Travel Ideas
Heritage Harbour residents come here from all over the US and some foreign countries. We have a wide variety of life experiences, including travel. This page will provide a place to share your past travel experiences and learn about current travel opportunities. Where are your favorite places to visit? What travel experiences would you like to forget? Reporters can help Heritage Harbour residents to learn from their past travel experiences. The topics are endless, such as cities, hotels, cruise lines, airlines, tour companies, road trips, etc.
This page also will highlight current travel opportunities, such as community bus trips to concerts and shows.
That is What It Is All About
All of us who are full time residents sometime need to get away. Many travel to exotic places all over this beautiful but shrinking world of ours. Others stay in Florida and visit the many lovely areas of this, our adopted State. And, then there are others who travel home again. It is said you can never go home again and this is true because home is here, where we live full time, where we share our days with good friends and neighbors. But home, in the mind and in the heart, is where the family is – we leave Florida and go to see our children, grandchildren, and/or great grandchildren. Those of us fortunate enough to still have our parents - go to them, and again feel like children. We come back home to Florida refreshed and renewed.
That Is What It is All About
The first weekend I was up North my daughter and I drove to The Bronx to a 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration. Mary and Tony Minieri, our Heritage Harbour snowbird neighbors, renewed their vows at the exquisite Marina Del Rey. It was a stupendous affair – an Italian orgy of food and wonderful warm, happy people. Heritage Harbour and Florida were well represented.
Then for the full week, I had my grandson all to myself while his parents were at work. I cannot say I “baby-sat”, no the term is “kid-sat” – so says my almost seven-year-old young man. It was grand! We frolicked in the pool, went to the library, stomped our way through Target, played hide and seek in the backyard. We read to each other, watched zany television programs, played chess and dominos and of course, the X-Box. But what we really did was get to know each other better.
The following weekend, I got on the Long Island Railroad and took off for a few days in the City where my younger daughter lives. There we became tourists. The Matisse Exhibit was at MOMA and my daughter is a patron so we were able to see it before the general public. We walked Fifth Avenue and sat in Bryant Park behind the grand New York City Library and people watched. That is so much fun in NYC!! We viewed the Intrepid on the Hudson River and decided to take the Circle Line Boat around Manhattan to cool off. We went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We walked the High Line – an elevated railroad tract the City converted into a Park. We walked down the middle of a Street Fair and also through a Farmer’s Market. We walked, took buses, rode taxis and ate at a few of the many great restaurants in Manhattan. We ended our weekend with pedicures and foot and leg massages – we really needed them. Back, on the LIRR, to my older daughter’s home and my grandson.
Upon my arrival in New York, my grandson was at the airport. His eyes lit up when he saw me and when I left, ten days later, he was too sad to look me in the eyes. He said – you will be back next month, won’t you? I only nodded my head. I could not speak. But then I smiled. He really wants me back!
Each of us I am sure have similar stories to tell. We get ourselves renewed and revitalized. We come back tired but happy and eager to take up our daily lives. Yet, in all of us there is that nugget of adventure looking forward to another trip, another cruise, another family visit.
That is what it is all about!
MALT SHOP MEMORIES
We went back to the ‘50s and what a trip! The Fausts and the Eicherts sailed from Tampa to Cozumel and back on the Malt Shop Cruise having the time of their lives. From the Beach Party to the Sock Hop to the Prom Night we had endless fun.
We were entertained by so many artists of the 50’s including Lesley Gore (“It’s My Party”; “You Don’t Own Me”; “Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows”) Lou Christie (“The Gypsy Cried” which turned Luige Alfredo Giovanni Sacco from Pittsburgh PA into a teenage idol while still a teenager himself.) The Original Drifters – Russell Henry pictures with Carol and Cathy along with Chuck, Rich and Vernon continue the great Bill Pinckney legacy with pride and respect.
In 1953 Herb Reed put together a group called The Platters and Herb is the only surviving original member. The picture is Cathy sitting and talking with Herb as he told her how he has spent 26 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting splinter group who call themselves Platters. The group that Herb put together includes Wayne Miller, William Newton, Billy Cox and Angela Allen and if you closed your eyes they really did sound like the originals.
Other headliners each night of the cruise were Frankie Avalon, Little Anthony and the Imperials, and Bobby Rydell. We also heard concerts by The Del Rays, The Fireflies and The Devotions. If you ever get a chance to her the Devotions, you would be in for a real treat. Celebrating 50 years together, Joe Spano, John Williams, Al Vieco and Neil Keefe blend with wonderful harmony. They are from Astoria in Queen, NY and are really nice gentlemen.
Gino Monopoli was featured as the Elvis Tribute Artist. Gino was won many prestigious titles and most recently was the winner of the “Images of the King” in Memphis 2008. Cathy’s comment – “I knew he was still alive!” What an impersonation of the king. He was better that Elvis himself Carol thought. Besides having the looks, the moves and the voice, Gino was a really sweet young man and endeared himself to all the 60s+ ladies on the cruise (how about frenzy!)
We partied from sunrise to sunset and after. Every day was filled with 3 or 4 concerts and other activities like a Hula Hoop Contest or a “50s Trivia Game. Between we even managed to squeeze in a few hands of “2500” and several games of Sequence. Being served in the dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner was not good for the waistline but each meal was delicious. From Eggs Benedict in the morning to Prime Rib at dinner, topped with desserts like Cherries Jubilee and Baked Alaska we all could only sing praises about the food and the wait staff. We sailed on the Carnival Inspiration and after four wonderful days came back to our Little Bit of Paradise totally rejuvenated.
This was the first time Carnival had a ‘50s cruise and hopes to continue it. You all must join us next year when they do it again! We’re ready to Rock and Roll – how about you?
THE LATIN CORNER (By Luis Arturo & Janet Hidalgo)
This corner will be touching different topics regarding Latin America, including news, customs, legends, recipes and much more.
WELL KNOWN DANCES FROM LATIN AMERICA AND THEIR ORIGINS
Dancing is a most relaxing, joyful, fascinating, and healthy hobby. Therefore, here is a brief description of the origin of some well know Latin dances because it would be very extensive to describe each one in its totality.
Tango
Born in the suburbs of Buenos Aires at the end of the 19th century, tango is sentimental, melancholic and passionate. It reflects the nature of old Buenos Aires, a mixture of immigrants and local inhabitants. The musical instrument the bandoneon, gives its unique flavor and it is related to the German instrument certina. The old-guard tango has flavors of Cuban Habanera. There have been very important representatives artists of tango: Carlos Gardel, Ignacio Corsini, and Agustin Magaldi among many others.
Bossa Nova
The Bossa Nova originated during the 50s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Bossa Nova is more than a music genre: it is an authentic movement that encompasses many music genres like Samba, Jazz, Waltz and many others. It is a music expression that grew popular while generating a lot of polemic to become one of the most refined and requested exports from Brazil. Some notable names include Vinicius de Moraes, Tom Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Dorival Caymmi among many others.
Cumbia
The Cumbia is a Colombian musical style and folk dance that is considered to be representative of Colombia along with Vallenato. Cumbia originated from the Caribben coast of Colombia, with folkloric variants in Panama. Cumbia began as a courtship dance practiced among the slave population that was later mixed with European instruments and musical characteristics.
It was also used during the Colombian struggle for independence as an expression of resistance against Spain, therefore most of its songs ‘ messages were related to freedom or slavery. The slave courtship ritual, which featured dance prominently, was traditionally performed with music played by pairs of men and women and the males dance behind the women with one hand behind their back and the other hand either holding a hat, putting it on, or taking it off. Male dancers also carried a red handkerchief which they waved around in circles in the air and then wrapped it around their neck or held out for the women to hold.
Today the traditional Colombian Cumbia is preserved and considered representative of the Colombian identity, especially on the northern Caribbean cities.
Salsa
The Salsa is not easily defined. Who invented salsa? The Cubans, Puerto Ricans? Salsa is a distillation of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances. Each played a large part in its evolution.
Over the years the sounds and the steps of the dance migrated to the U.S as early as 40s, where further cultivation took place in the New York City Latin population during the 1960 and 70s. Cuban and Puerto Rican communities throughout Latin America and the United States are responsible for shaping most of the steps we see today. The culture surrounding salsa also takes cues from the styles of mambo and rumba. The typical instruments accompanying salsa dance includes the thumping of congas, baring trumpets, cowbells, and claves.
Today a variety of salsa dance styles are seen across the globe; all of which hold their own characteristics when it comes to movement, step patters, turns, attitude, and style. Some Latino musicians today of salsa are Rey Ruiz, Marc Anthony, and Gloria Estefan among many.
Merengue
The Merengue has existed since the early years of Dominican Republic. In Haiti, a similar dance is called the Meringue. Merengue is considered the national dance of Dominican Republic and first gained popularity in 1850 when it replaced another folk dance, the Tumba . With a heightened sense of nationalist pride, native Dominicans boast that merengue is 100% a Hispanic dance from their country. Not only is used in every dancing occasion in the Republic, but it is very popular throughout the Caribbean and South America and is on of the standard Latin American dances.
There are two versions of the origin of the merengue”. One alleges that the dance originated with slaves who were chained together, and of necessity were forced to drag one leg as they cut sugar to the bit of the drums. The second story alleges that a great hero was wounded in the leg during the many revolutions in the Dominican Repuplic and that a party of villagers welcomed him home with a victory celebration, and out of sympathy, everyone dancing felt obliged to limp and drag one foot.
It is possible the dance took its name from the confection made of sugar and eggs whites because of the light and frothy character of the dance, or because of its short precise rhythms.
Cha Cha
The Cha Cha is the newcomer of the Latin America dances. This dance was first seen in the U.S. dance-halls in the early fifties, following closely Mambo, from which it was developed. The music is slower than mambo. According to its roots the Cha Cha should be played passionately without any seriousness and with staccato allowing the dancers to project an atmosphere of ‘naughtiness’ to the audience.
Chonque was the grandfather of Rumba and Cha Cha with African rhythms and Spanish guitar, but Enrique Joren came up with the first full-fledged Cha Cha in 1951. He wanted to be a medium rhythm very recognizable and not too frenetic. His creation came from the idea that there should be a music created specifically for dance and participation not only for listening or for a select elite.
The name cha cha is an imitation of the “rhythm” from dancing Cuban side steps. From the less inhibited night clubs and dance halls the Mambo underwent subtle changes. It was triple Mambo and then the peculiar scraping and shuffling sound during the “tripling” produced the imitative sound of the Cha Cha. This became a dance in itself.
Rumba
The Rumba is called the dance of romance and it remains one of the most popular American ballroom dances today. It is considered one of the most sensual of all the Latin ballroom dances. Because of its slow rhythm and expressive hip movements, dancing rumba give partners the opportunity to move sensually, to flirt and to be sexy.
The Rumba’s early origins were in African folk dances. It was originally a frenzied fast past dance with sexually -charged aggressive movements. The rumba came to Cuba and the Caribbean Islands with the importation of slaves as far back as the 1500’s.
American rumba like other Latin dances can be traced more immediately to a Cuban dance el Son, which developed as modified version of these original Afro dances. The Son was first introduced in America in 1930.
People like the bandleader Xavier Cugat performed and popularized Latin music and dance across the United States in the 1920’s and 30’s and Cugat became the top orchestra leader of the day.
A long way from frenzied pace of its Afro-Cuban roots, the rumba has today become much slower and stylized, but it still retains its essential character, the play between the man and the woman and the sensual tension that make it the ultimate dance of passion.
CARNIVAL
The word carnival is thought to come from the Italian word, carne vale, which means farewell to meat, which was not eaten during Lent. For Catholics Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. Fasting and abstinence regulations are observed. Hundreds of years ago the followers of the Catholic religion in Italy started the tradition of holding a wild costume festival before the first day of Lent. This custom became very famous and spread to other Catholic countries in Europe such as France, Spain and Portugal.
When the French, Spaniards and Portuguese conquerors arrived to the Americas and other parts of the world, they brought the tradition of the carnival. These long winter celebrations in Europe together with traditions from native cultures and African traditions, gave root to the high-summer frenzy of carnivals in South America and the Caribbean.
In Brazil the Portuguese tradition of entrudo, which was throwing a flower, water and mud toward an unexpected passerby evolved into a more lighthearted water, flower or egg tossing spree. At the beginning the celebrations were a form of a merry making that the higher classes celebrated privately in their homes while the poorer classes took the streets in unplanned and unformed revelry. The gentry of the aristocrats looked down on the streets and it wasn’t long before they ventured to the streets in heavily masked and disguised costumes to join the fun.
Today when we say carnival, what comes to mind are fantastically and scantily garbed dancers pounding samba rhythms, parades and incessant revelry in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The four days and nights of spectacle that the world sees is the result of one year of planning, the organizing of fantasies and a lot of hard work.
In Bolivia the city that holds the most famous carnival is in Oruro. Unlike in Rio de Janeiro, the colas de samba change the theme every year. In Oruro (Bolivia) the carnival always starts with the diablada (devil dance). Part of it consists of hundreds of devils dancing for eight days in monstrous costumes with heavy masks with horns, bulging eyes and long hair. In contrast with other groups dressed in frightening masks, the devils wear sparkling breastplates, silk embroidered shawls and golden spurs. A group of dancers with a variety of colorful costumes joins the parade accompanied by the music of brass bands, pipers and drummers.
Out of the devil dancers comes China Supay, the Devil's wife, who dances a seductive dance to entice the Archangel Michael. Around her dance the members of local workers unions, each carry a small symbol of their union such as pickaxes or shovels. Dancers dressed as Incas with condor headdresses and suns and moons on their chests dance along with dancers dressed as the black slaves who were imported by the Spaniards to work in the silver mines.
Family members led by the matriarchs in yellow dresses appear in order: first the husbands are dressed in red. Next come the daughters in green who are followed by the sons in blue. The families dance their way to the football stadium where the next part of the celebrations takes place.
Two plays begin as medieval mystery plays, are enacted. The first portrays the Conquest by the Spanish conquerors. The second is the triumph of the Archangel Michael as he defeats the devils and the Seven Deadly Sins with his flaming sword. The results of the battle are announced by the Patron Saint of the Miners the Virgen del Socavon and the dancers sing a Quecha hymn.
The Bolivian peasants are very clear, this festival is based on the pre-colonial ceremony of giving thanks to the earth-mother Pachamama. It commemorates the struggles of good and evil and the early Catholic priests allowed it to continue with a Christian overlay in an effort to pacify the local natives. The celebration of carnival continues for days as the diablada dancers break into smaller groups and continue dancing around huge bonfires. Onlookers join the procession at any point.
FISH AND CHICKEN SALAD
(One of many Colombian recipes)
1 pound of Tilapia (cut in bite pieces)
1 pound of chicken (cut in bite pieces)
4 red peppers (cut julienne style)
1 cup of black or green olives
1 head of lettuce (shredded)
1 sixteen ounce can of palm hearts (salad cut rounds)
3 hard boiled eggs (sliced)
¼ cup of chopped parsley
½ cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Season flour with salt and pepper and divide in half. Coat the fish with some of the flour,salt and pepper mixture and place in a skillet that has been coated with olive oil. Fry the fish until it turns white. Place cooked fish on a paper towel to absorb grease and set aside.
In another skillet, do the same with the chicken and fry until brown. Set aside on paper towel.
Arrange the lettuce in center of a large platter. Arrange the sliced eggs,palm hearts, olives, fish and chicken in groups around the lettuce which is in the center. Arrange the red peppers on top of the shredded lettuce. Sprinkle parsley around to garnish.
Serve with your favorite vinaigrette salad dressing.
The Legend of the Colombian Emerald
The legend says the Indios (Indians) in the deep Andes used to carry on the strange ceremony. The ceremony went as follows. The head of the Indios painted powdered gold on all of his naked body and changed into the “El Dorado'” or “Golden Man.” Then he got on a raft, accompanied by followers who put dazzling golden ornaments on and then they sailed toward the center of the lake. An enormous amount of gold and emeralds were piled on the raft and they sailed toward the center of the lake. When the raft reached the middle of the lake, the people prayed to the Sun God and offered treasures as they threw them into the lake. Then El Dorado, soaked himself in the water, washed the powdered gold slowly, and the gold sank to the bottom of the lake, glittering beautifully.
It was this legend of El Dorado that came to the attention of the Spanish conquistadores (conquerors) and it boiled their blood in the fifteenth century. Then it drove them into the deep and steep Andes Mountains, and its great charm made them endure all kinds of difficulties. They discovered the lake. El Dorado really existed just as the legend had said. In the basin near that lake named Laguna de Guatavita, conquistadores built a city, Bogota, which is today's Capital of Colombia.
Colombian emeralds were mined by the aboriginal indios and they were used mainly for ceremonial ornaments in the vast area throughout the South American Continent to northern Mexico before Spanish appeared in Colombia. Roman kings and nobles believed emerald possessors have acquired the supernatural ability to predict the future and been cultivated memory, eloquence, knowledge and honesty in themselves. Emerald possessors were also believed to become economically rich and physically healthy because emeralds had a power of preventing illnesses by improving immunity.
The Emerald is the birthstone for May, and symbolizes sincerity, honesty and kindness. It is said to be a stone dedicated to Venus, the Goddess of Beauty, and gives its possessors a power to express the sincerity of his love.
Quito, Capital of Ecuador
Quito’s Historical Center was on the very first list of official United Nations World Heritage Sites, declared in 1978, for having outstanding cultural and natural heritage universal value.
Quito (full name San Francisco de Quito) lies at 9,000 feet above sea level in a high valley to the base of Mount Pichincha. With a climate referred to as “perpetual spring”, it is a city of sun and sky and is surrounded by mountains and three snow-capped volcanoes.
Quito is the oldest South American Capital. It has around 2 million people, and it is an ever-growing city of contrasts, a product of numerous cultural influences. Life in the city offers a mix of Spanish and Indigenous traditions with modern international influences.
Quito is only a short drive from the Equator. The name Quito means “Middle of the World” in a pre-Incan indigenous language. Mith’s claim that Quito was the capital of the great kingdom (El Reino de Quito), predating the Incas.
Between 1736 and 1745, a French scientific mission (including some of the best minds in Europe) studied in Quito, measuring the earth’s circumference at the equator and disseminating the ideas of Voltaire, Rousseau, and Paine.
The Galapagos Islands, which were also in the first list of the official United Nations World Heritage Sites, declared in 1978, are only two hours by plane from Quito.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article as we enjoyed writing it
The Big Easy
In early November of this year, the Magarelli’s, Joe and Jenny and the Celio’s, Bob and Rosalie took a trip to the “Big Easy”. The Celio’s son and daughter-in law live in Lafayette and drove to New Orleans to join the party. The entire group, excluding Rosalie did their best to deplete the oyster population in the city.
The picture of the sky over the mighty Mississippi reveals the approaching storm Ida.
Did some sightseeing, including the French Quarter via a horse drawn carriage ride. Had a pleasant surprise waiting in line at Café Du Monde for their famous beignets. We saw Tom Hanks sitting at a table with a group of friends. No need to say “Who Dat?” He was in town to dedicate a WWII memorial!
Here are the Magarelli’s at Jackson Square. Because of the threat of that tropical storm, our trip was cut short, but sweet memories promise a return trip..
