December 25, 2011 - a Sunrise on MS Ryndam, last day on cruise, all day at sea. More photos from cruise when we reach home ! Merry Christmas to all ! - Vandana Photography

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6th year of daily photos !! to find 'pura vida' ( pure life) in each day ! Feel free to comment, critique the photos. If you like a photo, hover on to the right side of the photo and give it a green thumb ! thank you !

See 2010 daily photos here
See 2012 daily photos here

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December 31, 2011. Travels in 2011.

From L to R
1. 16 week baby bump: V @Charlotte, NC, Nov 2011
2. Sandhill crane: @Bosque NWR, Jan 2011
3. Great Horned Owl @Carlina Raptor Center, NC, Nov 2011
4. Tulip Festival @Holland, MI, May 2011
5. 23 weeks baby bump, V @ Mahogany Bay Beach, Roatan, Honduras, Dec 2011
6. Flamingo @ NC Zoo, Asheboro, NC, Nov 2011
7. La Cabeza @Uptown Charlotte, NC. Moving into Charlotte from Rockford, IL, Aug 2011
8. Great Smoky Mountain Railroad @ Bryson City, NC, Nov 2011
9. Sunset @Santa Monica Beach, CA, March 2011
10. Sunset @Peoria, IL, April 2011
11. Golden Gate Bridge @San Francisco, Ca, July 2011
12. M/S Ryndam docking @Cozumel, Mexico, Dec 2011
13. V atop Mayan temple @Altun Ha, Belize, Dec 2011
14. Pelican @Kure Beach, NC, Nov 2011
15. Crown Fountain @Millennium Park, Chicago, IL, June 2011
16. Palm Trees at sunset @Everglades NP, FL Dec 2011

A very happy 2012 to all my fellow smugmuggers!!

December 30, 2011 - Butterfly at Oasis Visitor Center, Everglades National Park, FL. ID, papa ?

Back to Charlotte tomorrow ! A very Happy New Year to all my friends and family ! It's been a good year :), thank you for all the wonderful smugmug comments and sharing your shots !

December 29, 2011 - Spotted an Osprey on Florida Bay boat tour, at Everglades National Park Visitor Center, Flamingo, FL

December 27, 2011 - the Cormorant - close-up ! on the Anahinga trail at Everglades National Park, FL

still not up to date on my dailies, but trying to catch up by adding 2-3 photos a day !Still in Florida, taking lots of bird and sunset shots :) thanks for your wonderful comments on my dailies, much appreciated !

December 25, 2011 - a Sunrise on MS Ryndam, last day on cruise, all day at sea. More photos from cruise when we reach home !

Merry Christmas to all !

December 24, 2011 - Mayan temples at Chacchoben, Costa Maya, Mexico.

thank you all for the wonderful comments on my 'baby bump' picture ! Me and K are very excited !

December 23, 2011 - 23 week pregnant V at Mahogany Bay Beach, Roatan, Honduras. We are expecting a baby boy in April 2012 !

Ryndam docked at the beautiful pier of Roatan at 7am. However, it started pouring pretty soon. We disembarked, ran into our tiny tourbus, more like a motorcoach actually, and our guide Carol got us on a tour called "The Far Far Away".
This tour is a bit of a scam. There's really not much to Roatan except the beach that is right beside the docks. So the far, far away is just a hotel on the opposite end of the island, accessible via a long stretch of unpaved potholed road. Carol had memorized long snippets and delivered them in a disinterested monotone. She is a plump, jolly Jamaican , out to have a good time, and tour guide was just a routine gig for her. Apparently Honduras has mandatory bilingual education ( English plus Spanish ), most of Roatan is owned by the Jackson Family, who descended from pirates. Again, free education, healthcare etc, though the place is really poor and roads are liberally littered with plastic. Very narrow curvy roads with no speed limit, so Roatan drivers are very careful so they don't drive off a cliff. The island itself is sitting pretty in the middle of the Pacific. Very green and mountainous.

After a few hours we arrived at Mahogany beach resort on the other end of the island. We drifted off in separate groups at the beach. Very pretty sandy nude beach. This picture is taken at Mahogany beach. Earlier in the trip, Vandana got a coconut wrist band and turtle shell earrings from local Roatan artisans, which she's wearing here. We saw a lot of senior citizen cellulite on the beach! Then, a bunch of "modern tribals", ie. tribal kids wearing jeans and carrying cellphones, performed a tribal dance. Mostly butt wiggling. They seem to have gotten most of the moves from Shakira! Vandana joined in, and its a rather hilarious dance I will upload at some later date. Returned to Roatan pier via the same long bumpy road.

The beach near Roatan pier is very pretty and has "flying beach chairs". You sit on the chair and you get an aerial view of the entire beach as you coast over trees. Quite amazing, and we flew down from the pier to the beach on those chairs. The beach is very popular with the tourist crowd and definitely a must-see. Around noon, we flew back on our beach chairs to the pier, where Vandana purchased 4 duty-free watches,with red, pink, green & yellow straps!

Back to Ryndam & we set sail at 4pm. Costa Maya tomorrow!

December 25, 2011 - a Sunrise on MS Ryndam, last day on cruise, all day at sea. More photos from cruise when we reach home !

Merry Christmas to all !