December 30, 2024
JAMBELI, ECUADOR - CHRISTMAS EVE 2024
How lucky am I to spend the afternoon with these 2 gorgeous men?!?! We just wanted a relaxing day in the sun. Jambeli is a little island off the Port through mangrove forest, only accessible via water taxis. We got a private ride, which took around 25 minutes, each way. We practically had the island to ourselves. Besides the locals we seemed to be the only ones strolling around. We walked the beach and promenade and just moseyed around chatting. Gary took a nap in a hammock in the shade, while Scott and I went for a dip in the ocean. We bought out the entire stock ( all 3 ) of the local Hammock Maker, on our way back to the dock. Made him very happy!
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Off the coast of Pattaya, Thailand a talented and dedicated group of residents, the Odyssey Troubadours , performed A Night of Broadway for the enjoyment of all the other residents and senior staff on board. The group of 20 performed, 15 Broadway songs that had some special Odyssey edits, personalizing them to our journey. We loved it ! Such a clever, talented and fun loving group. I was upfront and focused on getting candid pictures of the talented cast.
We were up for breakfast at 7 and then hired a private small tram to take us around the gardens, for an overview, because it came with a guide. Problem was, guide barely spoke English, so we had a hard time figuring out the history of this crazy place. Even with translate app his answers were questionable. Did it start as gardens? What's with all the statues? Is there a master plan? It seems to be growing with no real connections, that we could make out. Web & Chat GPT seem vague on details too! We had fun with it, finding more and more absurd things, until the heat won out!
I went on a 24 hour adventure with these fun shipmates into Pattaya, Thailand to explore Nong Nooch Wonder World. Noted on the web as one of the top 10 Botanical Gardens in the World, it is certainly the largest in S. Asia at over 500 to 600 acres. Since the place is so massive; open from 8am to 6pm; the heat is so oppressive and we are at a tender port, we decided to spend the night, so we could be there at the opening, the next day and make a fun night before too!