THE PANAMA CANAL!

When I woke up we weren't moving.  The sun was up.  I immediately jumped up and opened the curtain on our 'picture window'.  Here is what I saw.

Then I felt us moving - but not forward.

and this is what I watched....

and then eventually (like about 2 minutes)...

this.

Now, remember, our stateroom is only on Deck 5.  We are not high up in the ship.  That was the block wall of the 2nd (I missed the 1st one) lock of the Miraflores Locks.  But there were still many, many more things to see!  What an exciting day for me!  I went up on deck, I went down to the stateroom, I had breakfast watching the whole mystery unfold, and then back down to the stateroom! 

The Bridge of the Americas

the bridge joining North/Central America with

South America

(since the natural bridge between the 2 has been disposed of)

This is how narrow the Canal actually is - this is the side of the lock - andthe side of the ship - Promenade Deck 7.  This is why they are

working on digging another Canal that is wider and deeper than this one.  For the big ships!! Hahaa

This is the view from the 'Bridge Cam'.  The entire transit was televised for those who didn't want to go out into the heat and humidity to watch from the outside decks.  This is one of the final upward locks that we went thru before going thru Gatun Lake.

Then down the other locks and into the Caribean we went.  All within about 10 hours.  10 whole hours to go from Ocean to Ocean!  Amazing!  at least to me.

And Keith could finally relax!! At least until 2120 when we had to go up on Lido Deck 14 and watch another darned football game.  I made it about 1/2 way thru the Colt/Jaguar game before I had to give and head for bed.

It was a very, very full day.

If it's Wednesday again, We landed in Puerto Amador

Tuesday was another Sea Day with a formal dinner.  So, as has become our habit (unfortunately) we laid around by the pool for most of the day.  Keith went up and did the Basketball Shootout and I went to Trivia up in one of the lounges - and he did much better than I! We watched Tina Turner in "One Last Time" on the Lido big screen during the afternoon.  It was much better than I thought it would be - not being one for musicals and such. 

Late afternoon I coerced Keith into dressing up for the first time since the sailing evening dinner.  We actually put on some of the good clothes we brought, went and had portraits taken, and got into line for the Anytime Seating at the dining room.  We were seated with 4 other people (one of the advantages of the 'anytime' is that you sit with someone different each time so you meet many more people) and proceeded to have a great time, great food, with great people.  And, as a bonus, it gave me 4 more people on board that I could say hi too! :-) 

After dinner we went up to the Princess Theater and watched "Dance".  Another great production by the Coral Princess Dancers.  Then off to the "Movies under the Stars" where we watched 'UP' - which was animated and very, very funny. 

It was another great, relaxing day aboard the Coral Princess.

Wednesday morning we found ourselves anchored outside of Puerto Amador.  This island is a novelty and a whole story in itself.  Ten days into our cruise, we are still on the Pacific side of the trip.  It seems as though we should have been clear to the south pole in this many days - fun days, relaxing days, but jeez, it seems as tho' we are moving rather slow!!!

The faraway Panama City skyline behind Keith.  He is on Deck 14 just outside the Solarium that housed the covered 'adult' swimming pool.

The same skyline from a deck closer to the middle of the ship.

We (more like I) booked a tour for Panama City.  I didn't figure I'd ever go this particular route again and the whole Panama Canal history is very interesting to me.  I was convinced that this city would be like the picures I've seen over the years in history books.  I don't know why I don't think that any city except for US city's would be modern, with modern skylines, and with all the modern conveniences...  but it never ceases to amaze me that we can call city's with skylines like this '3rd world' or un-industrialized.   So I have gotten quite the wake up call on this holiday. (Did you know that 'holiday' is what we call what we used to call vacations but now that we live on vacation, we have to call it a holiday?  News to me but made perfect sense!!)

So above you see the skyline, below you see pictures of the history, the ruins, the narrow streets that reminded me of downtown New Orleans, the individuality and charm that Panama City hold for the visitor.

The ruines of a Church

The Panama Tree that is growing in the middle of what used to be a nunnery.

A narrow street that had bare-ly clad 'ladies' lounging on the 2nd story balconies.  This was a 'drive by' not a slow down and look. 

The traffic was horrendous.  There is only 1 main road between the 3 parts of Panama.  The New City, the Old City, and Puerto Amador.  We tendered in to Puerto Amador, caught out bus and were almost totally over the causeway when a call came to our guide that we had to return to the docks and pick up several that had booked morning and afternoon tours - and missed the bus.  This so totally annoyed one very verbal man to the point that he got off of the bus and demanded a refund.  Turns out that he didn't pay for the tour anyhow - his companions had - so his demands were not met to his IMMEDIATE satisfaction!  If I get that intolerant of the rest of the human race - please - someone - just shoot me!!

So, new passengers in tow, we headed off again.  Our guide for this tour was Ryhan.  He was a charming young man who started off with a humorous story regarding the Panamanian way of life.  He was born Ryan and at some point had to register for something or another with the government of Panama.  When whatever ID card that he had registered for came back as Ryhan - he contacted the government.  After going in many, many circles trying to fix this issue, he was finally told.... the government does not make mistakes.  His name was now spelled correctly.  It was them that had been spelling it wrong all this time.  And it well described the seeming way of life there.  We passed dozens of high rises that were in progress at one time - but no longer.  Just sitting there - rotting.  Cinderblocks stacked waiting for someone to come lay them - with vegetation growing because they had been there for so long.  Just a complete shame.  Made me remember that the economy crisis didn't just affect the US - and that the US has so MUCH influence over so many other country's economies that when ours suffers, thiers collapses. 

Anyhow, off of my soapbox, and on to the tour.  We visited a museum, saw many, many Christmas decorations, did a drive by to Manuel Noriega's home and the place where he holed up until he was ready to surrender himself, went and visited many, many ruins, the historic old town, one of the oldest still-running Churches in Panama, and soooo many other places, with so much detail that I don't even remember it all.

We got very little history on the Canal itself other than the actual procedure for requesting use.  To use the Panama Canal - there must be a request - accompanied by a direct wire transfer to transverse it.  If the 'ship' waits until arrival at the entrance - they have to have cash money and then wait their turn.  Some ships wait for days for thier turn.  The harbor was full of large ships and small boats, and some very impressive yachts waiting to go from the Pacific to the Carribean. 

Ryhan kept talking about the jets going thru the Canal and the cost differences for them.  I was so very confused.... then the light bulb came on.... he was saying yachts.  I don't know why it took so many hours to figure out what he was saying - but figure it out I did.  And when I did - most of what he had been saying finally made some sense to me.

Another thing I tried - a new food item - pinapple/mango milkshake.  About 16 or so ounces - $1.20 American.  And the best $1.20 I ever spent too.  It was the perfect thing to cool and sooth after the hot and humid walk!

Kieth didn't feel up to doing most of the walks - so he hung out in the AC'd bus and waited for us to do our wanderings.  I pal'd up with Adam and Christina (the ship's shopping guide and his wife) and we had quite the blast.  They are very, very friendly people.  He from Australia and she from Romania.  A really cute couple - and I was glad of thier company.

So, hot, sticky, and sweaty, we returned to the tender dock and got into the amazingly swift moving like to go back to our 'home on water'. 

We had our dinner in the ever-ready Horizon Court Buffet and headed over to the Universe Lounge to watch Adrian Zmed...in Concert.  He used to be on T.J. Hooker with William Shatner as well as many other popular shows and movies.  He is a year older than I am - and during his show he came through our aisle - and we got to shake hands with him!

By the time his show was over - it was beyond bedtime and we (or at least I) wanted to be up for the Panama Canal.  Rumor has it that the Canal pilot will board about 5 am - and then as soon as we get permission - we will go thru one of the worlds greatest engineering feats - and it's over 100 years old!!!

Pura Vida

I looked out the window to the coastline at Puntarena, Costa Rica.  It was a bit of a hazy day - but I was so excited about our Eco Tour that I didn't even care!  We hurried thru breakfast and were all ready with hats, water, and great spirits.  I have read so much about how beautiful Costa Rica is!  As it was a somewhat organized chaos as everyone wanted to be the very 1st to get where they wanted to go.

The first thing our excellent guide told us was "Pura Vida".  He said it was the Costa Rican equivalent of  "don't worry, be happy".  It literally means pure life but don't worry, be happy works for me!

He was a great guide too.  Nice, charming, sweet, and smile - oh boy did he smile!-  I'll bet he smiles when he is sleeping.  We were very pleasantly entertained with many, many, many details of Costa Rican life, economy, education, the rivers, forests, industries, and all about all sorts of things.  He (and I can't remember his name!! so I'll call him Eco) was very well trained in bio-diversity.  I don't know that there is any detail of anything eco related that he wouldn't know the answer too.

The beaches were awesome!  I can't even begin to spout all the information he came up with like - Very often Costa Rica gets confused with Puerto Rico by the tourists.  Computer chips is the main export. The national currency is the colon but any vender, restaurant, hotel, etc will gladly accept the American dollar instead - it holds it's value better (haha)! Crocodiles like brackish water the best.  There are rainforests almost from the seashore of the Atlantic clear to the seashore of the Carribean Sea. 

Can you see the crocodiles in these photos?

We spent the entire morning on the Tarcoles River.  Eco and the boat driver showed us birds, fish, cattle, crocodiles, and everything else that could possibly be shown.  And narrated every detail a person could ever want.  At one point they pulled up close to shore while an adult crocodile came right up to us!  A baby wasn't to terribly far behind - and soon there were several birds hanging around!  Eco explained that while this behavior was not instinctive - it was caused by human intervention.  Many times people would feed the animals so they look for the signs of the boats.  Of course, when the big croc is indulging - smaller pieces float and baby crock gets food too - and the birds pick off anything that floats beyond that.  So I happily recorded the entire event (along with Eco's real name) on the camcorder and just had a great time!  We got back on shore to be served a snack of local fruits - banana, guava, mango, pineapple, and lots of water.  We were definately being well treated by Costa Rica!

After leaving the river, we headed to Carara Biological Reserve for our lunch of gallo pinto chicken, beans, rice, and fruit.  Costa Rican style!  I think maybe they Americanized it a wee bit - but it was an excellent lunch.  After finishing up and resting a bit we headed for the gondolas

We had a different, not quite so entertaining, guide for this portion of our expedetion.  We rode up thru the 'middle' layer of the rainforest as the trees, birds, plants, waterlife, and impacts were outlined.  It was a great experience but, in all honesty, I think our Northwester forests have this rain forest beat hands down in beauty!

After reaching the top of the mountain we rode around the turnstyle and headed back down.  But we didn't really go down very quickly.  The return trip concentrated on the canopy of the rainforest.  We saw a huge bright red Macaw heading somewhere very quickly and many more beautiful sights - complete with live explanations! It was a quite exhilarating day - it was hot, it was humid, but I wouldn't have forgone this experience.  If you get to Costa Rica - it is definately a must do - especially the river portion!  This fellow appeared to say goodbye to the huge group of intruders!

And then it was back to the ship for a 1830 all aboard!  Food, (after all we haven't eaten for an hour!), a short nap, and Monday night football!  And then we find out that it doesn't even start until 2030!  That time change stuff can really mess a person's tv schedule up! Hahaa!!

If it's Sunday, it must be football!

This first Sunday of the cruise was a 'Sea Day'. I woke very early and watched the sunrise from the buffet area up on Deck 14. There are tables up at the very front of the ship and it is a very nice place to sit and have coffee and watch the water. There was a very well attended Interdenominational Church Service held at mid-morning. One of the Philipino crew members officiated the very nice service. We were given handouts with the songs and communal prayers that were part of it. It was genuinely nice. I was really suprised at the number of people that were there. Most every seat in the Wheelhouse Lounge was filled.

It doesn't matter where a person is... it seems that Sunday is football day.

Our games started with the Packers/Bears game at noon ~ out by the pool/jacuzzi and on the 'big screen'.  There were many that just napped and soaked up the sun while others of us actually hid in the shade and rooted for the best plays.  Then we grabbed up the Charger/Cowboy game and there was some very, very spirited rooting going on there!!  Keith came up on deck during the Charger game and watched much of it in his favorite place ~ the jacuzzi~ The Grill, the Pizza stand, and of course the Ice Cream Spot were open for munchies all during the games.  During the Charger game there was also a very, very lively game of water volleyball played that was a lot of fun to watch!  I very much was enjoying my afternoon!

Then we went on to the Eagle/Giant game that lasted way into our night!  I made a trip into the Horizon Court Buffet and came out with plates filled with the Mexican Food Specialities of the day.  What a day!

We watched football until late into the night and then went to bed in preparation for my much looked-forward to day in Costa Rico!

Saturday it's Huatulco

Early on Saturday morning we woke to the sound of the gangways being rigged in Huatulco.  We didn't get off of the ship here as we woke late.  This is the one of the security boats that continously patroled around our ship.  I was standing out on deck when I actually saw them running another boat out of the perimeter area they had marked.  Thankful for the security!

The waters were deep deep blue and the little part of the city that was visable appeared to be a small, sleepy type of town.  This area is known for its many small baylets.  Some of the beaches were only accessible by boat and others were not accessable at all.  We were provided with paper history of the area the night before we docked so I laid on the deck and read the particulars of the area very comfortably.We were only in port for a few hours as all aboard time was set for 12:30

so Keith spent the leisure timeworking.... and thenwatching the big screen tv and having pizza

I couldn't resist taking this photo- our happy cruisiers!  And altho' I saw them many times - the expressions never changed.......

and then we weighed anchor and headed towards our next stop, Puntarenas

Friday it's Acapulco

 This is the Promonade at the Atrium.  It is a great ship! We spent Thursday at Sea also.  It was a relaxing time - although Keith got his internet connections hooked up and spent most of the day working.  I wandered, went and checked out the Lotus Spa, the Workout areas, and the pools again.  When he finished his working, Keith came up and we did more exploring... mostly of the buffet and the dessert carts (boy do they have the desserts!!) but also found the Grill and the Pizza spots.  We also found one of our favorite spots in the entire place... the Ice Cream Bar!! Whoopee!!  Now I know where to find him any time he is AWOL!!   We were eating breakfast by the pool as we sailed past Puerto Vallarta

On Friday morning we landed in Acapulco.  What a beautiful view!  We had the City Tour booked so we headed out to the busses and were totally ready for our scenic drive.  We had a really good tour guide and I really enjoyed watching the scenery while learning lots and lots of facts and history aobut the area.  Our tour took us beyond the single bay on south to the smaller bay and to see the homes of the 'rich and famous' that reside there.  We saw the stark contrasts between the have and the have not's - as in any country it is sad that some have SO much and others have almost nothing. 

The Federales were very much in evidence all thru the tour.  We were told of the war that the government is seriously fighting with the gangs and the cartels.  It is sad that so many innocent people are being affected by the greed and terrorism of these people .  After making our circle on little narrow roads (thanks to a great bus driver!) we headed back through the center of the old city of Acapulco towards the Cliff Divers. 

This shot was right after 3 at a time dove from a dizzying height.  We were watching from quite far above the dive sight so this was as close as I could get for pictures.  It was a great show and these talented dare devils deserve all the applause they get!

Then it was back thru the busy city and back to the ship to.....and this is the view of the city from the front buffet dining area.

and again, we were to full to go to the dining room - so we opted out of that and went on to the Comedy Act and then off to bed...

Another very full day!

If it's Wednesday we are in Cabo San Lucas

We did the Panama Canal Cruise on board the Coral Princess.  It was absolutely wonderful.  15 days of someone else to clean my room, cook my meals, do my dishes... and all sorts of wonderful new sights to see!  Can't beat a deal like that!

First I looked out the window of the Crowne Plaza (and that is a hopefully never again experience) Hotel in San Pedro.. and what did I see!!!  Of course it was a total illusion - but it startled me anyhow!

So anyhow, we checked out of the Hotel, paid the ridiculous charges for the jab-you-to-death trifles - like over $7 to print the boarding passes (by the minute of course) with no paper in the printer in the 'complementary business center'... what a joke!!!  The airlines are setting a bad example... pretty soon the hotels will be charging extra for a sheet on the bed... like the airlines - no liquids in the cabin - that'll be $15 for the bag in the cargo please... but another day....

So, anyhow, the Princess Cruise line is doing the same thing.... even down to charging for soda pop in the buffet.  All sorts of new fees since our last cruise.  Makes it strange.

but again,

another time.

The weather was overcast and dreary as we left Long Beach.  The seas were a little rougher than I ever remembered them being while I was on such a big ship - so I only made it part way through dinner before I was headed out to find some sea bands.  Sharen swears by them - so I got some too.  They seemed to help - but I wasn't convinced that I needed to be far from our stateroom - so I stayed there while Keith wandered on into the evening.

Our first day was a 'sea day' and we spent it exploring the ship.  It is absolutely beautiful.  Grand would be more the word for it.  The lounges and casual seatting scattered thru the ship were comfortable and I took advantage of them while I people watched and worked on the baby afgan I started.  It is great cover (hehee).  The weather cleared up so we tried the pools and we ate to much all day.  Our dinner seating was 5:15 so we didn't get all dressed up and attend the 1st formal night - but we did go to the musical production 'Motor City'.  It was great as are most of the productions I've seen on board.  I thouroughly enjoyed it!

Our first stop was Cabo San Lucas.  We went ashore and shopped a bit.  We watched the huge yachts in the harbor and enjoyed the sunshine.  Wandered the streets and checked out all the sights.  Last time we were there, we really never left the dock so it was all new to see the shopping area.  As we were leaving, we asked another set of tourists to take our picture and this guy decided to 'join' us with his little friend.  Keith thought it was pretty well funny - but as you see - I didn't care for it much.  I never was fond of reptiles - and it hasn't gotten much better!  Then we were both ready to climb back into the tender had head back to the air conditioned ship. 

At 19:30 (according to the ship's log) we headed to the sea passage and on to Acapulco!

San Pedro

S'te dropped us at the Silverdale Beach Hotel on Wednesday night so that we'd be all ready and there for the Kitsap Airporter shuttle to SeaTac on Thursday.  Makk had specialist appointments (he's getting measured for his 'mickey' and had to stop at the nutritionist) really early, clear down at Madigan, so the Airporter was to be our transportation. 

We had a leisurly breakfast overlooking the river, watched the waterfowl, did our early morning call from Florida, discussed Christmas decor and later plans, caught the shuttle, made the plane, and headed South!

We caught a shuttle from LAX to our hotel - and it was definately a long ride.  We were the last (of course being tourists they knew we were probably not return customers - so who cares! - I understand that>>>>) drop of 3.  It was over 2 hours from pick up to drop off.  Our driver took the scenic route and gave us a lot of interesting facts about the area - of course, it was dark so we really couldn't see much,  I am sure it is a gorgeous ride during daylight hours.  The driver kindly offered to return and take us any where we'd like to go - and show us anything we'd like to see. 

We are now ensconced in a Junior Suite at the Crown Plaza in San Pedro.  It has a little (and I mean little) living room area that gives Keith and I both a place to sit while typing away on our own persuits.  His work, my pleasure! hehee!  The non-smoking room smelled heavily of smoke - we were a bit disappointed in that - but definately don't want to be the ones blamed - Keith had to sign a statement saying he agreed that there would be no smoking - so one of our first steps was to make sure the desk was aware that 'it wasn't us' LOL

They have been wonderful here as far as service and assistance.  Jennifer - the concierge - set us up with events that would be taking place over the weekend - We did our own walking tour during the afternoon and happened upon Porky's BBQ.  It is a little bitty place right on a corner on 6th Street.  It has some inside seating and a few tables out on the street side.  It was GREAT!!  The brisket sandwich that Keith ordered was SOOOO big that he had some then and the rest later for dinner.  and it was SOOOO gooooooddddd!  I got the catfish - and made a pig out of myself too!  If you are ever here - visit them.  You will definately not be disappointed!

Last night we wandered down to the Holiday Caroling event down by the bridge.  We walked down, watched the 'dancing waters'

We watched and listened to 2 great caroling choirs and even sang along on a few of the Christmas carols before taking the 'red car' (San Pedro's name for the little 1 car trolley that transverses the waterfront) back towards the Hotel.  Back here again we met some more (of many!) cruisers that told us of the Christmas Regatta that will be at the Ports of Call Village tonight.  So I'm thinking we may head in that direction today.

Crafty Lady

S'te's first craft show was somewhat a bust!  I think she sold 4 items.  A hat that I crocheted, 2 bottle cap necklaces (that I misquoted prices for so ended up with me making up the difference hehe), and ,,,, actually, I don't know what else. It was a good experience, I wandered and met a lot of crafters and got a lot of great ideas for my crocheting.  I think I might also learn to knit.... not sure yet - but I'm thinking about it.  They let me have my crochet hook on the planes now - but I don't know if I want to push it - with knitting needles LOL!!

Although the sales weren't great ~ it was a great learning experience.  She figured out what she needed for set ups and moved ideas back and forth for display as well as organizing her dismantle so that things would be all ready for the next one.  She signed up for another show that is supposed to be better established for this weekend - so I'm hoping that she does much better this time around!

I think she did a great job in getting everything ready for this one, learned a lot, and wish her lots of luck today at her 2nd craft show of 2009!