November 12, 2024

Day 2 in the Cape Verde Islands - Sao Vicente Island - Port of Mindelo

I strolled into port with Karen and Cyndi to check out the city of Mindelo. It was an easy walk along the Marina into the market area. We first saw all the local fisherman bringing in their catches and the vendors carving up the fillets and setting out all their fruits and vegetables. Then we started looking and bargaining for a dress for me and souvenir magnets for the 3 of us. I got the dress price down from 25 Euros/piece, to 2 for 20 Euros. I kept one and another friend of the ship, took the other, 10 euro was a good deal! It was very hot and windy and we planned to go to the local beach after seeing a couple more sights. Other residents were leaving the beach already because it was so windy, and the sand blowing was brutal. So, we negotiated for a cab to take us to a few sights, then back to port.

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Unlike Santiago island, the houses and business are completely finished on all façades and they are painted beautiful colors. I borrowed these images below from fellow resident Basia's blog, as her photos captured the beauty way better than mine. Love it!!

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Pattaya, Thailand - My healthcare

By Pat Patrick • October 23, 2026
This Blog is more than a journal of my travels around the world, it's a major memory tool for me in documenting all the events along the way. You often ask me how we take care of medical things, as we travel non stop and today is a perfect example. A fellow resident had posted on one of our WhatsApp groups ( this is the main way we all- residents, crew and stateside support all communicate ) that she had an excellent contact for anyone looking to get medical appointments in the Pattaya / Bangkok area.

Off the Coast of PATTAYA, THAILAND

By Pat Patrick • October 20, 2026
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.

NONG NOOCH TROPICAL GARDENS, Pattaya, Thailand

By Pat Patrick • October 20, 2026
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!