Along with the official map of our journey, we have Patty overlooking the Neptune Pool on the Emerald Princess and looking at the city skyline of Cartagena, Columbia. Our first two days were spent at sea and relaxing, not picture taking were our highest priority.
Cartagena, Columbia
The city was a bus ride around the large bay and we didn't relish walking around a lot of high-rise office buildings, so we visited a bird sanctuary near where the ship docked. It was hot and muggy, therefore we took a short shuttle ride bus from the ship.
There were all kinds of different birds and animals. You could almost reach out and touch them - if they would let you. Here we see a Toucan, a small monkey, a Macaw, and a peacock - in the background are flamingos and a Black Iguana.
Steve had his own unique experience in the animal sanctuary. These pictures tell his story.
Panama Canal, Panama
The next day we entered the eastern locks of the Panama Canal. The first two pictures are from our cabin, where we viewed much of the three hour trip through the eastern locks.
This view was forward as we entered the second lock, with the freighter in front of us is just leaving the final lock and entering Gatun Lake. To the right you can see part of the holding ponds that retain the water recovered from the previous ship passing through these locks.
Lastly, we approach the third lock and you can see Gatun Lake just beyond. The entire canal is about 50 miles long and takes only a single day to complete.
Patty looks out on Gatun Lake.
The part of the canal that was the most difficult to build is called The Cut, This is where a mountain had to be cut through and an enormous amount of earth was removed to make way for ships. The Lake and the canal are above sea level and there are three locks on the eastern side and three locks on the western side to adjust ships up to the level of the lake. Below we see Patty as the ship passes under the Centennial Bridge, just west of The Cut and marking the Continental Divide.
On the western side, we see the ship entering the first of the three locks.
We returned to our cabin and here Patty looks forward as we approach the Bridge of the Americas, marking the entrance to the Pacific Ocean.
We celebrated that evening by having dinner at the Crab Shack - lots of shell fish all around.
The following day we took a tour of the old locks and the first picture is of a 'mule' helping pull a ship through the locks - the new locks do not use the 'mule' system to guide the ships through the locks. The last picture is of a ship exiting the old locks and heading to the Pacific.
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
We have absolutely no pictures of this port, but it doesn't mean we didn't have fun. We took a three hour bus ride across Costa Rica, to a volcanic area with hot water spas. We all changed into bathing suits and spent two hours relaxing in the hot water - no cameras here. There were several levels of heated pools and some of us were more adventurous and tried out the hotter pools, while others simply relaxed in the more moderate areas for the entire time. Then we were treated to wonderful buffet lunch, before boarding the bus for our three hour return ride.
An hour out of Puntarenas we stopped at a tourist stop in San Ramone and got this shot of the gardens maintained on a steep hill.
Huatulco, Mexico
This was the port that we think looked the most like it was before all the cruise ships started to visit - even here you can see the large new condos being erected above the harbor. The first picture is out our cabin and the second is from our balcony, down the long pier connecting us to the harbor.
Getting off the ship, we walked down the long pier into the harbor town and wandered through all kinds of shops. Then we took a taxi into La Crucecita and walked around the market area.
This was definitely not where the tourists came and we got to see places where the locals did their shopping and entertained themselves.
We walked back to the civic square and had lunch at a place much more used to tourists.
Saying goodbye, we got this shot of Patty just before walking that long pier back to the Emerald Princess.
The next day we celebrated Steve's birthday at the Crown Room and here Steve blows out his cake.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
On this visit to Puerto Vallarta we decided to take a tour to a spa area deep into the mountains behind the city. We started off in a big bus, but had to transfer to a smaller one in order to drive on the winding dirt roads leading to the isolated spa. They, of course, made their own tequila and had us do a taste test of all the varieties. Then it was a lunch prepared in front of us. Finally we could avail ourselves of the facilities and we decided to try out the swimming pool before heading back to the city.
Traveling Home
We had two days at sea before arriving in Los Angeles. The weather was fabulous and Patty took time to sun herself on our balcony.
Steve has a good singing voice and likes to join the choir group that usually forms on board. This is their show, put on in the atrium on the last day of the cruise.
