Sea Days and Mexico

During all of our sea days we kept busy.  Our schedule consisted of:  get up, go to the gym and work out, stop at the Aqua Spa Cafe for breakfast (and a visit with Matoo), head back to the room and get dressed and then decide what to do next.l

I read a total of four books during the cruise.  "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand was excellent and when I finished it Larry read it - in record speed.  "The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb" was interesting, Betty White's latest was a very quick read and another thick book was quite interesting, but had to be speed-read at the very end of the cruise.

Larry enjoyed his time at the Thelassatherapy (sp?) pool and whirlpool.  It was much quieter and adults-only.  Many friends were made at the pool area, particularly Helen from Australia and Simon from Canada.  Helen was the Australia group's travel guide and we saw her often.  Simon raises pigs and gave us quite an education.  Pork no longer has to be overcooked according to him because of the strides made in raising pigs in sanitary and healthy environments.  No more trichinosis he claimed.

Many games of trivia were available and I joined in on one about Broadway.  I wasn't terrible, but the two ladies on my "team" were hopeless.  I ended up with 15 points out of a possible 40.  The winners got 39!

Chris and Graham Harper were avid trivia players and ping pong competitors.  They won many prizes and at the end were giving them away - to their lucky tablemates.  I'll always think of them when I wear my Celebrity visor and write with my Celebrity pen!  Diana got them as well.  In fact, Graham is responsible for a new rule at trivia contests.  Contestants may NOT touch the director's equipment.  It seems Graham "borrowed" Marleen's microphone without her knowledge and made outrageous claims to the group at large, declaring that the winners would receive a free cruise!

I watched fruit carving demonstrations, put together scrapbook kits and went to cooking demonstrations.

Lunch was usually at the aforementioned Aqua Spa Cafe where we got healthy options.  It made us feel better about the huge dinners we'd be consuming each evening.  Plus, we got to visit with Matoo.

Puerto Vallarta was our next to last port excursion.  Our dinner group decided to skip a tour and just get off the ship and head for Sam's Club and Wal Mart and a shopping mall across from the pier.  Larry and I had spent a week in the area in 2007, so didn't need to see it again.  We wandered around for several hours and then made our way back, stopping at the crafts area at the pier before boarding the ship for lunch.  One interesting thing at Wal Mart:  they sell appliances and Ron opened one of the refrigerators to find an empty soda bottle inside.  One way to stash one's thefts I suppose.

Easter Sunday was another shore excursion.  Larry and I chose to take a bus to Todos Santos, where we'd been on two previous trips.  We love that place!  And, we did see things we hadn't seen before.  They're building a new road that should be very nice when completed.  Baja has never spent more than it had to on roads.  We remember from our past visits that they don't believe in shoulders.  Towing a trailer was a hair raising experience at times.

In retrospect, it was a wonderful trip.  We have new friends, ate delicious food and visited beautiful and interesting places.

April Fools Day

Sea Day and Captain's Club Celebration in Constellation Club - Deck 11 Fwd.

We were treated to cocktails, entertainment and FOOD.  One of the perks of being loyal cruise customers.
Currently at the Select level, we are slowly and steadily working our way to ELITE status.  Having experienced it on our first cruise - we are very motivated to achieve it again - permanently!  One more cruise and we'll be there.

Monday, April 2 was a Train, Bus and Boat tour in Costa Rica.  The highlight was seeing the crocodiles. They were trained to make their presences known every time a boat approached - because the drivers' fed them raw chicken.  Will work for food!

April 3, Sea Day.  At 2:45 we had a backstage tour of the theater, but it was not much of a tour.  We had a much better one while on the Century ship.  But, this was our Qsine dining experience night and we totally enjoyed the entire experience, start to finish!  Hopefully, they'll have these on many more of the Celebrity ships.  Right now just a few have it.

Wednesday, April 4.  Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala.  We took an Estates & Gardens tour of a former coffee plantation.  It's now owned by a doctor who's had 7 wives.  He no longer lives there, just uses it for tours and it must be quite a money-maker, judging by the number of people who visited while we were there.
It had a zoo of sorts and cobblestone walkways that were difficult to maneuver.  A snack lunch was served and then it was back to the ship.  This was by far the best port shopping experience.  A jade museum also had jewelry to sell, as well as many handicraft items.

Pictures of entertainment, meals, canal crossing

Through the Canal

March 31 was our "through the canal" day, although that's not all that we did.

The best view was from the heliport, so that's where we headed first.  We also had a great view from our balcony at the rear of the ship on Deck 8.

Qsine, the Unordinary specialty restaurant had its demonstration in the morning up on Deck 11, so we both attended that.  Our special Aqua Spa Cafe manager, Matoo, had recommended it highly, and we wanted to see what it was all about.  The decorations, food, service, etc. was all very eclectic.  And outstanding!  Food is served "tapa style" and with very unique presentations.  Guests are given iPads, which they then use to make their selections.  The chef cooks everything to order and sometimes even the diners help prepare their own food.

We attended a high tea in the specialty dining room in the afternoon.  We had a great, although very different view of one of the lock passages from the round window next to our table.  That cement wall was very close!

After dinner that night we attended the entertainment with our dinner pals, sitting in the front row because that's what the cruise director had recommended the night before.  We didn't know we'd have to participate in the show itself - at least Ron and Diana did.  It was a juggling act, but unlike any we'd ever seen before.  Ron made the mistake of telling the guy he didn't think he'd be seeing anything he hadn't seen before!  As a result, he was made to hold a large net to catch the ball when it came his way.  Diana had to get up and stare into the juggler's eyes as he juggled without looking.  She had to verify that his eyes were on hers the entire time.  To add to the performance, he'd give a little "leap" at the conclusion of each trick.  Diana was then ordered to do the same at the end of her "task".  She did a fine "leap."  Ron was so entertaining that people came up to him the following day and made comments of recognition.  They also thought he was a "plant" since he'd done such a fine job.

Through the Canal 3/31/12

Panama through the canal

Friday, March 30, was our second day of land excursions.  Our chosen tour was the Panama City Experience, which took us to Panama City and the Miraflores Locks the day before we were to pass through the three locks to the Pacific Ocean.

It was an overcast day as we took the bus through the countryside to Panama City.  Photo stops were made and we saw the Trump Tower and downtown high rise buildings.  We then visited a small museum that showed artifacts from the canal's construction - and a craft mall.  The applique needlework they do is excellent - although it would be nice if they left larger seam allowances and better quality fabric.

Then it was on to the Miraflores Locks where we watched several ships pass through.  That would be us the following day!  We ran into quite a few other cruise passengers as well who were on different tours.

Cartagena, Colombia City Tour and Fortress

First Shore Excursion - Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena, Colombia, was our first shore excursion. We toured the fortress and then the old city before ending up at a shopping mall.

At the fortress we were "entertained" by a trumpeter. Unfortunately, his choice of music didn't quite go with the setting. "Hey, Jude" was one example! The fortress had great views of the area, however, and the day was a bit warm.

Colombia is noted for its emeralds and our guide took us to one store that had many for sale as well as other souvenirs. When in Colombia...yes, I have a tiny emerald.

A walking tour took us through the old part of the city where we learned that President Obama would be coming in a few weeks for a summit meeting. We have now heard a great deal about that meeting, but not in a good way! Our visit was not nearly so interesting as that of the Secret Service detail...

We wrapped up our day with a visit to a shopping mall. More emerald jewelry stores and women in full costume (hoping to sell photo opportunities), and a man with a three-toed sloth who no doubt also wanted to sell photo opportunities. Larry had to sneak one of it. He wasn't so lucky when he took a photo of a statue, which then moved and demanded payment. Live and learn.

Our First formal Dinner

Aerialists Susanna and Sebastian from Spain

Juan Pablo and his Typewriter-Piano composition

Leaving Fort Lauderdale

Panama Canal Cruise March 26-April 10, 2012

The cruise of the Panama Canal was great. Wonderful weather, delicious food, fun activities, interesting shore excursions - and fantastic dinner companions! We had the best time!

After checking in at Hawthorn Suites in the afternoon of March 25, we left the car and took the red-eye to Fort Lauderdale, stopping to change planes in Houston. We weren't the only ones headed for the cruise.

Once in Fort Lauderdale it was a waiting game. The Coast Guard had to make an inspection of the ship before any of us could go aboard the Celebrity Infinity.

We first went to our room 8185 in the rear of the ship with a great view of where we'd been.

Then it was off to the buffet. We certainly know the drill by now. Interestingly, I think that was our only lunch at the buffet. And, we only had a few breakfasts there when we had shore excursions that left very early.

Dinner that night found us seated at a table for 6. Our dinner companions were Diana and Ron Bray from the St. Louis area and Graham and Chris Harper from Chester, England. Much more about them later. We all decided it was Fate that brought us together!

Wrapping up the Caravan

After many months, I find myself WAY behind on my blog. Dealing with photos on two separate computers isn't easy, especially when we don't have hi speed internet.

That being said, the caravan was absolutely wonderful, start to finish. Our out-of-state guests all joined Nor Cal as affiliate members. They want to be able to participate in future caravans, they had so much fun!

After the winery stay we traveled to the Solvang area where we spent a few days. Some went into Santa Barbara, others stayed in the Solvang area. Larry and I ventured off into the hills to see some cave drawings above Santa Barbara.

It was off to Long Beach after that. The drive through LA wasn't that bad, although I don't have a lot of respect for the LA drivers. Merging into traffic seems to be an art they haven't yet mastered.

Catalina Island was picture perfect and we all enjoyed our visit there. From Long Beach we took off for San Diego, stopping to see sights along the way. The Leaches, Warrens and Beardshear/ Zimmermans especially enjoyed our stop for lunch near Doheny State Beach.

In San Diego we toured the USS Midway, visited the San Diego Zoo and ate at several delicious eating establishments.

From there we headed to our last destination - the desert. Before we got there, however, we stopped at a great restaurant and bakery. It's a good thing we were close to the end of our trip so we had room to store the goodies we purchased.

We ended the caravan in Anza Borrego Desert State Park.

After our closing banquet at lunchtime (so we could watch the Super Bowl in the afternoon) several headed off to Blythe for the Hobo Rally.

Pictures will follow.

The caravan ferried to Catalina on a gorgeous day