Panama Canal Cruise #3 - San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

Our third port of call was on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua.  Again, this port required tendering and because of rougher seas, it took a very long time and we were delayed over an hour meeting our tour bus on the dock.

Suzy and I chose to take a ship shore excursion called "Granada & Parque Central", which was  total of about 6.0 hours but four of those hours were spent driving two hours each way from the dock to Granada and back.  The drive was interesting - fairly lush landscapes, but Nicaragua is poorer than our other ports of call which was reflected in the buildings and roads.  The people are very nice and eager to please and are trying to encourage the tourist industry.

Our first stop was at Lake Nicaragua, a very large fresh water lake, and from its shores you can see the Mombacho volcano on the far shore.

Young boy playing

After that stop we headed to the city of Granada which has a rich colonial heritage, as can be seen in its architecture.

First stop was the San Francisco Covent in Granada which is now the City Museum.

San Francisco Convent - this is a façade only, the buildings behind do not match

Interior Museum behind the façade with paintings depicting the history of Nicaragua

Interior Courtyard of the Museum

Pre-Columbia stone statues part of the museum

Close up of one statue

Next we did a bit of a walk through the old city, looking at the old buildings, cathedrals,

Cathedral Granada - one of the most prominent buildings in the city

A worker is restoring the ceiling painting

Parque Central - town square with, the cultural hub, with local artisans

Part of Town Square Folkloric Dancing

"Old Lady Dance"

Panama Canal Cruise #2 - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Saturday, March 18, 2017, we arrived at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which required tendering to shore, a process which took some time. Suzy and I did not book a ship shore excursion but decided to hire an official taxi after much negotiation.  We particularly wanted to see San Jose del Cabo located about 20 miles south of Cabo and we were fortunate to have a very polite taxi driver who gave us a two hour tour.  We drove south through beautiful townhouse developments, hotels and homes, all richly landscaped and green.

The city of San Jose del Cabo has lots of 18th century colourful architecture, and was an artistic hub with many stores featuring good quality porcelain, jewellery, sculpture and paintings, as well as lots of cafes and restaurants.

Cabo's famous rock formations

Beaches enroute to San Jose del Cabo

San Jose del Cabo Church

Cabo San Lucas marina

Panama Canal Cruise March 2017 - #1

On March 15, 2017, my friend, Suzy, and I departed cold, wintery Vancouver for San Francisco to board the Island Princess for a 15 day Panama Canal Cruise on the Island Princess, ending in Fort Lauderdale.  We had a good time:  hot weather, relaxing on board, great food, interesting lectures on the history of the canal, and a series of 8 lectures on opera by the "Opera Lady" which were very informative.

Embarkation took longer than we hoped, but once on board we got our staterooms right away and had lunch.  Then enjoyed the embarkation party going under the Golden Gate Bridge.  Weather was cold and wet in San Francisco.

On board at last

San Francisco Skyline

Golden Gate Bridge

Touring Vero Radiation Facility at BC Cancer Agency

On March 7 my brother, Ken, and I had the honour to be invited to tour the new Vero radiation machine installation at the BC Cancer Agency.  The acquisition and installation of this cutting edge radiation machine to treat cancer was partially funded by the generous donation of funds from an estate through the St. Paul's Hospital Foundation.  The trustees of the estate made this donation in honour of the late  Dr. Linda Vickars, in her memory.  Linda was previously head of the Department of Hematology at St. Paul's Hospital and died of brain cancer in April 2014.

Dr. Raymond Ma, Radiation Oncologist

Trustee of the Estate and his daughter

Ken and I

We were amazed at the huge installation which you cannot see from these pictures: rooms filled with computer equipment in behind, plus concrete walls and floor around the room. The Vero also extends down below the floor level many feet. Developed in Japan, the BC Cancer Agency expects to start radiation treatment with the Vero in the spring of 2017.

Winter Scenes from my Window

I enjoy experiencing the different seasons in Vancouver, including snow in winter! I spent some time gazing out my window enjoying the winter scenes.

These pictures were taken with my canon power shot camera, which produces better photos than the iPhone 4 photos taken at the MOA exhibit (below).  Must get a new iPhone before I leave on my cruise.

MOA Layers of Influence: Unfolding Cloth Across Cultures

Layers of Influence: Unfolding Cloth Across Cultures

On Thursday evening I attended this exhibit at the Museum of Anthropology with Sisterhood friends. This Exhibit presents large swaths of intricate textiles which were often worn to enhance the wearer’s prestige, power and spiritual connection, including Japanese kimonos, Indian saris, Indonesian sarongs, West African adinkra, adire and kente cloth, South Pacific barkcloth, Chinese Qing dynasty robes, Indigenous Northwest coast blankets, Maori feather cloaks and more.  http://moa.ubc.ca/portfolio_page/layers-of-influence/

The tour was led by one of the curators with comments and stories provided by other women who have personally experienced making or receiving special lengths of decorative textiles, often for a special occasion such as birth, graduation and marriage. These textile gifts are kept for life and passed down to children.

Many of the textiles were instantly recognizable as representing a known culture, such as Bali, Guatemala, Japan, China, places where Neil and I travelled.  I very much recommend this exhibit and of course the whole MOA. The Layers of Influence exhibit continues to April 9.

Palm Springs Vacation

I spent December 26 - 31 in the Palm Springs area on vacation, joining my brother, Ken, and Libby, for six of their 10 days there.  We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells, a vacation resort south of Palm Springs proper. It had seven pools, of which one was designated as adult "Oasis" segregated from the others.  The Oasis pool area was a great place to soak up the sun, have a drink or a light lunch.

My first time in Palm Springs so I was curious to see the lay of the land.  We drove around most days trying different restaurants, and seeing all sorts of sights including El Paseo Drive, Beach House Yogurt (outstanding), the many malls and shopping areas, and Shields Date Farm. Also very much enjoyed the desert landscapes. Some of the photos below are from Ken:

Ken & I

Also enjoyed an afternoon and evening with Joan and Bruce.  They picked me up at the hotel and took me first to the Living Desert, a zoo featuring African/desert animals.  It was very crowded that day because school was out, but once we got further back into the zoo, there was lots of room.

After the Living Desert, Joan and Bruce took me to Beach Front Yogurt for fabulous frozen yogurt - what a wonderful experience that was! Absolutely mouth watering delicious! And then an opportunity to see their home in Sun City in Palm Desert, and dinner at the Club.

Ken, Libby and I also went to Old Town in La Quinta, and were disappointed in it.  Could see nothing of historical value, just shopping.  Saw lots of bougainvillea in bloom and also Mexican/Spanish style tile work.

All and all a very good get away.  Had fun!

Remembering my Brother, Bruce

Today would have been the 64th birthday of my brother Bruce, who unfortunately died of Crohn's Disease in 1974 at the age of 21.  Here is his formal high school graduation picture from 1971:

And this one was taken at the graduation ceremony at Killarney High School on June 4, 1971 with Mom and Dad:

Bruce was an excellent chess player and competed in junior tournaments.  He also loved DeMolay and was a Master Councillor of Beaver Chapter. I wish he was still with us.