Chipotle

I finally got a chance to try some taco at Chipotle for the very first time in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I ordered Barbacoa tacos with guacamole and my husband got a monster burrito. Damn, they were so delicious! I wish Hawaii could open Chipotle right now! Honestly, Chipotle is much better than Taco Bell. Period. Chipotle rocks!

Souvenirs

I collected the souvenirs from Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama Canal. I am planning to put them all in the display when I buy a house in the near future.

Arriving Fort Lauderdale, Florida

At about 5:30 a.m., my husband woke me up and told me to take a look at the window. In surprise, I saw the lights on the buildings and that cruise, and they were so beautiful! We were supposed to arrive at about 7 a.m., but we arrived early. And we had a nice breakfast especially a salmon before leaving the stateroom and relaxing at the Victorian Lounge until our group number was called up for our next turn to get off the ship.

Our Interpreters

Our interpreters, Selena and Deb, did a great job on a 8-day cruise and the shore excursions! Thank you, Selena and Deb :)

Cruise Luggage Tags

Before the debarkation day, a steward brought the luggage tickets to the staterooms. First choice, if we wanted the faculty to pick up our bags between 8 p.m. and midnight before the debarkation day, then we had to attach the number tags to our bags. Second choice, if we decide to carry our luggage with us on the debarkation day, we had to find our specific time to get off the ship. We ended up going with our first choice. We put our bags outside the stateroom so the stewards would pick them up before midnight. After getting off the ship at about 9:30 a.m. the next morning, it was not hard to look for 19 and locate our bags in the baggage claim. Each group at different times departed throughout the morning. The last time to clear the ship was about 10-10:30 a.m.

Towel Animals Demonstration

Cruise ship stewards demonstrated how to decorate the cabins each evening with towel animals. It was not easy to make some towel animals when I thought I saw the stewards making these animals easy! It was fun though!

Free Sushi

Food on this ship either complimentary sushi or tapas served at cocktail hour in the sushi bar. You can get more sushi as much as you like if you are still in a hungry mood!

Peace And Calm

Somewhere near the west of Cuba, I saw soft and blue ocean out there at sea. It somehow inspired me and made me smile. It is like a symbol of peace and calm at the right time. Nice and smooth.

Servers Dance

Soon after finishing our delicious supper, my husband and I had a brief chat with our interpreters. They said that a speaker announced all the servers were going to dance tonight. It kind of surprised us because I've never seen any servers dancing like that in a restaurant! To award a best server, all the servers who put their costumes on had to dance better. What inspired me was the servers wanted us the guests to dance with them and have a ball!

Triple Birthdays

Dreamtrips announced that three people have the same birthdays. They got a birthday gift as a cocktail shot. Happy Birthday!

Free Seafood Appetzers

The Fish and Chips Restaurant offers free seafood appetizers on the Lido deck. At first, I thought I saw a huge tuna sushi (on the left photo), but I soon realized it was a watermelon with a blackened ahi tuna topped. I also grabbed a bowl of the squid/octopus salad. These appetizers were so good!

Photo Gallery

View the beautiful photos at a photo gallery on the Promenade deck. They have a wide range of the backgrounds with different themes. All the new photos coming from embarkation, elegant dinners to entertainment are added to the display every day. Each section shows all the photos on Day 1 Embarkation, Day 2 Casual Dinners, Day 3 Elegant Dinners and so on. To find your picture(s), match a section number with your number card that a photographer will give you.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Carnival Freedom offers turkey, pumpkin pie and other delicious courses at dinner on Thanksgiving. Yes, it was absolutely free since the fee I paid for a 8-day cruise covered everything except the gratuity, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, spa carnival, some events, and one restaurant. A pumpkin pie tasted like a bit of jello, but I liked it! Overall, our food was excellent!

Panama Canal - Jarabe Tapatío

The kids dressed in Jarabe Tapatío danced for money at the quayside in Colon, Panama Canal. Cute :)

Panama Canal - Rushing River

Finally, our tour took 2 hours. It was worth it! I am glad we met the Indian tribe once in our life.

A man who was in charge was very good at navigating and handling the canoe across the rushing water and passing by the rocks. The ride was sort of scary but fun!

Panama Canal - Turtle Shell

Here is the other handicraft made by the tribe: A turtle shell. Can it be a real shell or a handicraft? I had no idea why they use this shell, but I thought it is a nice souvenir.

Panama Canal -Lifestyle

I've never thought of the tire and trunk stairs. It is unnecessary to build the man-made stairs out of iron; Indians use common sense. There were a few bungalows with the trunk stairs where Indians sleep in. They have their own exterior kitchen.

Panama Canal - Toilet

You don't need to flush at all cause there is no flush handle unlike the Philippine Islands and U.S. In the Philippine Islands, I used a full bucket of water to flush. In the U.S., you know how it works. Inside the toilet, I would say it is about 5 feet deep. Peeing and pooping simply go down the toilet.

Panama Canal - Indians Dance

The Indians demonstrated us some of their typical celebration and traditional dances such as the Flower Dance.

I learned that many young girls at least 14 years old can become mothers early if they are very responsible and know how to do chores.

This tribe allows us to visit them and take pictures unlike other native tribes don't.

Panama Canal - Handicrafts

The most popular handicrafts are "molas," reverse embroidery sewn by the tribe. Other handicrafts include the hand-woven baskets of the Embera Indian. Tagua nut sculptures are tiny figures skillfully carved from the tropical tagua nut. Impressive!

Panama Canal - Meeting the Indian Embera Tribe

Indians built a nest at the top of a tree. Indeed incredibly!

Shop for souvenirs and native handicrafts. Don't leave Panama without an authentic souvenir most made by Panama's Indian Tribe.

It was fun to see the toilet signs around the world like this.

Panama Canal - Locals Walked Across The Ford

We enjoyed the beauty areas of scenic forests for an hour. I saw a local man, a horse and his dog walking across the ford. I didn't know how deep the water is, but his dog paddled well.

Panama Canal - Riding a Motorized Canoe

Let's ride in a motorized canoe! It was incredible to meet the real Indians. They have talents in canoeing. Before boarding the canoe, I was worried about a fat lady. She awkwardly hopped in and the canoe ended up lifting down a few inches. In that canoe, water leveled a few inches below the lip of the canoe because that fat lady was too heavy. I thought positive! It took about an hour to arrive. The first one already left. My husband and I rode with other tourists in our second canoe. The third canoe would come a bit later to pick up the last tourists. We were lucky to get in the canoe early to see the Indian performance on time.

Panama Canal - Crazy Cars

On our way to meet the Indian Embera tribe, I saw some taxi cabs and local drivers going crazy everywhere. There were no traffic lights and stop signs! How scary it is. My tour guide wanted to test the tourists how much we know about the US history and facts while riding on the bus. He was surprised that most of us did not know some facts, lol. We should not make good excuses because we are American citizens.

This town reminds me of the chinatown or remote town in the Philippine Islands.

He pointed at a weird bus with the fins. He asked if we have seen it before, and the answer was no. He was totally shocked, lol.

We finally arrived by the river, waiting for the signal call from the tribe within 30 minutes. I wondered how they got in touch. I asked the bus driver how he contacted the tribe since they don't have advanced technology. He explained that someone made a call using his mobile phone atop the mountain. Interesting.