28th January 2026, 6am taxi, Great transfer and immigration in Dublin and on time to Miami where Virgil and Scot (our cases) also arrived. Then a taxi through the grid system, to the corner of Southwest 4th Street and Southwest 14th Avenue in Little Havana, where we discovered something like the opposite of an escape room. To enter our flat we had to pass three different key code locks, all with a different foibles and all done in twenty hours. (The entire journey, not just the locks.)
We now have some spare time before joining the Zuiderdam for our cruise calling Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala & Mexico and are both awake in good time to watch the Sunrise at 7:05. It will be interesting to see where we are in daylight. Then it is the Hoponhopoff for us and bring on the Dunkin Donuts.
Meanwhile I searched for 'Miami Advice', all I got was lyrics to an AI song and Sorry Kimya, that song needs a lot more work.
This is our block, we are on the ground floor. Little Havana is Miami’s lively Cuban time capsule, where the 1960s never really ended. When Fidel Castro took over Cuba, thousands of Cubans packed their bags, sometimes literally just a bag and headed for Miami, transforming a quiet neighbourhood into a tropical explosion of music, politics, and pastries. Calle Ocho quickly became the unofficial capital of Cuban exile life.
While America was wrestling with big ideas about freedom and equality the Cuban immigrants were busy rebuilding their lives. The result was a shortage of jobs leading to unrest and a neighbourhood that feels like a heartfelt love letter to the island they left behind, mixed with Miami flair.
We did the whole bus route twice, hopping off for Lunch and to walk along Ocean Drive and phoning Chris to say happy birthday. Ocean Drive is Miami Beach’s neon soaked runway, where pastel Art Deco hotels pose and never age. Built in the 1920s and 1930s, these geometric, sherbet coloured buildings were designed to radiate optimism.
We crossed all of Miami’s bridges connecting the mainland to Miami Beach. All three cross the same beautiful expanse of water, but beauty doesn’t cancel out gridlock that builds during the day. From them you see the towers of flats that dominate the skyline and the hundreds of vultures riding the thermals they generate. At ground level, delivery robots go about their business, crossing roads at the right time and giving way to pedestrians.
I guess if he gave way to every robot delivery he would never get the job done, but all the same, somebody is waiting for their bagel and we watched this for about three minutes wondering if any more would come along and line up. We estimated he would be there another twenty minutes.
The Frost Science is an interesting place. This is the aquarium, above and below. There is a walk in aviary as well. The planetarium show was very spectacular, life on Earth, carbon cycle blah blah. But degenerated into a gloomy forecast of sea level rising and global warming.
A very nice place with great food and portion control. Like us, some of the other diners were very fashion and body conscious. The best way to describe the vibe on the other tables is to search YouTube for JAY-Z - Big Pimpin'.
PS, the pancake stacks here are actually the size of a birthday cake and have cream on the side.
I will put a link to Cruisemapper on each page which will show our live location. CruiseMapper is generally regarded as a legitimate and widely used ship‑tracking website, and there are no reports of it being unsafe or malicious. It’s commonly referenced by cruise enthusiasts, maritime hobbyists, and travel forums.
🎸 Now turn up the volume, click play and Bossa Nova with us. 🎹
A hush before the Sunrise as the World begins to glow,
The ship drifts out of morning like a story starting slow.
The air is full of promise, of horizons yet unseen,
And Peter and Liz breathe in the spaces in between.
Oh, Peter and Liz on this wandering tide,
Hearts beating together as the waters divide.
Side by side they travel,
Where the great worlds meet.
Two souls in motion, one rhythm, one beat.
They dream of drifting landscapes where the sky dissolves in blue,
Where islands rise like whispers and the day feels soft and new.
Time loosens all its edges as the ship slips through the light,
And wonder weaves around them in the stillness of the night.
Oh, Peter and Liz on this wandering tide,
Hearts beating together as the waters divide.
Side by side they travel,
Where the great worlds meet.
Two souls in motion, one rhythm, one beat.
The Earth opens like a doorway carved by ages long ago,
A passage shaped by dreaming and the will to let things flow.
They drift toward distant oceans where the far horizons call,
And feel the world expand around the love that holds them all.
Oh, Peter and Liz on this wandering tide,
Hearts beating together as the waters divide.
Now the wide world shimmers
in a soft, unfolding gold
A journey shared forever, a love in stories told.
Pre-dawn position check 21N 75W, Sailing ESE. My plan is to hang a right and take the Windward Passage between Eastern Cuba and Northwestern Haiti. Meanwhile, at a beautiful table starboard side, PBJ toast for breakfast while Cuba passes by on the horizon.
It is wonderful to unpack and to have a base for the next two weeks. For noobs like me, it is a steep learning curve to find the hacks. Thanks to James and Ollie for advice before we left. Other seasoned voyagers are pleased to share too. Failing that, the technology aboard works like a charm. It covers information for everything. One of the best is the carpet in the lift which simply says 'Sunday'.
I visited the game room, nonchalantly played pawn to king four. Nothing happened immediately so I visited the bar for a Kombucha. When I returned to the board my move had been 'tided up' and the pawn was back on king two.
We have signed up to build a boat that will be sea trailed in the jacuzzis on the last day at sea. We can use things we find on board or on an excursion. Using certain items; TVs, life jackets and cabin stewards are specifically prohibited. Criteria for judging; cargo capacity, back story, special features and crowd response.
Sunrise position check N17 W74. You can see we are crossing the Zuiderdam's path from its previous voyage on 20th January. We wave goodbye to our close companion, 'Carnival Horizon', as it turns Southeast for the next four days visiting Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao in quick succession. Meanwhile after breakfast daily Tai Chi.
On the deck where the trade winds blow free,
Liz shifts through peng, lü, and soft ji,
Her silk reeling's bright,
It's a beautiful sight,
She’s a golden waveform in ti chi.
