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.
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