jpalbny

M, it's not the pitcher plant flesh itself that gives me the willies. It's the contents therein. Pitcher plants have a liquid in the bottom that they use to digest insects that fall into the pitcher. Thus, I hope they wash all the little half-digested bug parts out really well before they serve it! Otherwise, a few insect parts in your rice might make for some extra protein. Maybe you'll be ahead of the curve though; I hear we'll all be eating insects soon enough!

Yikes Mysty! I hope they clean out those pitcher plants really well before you eat them. Decomposing insects might not go very well with your scrumptious rice filling!

Great pix! Thanks for sharing. What a great excursion that was! I hope the rest of your cruise is as much fun as ours was.

Love the pics! Did you go into the Atomium? Such a unique structure.

I know of one gin from Argentina, called Principe De Los Apostoles Mate Gin. It's reminiscent of the northern rainforest part of Argentina (Misiones). We have tried it and enjoyed it. The flavor profile has peppermint which we found refreshing. And it was just after we had been to Iguazu, so the Yerba Mate was familiar too.

Ah yes, you get two sea days in a row on your itinerary as it's the reverse of the one we did. We enjoyed the down time after a few busy days but it's probably not so good for you, just starting out and ready for adventure! I hope you get some good sightings of the orangutans! Post some pictures if you have a chance. We had the reusable water bottles on our voyage - guess they ran out and didn't get a resupply during the drydock.

That would be amazing! Terry, thanks as always for the visuals. And thanks for the warning! We've lost some cameras due to unexpected water, and bad preparation...

Looks tasty Ron! I grilled some skirt steak yesterday. Just the way we like it!

I can't resist!

Haha! I didn't know that was his name but I was pretty sure that's who you meant!

I've been looking forward to hearing about your trip! Hope you're having a great time, and that the wildlife sightings are memorable.

Good to know. They definitely ASK that you choose one menu or the other. We have always chosen the traditional menu.

You must not have had as much!

We enjoyed our lunch there very much. It was more of an appetizer though, so we went to the grill for dessert burgers an hour or two later.

There were 3 or 4 but they tend to cloud the memory... Other than Hendricks I would be hard-pressed to name the others. There definitely was a traditional London dry type. Maybe also Bombay Sapphire? All were included. Last cruise (November 2021) they had Schweppes Indian tonic which wasn't bad. Not quite Fever Tree but it served the purpose; neither of us contracted malaria while on board! If you can wait until June I'll update from aboard Silver Wind.

It's very enjoyable. Sometimes we go. Sometimes we don't. We'll go again on our next cruise; already made the reservation (request). But only you can decide if it was worth it to you. Food is subjective; what's "worth it" to me may not be "worth it" to you. Make a reservation if you want to try it. Then look at the menu once you're on board and try it if it sounds good. Otherwise cancel.

That does burn a few calories!

Or after wine (just ask one of our regulars at the Cooler...)!

Oh well. We've been there already. Now I guess we need to look for someplace else... 😉 (Just kidding! They both look worthy of a visit.) We visited both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides. They were different and complemented each other very well. From the Argentinian side there were a number of great hikes and you could walk out into the middle of Devil's Throat. It was a spectacle. The power of the falls was unreal. From Brazil you got a better overview of the many different falls from the opposite bank. And you could get a different perspective of Devil's Throat - from below the falls level, not above. Will have to figure out how to get as many views of Victoria Falls as possible.

Looking forward to your Arcos de la Frontera pix! We were there a few years ago after a VERY long DIY day in Cadiz. I think we were both sleepwalking by the time we got there...

I know! #lifegoals Chris is impressed! And she wants to know which was better.

Coolers - anyone been to either Namibia or Botswana? Looking for a place to go in October. Botswana seems to have some great lodges and the Okavango Delta looks like a unique place. We've looked at some of the A&K itineraries and also the Sanctuary Lodges. Sanctuary also offers a lodge-hopping itinerary which includes a few days near Victoria Falls to start. We're looking for a mix of game viewing and "other" since we've done a few safaris in the past. We have looked at Namibia for years but cannot get a feel for how to best visit there. Some of the landscapes look unique, and we've actually done a series of virtual walks through Namibia on our treadmill... It looks like a place we must visit, but it seems that everything is far-flung and connecting the dots might be a challenge. Also, it seems that nobody offers an itinerary that COMBINES Victoria Falls with both Botswana and Namibia, which would be perfect for a 2-week trip. Any advice welcome!

We are doing D2D w/o SS air in June. We did our own air and took the air credit and the transfer credit. Pre and post hotel is still included. Airport transfers to/from the hotels are not included. This might be different from the experience of others, since it's an expedition cruise? Transfers between ship and hotel are still included. Sounds like you'll need to get a definitive answer from SS. Good luck!

We were just in 412 on Le Laperouse. Nice location and a fine choice.

Nice Pics Ron! This one gets my heart racing, though.