Although my wife and I actually set foot and straddled the equator in – where else? – Ecuador several times, I’m embarrassed to say that in my 20 years of active naval service I never crossed the equator. So I am still what the mariners call a pollywog. At least until yesterday.

A shellback initiation is a ritual dating back 400 years as a way the mariners observed the transformation of a pollywog, a seaman who has not crossed the equator into a shellback. A shellback also called a Son or Daughter of Neptune who as we all know is the mythical god of the ocean.

Traditionally, the mariners who have been shellback the longest dress up in elaborate colorful costumes. King Neptune and his royal court are entertained by pollywogs with a talent show – dancing, singing, poetry, skits, etc. The pollywogs are then charged with various offenses by the shellbacks. During the initiation ritual, they are made to eat slops (mixture of uneaten foods from the galley that is often spicy); they are made to crawl on their bellies on objectionable debris and end up kissing the greased belly of the royal baby (usually a sailor with big belly). You can visualize the ritual but it is all for fun!

Like the English, the ship observes the traditional tea time too. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon after the organized chaos of the shellback initiation. We sipped a variety of tea, mine was Darjeeling and drank it like I like my coffee – pure and black, while Sasha (the resident pianist) entertained us with classical music. Need I mention that all these fine teas and foods are free?

As I already mentioned in my previous blogs, the ship has several lecturers presenting different topics of expertise. One of them is Mr Ian Wright who was a personal photographer of the late John Lennon, one of the Fab Four (Beatles). Ian shared with us anecdotes that gave us a view of John Lennon’s very private life. How he sailed from New York to the Bermuda where they encountered a hurricane and was ship wrecked. While recuperating in Bermuda, John Lennon was so inspired by a rare flower that he composed one of his final album – Double Fantasy. John Lennon was shot and killed on December 8, 1980 in front of his apartment building in New York City. He was only 40 years old.

Atlantic Ocean trivia: The Atlantic Ocean is divided in half, north and south, by the Mid Atlantic Ridge or MAR. Longer than the Rockies, the Himalayas and the Andes combined, this underwater range is the longes on Earth. The MAR was discovered in 1872 when the crew of the HMS Challenger set out to research a path for a future transatlantic telegraph cable.

As many of you know, I spent part of my life as a sailor in the United States Navy and obviously also spent time on a ship as part of the overall mission of the navy. Of course, the luxury and comfort of the Viking cruise is no comparison with that of a naval surface vessel but terminologies used to describe locations and objects, e.g., port side for the left side of the ship; starboard for the right; aft for the rear; forward for the front, etc. are the same. And one more common similarity is – you get seasick when the waves are as high as a small building fortunately, we haven’t experienced this yet; however, there was a time the waves were so bad that a port itinerary was cancelled as I mentioned in my previous blog.

We are cruising with our friends of 40-something years, Aurea (Oya) and Tommy Holgado. We are also lucky to have the company of Oya’s cousin, Nelia and her husband Val Macasait (from Virginia Beach, VA). Val and I share things in common – he is also a retired U.S. Navy with 22 years behind him and a retired federal employee. Nelia, Oya and Trini are all retired nurses.

We continue to enjoy the nightly shows at the Star Theater. The cruisers were treated with a fabulous performance from a very talented artist – Salvatore Hasard! He wowed the audience with his ability to sing Endless Love by himself! The original track was sung by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. People sang along with his rendition of The Piano Man! Salvatore’s voice range was truly amazing. He also plays different instruments – piano, keyboard, guitar, drums and saxophone. It was a show that equaled or surpassed those in the Las Vegas Strip!

Julian Gargiulo who’s stage name is The Pianist with the Hair (I wonder why). He treated us with his soul-lifting classical music but he also entertained us with knee slapping pieces. Not only is he a gifted pianist, he also is a great entertainer that kept us roaring with laughter!

David Meyer‘s instrument aptly called xylosynth is a combined xylophone/synthesizer that produced unbelievable sounds! It can reproduce various instruments from piano to guitar. Throughout the performance guests were rhythmically clapping with the upbeat music.

David also demonstrated how he can create music with “rays of light”. It was magical!

However great the performances are if you are hungry then you may not enjoy them! Viking really did a stupendous job providing cruisers with eclectic gastronomical experiences ranging from the popular grilled burgers to fusion dishes to the exquisite French cuisine! Name your favorite and chances us they serve them. Last night we were back at The Restaurant to partake in their specialty for the night – lobster and braised short ribs! Personally, I think lobster is overrated (no offense to those who love them), I prefer crabs getting my hands all messy trying to separate the juicy meat from the shells. Having said that, I ordered the braised short ribs. It was heavenly delicious and so tender! I washed the food down with a bold Argentine Malbec from the famous Mendoza Vineyard.

And for the not-so-bad news, it’s another four days before we can yell “Land ahoy”!!!!

I talked about the changes of the cruise’s itinerary and the cancellation of the Argentine Tango dinner. By the way, to compensate for these “unforeseen” inconveniences we were given $500 onboard credit per person. After the ship left Montevideo (the six mountains from east to west), we were scheduled to anchor near Punta del Este, a popular resort in Uruguay but this did not happen again due to heavy seas which made the trip ashore dangerous. Since the ship was anchored a tender (passenger boat) is used to transport passengers to shore and doing that was extremely dangerous.

So here we are in South Atlantic Ocean cruising east of Brazil. Once a divider of continents Europeans believed “there be dragons” beyond the ocean’s glaring horizon. Once they considered that another world lay on the other side, the Atlantic became an avenue of conquest and trade.

So what else to do while floating in this huge expanse of water?

Fortunately, Viking provided us with lots of amenities and activities to keep us preoccupied. If you’re bored then it’s your own fault! The ship has a versatile and very entertaining band composed of Filipinos musicians! Yes, they are great and I do not say this because they come from my country of birth. We’ve been cruising for a long time and when there is quality entertainment aboard a ship, there you see Filipino entertainers!

There are games and contests daily. Experts from various fields captivated the audience with their interesting topics. One woman talked about her record-breaking journey in a row boat with her son for more than 3000 miles in 101 days! Another discussed about astronomy; someone presented about international human rights, etc.

The Star Theater is the venue for the main shows onboard. We were treated with exquisite and sensuous tango show we missed in Buenos Aires. The Tango Cervila performed superbly and delighted the crowd with their traditional and modern tango style. There are also two movie theaters if you didn’t want to watch them in your staterooms.

We were also treated with the fabulous performance celebrating the legendary Swedish pop group ABBA!

We’ve been pampered in the spa and enjoyed the relaxing steam room and the soothing effects the hydro pool. This morning we experienced a blissful 50-minute Swedish massage…aaahhhhh! In between these luxurious pampering, Trini and I used the complete fitness center equipment. Workout is a must in order to partake in the decadent fine dining in the evenings! There is a walking trail (4 laps equals a mile) if you prefer the outdoors.

There are so many options for dining onboard. If you want casual buffet, you can go to the World Cafe where you can select form many different cuisines (my favorite is sashimi and sushi). If you prefer to dress up a little bit, then go to Manfredi’s (where I had chilled octopus Carpaccio, crema di Porcini e Crostini and bisteca Florentina – a very tender ribeye steak cooked to perfection)!. Or you can try The Restaurant, a more relaxed atmosphere with the same delicious entrees. However, if you would like to really dress and experience fine dining at its best make a reservation at The Chef’s Table.

This morning, three chefs demonstrated how to prepare Caribbean cooking! They made it look so easy!

I just came back from a veteran’s group get together at the Explorers Lounge and it was so nostalgic meeting other veterans and talking about the “old days”! We all agreed that we should meet again at least one more time before the cruise is over.

We arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay at 8:00 am after a night of slight rolling of the ship due to the choppy waters. Montevideo is located just across the Rio de la Plata (a tributary of the Uruguay River) from Buenos Aires. Our tour guide explained that the name Montevideo means Six Mountains from East to West – Monte (mountain), VI (six from the Roman numeral), De (from), Este (east), Oeste (west).

Uruguay has a total population of around 3.5 million of which 1.4 million live in Montevideo. Like Buenos Aires there is a very strong European influence in the inhabitants compared to the other South African countries with indigenous people. It is the second smallest country (next to Suriname) in South America.

The forecast called for rain in the morning. Fortunately, the ship provided everyone with a red umbrella along with bottled waters (more of Viking’s freebies). There wasn’t much to see that Trini and I have not already seen when we first visited in 2014. Also, the rain pretty much kept us inside the bus. At least our tour guide, Vicente, was very interesting and had a great sense of humor. We learned a lot of trivia from him! It was nice to know that in Uruguay, a wife can divorce her husband without any grounds! We also learned that the Uruguayans eat a lot of meat – average of 200 pounds a year per individual! And that the country’s name comes from Uruguay River which means “River of the Painted Bird”.

We flew from Las Vegas to Dallas, where we joined our long-time friends from LA, Tommy and Oya Holgado. The trip to Buenos Aires took more than 14 hours including the layover. The carrier was American Airlines 787 Dreamliner which was fully booked (almost 300 passengers!). There was a slight delay as one passenger was too sick to travel so they had to remove him and all his luggage that were already in the plane’s cargo hold.

We landed in Buenos Aires before 8:00 am and had to go through the long customs queue. With our passports, proof of COVID-19 vaccination, and PCR negative tests results. The unsmiling customs guy squinted at our PCR test results and summoned his supervisor. They talked in Spanish and started using their fingers to count, I was tempted to ask them if they wanted to use my fingers too. The supervisor asked us when we flew out of the U.S. and at what time as they seem to compute (with their hands) that the tests were more than 72 hours prior to our first flight. I told them (in my limited Spanish) that we left on March 16th at 12:45 pm and the tests were done on March 13th at 1:10 pm. After intensely staring at us for what seemed like interminable seconds, we were allowed to go. Whew! However, that was not the last time we were questioned about the timeline of our PCR tests.

After the Viking guides herded us we were told to wait for the buses to take us to the ship. The temperature in Buenos Aires was warm and a little humid and people started to shed they warm jackets and sweaters. By now, we were hungry as they only fed us yogurt and mixed nuts for breakfast. Luckily, we brought some snacks with us.

We were taken to the port embarkation area where we had to again show all the necessary documents. Stage One – Wait until your turn to approach one of the tables to answer the same health questions: Do you have a fever? Have you been in contact with someone with COVID? And so on. Step Two – Proceed to the upper level. There they check your documents again. The person that screened us scrutinized our PCR test results again, and like at the airport called his supervisor to decide whether the timeline is acceptable. Despite me showing them the Viking Pre-Departure Checklist that states, “PCR test must be taken within 72 hours prior to boarding OUTBOUND FLIGHT FROM HOME COUNTRY”!!! There were several cruisers in the same predicament and understandably all were angry and frustrated! The issue got passed from one employee to another until finally a ship’s female officer read the Pre-Departure Checklist since none of the previous employees even bothered to read it. To make a long story short, we still had to do another test! But what was irritating was EVERY CRUISER that checked in had to do a saliva test in their cabin upon boarding! To add insult to injury, we were all prohibited from leaving our staterooms until the results have been displayed in our TV monitors. While I’m typing this blog, we’re still held captive in our rooms (it’s now 8:45 pm and the ship pulled out of Buenos Aires. The shore excursion (Argentine Tango Dinner Show) that we pre-paid was cancelled. Hence, no one was able to see the city except the skyline as we were pulling out from the pier.

After these frustrating and disappointing events that transpired, we decided to order a nice meal and opened a chilled bottle of Chardonnay (like I said before, wine is free with your meals) so we can unwind and relax a little bit. We sat in our balcony and watched the tugboat pull the ship into position. Trini and I breathed a sigh of relief and agreed that things could have been worse…..

Like most travelers, we were stuck in limbo since everything shut down all over the world due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Although we were able to do a long drive last year in August which gave us the opportunity in visiting the national parks like, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone, etc, we felt that this is very different to visiting other countries, especially when you’re cruising.

My wife, Trini, and I will be flying to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina (South America) to catch the Viking Ocean liner. This will be our third time to cruise with Viking and we really enjoyed our previous ones. We love that there is NO casino on the ship; no rowdy teenagers; and no kids running around bumping to you while trying to balance your tray in the food line! And there are only about 900 cruisers compared to the thousands in other cruise liners which makes it much less crowded. But the best part of this cruise is – drum roll please – wine and beer and sodas are included with your meals. There is also a free excursion included in every port visited.

There is one issue that was really disappointing with this cruise itinerary. Originally, we were scheduled to visit Rio de Janeiro and Recife in Brazil. It also included Senegal, Africa and Morocco, also in Africa. However, all these ports were cancelled and replaced with Madeira Island, Cape Verde and Valencia, Spain. I called our booking agent and complained but all I got was a half-hearted apology. I couldn’t cancel as it was less than ten days before our embarkation date and we would lose all our money! I checked the contract and there was nothing we can do! Oh well….c’est la vie.

Speaking of cancellation, we were scheduled for another Viking River Cruise next year starting in Moscow, Russia and ending in St Petersburg, Russia. However, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we felt that it was morally wrong to continue with the cruise and spend money in a country that would not respect another country’s sovereignty!

I will keep you posted of our cruise and update my post upon arrival in Buenos Aires!

Stay safe y’all!

I have to admit, today was a much better day than yesterday (Day 4). A visit to the first US national park erased all the anxieties and frustrations from yesterday. Visiting the park the second time in 29 years made me realize that those things that sometimes make us go ballistic are just a “sand in our shoe”, irritating but tolerable. Deal with it and get on with your life! Travel and go see places you’ve never seen before.

These pictures paint a thousand word and I need not explain how I felt as we drove around Yellowstone! I will add more of my commentaries in the next couple of days, but for now the photos should speak for themselves!

We spotted a herd of bisons near the road and watched them graze near the roads, a few just lying still as if they were waiting for the park visitors to take their pictures.

My post is a day late but I will try my best to update you. Thank you for following my blog!!!!

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if everyday was sunny and bright and the temperature was perfect? We would all wish that indeed life would be better this way! But would it really be better? Some one said that “in each life some rain must fall; some days must be sad, dark and dreary ….” I agree! I think life would be boring without all these weather changes and life would be monotonous if we do not encounter any challenges at all. We would all succumb to a lackadaisical behavior. Just my personal opinion.

Today, we checked out of our hotel and were all excited to go visit the first US National Park – Yellowstone. Checking my cell phone’s weather app, I notified my traveling companions that we would be expecting inclement weather on our way to Idaho where we booked our accommodation. After almost five hours driving, we arrived Island Park, Idaho. What greeted us was a beautiful two story log house located in the wilderness of about 28 miles outside of Yellowstone National Park.

But let me share with you how our day started.

We went looking for McDonald’s to get some breakfast and coffee. Of course, Google Maps was again our guide to help us get to our destination. However, like what happened previously, the app took us around the city again before we finally found McD. By then, the rain started to get stronger. We were all cranky as we all wanted our caffeine fix. The place did not have dining-in so we had to drive thru. Ordering was another challenge as the McDonald “intake specialist” keeps getting our orders mixed up! After carefully repeating our order (the fourth or fifth time) he finally got it (except for my black coffee order). We scarfed down our greasy sandwiches and continued our wet drive to the Potato State.

Our drive was interspersed with drizzle and downpour accompanied with some lightning. This went on for hours. Not a peak of sunshine occurred even for a second. We initially wanted to go straight to Yellowstone but after checking my app showing 50-80% chance of rain, I suggested we go directly to our cabin. I took a vote and the majority passed to visit the park tomorrow instead. After an agonizingly slow bumpy ride on a dirt road, we reached this beautiful house nestled in a copse. It was only 3:34PM and check-in was at 4:00PM but I had the code for the key lockbox so I decided to go open the house. Hesitatingly, I beckoned for my companions to unload and bring our luggage and groceries inside.

After a back breaking 15 minutes unloading our stuff, I received a call from the rental office and instructed us not to go inside. Too late! We were already inside and unpacked! She told me that she cannot allow us to use the unit as the cleaning people discovered a BEDBUG in one of the bedrooms downstairs! She gave us an option – move to another unit which is about 7 miles further and we get reimbursed a portion of the rental fee, or get fully reimbursed and find another hotel or VRBO (similar to AirBnB) somewhere! Are you kidding me! All the hotels are fully booked and so are the VRBO/AirBnB rentals! We had no other option.

The senior citizens again loaded the tons of luggage and groceries back in the van and we proceeded to the new place. We arrived but found the place was not ready yet. Three beautiful sisters (one of them with a one month old infant in a sling across her chest) were furiously trying to finish the clean up. After a half hour (the rain was really pouring at this time and temperature was dipping), the “Tres Marias” finished and hastily left before I could ask them what to do with six large bags of trash left in front of the house! We are in an area where bears normally go foraging for food whether in the trash bins or inside the house.

I tried to call the reservation office but went directly into voicemail! As soon as I hung up, a large Chevy SUV came barreling into the gravel driveway. Before we can ask him who he was he handed us a scouring sponge for the dishes then collected all the trash and placed them in his vehicle. Then he went inside to replace a couple of burned out ceiling bulbs. Nice guy, I wish he could speak more!

Whew! What a day it was but nothing a couple of bottles of vino could not fix

Today was practically a rest day being a Sunday and also we did not have any plans other than explore the city. Trini and I woke up at 7:30AM and tried the hotel’s breakfast buffet while some of our companions went to attend mass in a nearby Catholic Church.

After the rest of the group arrived from church we started our exploration of the city. Salt Lake is not a large city but it is the most populous city in the state. It is an arid mountain desert. Being a Sunday, the streets were practically empty except for tourists. We first visited their imposing Capitol.

• 

• 

We went to the Temple Square where all the people we met seemed to be very nice and cheerful! The day was warm but was made warmer by these cheery people.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We also visited the Gilgal Sculpture Garden which contains twelve original sculptural arrangements creating a unique (or bizarre) landscape. Thomas Child began work on the garden in 1945 and attracted thousands of visitors during his lifetime.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Walking makes you hungry so we decided to walk and find P F Chang’s, a popular Chinese restaurant. Patchie used Google Maps and we followed every single step of that sexy voice. After about a mile, we discovered Google Maps was taking us in the opposite direction. We decided to send someone to get our van and waiting under the shade of a bus stop shed.

• 

Finally, another Google Map search and we were able to find our destination. Tired and famished, the senior citizens ate ravenously – noodles, Kung Pao chicken, beef broccoli, and several other delicious dishes that we cleaned up as quickly as the waiter could serve them. As it was only 3:00PM, the ladies suggested to go “look” at their outlets located about 20 minutes away. Of course, looking at the merchandise is often followed by purchasing them. I admit that I did buy a few “much needed” items too. The rest of the boys waited in a nicely decorated cafe.

• 

• 

Then another downpour occurred which kept us all inside to wait for the rain to stop. By then it was 6:00PM which was the cafe’s closing time and the timing was perfect as the rain slowed down to a drizzle.

Reveille was at 5:00AM and we left the hotel at 7:00AM after our mediocre breakfast and watered down coffee! I was concerned that the park’s parking lot would be full by the time we arrived but we all heaved a sigh of relief when we found several spots tucked in the back of the parking lot.

• 

• 

We didn’t wait very long to board the shuttle which was surprising as it was a Saturday. However, when we came back a few hours later, the parking lot was full and vehicles going around looking for vacant spots to no avail. A handsome young American guy who was waiting for people to leave approached us and started conversing with us in fluent Tagalog! We were all amazed at how well he spoke our language that even his accent was very minimal. Of course, we gave him and his buddies our spot!

The shuttle dropped us off at Stop 9 Temple of Sinawava where everyone had to get off anyway. As planned, we did the easy Riverside Walk (2.2 miles) and completed the hike in less than 90 minutes. I have underestimated some of my travel companions and I am really proud of them for walking the entire trail. We saw dozens of hikers crossing the brownish Virgin River barefoot with their hiking poles to keep them steady from falling. I surmised they were going to The Narrows which was the most strenuous hike as it takes you to an elevation of 334 feet and normally takes up to eight hours to complete.

• 

• 

• 

• 

It was a perfect day for a slow easy hike. The temperature was pleasant and sunny. We “oohed and aahed” at the amazing rock formations which was made more beautiful as the sun created the perfect shadows in some spots. We saw a deer feeding up a slope and some squirrels scampering nearby waiting for scraps of food to be tossed to them (which was prohibited).

• 

• 

By the time we decided to leave Zion, it was way past lunch time. A consensus was reached to continue on to Bryce Canyon National Park and forego lunch. Along the way, packets of snacks and fruits were pulled from our bags and cooler to help ease our hunger. Similarly, the Scenic Byway 12 drive was fantastic! This time the rock formations were different from that of Zion’s. Here the rocks seemed to be carefully stacked on top of each other just waiting for a gust of wind to blow them down. There were more arch formation too which we hope to see more when we get to Moab/Arches National Park in a few days.

• 

• 

• 

There was not enough hours in a day to really appreciate the full beauty of these awesome national parks! But since we had time constraints we did the best we could to memorialize these amazing places! With Bobot’s skillful driving, we drove through the serpentine roads to Salt Lake City where we will be staying for two days. After a few hours on the road, we all agreed that we had to stop for an overdue lunch at a gas station with a Subway fast-food restaurant. As we got back on the road, we experienced on and off rain (again a welcome sight to alleviate some of the drought stricken areas).

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Tired, hungry, and in need of a hot shower we dragged our feet to our hotel in Radisson Downtown Salt Lake City. After checking in, we all went to our rooms with what little energy we had left. FYI: our group’s youngest is 62 and the oldest is 77 years old.

•