Christmas 2021

3 of us in front of Little Havana sign in Miami

 It was agreed early in 2021 that we would get together this Christmas in Miami.  At the time, Jeff and I thought we would be returning from a cruise to the Amazon River to Miami days before Christmas itself.  The cruise did not happen - so 2021 there, but our get together did.

We realized it was significantly cheaper for Cierra to fly from DC to Orlando on the 21st then to Miami on the 23rd so the three of us met up in Orlando and spent a day at Epcot.  Then we drove the rest of the way to Miami in a rather full car since it had Christmas decorations and a bunch of wrapped presents on top of our suitcases.

Cierra had chosen Epcot to visit which was good since it was the only park we could get entry for - Disney limits guests to each park these days so you must reserve your spot ahead of time and week ahead only Epcot had room.  We stayed near Disney's downtown restaurant and shopping district (Disney Springs) and enjoyed dinner there each night first at a seafood place then at a barbecue restaurant the second night.

 This is how we spent our day in Epcot:  occasional ride, eat, drink, wander to next country pavilion, drink, next country, eat, drink, explore on repeat all day.  At Christmastime, Epcot has some special food offerings which we had to check out.  Most were small and we often shared.  Along with the food was special drinks both alcoholic and non.  There is also an annual cookie stroll which of course we did.  We bought 5 cookies in 5 different countries and received a 6th for free.  We shared all cookies 3 ways and actually kept the last one till the end of our vacation and split it up then.  We started with a snickerdoodle made with a Snickers bar which was probably the least favorite for Cierra and me.  We moved onto a gingerbread man, a linzer, red velvet crinkle, and a black and white cookie.  The reward was a sugar cookie shaped like Mickey ears iced in honor of the 50th anniversary of DisneyWorld.  Below are some of our photos from Disney World.

Jeff and I finally made it to England!

Our "reward" cookie from the cookie stroll

So all of this food was small bites from outdoor temporary food stands so some of the food and drink we had was good and some were misses mostly because the dish just wasn't meant to be cooked and then reheated.  I think it was France where we started our noshing.  I know I had a sparkling drink and a salmon napoleon which while nice but not flaky dough but more of a bun for me and Jeff and Cierra had a potpie type dish which they thought was just okay too. 

We also saw Santa, Father Christmas and Pere Noel

We did do some non-food things too!  We started the day at Soarin which is a family favorite and enjoyed it.  We did the 360 degree movies in Canada and China.  We rode the 3 Amigos ride in Mexico, and we managed to get seats for Remy the new ride late in the evening.  Remy is based on the Disney movie Ratatouille and is a great ride.  If you don't know Remy is a rat who is a great cook, but alas not everyone wants a rat in their kitchen, so our car (a teacup) felt like we were sneaking along at times and then running for our lives at other times.

We also attended the Christmas music program they had.  It was nice, but not great.  Cierra's comment was she felt like we were at a televangelists' Christmas show at times.

Next day onto Miami to pick up Kevin and mom at the airport and check in at our hotel.  I say hotel which it is, but the hotel is in a building shared with a condo complex so we actually had a 3-bedroom condo and a hotel room.  The condo had a nice big balcony that looked out on Biscayne Bay.  We enjoyed watching the boats especially the ones that went out to a small island to hang out for the day.  We noticed one very unique thing - a food truck on a pontoon boat.  Unfortunately, it was too far away for us to get it in a picture to share.  Oh, we also saw a couple of manatees in the bay below our condo.  In addition to hanging out at the condo, we went on a couple of tours, had a couple of nice meals, saw neighborhood Christmas lights and explored Little Havana.

Manatees - seen from our balcony

also seen from balcony - look in middle of white foam is a man fly boarding 

in front of Christmas tree in building lobby

our Christmas tree and bear

The next photos are all from our airboat ride in the Everglades

I missed the message to take my mask off!

anaconda bird - snake bird

alligator found

The next couple of photos are taken from our cruise around Biscayne Bay - got to see the fancy houses from the water.

Christmas Eve Dinner at Bellmont Spanish Restaurant was a multicourse pre fixe menu dinner with wonderful live music.  Take a listen below.

We wandered around Little Havana some during the day and had lunch.  Jeff, Cierra and I went back down for lunch that night.

enjoying Cuban drinks - Jeff and me had mojitos and mom had strong Cuban coffee

The restaurant (Ole Havanna) that the 3 of us ate at that night had good food and even better decor.  The jukebox was right by our table and Cierra and I are each at our table.

One last family Christmas picture - in Little Havana

If you ever visit Miami at Christmas time, I highly recommend looking up neighborhoods for lights.  All of these pictures are from one small neighborhood that has been decorating to extremes for years.

 

Huahine

Huahine was our final stop.  It is described as the garden of eden so imagine a green, lush, island.  Lots of dense plants and beautiful blue waters.  It is 2 islands combined by a sandbar.  Locals claim that some of the mountains look like a reclining pregnant woman.  We debated which set of hills/mountains they were talking about, though Jeff was confident he saw her.  I could kind of see it, but not super clear either.  This is a quiet, laid back island.  But be forewarned on Wednesdays at least in October it rains right before noon.  Or at least it did both weeks on us.  We were still on our excursion the first week and in the tender waiting to go back to the ship the second week.

Can you see her behind me?  Head on the right, belly on the left.

Our first week had an excursion called "Sacred sites and Legendary Places".  It was fantastic.  Our main guide is an expat who has lived here since he finished his PhD in Polynesian Studies at the University of Hawaii.  He had first visited the islands as a teenager.  He is the professor who can lecture for hours on a topic without notes because he obviously loves the topic.  He doesn't drone on.  He is the professor whose class you always looked forward to attending.  The write up said our guide would share his passion for the island with you - he did.  We went to archeological sites some up on a hill and one on the water.  He described the groups who had used each site.  

Our guide with his captivated tour group

The large stones were an elevated platform

Note the stone walls on either side

Stone platform

We visited a museum where we got to see old tools and to experience a building made from local palm leaves and other plants.

We also visited another vanilla plantation.  This one was interesting in that all of the plants were in a kind of green house.  They too sold vanilla products and this time we walked away with a small bottle of coconut vanilla rum.  We opened it the other day - had forgotten how sweet it is.  Will need to mix it with something!

From there we saw 500 year old fish traps.  Yep you read that right 500 years old.  Actually, they have been there that long, but I think there had been some rebuilding along the way.  It is interesting the traps are made of piled rocks in the shape of big "V"s so as the water/tide comes in, some fish get caught as it goes back out some more fish get caught.  Very ingenious.

Our last stop was to see the village Faie where we saw their blue eyed eels.  Like a good tour guide he brought along a can of fish so that they swarmed the area and we could see them well.  I think a couple were easily over 2 feet long.

As he talked about the history he also taught us about modern day French Polynesia.  We learned things about current life here - most people live in multi-generational families and the land is often owned by families - you and your brothers and sisters have to agree to sell some or all of the land.  Years ago the land on the islands were split up in wedges so from a mountain top going down to the water was your family's piece of land.  Kids are able to receive a certain level of education on the island, but then have to go to a larger island to get to the end of our high school education.  To go higher may mean going to Tahiti and ultimately to France for a university level education.  Many young people are not up to the culture shock of going to France so many of the professional level jobs are still held by non-native Frenchmen.  The French government heavily subsidizes the islands, so people have a decent level of living, but it is a challenge to develop new industries.  

Our second week we chose an E-bike tour of the smaller of the 2 islands.  It was Jeff, me, Linda from our cruise and Anne our tour guide.  Anne was originally from France.   Neither Jeff nor I had used an E-Bike before and weren't sure what to expect.  Happy to say it was a good experience.  You pedaled like normal but going up a hill you can either work hard all on your own or turn on the bike and get whatever level of assistance you need.  While we rode around on the road circling the island, there were a couple of small hills so the assistance was appreciated a couple of times.  Oh - traffic.  Yes we biked on the main roads.  No I was not worried about traffic.  There were only a couple of times when there were vehicles going in both directions and vehicles in general were somewhat sparse.  We stopped at viewpoints to see the beautiful ocean and to see things like a sign congratulating a village for winning a beautification project and just the views from up a hill.  We also stopped at a small resort (LaHana) where in theory we could get in the water.  None of us did; rather we sat in the shade and enjoyed a local beer.  I think Jeff's favorite part of the ride was the small, very sweet bananas our guide had for us.  He still talks about them.

Another of many Archeological sites

The e-bike power assist was helpful reaching the top of this hill.

This is the sign for the beautification award

Nothing like a cold Beer in paradise

One note, while it rained on us at noon both weeks it did not rain all afternoon.  Both weeks we enjoyed floating around the marina at the back of the boat in the afternoon for one last time before the cruise was over.  Oh the second week we also had the treat of having yet another covid test so we could fly back to the USA.

Gorgeous even on a cloudy day

Bora Bora

Crew kindly took our picture on the Bow Sprit

Bora Bora is a name most of us know therefore, I think we assume it is a good sized place.  Um not really, but it does have an airport and a couple of towns and some luxury resorts with over the water bungalows.   The US military was here in World War II and made significant changes that have had a lasting impact on the island.  Some of the lasting changes are:  name recognition, the airport runway, roads, the largest opening for a lagoon in the islands, the 8 inch canons still here on mountains, bunkers on mountains are still here too and a few blue eyed children.  We really enjoyed our time in Bora Bora.  The first week we did a jeep 4X4 tour of the island and the second week we did a snorkeling and cultural tour.  Plus there was another Motu we could enjoy during the day and had a feast and fire dancing at in the evening.

Our first tour the 4X4 was a jeep ride up into the mountains 3 different times.  After the first trip up the roads got bumpier, but it was fun and oh the views!  The different colors of the water below is amazing.  

The second trip up the mountain took us to a couple of the WWII canons.  We saw a spot where one had been and then we visited one of the remaining canons.  Nearby was a bunker that had originally been for ammo storage.  The islands never saw any conflict during the war.  The military had chosen this island because it had a single defensible opening to the lagoon, but they had to bomb some of the coral to make it big enough for military ships.  They wanted ships in the lagoon because with only one way in there was a level of protection.  The canons provided yet another level of defense.  

Our third and final trip up the mountain took us to a small art studio where they made hand painted pareos. I got one - I wanted one as a new swimsuit coverup. it has the mountains and flowers painted on it. Almost forgot, on our way back to the ship on the final stop, we passed a Home Depot. Yep they really are everywhere! 😉

The event at the Motu that evening was quite nice.  They had a big buffet set up under a palm covered pavilion and we ate on tablecloth covered picnic tables.  After dark the entertainment started.  First we had a dance troupe of mainly women performing a variety of local dances somewhat similar to a hula.  Then the male contingent took over.  I can't say men because one was a young boy.  There were flaming sticks that were twirled like batons and tossed amongst themselves, they climbed like cheerleaders on each other while twirling the fire sticks.  They showed no fear and great confidence.  It was quite impressive.  Then it was back to our ship by way of the catamarans they had rented for us.  The nighttime view was pretty especially with our ship and its sails all lit up.

Oh this is the island for SHOPPING too.  There were pearl stores everywhere (well everywhere for a small place).  You had your choice of high end shops or the stalls run by locals.  There were some nice souvenir shops too.  You could find some unique clothing, artwork or some home goods too.  I explored most of the town we were in (Vaitape) and bought a couple of little things.  For myself I ended up in the "Mama's Market" which was right at the pier where tenders from our ship dropped us off.  It was a nice sized kind of open air market with local artisans selling pearl jewelry and clothing, etc.  I got myself an inexpensive (ok cheap) necklace here.  The pearls they were selling may not last as long since they are not up to the standards required by the government for export.  I was okay with that so for $20 I got a necklace and a ponytail tie with a shell flower on it.  I was content.  Many people bought nice pearls here - you could buy them in a setting already or loose so you could do something of your own design with them later.

The first week our friends had gone on an excursion that had 3 snorkeling stops and a luncheon with local food and crafts and had loved it so we did it on our second week.  It was a very good excursion.  Unfortunately for us the weather did not hold up the whole day.  First stop on the snorkeling part was a shallow area with stingrays.  Shallow as in I could stand up in the water.  The stingrays were cool!  They were friendly.  I even had one swim in between my feet on the ocean floor.  Touched a couple too.  

Then back in the boat to go to the sharks.  Yes we were willingly heading to sharks.  When we got there Jeff was the first one off the boat I was the 3rd - with snorkel on correctly, fins and a life jacket on.  So these sharks are nothing like the ones here in Alabama.  They have a yellow fin, are not very big and came across as harmless.  After some conversation, it was pointed out that inside the lagoon (coral breakers) they tend to be smaller and can get bigger out in the ocean.  I enjoyed being with them and never worried.  Okay back in the boat for the third and final stop.  

This was a coral garden with the possibility of seeing an eel and maybe a blue clam.  We saw all three.  Unfortunately, everyone else was there too today.  People were literally swimming on top of each other at times to see things like the eel.  Still, it was a good stop.  I started to head back to our boat when a school of small colorful fish swam right past me (I was in the middle of the school).  I laughed and instead of going back to the boat kept snorkeling till it was time to go.

As we were starting off to our luncheon on the Motu it started to rain which meant that by the time we got there we were all cold.  We were bundled up in towels but being wet meant  we got the towels wet.  We saw a couple of the luxury resorts on our way to the Motu.  We got there and headed for places out of the wind.  The meal was nice, but I was a little disappointed because our friends had said how fun it was to sit in the water at a table and have the sharks and fishes swimming around your feet as you ate.  Now the tables were there, I just had no desire to be out in the rain so under cover was where I ate.  After lunch, it was time for some demonstrations for us - how to open a coconut without a knife - look for the eyes and the face.  How to tie a pareo.  I appreciated the last one because I used that knowledge to wear one of the pareos they also gave me there to the special dinner and fire dancing that night.  

After that it was time to head back to our ship.  Um yeah we were all still a little damp and an open air boat meant we got back to the ship cold and damp.  Let me tell you the hot chocolate at the coffee shop onboard was wonderful!

At the feast that night, I proudly wore one of my pareos and again enjoyed the show.  This time on our way back to the ship the catamaran turned down its lights so we could all enjoy the incredible stars that were above us.  

The next day a quick trip into town to pick up a present for a friend and then to the Motu for a day at the beach.  What a day it was!!  We snorkeled, kayaked, floated and stand up paddle boarded.  While snorkeling we saw a little eel in the coral and lots of colorful fish.  I really like the neon blue little guys.  The boat had brought their kayaks and stand up paddle boards over and we put them to use.  There was a lot of coral on one side of the Motu and we kayaked around them slowly so we could look down at the fish.  We both did stand up paddle boarding.  Jeff is pretty accomplished now.  I got up and did some too.  I thought they had held the board for me again only to learn from Jeff that no I had done it on my own!  I did not stay up long though - I had heard it is a good core workout well my thighs were killing me!  I was digging my feet into the board which may have been part of the problem. It was a good day.

A Catamaran was used to ferry the ships passengers to feast

Taha'a

Taha'a is a small agricultural island and is known as the vanilla island since most of French Polynesia's vanilla is grown here.  The ship was moored in such a way that we were also close to Motu Mahaea a VERY small island that Windstar owns so we could also experience a private beach and a barbecue.

Since it is the vanilla island, one of our excursions included a tour of a vanilla plantation.  I knew vanilla had beans, but I have to confess they looked completely different than I expected.  I thought something like a lima bean when in fact they look more like big green beans!  Vanilla is a very hands on plant to grow.  It has to be protected and it has to be manually pollinated.  Uh yeah you read that correctly each flower has to be pollinated by a human being.  The French spread vanilla around the world as they explored.  They planted the usual variety in Tahiti, but the climate was not quite right so the plant adapted to the local climate and thus the variety in Tahiti is only found in Tahiti.  It is different from the vanilla you get in the Caribbean or elsewhere.

The first week we did an excursion that combined a tour of the vanilla plantation with some snorkeling.  While the vanilla plantation seemed small to me, it was actually a pretty good sized one because they had racks where they dried the beans for other growers too.  We had a presentation under a tent and then we walked around some and just like Disneyland ended up in a little shop.  I bought some dried vanilla and a small packet of beans.  

Carol and Kathy checking out the drying vanilla beans

Then it was time to snorkel.  Since I had not snorkeled in a few years, I had practiced at the pool before we left so I felt confident I knew what I was doing - um no.  I put my equipment on and got in the water and was having some problems so took a life vest to hold on to as I tried to swim around.  With my blessings, Jeff had already gotten in the water.  We passed a few times, but it was not till our guide decided he was going to get me out to some coral did anyone realize I had the snorkel on wrong which was a big part of my struggles.  Let's just say it is not easy to try and change the side of your head the snorkel is on while wearing it.  I saw the coral and pretty much said I had enough and went back to the boat.  Shortly thereafter it started to rain - not a drizzle.  Guide struggled to get everyone back on the boat so he could take us back to the ship.  Guess who was the last one to get back aboard - Jeff of course.  The rain lasted long enough that there was no lunch on the island, but it did clear up enough in the afternoon to go to the motu so Jeff and I did and hung out for awhile.

The second week it rained hard in the morning and again lunch was on the ship.  This time it cleared up early enough in the day that the Motu was the place to go - hey we had all been cooped up all morning!  We actually had to take numbers to get on the tenders to go to the island there were so many of us wanting to go.  The afternoon was great.  I practiced snorkeling and got to see some fish.  I also successfully paddle boarded.  I had tried a couple of years ago in Panama but had never got past my knees.  This time I stood up - full disclosure a crew member held the board steady while I stood up and then off I went.  It was a good afternoon.  Back to the ship so we could head off to Bora Bora for a 2 day stay!

Enjoying the beach with a mai tai in hand

Off to our next Island