Where inthe World are DD and Daro? October 2016 Packing for a long cruise, no matter where you go, is challenging. The airlines charge for luggage over 50 lbs. and on a cruise you need sightseeing clothes, workout clothes, and of course dining attire. We have become more efficient with our packing each trip. The cruise was 15 days which started in Los Angeles, CA with stops in Puerto Vallarta and Huatulco, Mexico; San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua; Puntarenas, Costa Rico; full day transfer through the Panama Canal; Cartagena, Colombia; Aruba; and ended in Fort Lauderdale, FL. There were 5 couples on the cruise and we all took advantage of the different tours offered by the cruise line and some of the tours we arranged on our own. We called ourselves the Los Amigos Group. Here is a picture of our group. From Left to Right: Paula/Lawrence Dellis from Dickinson, TX; JoJean/Homer Jones from San Diego, CA; Cecile/Milton Newton from Angleton, TX ; DD/Daro; Kathy/Glenn Wootton from Angleton. We made this sign to hang over the balcony as we went through the Panama Canal.
Every port we stopped was interesting and worth the tours. We have been to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico back in the 90 s but it does not look the same. Of course, there are a lot of new hotels, condos and, of course, Walmart. Since we had seen the sights in town, we choose a tour to go to a small village in the mountains, San Sebastian. It is one of the original colonies of the Spanish with a beautiful old church and cobble stone streets. We visited with one of the village women that could trace her Spanish family back 5 or 6 generations and she had pictures of them. On the way back to the ship we stopped at a tequila factory and sampled some of their sipping tequila. I personally was surprise how good they tasted fruity, spicy, and my favorite was the orange. San Sabastian Church Cobble Stone Street in middle of town Display of Tequila They Made Sampling Or Drinking????
Our next port was Huatulco, Mexico and it was a very small seaport town. Some of the group took a tour of Rural Communities and Traditions where we tasted cactus, had handmade tortillas over an open fire, and observed a rug being made with a loom. Tortilla making over fire Cecile caught with her mouth full Making a rug by hand see rug hanging in background
Another group went deep sea fishing in a little boat. Homer, Glenn, Daro and Kathy were the brave souls that made the trip out into the Pacific in a small boat. JoJean was supposed to have gone, but broke her arm the week before the trip. Kathy was the only one that caught a fish You Go Girl!! Going Fishing to Fish Kathy struggling with fish Success!!!
Our next stop was San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. We all went on a tour together Granada Highlights, Scenic Drive, Shopping and Lunch. We loaded on a small bus and headed for Granada on a two hour drive going and coming. The driver drove fast and dangerous with no regard for people walking or riding on motorcycles on side of highway. The drive was an adventure all by itself. However, we did see a beautiful country about the size of Alabama with many active and dormant volcanos and clear blue lakes. It is bordered on the North by Mexico, South by Costa Rico, East by Gulf of Mexico, and West by Pacific Ocean. It looked like a very poor country, but everyone was so friendly and wanted to sell us everything. The vendors, including small children, swarmed us at each stop. The city of Granada was very pretty with brightly painted houses, flowers galore, open spaced plazas and of course, a beautiful church in the middle of town. Tropical Plazas and Parks Colorful houses and buildings When we left Nicaragua that night, we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I couldn t take enough pictures and the pictures don t do it justice. One of the volcanos and lakes Beautiful and friendly people Sunset on the Pacific Ocean
Our next stop was Puntarenas, Costa Rico. Our group split and took different tours. Some went into the mountains to see the rain forest and some of us did a Canopy Zip line Tour. They wouldn t let us take any cameras with us so we can just talk about the tour. It was very good and probably one of the better zip lines we have done. The forest was really dense and green. Daro, Homer, Cecile, Paula and I were the zip line crew. The climb up one part of the mountain to the next line was a little daunting, but we made it this was Cecile and Paula s first zip line experience and I think they will probably do it again. Our next adventure was the Full Scenic Transfer through the Panama Canal. We were on the ship the entire day passing through the Panama Canal. It was fabulous. It is like seeing the Eifel Tower for the first time. Pictures do not do it justice. We began the process at 6:00 am and finally made it to the Gulf of Mexico at 4:30 pm. It was astounding and to think of all the man hours it took to build the locks and the lakes were mind boggling. The Princess Cruise Line, according to the guest speaker, paid big $$$$$ so the ship could go through the canal at a certain time. There are three locks at the beginning of the crossing, a man-made lake, and three locks at the end of the crossing. Two ships go at one time, right next to each other. It was amazing to see how the locks worked and how large an operation it was. To reflect back on how long it took them to build the canal and the many lives lost makes me put the Panama Canal right up there with the building of Hoover Dam. The land is very dense with trees and shrubs and to think they did the majority of the building by handsaws and axes was fascinating. They have dug a new canal, within sight of the old canal, for the big mega ships. We got to see one as they went through the new canal. 1 2 3 Opening a lock A Tight Squeeze Inside Lock Man-made lake between the locks 1 2 3
Our next port was Cartagena, Columbia. Kathy set up a private tour for all of us through TripAdvisor. Our tour guide, Dora was wonderful. We had our own mini bus and we saw Cartagena up close and personal. On big cruises, sometime the tours have so many people, you don t get to see the real sites. We went to the top of a mountain overlooking Cartagena to visit an old monastery and church. Each Easter people from all over the world, walk up the mountain and stop at 12 Stations of the Cross and pray. The procession is led by a group of young men carrying the Virgin Mary. It is probably 5-6 miles up a very tall mountain. The view from the top of the mountain was stunning. Scene from Top of Mountain We traveled down to the main part of the old city of Cartagena and walked the streets. There were a lot of security guards on the street with their AK47s; they were having a conference for all the Presidents of all the countries from the Americas we felt very safe. We visited another church in old town and walked in the plaza where Virgin Mary They Carry Up to the Church they had the slave market. We also got to go to the emerald store to purchase our emeralds. We return to the ship with a different mindset of Columbia. Dora said they had worked very hard to rid the city of drug and cartel gangs. Streets of Old Town Cartagena Walking in Plaza of Slave Market
Beautiful Old Church Cartagena A White City In a Blue Ocean The next port, Aruba, was the most interesting stop. The white sandy beaches, the clear blue water and the friendly people made our stop worthy. Aruba is a constituent of the Kingdom of Netherlands. It is only 69 square miles with a population a little over 100,000. It is a desert and the sand is made of coral which means the sand never gets hot. They import everything and export nothing. There is no unemployment and they welcome people to come to Aruba especially people wanting to work. Everything is paid by the government, including health care and education. They send their students to the Netherlands to attend 4 year colleges or medical school and they pay for their living expenses as well as their tuition. Their average income is high and everyone is expected to WORK. Tourism is their main source of income We set up a tour with Viator to take us on a trip around the island. It took 4 hours to see basically the whole island. A cactus fence along every road Blue ocean surrounding island Hotels lining the beach The sparse country side
We had some great tours and some gorgeous views along with our memories of the Panama Canal. We had 6 sea days out of the 15 cruise days. We had morning walks around the ship, line dancing by the pool, tea time, trivia contests, hamburgers/hot dogs/pizza/ice cream and we never missed ½ price happy hour each day at 3:00 pm. We even celebrated Halloween with some of our group dressing up. It was a great trip with great traveling companions. 1 2 3 3:00 PM Happy Hour Sitting on the Deck Halloween with the Los Amigos Group 1 2 3 We will see you in December when Daro and I will take a Steamboat River Cruise on the lower Mississippi River Memphis, TN to New Orleans, LA.