The art of learning new skills as a sometimes bewildered elder

Hi. This is the very first issue of our World Cruise 2025 blog. It is part of my learning experience that I wanted to try on this cruise. I have added your email to my contact list because at some point you may indicated at least a mild interest in our trip. If I understand correctly you will receive an email letting you know I have a new posting. Please feel free to totally ignore them, or let me know you aren’t interested. 

Greetings from Cabin B343 onboard the Island Princess. Gary Baker and I, molly divine, boarded the Princess at Ft Lauderdale on January 5, 2025 for a 116 night cruise ending on May 2, 2025. Gosh, that is a loooong time. 

I admit as being one who tends to way overthink things, and preparing for this trip was a bit more stressful than usual. Gary and I love to travel, and have been fortunate to do many different kinds of trips together, but this felt like travel on a different scale, sharing one small cabin for four months. Not to mention it was the holiday season with all the extra activities involved. Then on top of that, just before Thanksgiving we developed a plumbing problem that kept getting more complicated rather than resolved before we left. 

It was a challenge, exciting and desirable, but challenging. I love to write, and I have kept a personal journal almost all of my adult life, so one of my goals was to write a blog, but it was going to be a new experience learning how to do such a modern form of communication and somehow I didn’t get get around to researching exactly how to do it before we left. I mean how hard can it be? Okay now that I’m in a confessing mode, I didn’t even get all of the Christmas decorations stored away before we left, and it is going to be just weird to walk in the door in May to have Frosty the Snowman greet us as well as having to deal with half the dining room ceiling cut out and whatever the final decision regarding those unresolved plumbing issues. Anyway, turns out learning a new skill set is a wee bit more complicated than I had hoped, and I needed to take a break before I could give it the attention it needs. So, much belatedly I’m really trying to focus on learning this new, to me at least, format of communication. 

So, my first impressions about the trip I posted on my Facebook account, so some of you have seen this already, but some of you aren’t on Facebook. I’m trying to get comfortable with this format. This is a repeat, I hope to have new content ready soon.

We had our first port of call at Cartagena, Columbia. Gary has an avid interest in activities but not a lot of stamina and he doesn’t want to hold back groups we went out on our own rather than schedule a tour through the ship. It was a great decision for us. We left the ship a little later than most. When we got to the terminal we were accosted by offers for taxis and guides. I made a connection with one of the few women guides, Jenny Gonzales. We agreed to a price, and yes, I bargained down a bit and we sat off with her in a rather well worn old van driven by Fernando. Jenny and I immediately bonded over both being grandmothers. 

It was perfect for us. Fernando was an amazing driver, Jenny’s English was clear and easy to understand. She was very knowledgeable and clearly pleased we were interested in both the history as well as current political issues. She spoke quite freely about her life, her family, and her beloved country. 

The city and immediate area was surprisingly clean and graffiti free, but the poverty was obvious. Lots of new development, but out of reach of most people. She is a licensed tour guide but has to adhere to a sparse schedule just to be able to get to the port and try to get a customer. There were many others who didn’t find a customer that day. She has to take two busses each way, over an  hour each way, and many days doesn’t get to work. 

Once again we realized what opportunities we enjoy that are, and will always be, out of reach for most in the world. 

It was a mutually beneficial day for all of us. We were glad for the good match for being able to learn about the area and the country and to leave some cash in the hands of appreciative local residents. We were happy to pay and to give generous tips.

The lovely stateroom door placard designed by and gifted to us by Gary’s artistic son, Brad Baker. Helps us recognize our cabin door easily especially after a night out. 

All gussied up for dinner, not our normal attire. 

Gary’s camouflaged in the welcome sign. 

Posing with a local in her colorful national costume, in front of the old fort. 

A statue of a famous one eyed, one armed, one legged Spanish leader. 

A gathering of macaws at a small nature reserve. 

Refreshing fresh limeade from a street vendor. 

Narrow pretty street in old town.