Lahaina Town, Maui

 

Tuscany, Italy

 

See How Brazilians Live

 

If things had gone as planned with the 3-year cruise I signed up for in March 2023 (didn’t happen), I would be in Belem, Brazil right now. Belem is the capital and largest city in the state of Para, in the north of Brazil. Another hot day in the tropics, 90 degrees, 73% humidity, but as with the last few cities on our itinerary, thunder and lightning happened before our arrival date, and will happen after. Love having good weather luck. It’s important to take the right kind of clothing when traveling to the tropics, CLICK HERE (ad). 

Belem is the educational and cultural center of the north. Since these are my two favorite things, I’m sure to enjoy visiting. It has a very modern appearance and is not a typical tourist destination. The sights I would visit here are those enjoyed by the inhabitants. This would give me insight into the way Brazilians live today. However, it’s not a safe place to wander around by yourself. I would probably plan my day with another passenger or two, and just visit these places during daylight hours.

My first visit would be near the port, Guajara Bay, and the riverfront district of Cidade Velha, with is the old town. I usually prefer seeing old towns, probably because there aren’t any left where I grew up in SoCal. This area has Portuguese-colonial architecture and colorful azulejo-tile houses. There’s also a fort here, named Forte do Presepio. In addition to enjoying the architecture, one of my favorite things to do in new places, I’d stroll through the Ver-o-Peso, open-air market. If I wanted to buy handicrafts, this would be the place to do so.

There are several museums, cathedrals and cultural centers in Belem. If time permits, it would be easy to visit several. If, however, the outdoors is your preference, there are just as many parks and botanical gardens. Remember, this isn't the safest place to wander around alone. Life Lesson: Participating in a guided excursion might be best. I would wait to visit such places while in a safer (and cooler) environment. 

For more information about the customs of Brazil, CLICK HERE (ad).

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Change of Pace, Manaus, Brazil

 

If things had gone as planned with the 3-year cruise I signed up for in March 2023 (no such luck), I would be in Manaus, Brazil right now. My luck with weather is holding. It’s partly sunny, high of 88 degrees today, humidity down to 66%, with rain forecast for tomorrow. Being in the center of a rainforest, rain is fairly common here.

Manaus is the seventh largest city in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, so my hope for a larger city has come true. It’s very built up, complete with highways, an airport, skyscrapers, and other modern buildings. It’s on the coast, of course. Surprisingly ships dock directly downtown, which is also on the banks of the river Negro. This river is much cleaner than the Amazon, which is mostly brown. It’s interesting to see where the two rivers meet. I would definitely schedule a tour boat excursion to see the fascinating Meeting of the Waters. I'd certainly take a hat for protection from the sun, CLICK HERE (ad). 

The zoo and orchid greenhouse are open to the public. Not sure I would visit the zoo, but the orchid greenhouse would be something I would certainly enjoy. I would also stroll through the Mercado Adolpho Lisboa, which is modeled after Les Halles in Paris, which I have visited in the past. If there’s a guided tour of the Adolpho Ducke Botanical Garden, I would sign up for that too.

There are lots of shopping areas in the city, complete with food courts and movie theaters. Seeing a movie in Brazil would be fun. I’m pretty sure many English-speaking movies would be dubbed into Portuguese, or maybe they would have subtitles. No matter, I would find it interesting, since I am a polyglot.

After stopping in one small town after another, this city would be a refreshing change of pace. I’m not usually into big cities, however, it would be nice to see how people live in a big city in Brazil, and to spend a few days there taking advantage of all it has to offer. to learn more about Manaus, Brazil, CLICK HERE (ad). 

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Parintins, Brazil: Better in June

 

If things had gone as planned with the 3-year cruise I signed up for in March 2023 (The cruise was cancelled; I hear some people are stranded in Istanbul), I would be in Parintins, in the far eastern portion of Brazil. Since we would have traveled farther away from the Equator by now, the high temperature should be lower. It hit a high of 81 degrees today. That was lucky since the forecast for yesterday and tomorrow was for temperatures in the nineties. The humidity is still high, however, since this city lies in a tropical rainforest.

The city is on an island named Tupinambarana, which lies in the Amazon River. It’s known for a colorful folk festival held there each June, so it looks like we missed it by several months. It was hit hard by the recent pandemic. The festival went virtual for two years. It came back live in 2022. The city was given a facelift and street art was added. The festival is helping overcome the lack of infrastructure and isolation. Tourism is helping financially.

There isn’t much to do here, although it is rather pretty. I would have taken a pedi cab for a tour of the town. There’s a nearby Indian Village in Boca da Valeria. If I felt it was safe, and if there was time, I might go on a tour to visit it. Everything I read would make me want to take lots of dollar bills, to give as tips to those living there.

Overall, I’m not sure why our cruise had this port on our itinerary. Perhaps it was so passengers could participate in eco-tourism. I know that was a desire on the part of some passengers. My age and health conditions would keep me from participating in physical labor, especially in the heat and humidity. The humidity might even have kept me on the ship. Asthma cramps your style at times. This is why I made sure to pack my nebulizer and lots of medication. I even bought a portable nebulizer, CLICK HERE (ad) just in case. Life Lesson: Planning for all possibilities can stave off medical disasters.

Off to another small town on the Brazilian coast. Fingers crossed it's larger than Parintins. 

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Giverny, France

 

Standing in Two Hemispheres

If things had gone as planned with the 3-year cruise I signed up for in March 2023 (The cruise was cancelled), I would be beginning a month log exploration of various ports in Brazil today. We would be landing in Macapa, Brazil, which is a major population center and the capital of the state of Amapa, in the northern part of Brazil.

Speaking of location, the equator passes through the center of the town of Macapa. I never expected to be this close to the equator, let alone be able to stand on both sides of it at the same time. This is definitely on my to-do list. 

The temperature today is expected to be 91 degrees, 70% humidity and partly cloudy. Although this doesn’t sound great, the forecast for the days before and after was for more heat. Later in the week thunderstorms are expected. So, all in all, not bad for the tropics.

An interesting thing about this town, it’s on a peninsula, and is only accessible by sea or by air. You cannot drive to Macapa from anywhere. This affects everything here. There’s so much water, not only because it’s on the coast, but it’s also at the mouth of the Amazon. I’d wear the mosquito retarding clothing I bought for the trip, light colors, a hat, and gloves, despite the heat, CLICK HERE (ad).

My must-see list is very short due to the weather and the bugs. I’d visit the Fortaleza de Sao Jose de Macapa, since I understand it’s beautiful, well-kept, and directly on the coast. It’s the largest Portuguese fort outside of Portugal. Lunch would be at one of the riverside restaurants.

Although I don’t speak Portuguese, both English and French are taught in the schools here, so I shouldn’t have any trouble communicating. Since I have food allergies, I’d take a laminated 3x5 card with me with a list of foods I must avoid translated into Portugues. I’ve taken such cards with me when I’ve dined in foreign countries in the past. It eliminated problems. A real Life Lesson.

The Centro de Pesquisas Museologicas Museum would be an interesting destination, but I’ve been warned about standing water there, and lots of mosquitos. Since the number of plants and animals it contains is limited, for me, it’s not worth the risk.

Marco Zero is a landmark showing the Equator line, where the Northern and Southern Hemispheres meet. There’s really nothing to do there, except marvel that you’re there. However, experiences is why I decided to sign up for a 3-year cruise in the first place, so I would visit, bask in the novelty of the moment, and take way too many photographs. There’s a gift shop that’s receives great reviews, so although I probably wouldn’t buy anything there, I’d visit, nonetheless.

Although there are several other things to do in Macapa, none of them outweighs the tropical weather and all that comes with it for me. For the more adventurous, however, there are other museums and attractions.  I'd spend the rest of the day onboard, taking full advantage of the air conditioning. 

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Trinidad and Tobago, Lots of Sunshine

If things had gone as planned with the 3-year cruise I signed up for in March 2023 (they still don’t have a ship), I would be arriving in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago today. As I mentioned when blogging about Puerto Rico, I’ve been to the southern Caribbean, but not the northern islands.

So, this is my first trip to Trinidad and Tobago. It rains a great deal in the tropics, and it’s usually rather hot for my taste. It rained on Thursday, and is forecast to rain again tomorrow, but we would be in luck. The temperature predicted for today is 89° and partly sunny.

I always take sun protection when I travel, especially when visiting the tropics. I have a few sun hats from which to choose. My favorites are wide brimmed hats made from ribbon, CLICK HERE (ad). The company I buy from the most is Coolibar, which makes sun protective gear. I also bring sunblock, but not just any brand. I use one that does not damage wildlife or coral reefs. It wasn’t easy to find, but this is what I bought, CLICK HERE (ad).

I looked over the large number of tours available. They range from about $50 - $100+, but most of them are far too long for a one-day stopover, which is what this was planned to be. There are plenty of excursions for athletic types, but that’s not me. I don’t have the level of fitness I once had, so I’m careful what I select. I decided I wouldn’t buy a tour or excursion but would go it alone.

I looked over Queens Park Savannah but ruled it out. It looks beautiful, which I enjoy, but may have far too many fine particles in the air for anyone with asthma. My lungs rarely limit what I do, but going where the humidity is already high means I must pick and choose wisely or pay the price.

The Royal Botanic Gardens ais a definite number one pick for me. I love seeing beautiful plants and flowers. I would take lots of photographs. Photography is a hobby of mine, and I bought the iPhone 14 Pro specifically for the camera.

If there was enough time and if I wasn't not too tired after visiting the gardens, I’d visit the Emperor Valley Zoo. I’m usually able to find a great deal of shade in zoos. They plant many trees to create the right ambiance for the animals, we humans benefit from them too. This is why I’d visit the gardens in the morning, and the zoo in the afternoon, even though I know I risk the animals napping. That’s why, weather permitting, visiting zoos in the morning is a far better idea. For me, however, weather trumps pretty much everything else. I admit it. I’m a weather wimp.

Back onboard the ship, there would be calypso music and tasty seafood. Great place to relax after a warm day exploring the island. 

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Barcelona, Spain

If things had gone as planned, I would be in Barcelona, Spain right now. I know this because my iPad told me so this morning. I remember, one of the tech savvy passengers on the 3-year round-the-world cruise I signed up for this past March took our itinerary and formatted it for our iPhones and iPads. I uploaded it to mine. 

So, when the location popped up on my calendar, I realized I can still take my blog readers on a 3-year cruise. I'll tell everyone what I have seen on previous trips to the places I have already visited, and explain where I was planning to go on my now cancelled 3-year cruise. 

I've visited Barcelona before, also ironically while on a cruise. I was taking a 3-week long cruise of the Mediterranean Sea out of South Hampton. We stopped for the day in Barcelona. It was nowhere near enough time. 

I wanted to visit the Park Guell, designed by Gaudi. It's covered with colorful tile work. I had seen photos of it, and realized this would be a worthwhile destination. the park is situated on a series of hills, and is full of steps. If you start from the bottom and walk up, you better be in great shape. My decision was to take a taxi to the top of the park, and walk down. I intended to pick up a taxi at the bottom, and return to my cruise ship. Want to learn more about the park? CLICK HERE (ad).

Sadly, I didn't go to see the park. Why? I noticed there were no handrails at all. Several of the steps were pretty steep too. In my physical condition, walking down those steps seemed too risky for me to try alone. Life lesson, when travelling alone, check out who else wants to visit attractions you are interested in, and see if you can go together, split the costs and maybe have a shoulder to hold onto while walking up or down precarious steps. Wish I had. 

If I was in Barcelona today, I would spend much of my day on La Rambla, the most iconic street in Barcelona. It stretches inland from the port. My plan would be to walk the length of the street until I tired. Then I'd pick an outdoor cafe, have some wine and tapas (yummy small bites famous all over Spain). Want to learn more about Tapas? CLICK HERE  (ad). After I rested, my plan was to walk back to the ship in time for dinner. 

Barcelona was planned to be a short stop  in order to pick up passengers who didn't want to fly to Istanbul, which was the intended starting point of the 3-year cruise. The next ten days were meant to be at sea. While some might find land days the most enjoyable, I love being at sea. In the past, I intentionally chose cruises that had many sea days. This was the main reason the 3-year cruise was so appealing to me in the first place. 

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Getting Ready for a Lengthy Trip: Six Months Out, Part II

During the month of April, I started keeping a list of expenses. I put them in one of the lovely notebooks I ordered to use while cruising, CLICK HERE  (ad). I know that putting off recordkeeping makes it a brutal task. Keeping a running list and making entries once a week keeps it simple.

On April 10, I signed the contract for the cruise. I kept a copy online, of course, but also printed it out, so I would have a hardcopy. I kept all my cruise documents in a large plastic envelope,  CLICK HERE  (ad). Life lesson. This made it easy to locate anything I might need going forward.

Once I decided not to go on the cruise, I added my cancellation documents to the pile of others in the envelope. I’ve used colorful, clear plastic envelopes like these for years. They come in handy, especially for planning trips.

The next thing to take care of was my car registration. Although I had not really decided what to do with my car, I knew it had to be registered. My three choices were to sell it, store it, or give it to my nieces. Eventually, I decided to sell it. Leaving a car in storage for three years just leads to problems. Giving it away, although generous, was not wise financially. It was fortuitous this was my decision, as I still had it when I decided to stay put in California.

During the month of April, the Management team at Life at Sea made a portal available to passengers, so we could communicate with them, and with each other. This proved to be quite valuable. Many of us were concerned about how to receive mail and packages while aboard ship. The Management team took care of this for us. They set up a once-a-month delivery system, but it wasn’t inexpensive. However, one of the other passengers contacted me with an idea. We would find two others to join us and sign up for the service. All our packages and mail would be sent to him, and we’d pick up our items once they were received. Brilliant. This would cost us a few hundred dollars each, instead of thousands.

The next thing to happen turned out to be great fun and resulted in my starting this blog. One of my Twitter followers sent me an article about two sisters who took a tour around the world. The article had been published by CNN Travel. I read the article and responded to the question at the end. They asked if we had ever had a unique experience while cruising. I responded to the article and told them my plan to take a 3-year cruise around the world. (Typing this makes me sad, as I was so looking forward to the trip.)

Briefly after sending off this reply, I received an email from a reporter with CNN Travel. She asked if I would participate in an interview about the trip. I agreed and the article was written. When it came out, I was surprised. It was more about me than the cruise itself. What happened next was an out of body experience. The article bounced around the world, was reprinted in several languages, and reporters and podcasters used it for the basis of articles and podcasts of their own.

My 15 minutes of fame lasted far longer than that and spread to several million people all over the world. (That was a shock.) It led to another interview, this one for a television station in Germany. People I knew saw one of the articles, as did people I met that spring. They were excited for me both about the adventure, but also about being “famous”, if only for a short while.

Sometime after the debacle that resulted in my pulling out of the trip, I was contacted again by CNN Travel. They wanted to do a follow up interview about the unpleasant situation that led to my decision. I was happy to participate. This is because I had learned several people signed up for the cruise because of my initial CNN interview. (This was very cool.) I didn’t want my initial enthusiasm to continue to convince people to sign up for the cruise, since the situation had changed. I was no longer sure it was safe and didn’t want their future happiness or safety on my conscience.

As you can see, when planning a long trip, or moving to another country, there’s lots to do. Some of it you can plan for, some things, however, pop up unexpectedly. Life lesson. This is why planning is so important. If you act in a spontaneous manner, and something unplanned happens, you may not be able to roll with it, or take advantage of the situation. 

The interview with CNN Travel, and the resulting international buzz online resulted in a message landing in my inbox. It was from someone I did not know, but he did me a big favor. He suggested I strike while the iron was hot and do something with the attention I had received. He’s the reason I started my journal, which led to this blog. Even though I’m no longer taking a 3-year cruise to 300+ destinations, the knowledge I have gained can encourage others to travel, whether as a family, couple, or even solo. This is a good thing. I’ve done all three types. I know the ropes and am happy to share them here.

Photo Credit: Google Images

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Getting Ready for a Lengthy Trip: Six Months Out, Part I

 

Years ago, I went to my travel agent and asked her to arrange a weeklong trip to Cape Town, South Africa for me. I told her I was going over Spring Break in order to figure out what I needed to do as I was planning on moving there in the summer. She was aghast since Spring Break was less than a month away. She told me she really needed more time to plan a big trip like this.

I was confused. I was only going for a week, so it wasn’t a big trip. For her, the distance made it a “big trip” and not the length of time I would be gone. Okay. Life lesson. This past March, when I heard about a 3-year round the world cruise, I was pleased since that would give me eight months to get ready. I began by creating lists of what I would need to do in the interim. I dedicated one page to each month, CLICK HERE (ad).  Drew a line vertically down the center of the page, and labeled the pages by month.

Today I’m going to start by telling you some of what I decided to do in April. I completed each of these tasks within the time I had allotted, one month. There are far too many to include in one blog post, so I’ll continue in my next post, on Saturday. 

Some of what I did was related to research or planning. Most of the tasks, however, were more hands on. The first was money. I had to move the down payment from my savings to an account where I could wire it to the Life at Sea team when requested. This was a large chunk of money, so I moved smaller amounts weekly. By the end of the month, all the money I needed to send was ready. If you’re reading my blog to plan for a big trip yourself, thinking about your finances is the first and most important thing you should do. This was true when I moved to South Africa years ago too. 

The next most important chore was to find an international phone plan. I started online, but quickly realized for my purposes keeping my Verizon Plan and adding their International Plan on top of it would work best. This isn’t always the case. Depending upon where you intend to travel, and for how long, other plans may suit your purposes better. However, to keep yourself sane (always a plus), start with your current carrier. If they have a plan that works for you, it will simplify your life.   

The next two items were time sensitive. I needed to start the series of shots for Hepatitis A & B immediately. Since it takes time to arrange for these shots with my HMO, I ended up starting the series at my local CVS. This meant shelling out over $100 for the first vaccine. The next two at my HMO would cost me nothing. 

Here’s a scary thought. My passport would expire in March 2024, while I was cruising. Finding a place to have passport photos taken wasn’t as easy as it should have been. I ended up having two sets taken at two different places. The backdrop at the first place I went, was the same color as my hair. With the light directly overhead, the top of my head blurred into the light. When I was finally able to obtain a clear set of photos elsewhere, I paid extra for expedited passport service. I didn’t relax until my passport arrived in the mail, with plenty of time to spare. 

Each week I tackled hardcore decluttering by room. I began in my bedroom, handling one piece of furniture at a time. Depending upon how long you plan on traveling, you may not need to be as brutal as I was. Remember, my plan was to live on a cruise ship for three years, then either move to Lagos, Portugal, or Laguna Woods Village, California. I had no desire to pay to store my car, furniture or other household items and then ship them somewhere. 

During the month of April, I completed going through all the furniture in my bedroom, my closets and one area of my garage. I made multiple trips to my local Goodwill drop-off site. It helped that I had decided not to try to sell anything. I didn’t have the time or energy to deal with that. 

The last thing I want to cover today is making doctor appointments. I don’t know about you, but I see a long list of specialists (oh, the joys of getting older). I made appointments with all of them, trying to fit them within my busy schedule of other activities. I wanted to make sure everything was shipshape before boarding. 

I kept all these appointments even after deciding not to go on the cruise; some were completed in September, one just this week. Everything was indeed good to go, although I am no longer going. That’s a pity, but from everything I have heard lately, both about the cruise going forward and strife in many parts of the world, I’m happy to have decided to skip it and stay in California. 

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Moving Day Has Come and Gone

 

September 30, 2023

I know it must have seemed I fell off the face of the earth after my last blog post late in May. It felt that way to me too. Although I have moved several times in my life, this time was much more difficult for me than any other move i have experienced. Perhaps it was my injured vertebrae that slowed me down, or perhaps, gasp, my age.

No matter the reason, I was overwhelmed. I had already started decluttering for my 3-year cruise, so you would think that would have given me a head start, but there was still far more to do than any one person should do alone. Eventually, the day came, but I wasn’t ready.

I had yet to tackle my office. I saved it for last, knowing if push came to shove, the movers could pack up the room for me. They did. They also packed my kitchen, but I had planned all along for them to do it. I learned that lesson eons ago. Life lesson. Let the pros do the kitchen. They do a better job and can handle the boxes with ease.

I found the movers I hired to be especially kind and helpful. They frequently sent me to sit on the couch while they moved things about. I put several bottles of cooled water on the kitchen counter for them, and when they broke midday, I handed each of them $20 and told them to enjoy their lunch. We met later at my new condo. 

It took hours to unpack. It helped that I had labeled all the boxes by room. I had also put sticky notes in the rooms to show where I wanted the boxes to be stacked. These guys weren’t happy until I was pleased with where rugs, lamps, furniture, and boxes were placed. Once they were finished, I paid my bill and gave each another $20.

After they left, I made my bed, and collapsed on it. I had stacked food in the fridge the day before my move-in, so I was able to eat after I rested. The next day, I went back to the house, and waited for Habitat for Humanity to come pickup items too large for me to take to Goodwill by myself. They were quite accommodating, taking everything I wanted to donate. Then 1-800-Got-Junk arrived and took the rest.

The bulk of the potted plants and flower boxes I had on my patio and in my courtyard were collected by neighbors. What was left was put in my driveway and labeled “FREE”. They disappeared quickly. I felt relieved. I didn’t want to put them in the trash. They were my friends,  and are now making other people happy.

It’s taken three months to arrange things in my condo. The local Internet and television people came and went. I also hired my own television experts to come make sense of the wires that had been left a mess. Several pieces of furniture, drapes and a huge area run were ordered, and arrived. I paid extra for “white glove” delivery for the massive area rug. Life lesson. So glad I did. The deliverymen were not only professional, but friendly as well. In fact, all the people involved with my move were great.

Eventually I hired a handyman recommended by a friend who lives nearby. He put up drapes and hung a heavy mirror and several large pictures. He’s good at what he does. I’m planning on calling him to do more work next month. I’m going to hire him to come every other month to replace the filters on my HVAC system, CLICK HERE (ad). The air intake is in the ceiling. I gave away my ladder, so I wouldn't use it. I’m no longer in the demographic that should be climbing ladders or lifting furniture.

Although most of my new home feels settled, my office does not. It still contains a mountain of big boxes filled with supplies, equipment and who knows what. Since I didn’t do the packing, unpacking is happening much slower than it did with the other boxes. However, I decided to give myself a break, and unpack one box at a time. I’ve already emptied three boxes using this method. The rest will happen eventually.

While doing all of this, I’ve been neglecting my blogs, Road to Free College and Enjoy the View Touring. I wasn’t doing much in my Etsy shop, Enjoy the View Totes either. Plus, I didn’t even look at my Instagram Account. I was still active on Twitter, @ElizaWallace27 though. My number of followers even grew during this time. That was a pleasant surprise.

Recently two friends sent me new articles about the 3-Year Cruise I was going to take this coming November. The first article bragged about the cruise becoming “forever” and not stopping after three years. I found that disturbing, as Maritime Law requires cruise ships to go into drydock for maintenance on a set schedule. They are not allowed to just cruise on without going into drydock, it’s unsafe.

The second article they forwarded had a few other bits of misinformation. One was about guests not needing health insurance, since there will be a doctor onboard. I can see how this might seem appealing, but unless medical care (major and minor) is written into the cruise contract, it would be foolish to go without insurance. 

I stumbled across a health insurance policy that could solve the problem of health insurance while traveling. It’s called Cigna Global. Since I’m no longer in communication with those who decided to go on the cruise despite the issues that led me to cancel my trip, I hope they read this blog, and see there is a company that will insure them while out of the U.S.

Next week, I’ll go back to giving tips on solo travel, including both short trips and long ones, like the 3-year cruise I signed up for last March. Thanks for being patient as I moved house. It wasn’t fun, but my current setting is much better for me.

 

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Allergic to Chaos

My normal routine since signing up for a three-year round-the-world cruise is to start my day by opening my iPad and reading any new posts in our resident portal. This past Sunday, May 20,2023, I saw a message from another passenger which read, “We’re still going to Istanbul”. Uh-ho. What does that mean?

It didn’t take long for someone to comment back, echoing my sense of dread. The response came quickly. We were directed to the cruise Facebook page, to read a letter from the Managing Director of our cruise.

The worst had happened. He announced he cancelled the cruise and gave his reasons for doing so. Rather than try to rehash the contents of the letter, and give the “other side” of the issue coming from the cruise company, which had been working in collaboration with the management team, here’s an article from CNN which explains what happened, CNN Article.

It took me all week to process this, but as stated in the article, deciding whether to continue with the cruise was an easy, although very sad, decision. I’m allergic to chaos. Life lesson. This felt far too risky for me. I’m out.

Now, what to do about my blog? My plan was to share my adventures on this three-year cruise with family, friends, my Twitter followers, and especially single people who have been reluctant to travel alone. About the middle of the week, I realized that I could achieve my goal, without going on this specific cruise.

After all, I’ve been single for over three decades, and I haven’t stayed home much. I can still encourage people to hang up their hats, get in a car, plane or ship and go somewhere. I will show how to do it by blogging about trips I have taken in the past, and those I take in the future. Yes. I made a list. So far, it has twenty places I intend to visit.

As I stated at the top of my blog, I encourage you to join me on my adventures. Just subscribe to this blog so you will be notified when I post something new.

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Information Overload

 Saturday, April 8, 2023

Something exciting happened this morning. Life at Sea Cruising put up their resident portal. We’re able to get information and communicate with each other easily. I’ve already been in contact with others going on the trip. This is not only a helpful time saver, but also fun.

Saturdays are usually delegated to housework, and I did some, but I also worked on my blog. I’ve been journaling on my iPad each evening, keeping track of what I’m doing to prepare for my trip. It can act as a road map for those who want to do something similar themselves. It’s also a way to let those who know me, either in real life or on social media (@elizawallace27, #enjoytheviewtouring), come along with me vicariously.

I did, in fact, do housework today, but I also planned some more. I’ve decided to add tote bags to my EnjoyTheViewTotes.com (ad) shop Mondays through Wednesdays and add wall art Thursdays and Fridays. Saturday, I’ll set up social media including my blog, and Sunday design bags or wall art for the week and post on my blog again. Since I do these things before lunch, it gives me the afternoons to work on clearing out my house, room by room.

The contract came for my cruise. Life lesson. I need to print it, study it and sign. I’m sure this will take quite some time. It’s very long, and detailed. I guess Sunday will be busy.

Sunday, April 9, 2023 – Sunday, April 16, 2022

This week has been far more hectic than anticipated. The contract and posts about it on our resident portal have taken up far too much time to journal in the evening. I haven’t even been able to concentrate on deciding what else, if anything, I need to order for my cruise.

I found it best to work on clearing the house of unwanted clothing and other objects. None of this involved using my mind, so my lack of focus was not a problem. Once things settle down on the portal, I’ll get back to journaling for this blog.

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Lots of Deliveries

 Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Today was about deliveries. Several packages arrived from orders I placed in the last few days. One is a small “backpack” on wheels. I needed something convenient to carry my laptop for me whenever I want to work somewhere on the ship. I ordered the smallest I could find. It’s intended or kids in school, very fitting considering I was in school in one role or another for most of my life. It’s very cute, with lots of soft pastel colors. CLICK HERE (ad) Just right for a cruise.

I attacked several household chores at midday, watered potted plants on my patio and in my courtyard. All my plants will be sold or given away before my trip. I scheduled doctor appointments and negotiated with DirecTV. I also finished sorting out my nightstands. I’ll drop off the books I’m donating next week.

Another delivery was a cane with a seat attached. It’ll come in handy on excursions. In the past, I found there isn’t always a place to sit down when you need one. With my injured spinal vertebrae, I sometimes need to sit. CLICK HERE (ad) I bought a blue one. Now I can, pretty much anywhere.

Finally, I did some research to find an appropriate price of medical treatments I know I will need while cruising. The exact amount won’t be known until details of my cruise are finalized. However, I found a site that gave approximate costs for both the medication I need, and the infusion to deliver it. Fingers crossed my costs will be this low, medication was under $15.00 and the infusion just over $100.00.

It doesn’t seem like much to have accomplished, but there were also things to do in my EnjoytheViewTotes.com shop, and on social media. I again took a little nap in the late afternoon. I could get used to those! 

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

I took it easy today just I worked in my shop. I designed and listed a French zodiac symbol bag with the symbol in green, the power color for Taurus. Otherwise, just did a few things around the house, engaged in social media and watched some television. I needed this break, as the last twelve days have been intense. EnjoytheViewTotes (ad)

Thursday, April 6, 2023

I spent some of the morning enjoying our glorious weather. It’s been rare lately. In addition, I did household chores, including cleaning out the top shelf of my kitchen pantry. I intend to continue attacking one shelf every trash day. Both the recycling and regular trash bins will fill up as I prepare for my cruise. No food items will go into storage. Three years is just too long.

Later I picked up prescription medication at my HMO’s pharmacy and drove to the Toyota service center in the same area. I had them do the usual routine maintenance, but also check everything. I was pleased to hear the car is in great shape, including the tires. After I have it detailed this fall, it will sell for high Kelly Blue Book value. Super. This will mean I can take more excursions on my cruise.

When I returned, I enjoyed a late lunch and designed another Zodiac tote bag for my EnjoyTheViewTotes.Etsy.com shop. My goal is to design and list three tote bags each week, and use my original photography to create wall art, also for my shop. Used my Flowbee to give myself a haircut. Took out the trash bins and gave social media a little attention. Then I had dinner and watched some television.

Friday, April 7, 2023

If it’s Friday, it’s time for Zooming with my friends, Debbie and Connie. We discussed what’s going on with each of us, and in our country. We solved many political and social problems. Too bad no one in a position of power was listening in on us.

We also discussed my upcoming cruise, of course. I brought up an issue I had yet to resolve. Since I’m giving up my rental, I will stay in a hotel when the cruise ends, three years from now. I’ll look for a place to rent, probably in Laguna Woods Village. I’ve lived there before. It’s an easier life than living in a single-family home elsewhere. I don’t know how long it will take for the pod with my belongings to arrive in California from Istanbul. I’m hoping to have it shipped to my new address. If it comes too soon, I didn’t know where to send it.

Life lesson. Three heads are better than one. I’ll either have it sent to my storage unit, if there’s room, or to the hotel where I will be staying. They can store it for me, until I find a place to live. Movers can move it when they pick up my things from storage. However, all of this will change if I decide to move to Nevada or Lagos, Portugal. It’s looking more and more likely that Portugal will be my final retirement destination.

We also discussed whether I should open a TicTok account. I’m going to make short videos to post on Twitter and Instagram during my cruise. They both agreed, I should add TicTok. Debbie also reminded me these videos need to be funny or quirky. Using my travel companion, Bob, should make this easy to do. He has a goofy face, and if I put him in awkward positions, it should do the trick.

We discussed getting props for Bob, small objects he can handle while posing. CLICK HERE (ad) Any suggestions would be appreciated. Just post them on Twitter, @elizawallace27. Thanks.  

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