marysb

Went for a walk  by the golf course today.  Rainy and dull day but the fall colours are still outstanding this year.

A Canadian Thanksgiving colour show this weekend.  The sun shining on the leaves makes a vivid show.      ( no colour enhancement was used on these photos)

Nice to see the photos of the Keewatin .... yes, too bad it is closed down.

Georgian Bay is one of my favourite places to take photos.  I love the rocky shoals and shoreline.  You live in a beautiful part of the world.   Here are some recent Georgian Bay photos.

I love my Sony 2600 mirrorless, and it goes on all trips, but doesn’t have gps. So I  also snap a couple of photos on the phone for mapping location (eliminates the need for travel notes) and also for quick social media posts or messages to family with a photo.

Also, for night photos, I don’t tend to have a tripod with me so, I find my iPhone 13 does great night shots without a lot of fuss.

We swam in from the Dinghy line (as far as boats can go) and it is a bit of a hike.  We started using the white plastic buoy line to pull us in.   You will probably be fine, but of course it depends on sea conditions - I have been there when there is no swimming allowed because of swells.

Just returned from the BVI.  The ferry runs are not as frequent and are at reduced capacity because of COVID.  Definitely be at docks half hour before your trip and book tickets on line before hand.  I would take a ship excursion to have maximum time there.  Also keep in mind a taxi is needed to get you to and from the baths to Spanish Town.

Yes, Im sure they will be available.  But just remember it is a long day, so there are many points during the day when the decks will not be as crowded.   Here is a photo of Gatun Lake - lots of seating

Kayaking to the edge of the world.  Georgian Bay Ontario Canada

Clematis in bloom

My light camera is now my iphone 11 (or iphone 12).  I am really impressed with the quality!

Would love to hear how your day turned out with your charter.

The $10 waterproof pouches from Amazon are great.  We use them all the time when boating and on the beach.  It’s really good to have the neck strap and the balloon like edge on the bag keeps your phone floating in case you drop it in the water.  Definitely worth the investment just to protect your phone in rain or from beach sand or water.

iPhone waterproof pouch

PS.  I also an Olympus waterproof camera and I love it!!

I think you will be OK.  My friend dropped her iphone XR in the water while boating.  It had her id and credit cards in the case, so a diver was hired to retrieve the phone.  It was in 20-25 ft of fresh water for about 4 hours...... and it works fine  :-).  

Ontario Canada is just starting to wake up from Winter.  Trees starting to bud and wild flowers peeking through.

Really liking the camera on my iPhone 11.  Have been doing some playing around and it is huge improvement over my old iPhone

I have only done a full transit and never left the ship.  I think you will get a really good experience through the locks  if you stay on board even if you are turning around half way.

Check out my photo blog of the journey.  You can see what there is to see up to Gatun Lake.

https://maryandnormtravel.blogspot.com/search/label/Panama Canal Transit Atlantic to Pacific

1 hour ago, blue_water said:

The water can be rough in any less-protected bay, forecasts are not worth much as it depends on conditions at that moment. But it’s often very calm here...

If dead calm water is more important than a gorgeous bay take a look at Magens and Secret Harbor...

The day we were there people on our cruise said it was really windy at Meagan’s bay too.  So, you never know.  

Here are a few photos of Sapphire.  We didnt have great weather - really windy and it started to rain after about 45 minutes.  We did enjoy that there was a lounge area with couches and chairs to sit and enjoy a Painkiller and views  😉 Even nasty days here are beautiful !  It's not large, but it is nice with the views of the islands and St John's

The white roof is the bar/lounge area with food and washrooms.

We were just there a couple of weeks ago.  The taxi cost us $20 for 2 or $13 for 1 - lots of taxi's at the pier.  Yes, it is a 20 min ride or so.  It's a nice way to see the island.  Maybe not quite as scenic a drive as going to Magan's bay. 

We wanted a less crowed beach where we could snorkel so we tried Sapphire .  It was very windy and the waves were high on our day, so no snorkeling.  It also had a nice covered bar area when it started to rain.  We had made arrangements for a pickup from our taxi driver, but since it was raining we decided to go back early. 

There were taxi's there waiting, so we took one back to the ship shopping area and this taxi driver notified the other one not to come back for us - easy!    It is a pretty beach with views of St John's, but smallish.   

San Juan is one of our favourite ports.  We always just wander around the old city.  So much character and history.

It is a beautiful port.  Here are some photos to inspire you 🙂  Enjoy!

Stop at Barrachina for a Pina Colada (they were invented there) or some traditional food such as Mofongo

Or walk over to one of the forts 

Marshall’s store has a restroom.

there's a flowrider at the port

The hand washing stations are pretty cool, and I used them a lot, noticed the crew used them too.  It is unfortunate that they are not at the dining room.  I carry a pocket sized purell to use in any restaurant after using a menu.  

The cabanas are around the Margaritaville pool.  There is not much shade there other  than some small trees and the cabanas.  But there is shade on the beach.

Just now, marysb said:

Here are the lists for the most recent movies on-board.  Unfortunately the Veendam only had teeny tiny TVs, and not really good for watching movies and we had to order dvds from reception - So we didn’t bother with movies this cruise.

 

hope you can read this, the original was a very pale copy.