Bon Voyage and Home Again!

I have dreamed of going to the Panama Canal since I was in high school and finally that dream came true. On March 23rd, Blair's birthday, we flew to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and the next day boarded the Island Princess for our cruise of the Caribbean. Ports of call were Aruba, Cartehena, Colombia, South America, the Panama Canal and Cristobal, Panama, Limón, Costa Rica and Ocho Rios, Jamaica then back to Ft. Lauderdale to fly home.Ft. Lauderdale harbor from our balcony on the ship.

Another view from our balcony.

I am going to save my money to buy this big white house on the canal on our way to sea.

Don on our balcony watching the world go by.

Goodbye Ft. Lauderdale.

The first formal night on the ship.

I love this picture of Don taken by the ship photographers.

ARUBA ARUBA ARUBA

I loved the beautiful white sand beaches and turqoise water. I want to go back.

Beautiful hotel on the beach.

Don at the California Lighthouse on Aruba.

I couldn't resist taking this picture of this cute lady.

We visited an old monastery.

A very ornate gold leafed chapel inside the monastery.

CARTEGENA, COLUMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA

I never dreamed that I would get to go to anywhere in South America so this was a real treat to get to go to Cartegena. I loved the old town and the fortress. I want you to know I really thought a while before I put this picture on my blog. Don looks so mad but he was really teasing the photographer. What's new!!!

Cartegena from our balcony on the ship.

View of Cartegena from the old fortress.

One of many canons around the outside walls of the fortress.

Don with the city of Cartegena in the background.

The fortress.

Cathederal in old town Cartegena.

I love the two different architures designs in these buildings in old town.

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of the women who walked around town with a basket of fruit balanced on their heads. They wanted money to have their pictures taken.

THE PANAMA CANAL

The buildings on the side of the Panama Canal.

Great picture of the Gatun Locks. You can see the difference in the water level in the different locks.

With the water equal in both areas, the gates of the locks are beginning to open so that the ship can go into the next lock. The gates close after the ship clears the gates.

Gates open a little more.

And more . . .

And more until the gates are flat against the sides.

Gatun Lake

Colorful masks that were for sale in Cristobal, Panama.
Don in the spa area at the back of the boat, I know I should have said AFT.
LIMON, COSTA RICA

Coconut trees to the side of the road.
We visited a banana plantation.

Freshly picked bunches of bananas. When the bananas are about a month old they are covered with blue plastic bags to keep the animals and birds from eating them. It takes nine months to get mature bananas and each tree only grows one bunch of bananas.

Man washing bananas before they go to get cut into bunches.

After the bananas are cut into bunches they are soaked for a while. These men are taking the bananas out of the solution and putting them on large trays.

These men are packing the bananas in cardboard boxes to be shipped to grocery stores.

Banana flower.

Cachew fruit. The natives only eat the yellow part and throw away the nut.

Beautiful red flower, I just could resist taking its picture.

OCHO RIOS, JAMAICA

I took so many pictures on Jamaica but lost my camera that night on the ship. I am grateful for the pictures I did have of the rest of the trip. The thing that makes me the madest is that I spent $50.00 for a new memory card the night before I lost the camera. I know it is on the ship somewhere and hopefully it will catch up with me sometime in the future.

Taken on the last formal night.

Don and Kit, our wonderful waiter. Don teased him every night but Kit got the last laugh. After the parade of the Baked Alaska dessert he brought one to our table and cut each of a slide of it but Don kept telling him he wanted it all. After all of us except Don were served Kit slipped the rest of the baked Alaska onto Don's plate. Good for you Kit. I knew Don's eyes were bigger than his stomach. He didn't even make a dent in it. We all had a good laugh.