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January 11th
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4 more sleeps with this outside view
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How on earth do we pack all this?
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JW Steakhouse in LA - a great start
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Huge big boxes of watermellons and ...
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L-R Janet, Mike, Eileen, Chris Currier
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Welcome reception with slideshow
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Janet trying out the souffle
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Our room :-) a mini suite
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We have announced the 2024 cruise destination! We'll be doing the bucket list trip in and around
South America next
February on the Sapphire Princess! See the
2024 cruise page on Hugh's web site.
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Showing off at Formal night.
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A tequila tour & tasting with Janet & Chris at Hacienda Dona Engracia
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A very interesting and educational tour
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3 tequilas and 3 flavoured tequilas
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Up, down, center, enter!
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Some pretty good stuff!
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Good enough that he sold us nearly $500 USD worth!
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Kathy got her horse fix ...
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Thoroughbred horse barns and a jumping arena
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A group photo as we were leaving
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Caught the cab number and driver in this $500 USD photo! (ask us :-)
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C & J bumped into a friend who was with John Horgan & his wife
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We met the lovely Kasia Bodurka (Global News Weather) on the Malecon
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She took us to this super nice restaurant
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Kasia took this of Mark and his fish tacos
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A really fun lunch with Kasia on the Malecon
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Some of the calmest waters that we have ever seen
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Maria, our guide at Rancho Caballo De Mar, in Huatulco
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Mark on his horse which was a well behaved stallion
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Kathy on her mount, another well behaved stallion
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We rode through some jungle and then some tall grass
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and then some REALLY tall grass!!
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Here we are where the Rio Copalita meets the Pacific Ocean
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The beautiful beaches seemed to go on forever
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Mark's horse would go in the ocean ... until a big wave stopped him
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Back at the river for a nice cool drink
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Back at Rancho Caballo De Mar after a great ride
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Then lunch in Huatulco with the ship in the background
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And of course a nice cool drink for us too!
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And even more refreshing, a swim in the ship pool
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Bunny told Mike I was taking a photo in the galley tour
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The cooks all waving and saying hello to us
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We were the first to be able to do a galley tour since Covid
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Jim, Karen and the head chef with us (a private group galley tour)
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Friends from the Island that Mark hadn't seen in about 40 years!
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Crocodiles sunning on the Rio Tarcoles in Costa Rica
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An Iquana blending in at our private group Nosavar Ranch tour
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One of the tractors & wagons that pulled our group around the ranch
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Rio Tarcoles running into the Pacific Ocean at the Nosavar Ranch
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A couple of the many "live fences" around the grazing pastures
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A few of the 95 horses in training for the trailride business
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A machete, a big catch rope, and a cruper are all part of this rigging
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One of the Vaqueros is off to move the cattle back to their pastures
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One of three wagons that toured us around the ranch
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Michelle ....check out this little guy waiting to be saddled
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The ranch put on a great buffet lunch for our group ...
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... complete with cerveza & Chris is showing that it is good
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Kelly Deschamp, part of our group, snapped this photo of us
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At the end of a great day we saw this sand sculpture from the dock
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Freighters anchored out waiting in the cue to enter the Canal
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Laundry day in E720 (there was only one dryer and a big lineup)
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The Bridge of the Americas that we'll pass under tomorrow
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A 5 km walk from the ship towards Panama City with Janet and Chris
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This one's for you Jill, he posed in the tree for us
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Not sure what this is but it's purdy! They were all along the walkway
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And so were these ... not sure what they are either
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Kathy and Chris checking out a sign enroute about the Panama Canal
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Chris took this of us at the sign in front of the Bio Museo
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Dora!! Inside, the museum of biodiversity was very good
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Centuries ago the horses looked almost the same as today
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The 4 of us then took a cab into "Old Town" (Casco Antiqua) Panama City
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The restaurant, with awesome Sangrias, used to be a bank
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After lunch another museum, this one the history of the canal
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Another really good museum that was thoroughly educational
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5:15 AM and all the freighters waiting to enter the canal
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Looking back as we pass under the Bridge of the Americas
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Sunrise as we enter the first lock of the Panama Canal "Cocoli Lock"
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You can see Gamboa Cut in the new channel was a big project!
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One of the tankers that passed us in Lake Gatun between the sets of locks
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Tugs pushed the stern of the ships side to side to make the corners
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More freighters were anchored out waiting for the next lock "Agua Clara"
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Mike visiting us as we watch the freighters pass by our balcony
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Not a whole lot of extra room even in the new canal locks
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Control tower on the right and the water storage reservoirs on the left
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The big double gates shutting behind us as we leave Gatun Lake
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A single gate opens in front as we are about to enter the middle lock
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An enormous container ship leaves the locks into the Atlantic Ocean
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The water storage reservoirs that are used to raise and lower each lock
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The group photo at the back with the Panama Canal in the background
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We took in the culinary show in the theatre - note the staff numbers
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A second to last night in our favourite bar, Vines!
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Jim took this "family photo" on the stairs at Vines
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As well as this real family photo Chris, Mike, Janet, Eileen
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Oooooh ... the map on the TV shows that we're heading home :-(
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A last chance to grab a little sun after a swim in the back pool!
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A ship photographer photo at the back of the ship in the Panama Canal
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And a ship photographer photo at the front - think it was windy?
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A ship photographer photo on our last formal night
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Then we were doing a second photo shoot the same night ...
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... and Captain Giuseppe Castellano jumped in and said "me too!"
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Janet and Kathy enjoying their Mud Slides with Joseph in the background
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One of the many ship staff at the Captain's Circle Party
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"He who shares his food does not spend life alone" in Panama City
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An afternoon by the pool as we pass under the last bridge
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Happy hour in the sun at our cabin on our great balcony
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A very good Princess show - The Culinary Show! Funny!
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Kathy, Janet, Chris, Karen, and Jim at our last Vines visit
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Romeo and Joseph in Vines ... two of Princess's great staff
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On our way home - the Emerald Princess dead centre
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Back home in the hot tub with our Accent Inn ducks! The End :-(
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Check out next year's destination! The 2024 cruise around South America
next
February on the Sapphire Princess! See the
details on Hugh's web site.
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