It's Colombia not Columbia

Old City vs. New City

Ahhh…Colombia.  While you may hear a lot of negative things about such a poor and often dangerous country, I will tell you that I really loved it.  The only thing that I really could do without was the constant nagging of people trying to sell you things and even street performing and insisting for money.  Other than that I enjoyed my visit.  The Equinox docks in Cartagena, well known for its old walled city.  There are hardly any cars on the streets of old Cartagena.  You can roam the complex and windy roads until you get yourself turned around and completely lost.  That is not the worst thing to happen.  The houses though small in the city are very well maintained and picturesque.  You might think you are in Spain looking at these vibrant colors, ornate porches and window coverings, and flowing vines.  

A collection of door knockers...

I love seeing both old and new art work on the walls of a city. 

I was surprised to find out how much Cartagena comes to life at night.  All of the vendors venture out to the streets with blankets full of tourist items once the hot sun goes down.  The night life picks up greatly and though the streets and sidewalks are narrow, the few restaurants with outdoor seating become instantly packed.  Who doesn’t want a nice cold cocktail or glass of chilled white wine at the end of a hot day?  Musicians and performers come out to the squares and the whole city turns on their lights and carries on with the day as if the sun never set.

The cruise terminal in Cartagena has a very impressive little aviary as you exit the terminal.  There are paved pathways guiding you through and along so many different exotic birds.  While that is a pretty cool way to kill an hour I still decided to sign up for an aviary tour.  It was a beautiful and impressive private sanctuary with many of the birds just roaming freely without netting.  The macaws greeted you at the entrance and were very vocal but not nearly as loud as the cries of the peacocks.

I don't even have a clue what these birds are called I was mostly interested in the color varieties and using them later on in glass patterns.  We spent about an hour and a half wandering through and learning about the different bird species.  I don't listen as much as I should.  I am too busy getting pictures for later inspiration.

This bird is blending in nicely with the leaves of the tree.  And his feathers almost look the same shape as the leaves.

This by far was the bird I was the most excited to see in person. I cannot get over just how vibrant the toucan is.  The above picture is also of a toucan but not the most well known coloring.

Rainforest Meets Big Easy

I’ve been very excited for this current contract on Equinox because it was the only itinerary I had not done.  We are on alternating cruises between the East Caribbean and Central America.  I immediately put my name on the shore excursion list for nearly everyday so that I could get outside of the port area and see the true attractions.  

We dock in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica and I headed out with a tour group to the rainforest.  It was a leisurely ride, over an hour long, through ferns, vines, mosses and trees on an open arial tram.  They were really nice with just 6 people inside so that you could really enjoy the surroundings.  In just a single photograph you could find so many different species of plants and in 50 shades of green.  We even had the full rainforest experience, getting soaked by the warm rain but I didn’t mind at all.  The forest smelled so incredible and there was so much to take in, even just listening to the rainfall.  Unfortunately the heavy rains kept away most of the birds and animals away but we were still able to see a few sloths in the trees.  Score!!

The park we were in had a butterfly enclosure, orchid garden and several walking trails nearby the base of the tram.  After a delicious lunch prepared for us (including sweet plantains one of my favorites), and a purchase of my Costa Rican coffee beans we visited the other areas.  That’s where I came across these beauties.  Not in potted plants of course- these orchids were growing on vines.  One of my first thought was I’m going to make that in glass!  The first attempt was not as smooth but after learning from my mistakes I am super pleased with the second attempt here.  This piece might be one of my favorite I’ve ever made on board ships.  I marbleized white and green opaques together and then encased it in an emerald green transparent.  I was hoping to pick up the many shades that I found on my rainforest tour.  Anyways really excited about this and I put it in a display case on the ship.

I should also mention that as the guide took us on one of the walking trails I kept noticing the thick vines that hang down from the trees.  So I asked him if he thought it would hold my weight and he shrugged back at me “I dunno”.  So I took my chances and found out the hard way that I am not Jayne of the jungle at all.  The vine instantly snapped and I landed on my backside.  I think my bag of coffee beans broke the fall.  Maybe I should start making less trips to the buffet.

A much easier way to fly through the jungle is on a zip line and when Matt came to cruise that's exactly what we had planned.  It was a blast zipping from tree to tree.  We saw colonies of ants carrying leaves and sloths on the very slow move.  I also learned that Costa Rica has 180 species of frogs.  It inspired me to try and make a frog in glass.  He's pretty cute but I see more attempts in the future.

Okay.  So we all know the real reason why I wanted to come to Equinox this spring…this ship was overnighting in New Orleans for Mardi Gras!  I’ve had my eyes on this prize for a while and it was a complete blast.  I have never been to New Orleans, nor to a festival like this.  I was over the moon for a chance to soak in the vibrancy of this amazing city at such a wild time.  The Equinox sailed for 9 hours up the Mississippi River for its 2 night and 3 day stay in the Big Easy.  

Everywhere you turn there is music, there are costumes, parades and of course beads for days, months even.  The city explodes with purple, gold and green and plenty of other absurdities.  There are performers on the corners and people dancing in the street.  The party goes all day and all night.  The Big Easy is completely alive with art and creativity.  I think I slept about 8 hours in a 3 day period because I didn’t want to miss a minute of it.  

We had been given a recommendation to check out an area called Frenchman Street that was sure to have lots of live music, artisan markets and late night grub.  I made sure to grab some local food like the gumbo.  I also had a catfish and greens breakfast with a biscuit and a bloody mary.  (I will be returning there for sure in April).  Other items on my must see list were some of the parades.  There were parades day and night with different themes and organized by different “Krewes” as they are called.  The day time parades were full of kids and the floats toss tons of prizes into the crowd, from beads to toys to coconuts.  The night parades had a certain awe to them as the floats were lit up.  Truly the best part of the entire festival were the wild and crazy home made costumes and the random musicians marching to the beat of their own whatever.  This was such a great experience and I’m looking forward to coming back here this spring for the Jazz Festival and then later in June with Matt on our cross country road trip.

The Land of Waterfalls

Norway’s beauty is unparalleled.  The Eclipse visited several Norwegian ports, some exploring city life such as Stavanger, Alesund and Bergen, and others like Geiranger and Flam bring you straight to nature’s doorstep.  I took every opportunity I could to get lost in these amazing landscapes.  (Okay not literally)

Geiranger has a quaint town center with a magnificent waterfall, just a short, accessible walk down the road.  You don’t have to travel far to see this powerful body of water or feel its icy mist.  However, stemming from this point are many trails through mossy green forests, working their way up to greater sights and expansive views.  Just past the visitor center of this World Heritage site I found a trail map that set us on the right path with the time I had.  I decided to set out for Storsaeterfossen, a waterfall that had a foot path built into the rock underneath it (this was unbeknownst to me at the time).  The hike up was moderate but long, as most of it was on the road to reach the actual trailhead.  When I reached the top no one was there.  I had timed it just right to have the place to myself.  Walking underneath this massive waterfall, you never knew you could feel so alive.  It was stunning.  Despite the cold, the dampness and the hour long down pour as I headed back down to sea level, the adventure well out-weighed the miserable typical Norwegian climate!

 

While the funky, vibrant city of Stavanger has a lot to offer in a day, my friends and I jumped at the chance to join a crew tour to the famous Preikestolen- also known as Pulpit Rock.  Merely image search the web for this rock formation and you too will be lacing up your boots in no time.  The day was again cloudy and wet.  Dammit I hate the cold!  The trail grueling, slippery and steep, mostly consisted of rock steps until we gained enough elevation to break out of the woods.  Regardless of the fog, and the anticipated limited view from the top, I hauled ass to try and beat the time the guide said it is usually completed in.  I’m not competitive or anything. As you can see it was of course worth every bit and there was a well deserved nap to follow when I finally got back to the ship.  Trust me crew members were already asleep on the bus ride home.

The beauty of Norway can be seen from near, far and even the comforts of your own home (aka my ship!).  Gorgeous sunsets really help to finish off a surreal day.  The richness of color completely inspired the Hot Glass Team with our collaborative piece.  This three part cane patterned incalmo mimics the gorgeous, jewel-toned colors.  Michael and Brianna here are working on their individual patterned cups that we later joined together to create one uniform shape with an killer linear design.  Michael is bringing the line pattern to a termination and Brianna is transferring her incalmo cup onto a solid punty rod to open and shape the mouth of the cup.  And finally, the team at our charity auction with the finished piece, auctioning it off for the World Wildlife Fund.  Mic drop.

Tenerife

To be perfectly honest the Canary Islands don’t do much for me.  I spent a month there on my very first contract on the Eclipse four years ago and I feel exactly the same towards them today.  I bet if you had time to spend and actually explore the islands and stay for some time that they would be lovely.  It’s the Brit’s version of the Caribbean, and truthfully I think I like the Caribbean better.  All of the other ports in this run are either Portuguese or Spanish and we only visit Tenerife and Gran Canaria for the Canaries.

Actually our first trip here in Tenerife the ship had organized a crew tour to a water park called Siam Park.  Amazing!  Honestly the best water rides I’ve ever been on.  I hadn’t screamed so loud or gotten so much air on an inner tube in a long time.  Even the lazy river has a tunnel you pass through that is a shark tank.  How cool is that?! It was a really fun day with all of my friends acting like kids again.

Now we all know I am a fan of tropical climates, so when I happen upon beautiful tropical gardens I’m pretty much in heaven.  I had intended to spend a day of solo wandering in Tenerife but on my way out, my friend Laura was looking for something to do and decided to tag along.  I just wanted to walk at my own pace and explore the city so we did.  We walked up to a large park full of families and locals because it was a weekend after all.  We could tell we were in a special place and that this wasn’t just any playground (but we did hit up the swings until the little children made us give them a turn).  The park had some immense and impressive statues and fountains spaced throughout the greenery.  It was so well kept and a really beautiful place to spend some time soaking in sun and people watching.

Laura and I walked through the city streets but because it was a Sunday even most of the shopping was closed.  We found the weekend marketplace that was half produce and goods and half garage sale but everyone had started packing up.  So we figured it was best to keep moving and had heard that other crew members were going to be at a pool and walked in that direction.  Now there is a pretty notable building here that has unique architecture similar to that of the Sydney Opera house.  Laura and I had heard the pool was just next door and we found the walking path along the waterfront to take us there.  The building is in fact for concerts and had some great cafes that we stopped back at on the return trip.  To make a long story short, we just went for a walk to the pool to check it out without wanting to swim.  It was very windy and I didn’t have my suit but saved the idea for the following cruise and did indeed make it back for this.  The next cruise turned out to be a perfect pool day and the entrance into this resort style pool was only $2.50 so kind of a no brainer.  

One thing that really struck me about these islands is how similar the landscape looks to Southern California.  The desert mountains made me feel at home and I used them as an inspiration in a later team collaboration piece.  I put a gold topaz background with a rich brown festooned pattern to represent mountain peaks.  Kim created a vibrant green optic pattern representing the fronds of a palm tree and Jeremy worked on color layering for the sea at the bottom.  The team was really proud of the way it turned out and it was well received by the guests on board.