In January we took a 12-day Caribbean cruise. Cruising is so easy when you just drive a few hours to the port.
This trip started out going to Aruba - not my favorite so we just walked around a bit and sat at a poolside bar I remembered from last time. They still serve great Lime Colada's.
My pictures are out of order so these are from Cartagena, Colombia. After taking a cab to "Old Towne" we did a little exploring. We had been warned that the street peddlers were relentless - and they were.
This brightly lit tunnel welcomed us to the area.
The architecture was definitely Spanish influenced.
I had to try this. One hand was definitely necessary to keep it steady. And yes, we paid the lady for this photo op.
This is part of the old Fort. One of the peddlers taking a shade break. The heat and humidity were intense.
We couldn't get into the cathedral, but I saw its steeple when we were exploring.
Our next stop is Curacao. We have never visited here before but it has always been on my "bucket list". This very large turtle was in the welcome area when we departed the ship.
Curacao is known for it's colorful buildings. Obviously they like color everywhere. We walked up this alley while exploring.
These colorful buildings are an example of their colorful personality.
A fish monger on the smaller island just a short walk away.
This is the foot bridge that you take over to the smaller island. It is supported by many pontoons and the foot bridge actually opens to let boat traffic through.
Local fresh market.
Pizza anyone? We didn't stop to eat but it certainly doesn't look like any pizza bar that I've been to. Wish it had been open for lunch. Surprising when there's a ship in port.
They had a food and wine pairing meal in our favorite restaurant on ship. We signed up and it was the best evening of the trip. Every course was delicious. This was a beef course -- Tagliata Di Manzo - thinly sliced dry-aged beef.
My favorite course, tender grilled octopus paired with zesty red pesto, served over pillowy spinach gnocchi.
They had a pianist playing and of course, a photographer.
Next stop, Limon, Costa Rica. We'd driven through this town when we visited here with our family a few years ago. This was a deserted beach building that had very colorful graffiti.
Electricity in this small town was interesting in some of the "non-tourist" areas.
We had a surprise companion for lunch. This sloth was in the tree across the street.
Another great meal - even though we never have dessert at home, it's just too tempting after a nice dinner.
The end of another fun day. We like to go to the bar at the rear of the ship and chat with the fun bartender before retiring for the night. It's rarely busy which is why we liked it.
Our table, and server, in the main dining room. Window table for 2. This was "our" table for 11 of the 12 nights. Our waiter was fun and fantastic at his job.
On an At Sea Day I watched a demonstration on martini making. Not something I would try at home but they did get me to participate by drinking one of them.
Our ship went through the first lock on the Atlantic side before we were up and about so we missed it. They then dropped anchor in a large lake. Bob and I did an excursion through the remaining locks on a smaller boat taking us all the way to the Pacific side. At the end we took a bus ride back to the Atlantic side where the ship was waiting. I'm so glad we were on a Princess excursion because we were over 2 hours late returning. If we had taken a tour with a private company they do not wait.
It is very expensive for a cruise ship to go through all the locks. We were told that a cruise ship our size would cost over 1 million dollars. On the interesting side, because they overcharge cruise ships compared to cargo ships, cruise ships get priority entry but still have to book their spot a year in advance.
This first picture is one of the gates closing so we can progress through the next lock.
We went through an 85 foot drop in 2 locks between the Lake and the Pacific. You never felt it but what an incredible experience.
We were able to touch the wall at one point.
The lock is moving again but you can see the waterline on the wall.
Another journey completed. The Mediterranean is next...........
