June 21, 2017

At Sea

We left Cuba last night and will spend all day today and tonight sailing back to Tampa Bay.

When we are at sea I divide my time between the casino, the swimming pool and the restaurants and buffets. They don’t want you to take pictures in the casino. You certainly don’t want to see pictures of an old man in a bathing suit, so here are some pictures of the food:

One of the restaurants had Indian cuisine. I had roasted lamb chops covered with a cherry glaze. People say it was what  Matthew McConaughey made for Kate Hudson in some movie. I never saw the movie, so I don’t know if Kate liked it, but I did. It was very good.

They are very serious about food poisoning on board all cruise ships. In such close quarters, it is easy to pass germs around, so they ask you to wash your hands before and after you eat. My hands are wrinkled because I spent so much time eating and hand washing.

I try to burn calories instead of storing them, so I spent a couple hours every day in the fitness center.

I bought this hat in Havana (for 15 pesos). When I started wearing it, people started speaking to me in Spanish. I guess I looked like an hombre from South Omaha. Maybe that’s not so strange these days (Inside joke for people from South 20th Street).

Of course I had to try a Cuban cigar.

It was … cough … cough … cough … great! (Not really).

Here is my passport with a very rare (for Americans) Cuba visa. There was a time when Americans who traveled to Cuba were taken aside and questioned about why they were going there. Today … not so much.

Thursday morning …. the ship pulls into the port at Tampa Bay … and the cruise is over. I will be back in Austin later today and thinking about my next trip … check you later.