Traveling Tolins 2

Our first travel segment is taking us from Miami.  We left Miami dock at 6 PM, Friday December 15. We will cruise two nights and one day before arriving at our port of Cienfuegos, Cuba.  Our Saturday, December 16 cruise itinerary includes three lectures:  Discover the heritage, culture, and history of Cuba; Cuba – Colonization, Independence, Revolution; and Cuban Architecture. Leg 1: Miami to Cienfuegos, Cuba We will be docked there for three days and two nights, exploring Cuba.   We have chosen three shore excursions:  Sunday, December 17:  Botanical Garden & Laguna Guanaroca Reservation Monday, December 18:  A Day In Havana           Tuesday, December 19:  Caribbean Cold War History

After a rude awakening at 3 AM, Diane and I quickly dressed and caught a shuttle ride from the Super 8 hotel 5 minutes from the American Airlines terminal at KCI.  Our plane took off at 6 AM and arrived Miami about 10:15 local time.  We gathered our suitcases and caught a Viking provided shuttle bus to the port where the cruise ship was waiting for us. The Viking Sun is the fifth ocean cruise ship in their fleet.  We learned today that it will be the first Viking ship to sail thru the Panama Canal and this is their first Around the World cruise.  We would not be surprised if they don’t later reveal to us it’s the first to pass thru the Suez Canal as well. Needless to say we are very tired so this will be a short posting.  The ship is a beauty; it’s only a few months old.  We left Miami at 6 PM this evening; we will have our first sail day tomorrow, heading for Cuba where we will spend 3 days, 2 nights.  We are pretty excited to be there.