Two Week’s In: Life is a Wild Ride

Six months ago we didn’t anticipate the current situation where we would both be having our own unique adventures and talking to one another from across the Atlantic. As a good friend from college told me today after ending his 20-odd year experience in Tahoe and moving to Maine to help his mom, life is a wild ride. Right you are my friend. Sorry for the delay since my last post. Here’s the latest update from Dog and Dragon.

As discussed in the earlier post Getting a Dragon to Norway, Tiffany boarded her Princess cruise ship in Alesund to begin her first rotation as a cruise ship RN. The first order of business was completing all the routine tasks associated with a new recruit coming onboard: being assigned a cabin, obtaining uniforms, orienting to the ship layout, meeting the team, etc. Like any new job, there were some minor complications like not having immediate access to charting and not having buttons for her dress uniform. That last one is important as the officer uniform is required in order to be in any guest areas on the ship. Apparently the buttons are back ordered, so for now the sweater will suffice.

While her first few days were filled with completing competences, orienting to the medical unit, and learning the ins and outs of working on a cruise ship, there were also opportunities to see some new locations. They anchored off the coast of the Shetland Islands at Lerwick before making an open ocean trip to Iceland. The Iceland leg of the journey offered multiple potential new experiences with planned ports in four different locations. At a stop in Akureyri, there was a Dragon outing with coworkers to the amazing Godafoss waterfall.

There was another opportunity to explore in Iceland when the Island Princess made port in the capital of Reykjavik. Reykjavik had a number of interesting sights to see including the famous Recycled House, the stunning Hallgrimskirkja (Church of Hallgrimur), and a unique road repaving that included painting the road red.

Iceland offered many great experiences. You can find more pictures at Dog and Dragon Adventures on Instagram. After leaving Iceland it was another open ocean trip back to the UK with a port in Greenock, Scotland. A short train ride brought Tiffany and her coworker Lee to Scotland’s largest city of Glasgow. Despite only a short stay in both Greenock and Glasgow they were able to take in some beautiful architecture, interestingly adorned statues, and surprisingly good ramen! I happen to like this particular Scottish building over some of the more elaborate ones. There is an astounding amount of amazing architecture in Glasgow.

Greenock was the final port on this first adventure. Dragon is now enroute to Southampton, England where this current cruise journey will end. The passengers will disembark, along with Lee, who Tiffany is replacing on the ship. In the fast paced world of the cruise ship an entirely new group of guests will board the ship and they will sail away from Southampton the same day. Next up is a 14 day journey above the arctic circle.

Meanwhile, some 4900 miles away across the Atlantic Ocean, Bob is having his own adventure in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Check out the post Observations After A Week in Mexico for some of Bob’s thoughts after his first week in PdC. In addition to admiring that bizarre, Danzig-esque wall art above, let’s talk about what he’s actually been doing in the Yucatan in the summer.

As many of you may have noticed from following the Dog and Dragon Adventures Instagram and reading the updates on this blog so far, Dog has been spending the bulk of his adventure wandering Playa del Carmen on foot. Despite the presence of the seaweed blob, also called sargassum, being present in the Yucatan at the moment, the beaches of the Yucatan remain beautiful. Dog has been visiting the beach on the regular to cool down after his long walks around town.

As anticipated his experiences have involved extreme heat, a glorious abundance of killer tacos, a seemingly endless variety of street art, daily heckling by vendors hawking anything you can imagine, routine opportunities to butcher his knowledge of Spanish, and of course some amazing Mayan archeological sites to visit. Nobody tell Dragon, but even without his favorite mosquito magnet being an ocean away he’s so far endured zero mosquito bites so far. Weird and knock on wood…

Over the past two weeks Bob has added visits to Cozumel and Tulum to his time in the Yucatan. He’s also utilized the Biciplaya bike program to grab a bike for 1/2 hour rides around town. While the never ending abundance of street art has captured his heart he has really enjoyed the Mayan ruins.

Not far south of the Playa del Carmen ferry port are the Playacar Mayan Ruins. These ruins are in a lovely neighborhood with lots of shady streets an easy walk from 5th Avenue. There are several retained Mayan structures in this neighborhood that are easily accessible from the road. Dog also encountered iguanas and agouti on that outing.

Tulum is home to a large Mayan Ruin, the Parque Nacional Tulum. There is a bus stop at the park and a self guided walking tour with entrance fee of 58 pesos or about $3.50 USD. This area is truly magnificent, with large Mayan structures on a hill directly over the ocean. There are even more iguanas than in the Playacar area, but there is also a significant amount of tourist traffic through this park. It is well worth the trip and has been one of the highlights of this adventure so far.

There has been a lot to do and see in this part of Mexico. Playa del Carmen has a chocolate museum for instance. It felt a little ominous entering the sacrifice room. I also haven’t posted this yet, but they seem to have a different reverence for trees here. They grow everywhere from the middle of the road, out of pretty much every sidewalk, even in the middle of restaurants. The Yucatan is full of wonders both large and small, from the impressive entertainment parks to the subtle discoveries you may not have noticed. Hope you enjoyed the update. We’ll talk tacos soon.