuki’s aunt who was visiting a friend.



Oh, and the previously arduous process of getting a tree has been drastically reduced since we discovered Rona trees a few years ago, for twenty bucks. They are all tightly tied up so you don’t need to spend hours choicing one out. Just pick it up, under your arm and through the check out. At home you just buzz off an inch of the trunk to allow water intake and install it in the living room. When it’s all set up you just snip the string and VOILA: a Christmas tree with the real Christmas smell and all.


Last night Erin and Jake popped over for dinner and Erin stayed later to help Wendy make some gingerbread to hang on the tree.

From past experience I know we had to leave a note or our son Tim would eat all the decorations.

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December 6 - Fort Lauderdale

Back Home In London safe and sound. Our flight on Southwest was full but we sat together with our friends so the 2 1/2 hours went fast. We could see a lot of snow in Virginia but it was gone as we flew north. The drive home from Buffalo was smooth and uneventful with son Tim preparing a lovely roast of pork, ready for us when we got home. (we are very used to eating!) Good to be back.

December 5 - At Sea

Prime rib. Ask the waiter for a thick cut!

Dinner made up for the less-than-perfect weather on our journey back between Cuba and the Keys. A stiff 50 knot wind stirred up the seas and rain kept us inside or on the Promenade all day. Of course there was lots of other things to do like eat!

Wendy raved about the mattresses on the Westerdam when we took our first cruise voyage out of Venice Italy six years ago, so this time I took a picture of the mattress label. We need a new mattress at home anyway so maybe we'll look at a Sealy.

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December 4 - Costa Maya, Mexico

As I wrote earlier, I was a little apprehensive about this new Mexican port that was created in the last decade or so, just for cruise ships. I doubted it would be a highlight of the cruise.

 
And this, our last port, was just as I thought it would be. Temperature 92 F and a long dock to walk in the Mexican sun. But what the heck, sun and heat is what we are paying for, right? On shore the Cruise Ship Terminal was a buzz with all the usual Mexican trinket shops in a kind of air conditioned mini Disneyland for tourists. I swear the huge swimming pool with swim up bars had a yellow tinge. People were drinking huge ‘yard’ drinks and never had to leave the pool all day. Amazing!

No sandy beach.

Mexican authorities sporting machine guns make you feel real safe!

Since we changed our clocks ahead one hour last night, I got to sleep in and because we didn’t dock ‘til 10 am, we had time for a nice leisurely breakfast in the Lido restaurant. Wendy, on the contrary, got up at 5 am (6 old time) so she was feeling quite tired by the afternoon.

There was no good beach visible from the ship or shore, so we finished our tour of the terminal and returned to the ship for snacks, drinks, and a dice game we always play with Pete and Donna called Sfukkle.
Lamb and Prime Rib (both favorites of mine) on the menu tonight. I guess I’ll eat the beef and hope for lamb at sea for lunch tomorrow.

Costa Maya is a small tourist region in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, located between Cancún and Belize. The area is generally undeveloped but has been growing quickly and rapidly after construction of a large pier to accommodate cruise ships. The Costa Maya includes two small villages − Mahahual and Xcalak and extends physically from Xcalak in the south to the southern border of the Sian Ka'an in the north, a distance of approximately 100 km.The beach at Costa Maya, looking toward the cruise ship pier.The resort of Costa Maya viewed from a cruiseship docked at the pier.
While Xcalak is approximately 60 kilometers (37 mi) south of the Costa Maya cruise port, the fishing village of Mahahual is only about 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) away. Cruise ships can easily be seen from the village. Mahahual has soft sand beaches, grass thatched palapas, and a coral reef a short distance off-shore, as well as several bars, restaurants, and shops. A resort development called New Mahahual is being created directly inland from the port. When ships are in port, the village is busy with cruise passengers.
Costa Maya's port has a new and modern tourist shopping mall. The center has a central plaza with saltwater pools and 'swim-up' style bars. There are several jewellery stores and many small shops selling ubiquitous souvenir items. It is generally open only to cruise ship passengers.
Costa Maya is the closest port of access to many of the lesser known Mayan ruins in the Yucatan including Chacchoben and Kohunlich. These sites are substantially less excavated than the better known pyramids near Cancún.
The port sustained heavy damage due to Hurricane Dean in August 2007. This included the dock designed for cruise ships. Holland America's Westerdam was the first cruise ship to return to the port since Hurricane Dean on October 31, 2008.

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December 3 - Grand Cayman Island

There is not a dock large enough to allow cruise ships to tie up here so we will tender in.
The weather has been EXCELLENT. I don’t know if it’s just that the hurricane season was over in November but the Seas have been exceptionally flat and no rain. Good thing since I had read that rough seas can be cause to cancel a stop at this port.



We disembarked at 8 am and. since we had reservations at Budget Rentals (right near the pier) we were all looking forward to a quick transfer to the rental cars. When no one knew where the Budget office was, I knew things were not going to be as smooth as planned. A kind local used his cell phone to call and a car was dispatched to pick us up in front of Hard Rock Café. Chris and Deb (and Helen and Ann) had told us they were not going to go with us so we traded the pre-arranged 2 small Hyundai’s in for a nice Ford Explorer that held 6 easily. I was the designated driver since I’ve had a lot of experience driving on the left side. I have driven on the left side a few times in England, Barbados, the Virgin Islands (US and British), the Bahamas and even in once or twice in Canada where everyone else drives on the right! (but that's another story) This skill was challenged somewhat since to add to the confusion, the Ford had left hand drive.


A crab is well camoflaged on the rock





We took a fairly long 20 mile drive up to Rum Point. The island homes, even the modest ones, are well kept and everything was extremely tidy. The drive was worth it. This less traveled portion of the island was very beautiful with crystal clear, swimming pool, looking water and a sugar white beach. Alas, everyone wanted to press on, so we drove back down through Georgetown and up to Seven Mile Beach and spread out on the public beach. The water, although beautiful, was not nearly as clear but it was nearer to the ship and more crowded and we enjoyed the water, sun and sights before I dropped everyone back in town near the docks and Wendy and I returned the car.





The crew was decorating the ship for Christmas

On board it was the fourth and final formal night in the dining room with delectable lobster tail and filet on the menu.

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December 2 - At Sea

Wendy and I are 'Three Star Mariners' now

We had a good day at sea. It was hot outside at 92 F.

The entertainment was excellent most of the time.

December 1 - Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands – Don’t Waste Your Money On Ship Snorkeling Trips

Met the Guitar player from the Hal Cats down on the beach.

When we were here last week there were two other ships here with us. This time we are the only ship so the Cruise Ship Village is much less busy. John tore a strip off the dude at the glossy island ‘dive shop’ in the Cruise Center when he suggested we pay to go to Pillory Beach for the ‘really good snorkeling’. After our snorkeling experience before, we knew this spot was no good, so we decided to try closer to the Cruise Center.

We discovered that most of the ship’s pricey snorkeling shore excursions simply go to the southern end of the island which is less than a quarter mile walk along the beach. It is evident that the ‘hype’ about the ‘spectacular snorkeling opportunities’ on this island are a mostly a crock. After a fruitless swim at the south end, we returned to the main beach, right beside the cruise ship. It turns out, according to Pete, the very best sea life, with schools of fish etc, was in a restricted area, right under the massive ships’ pier! All in all this was not the best island I've visited but the water was clear and clean and the beach was fine if you don't mind a few rocks.

This port is simply a profit center for Carnival Cruise Lines which owns the terminal. I wouldn’t be surprised if ships are invited here at a discounted dockage fee in order to generate income for Carnival. They charge $6 for a beer in Margaritaville and everything here is well overpriced since they have no competition. I fear our upcoming Costa Maya ‘adventure’ is the same. At least we wil know to just snorkel the reef as close as possible to the terminal.