Mallorca Bound!

     This week my sisters are spending their holiday on the island of Mallorca.

Yvette and Georgene arrive at their two story accommodations!

    They are staying at the Marriott's Club Son Antem Villa located in Llucmajor, Spain. 

    Upon her return, Yvette said of her and Georgene's one week stay, given that the isle is larger than the state of Rhode Island, there just wasn't enough time to explore everywhere and experience everything. She loved their visit, Mallorca also being the top most travel destination for Europeans because of its Mediterranean climes.

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Here's a First!

 My first time sighting the Southern Cross!

As guests of our cousin Peter PJ Aguilar and Lee Paige, my sisters and I were invited to spend a splendiferous time in Puerto Vallarta. One of my vacation objectives was to sight the Southern Cross (Crux) which is not visible from the Bay Area. Finally, on the fourth and fifth evening, the marine layer thinned, making that possible.

Here is the constellation first seen in a wideshot, then in a close-up. A star map courtesy of Stellarium follows. In each image, due south is directly beneath Crux.

 

Not only is Alpha Centauri visible to the lower left of Crux, but in the top photo, the great globular cluster, Omega Centauri is also just faintly discernible to those who know where to look.

 

A wide view of the south-southeast from Villa La Estancia, Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico.

 

 

A close-up of Rigel Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri), Hadar, Epsilon Centauri, and Crux (the Southern Cross).

 

 

Courtesy of Stellarium

 

 

Puerto Vallarta! (May 11~18, 2024)

 

Puerto Vallarta! Actually, Nuevo Vallarta, where my cousin, Peter J Aguilar and his partner Lee Paige, invited my sisters and I to spend a week at their getaway residence. Whee!

Villa La Estancia's beach front.

L-R: Lee Paige, Georgene Randall, Peter J. Aguilar, Yvette Klemm, and me.

Lee Paige and Peter J. Aguilar.