Curacao Ostrich Farm and Aloe Vera Plantation

When we arrived at the Ostrich Farm, we boarded a covered open truck to start our tour.  The tour guide stopped the truck and stuck his hand out to the first ostrich we met.

I was having fun taking photos of the curious ostriches as they approached our vehicle.  They looked so cute!

This silly ostrich kept pecking at the fence.  If I remember correctly, the tour guide said these birds have a very small brain and forget why they are even pecking.

Another tour guide met us to let all of the tourists have a chance to feed the ostriches.  Below she demonstrates how to feed the ostriches.

They have some pot-bellied pigs that come and clean up the feed that drops on the ground during the ostrich feedings.

We then got back on the tour bus to go to the Aloe Vera Plantation.

We watched a live demonstration on how they harvest aloe vera. 

Everyone had a chance to eat a piece of aloe vera.  I was brave and tasted it since its supposed to be very healthy for you.  It was acidic with a bit of sweetness. 

I thought it was clever that they used goats to keep the weeds out of the aloe vera plants.

On the way back to the cruise ship, we were told an interesting story why Curacao has so many colorful buildings.  To read the history of how King Willem's headaches caused the buildings to be colorfully painted, click here. 

Our trip to Havana, Cuba

My husband went on his first cruise and loved it!!!  We spent six days in Florida before the cruise, however, by popular demand I'm showing the Cuba images first.  I booked online through oldcartours.com in Cuba based on Tripadviser.com's good reviews and we weren't disappointed! The images/comments below provide a brief outline of a most enjoyable shore excursion!

Our first stop was at the Christ of Havana.  Facing the city, the statue was left with empty eyes to give the impression of looking at all, from anywhere to be seen.

This military aircraft is one of several images taken at the open air museum.

We parked in the shade to get our portrait with the 1952 Chevrolet used during our tour. 

The Cubans have used ingenuity for years to keep these old cars running. Cuba is the largest living museum of American cars.

This image and the first one above was taken with my 400mm lens from the cruise ship.  You can see the Morro Castle-fortress we visited in the background on the right.

The visit to the Cuban home of Ernest Hemingway was interesting! Out of all the images, this one made me chuckle :)  It is his bathroom where he jotted down his weight on the bathroom walls.  Hemingway was obsessed with keeping fit!

One of my favorite images which I took before crossing the street to tour the Rum factory.

The lights were turned out to better view the flame from the coffee being made with rum.

Cuba is known for its Rum, cigars, and Mojitos.

During dinner at the Havana Club, I enjoyed a Virgin Mojito or rather Nojito (a non-alcoholic Mojito). It tasted like a sparkling lime drink.

The Havana Cathedral is located in the center of Old Havana.  We enjoyed viewing the architecture in Cuba and the cathedral's architecture was impressive!

It was a sweet departure being able to view the Morro Castle as our ship sailed away from Cuba!

Thanks Lucrecia and Pavel!  You made our custom Old Car Tour a memorable experience giving us a love of Cuba!  Next time we visit, we hope you are available to be our tour guide and driver.  Los quiero y los veo la proxima vez.