Day 5 -Kralendijk, Bonaire

 Bonaire is so beautiful! It's waters are protected and boats and ships can't even anchor. 100% of its waters are protected It is where lots of divers and snorkelers go. We took the glass bottom boat tour since we have never done that before. It was lead but a girl who moved there from the Netherlands. It wasn't what I was expecting but it was very cool! We prefer actual snorkeling so we can be immersed in that environment.

The color of the water is intensely beautiful!!!

That night Bob talked me into going to see the Barricade Boys. A new vocal group from the UK that performs on the West End (which is like Broadway in the US). Oh.My.Gosh. They were absolutely fantastic!!!! They sand from Les Miserables, Mo town, etc and had dance moves. Wow!

https://youtu.be/PHc7IKdJZZ0

Day 4- Willemstad, Curacao

 Curacao (pronounced cure-a-so) is a Dutch Caribbean island. It reminded me so much of the Netherlands and the Vankays!  The homes are painted all sorts of colors.  I'll be honest, before this cruise I had no idea this island even existed. We decided to just walk around and enjoy the city and then go to a beach (which we never found). But it is such an adorable little town.

We got to cross the floating Queen Emma Bridge which was awesome. It opens several times a day to let ships through.

Across the bridge is a huge heart with locks from couples all around the world.

Then we went back onto the ship and enjoyed the day in the sun! I didnt take as many pictures as I usually do. I was soaking it all in.

 

At night we went to see the magician again. He had a new show. It was fantastic!

Day 3- Aruba

 Oranjestad, Aruba!

 This island is gorgeous and way, way tinier than I thought! We rented a car (which took 45 minutes to get) and traveled to the other side of the island to follow the main road through lots of really cool spots. We were happy to have our own car and be on our own schedule.

Our 1st stop was on the east side of the island where the water splashed up high against the dark rocks and was so stunningly beautiful!

 

WE continued up the coast to a fort where you could ride ATVs along the coastline but we took pictures and headed up the coast.  There was a HUGE area of layered stacked rocks, like a zen graveyard? It was so cool!

We made it up to the hole in the rock which was beautiful!

Then we found the church where most of the slaves were forced to become Christian. The history of slaves in the Caribbean is sad everywhere :( The whole middle of the island looks like Phoenix with tons and tons of Cacti and so very dry.

The beaches are gorgeous! Some day we would like to go back and spend time at each beach, visit the animal rescue sanctuary and ostrich farm, and find the thousands of Flamingos!

Almost every night we were able to catch the sunset from our balcony!  So beautiful!

That night we went to the comedy magic show to see Fred Moore.  It was FANTASTIC! I have no idea how he did it all, but he kept us glued the entire 45 minutes!

Side Note: Day 2 was a day at sea. We enjoyed walking around and eating amazing food. At night, we watched the ballroom dance show called "Burn the Floor." It was absolutely amazing!!!  These were top of the line professional dancers and I was blown away. Yes, it made me miss dancing. What a fantastic show!

Cruising the Southern Caribbean!

 I will say, this trip was soooooo very needed!!! The last 2 years have been tough and I am exhausted. We didnt plan this cruise as detailed as we normally do. We kinda went with the flow which has pros and cons as you will see.

Bob and I decided we wanted to see some new islands. We found that if we flew into Puerto Rico, we could catch a cruise to some of the southern islands.

We flew out on Saturday to Chicago and then took the 4 hour flight to Puerto Rico, arriving at 3:00 AM. Took a taxi to our hotel and crashed for the night. When we got up, we went to look at the beach right outside our hotel. We were going to sit in the sand and enjoy but they said we needed to be careful because of the sand lice and midges (never heard of that). So, no thank you. We thought the ship sailed at 3 and we had a boarding time of 11:00 AM. So we got to the cruise port and it took a while to get through everything since we had to do customs, passports, and oh, did I mention the COVID test? We had to have a proctored COVID test on zoom where she walked us through each step and we had to show her the results and then take those results with us. It was intense.

This time we tried a new cruise line, Norwegian. We got on the ship and looked around and started eating the amazing food.

They had like a cold stone open during meals plus the 24/7 ice cream!

Bob really liked the water slides, but  don't do enclosed tubes with water.

We never tried the rock wall or repelling.

The ship is very similar to the Carnival ships. We enjoyed the sunshine on the decks and then heard that we wouldn't leave port until 9PM. What the heck? We could have slept in and checked out of the hotel at 2 and THEN board. Oh well. Puerto Rico is beautiful and the temp was perfect so we soaked it up!

Finally they said our rooms were ready around 2-3PM. Our luggage wasn't there, but they said it would arrive by 6. Then we went down to customer service to check about "Free at Sea" items they promised and guess what? They only honored 1. We were ticked since that is why we chose them. So, no internet which was perfect me, bad for Bob. No free drinks, no deals on excursions. Jerks.

Bob's luggage never showed. We had to go back down and ask for it. They finally got it to us and we went to dinner.  They had a crepe station every night and it was literally to die for! This is a nutella/strawberry one. They had lemon, blueberry, peach, etc. So absolutely amazing!

Then we went to see the comedian Omid Singh and he was hilarious! We got back to our room and set up for bed. Bob looked through his suitcase and it had been riffled through and both my white noise machines and our extension cord were missing. We were so mad it had been stolen. I didn't sleep at all, because Bob's snoring is sooooo bad.

Then we found out they took it out because they thought they were dangerous to the ship. So, we had to get it approved by the head electrician- for heaven sake's, it's white noise. So we got approval to have 1. Carnival never did that.

Also, slight complaint about the room. The couch was as hard as cement. AND the toilet and shower are in see through and separate. Plus the entire room is curved , even the beds!

BUT I was so absolutely thrilled to see the sun, feel the warmth, enjoy the heat, and be on a cruise.  That is the ONLY way I love to travel- Bob could see the joy!

2021- What will it bring?!

 I am going into 2021 very differently.  I feel like I have learned a ton this past year and want to see how it all progresses for me.

Because of COVID, I learned to FIND time to read my scriptures and the conference talks DAILY.  I was able to build that habit and am able to immerse myself and find joy in my study.  After each conference, I order the conference guide from Deseret News and then read a talk each day.  I also use scripture study guides.  For 2021, I got this wonderful D&C guide to goes along with Come Follow Me. I also got these great Book of Mormon made easier books that I LOVE.  Because if I have learned anything, it is that our priorities, what we CHOOSE, makes a huge difference.

I have taken my health even more seriously. I workout every day. We do yoga every day.  We have started a HART fitness challenge for 2021.  I am careful what I eat and making sure I take care of me and sleep. I also get massage therapy every month.  I feel selfish somedays, but I see me becoming a better and stronger person.

While I despise my mask, and we are back full time with students, I know the Lord is watching over me.  It's hard to breathe and my glasses fog every minute of the day. 

 

While crazy things have happened in the 1st 10 days of the new year (storming of the capitol and a new virus strain), I am going into this year with hope and happiness. We have a cruise planned to the Mexican Riviera and I turn 50 years old this year.  Bring it 2021- i am ready :)