Michael and Donna Campbell

When you're on a small ship, there's lots of opportunities to be part of the entertainment.  Michael and another passenger, Jerry, were brought up on stage by Donna Campbell - "Rags to Rhinestones, The Dolly Parton Story" back on February 9th.

We weren't regularly bringing our camera to the show but one of the gals we met from Arkansas, Jan, videoed it on her phone and then Michael copied it on to his camera.  

La Paz - May 8th

Las Paz would be the second port in Mexico and our last port before returning to Los Angeles on Wednesday, the 11^th, and complete our trip around the world.  Hard to believe – 111 days, 35 countries, six continents --- we’re almost home.

The city of La Paz was about a 30-45 minute bus ride from the port and ran on what is commonly known as “Mexican time” which means there’s no schedule – you show up and when the bus shows up it might leave then and it might not.  We decided not to make the trip because, it being Sunday, most things would be closed anyway.

There were tents at the port set up with souvenirs and, except for a belt which had the buckle Michael was looking for, we couldn’t even find a magnet for a reasonable price.  The guy wanted 100 pesos and I said, “$8” and he said “yes” and I walked.  He didn’t offer it for less and I really didn’t need it because I already had a magnet from Mexico.

Michael’s Observations:   After 3 ½ months of traveling, I just didn’t have any interest in boarding a Mexican bus to head into the city center, La Paz,  so I don’t really have anymore to add. 

Puerto Vallarta - May 6th

Neither Michael nor I are great fans of Mexico but we are fans of shopping and Michael found a wonderful store that sold hand-painted cotton clothing online, Suscesos Art-Wear Boutique.  A quick google search once we got to the port gave us the address and a quick look on our handy little map told us that the store wasn’t too far away. 

Just across from where we docked was a large mall, The Galleria, a Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club.  Say what you will about Walmart, but we love Walmart as does the crew.  It is always a treat for the crew when there’s a Walmart nearby and it’s always fun to hear about the bargains they got.  For example, one of our waiters, Mae, was extremely excited about not only her new black shoes, but also the identical pair she bought in pink, six pairs of pantyhose, hair coloring and other essentials, all for the amazing price of $35!  She was ecstatic.  It’s always a disappointment when a crew member isn’t able to get off the ship for a quick trip to the local Walmart.   We’d actually planned on going ourselves after our shopping just to see fellow passengers and crew members but we never made it. 

After breakfast, we negotiated a price with taxi driver Raul Peña to take us to the hand-painted cotton boutique, drop us off, wait for a half hour, and then bring us back to the port.  No problem.  It’s always a good thing when Michael is able to use his Spanish – though not very often during this World Cruise, I might add.  Anyway, we got to the boutique and the clothing was exquisite.  The woman who owned the store, Irena, and the artist who was there as well, were both very gracious and friendly, and I was happy to help the economy by buying a few beautiful tops – even if Michael had to extend Raul’s waiting time by another half hour. 

On our way back to the port, we asked Raul to drop us off at a restaurant near the port, close enough to the ship so we could walk back.  He recommended El Bucañero, where we ordered margaritas – plain for Michael and peach for me.  You have to realize that I had one glass of wine during the entire cruise so when the waiter, David, served me my margarita, my eyes widened like saucers because the glass was the size of a small fishbowl.  But the taste…. oh my….it was absolutely wonderful!  I can’t say the same about the food – it was just ok – (our local Mexican restaurant, Los Cazadores is, by far, the best Mexican food I’ve ever eaten anywhere).  

While enjoying the early afternoon, music was playing over their system and a song came on which I didn’t recognize but absolutely loved.  I asked the waiter if this song was on a radio station or a CD and he said CD.  He proceeded to climb up on a chair and played it back.  Michael used his Shazam app to identify the song which turned out to be Bob Sinclar’s “Love Generation.”  Now the song is playing for the second time and I’m not the only one dancing in my chair;  I look over and the bartender and a couple of waiters are moving to the music as well.  Needless to say, David got back up on the chair and started the song over for a third time.  By this time, the peach margarita, completely gone but not forgotten, got me up off the chair and, how should I say, “encouraged” someone to dance with me – not that I really need a peach margarita to want to dance.  Our waiter, David, was kind enough to comply and, with limited space in the restaurant, we danced to “Love Generation.”  What a pleasant afternoon.

Walking back to the ship, humming that great tune, we decided we really like Puerto Vallarta and wouldn’t mind coming back – so long as the cruise ship was nearby. 

Michael’s Observations:   I found Puerto Vallarta to be a lovely city, friendly people, clean environment and, most importantly, a feeling of safety everywhere.  Speaking with our cab driver, Raul, he told us the government is very conscious of keeping the drug trafficking violence away from their city and it really shows that they are doing their best to encourage tourism.  I definitely recommend Puerto Vallarta as a wonderful vacation area.   While shopping at Sucesos, I had a chance to speak to a local resident for about twenty minutes and she definitely verified that it was a very safe city.  She, herself, lived there for over 20 years, enjoying the peace and quiet and the safety it provides both to its residents and tourists. 

Leona's Debut Hula Performance

During our voyage from Los Angeles to Honolulu, we had a wonderful Hawaiian couple on board, Tui and Maile, who taught ukelele and hula.  On January 31st, the passengers, who participated in the classes, performed for the rest of us.  Afterwards, members of the group brought up on stage members from the audience to participate in a hula number.  The lovely gal on my right, Marie, with whom we became friends (and her husband, Frank), brought me up on stage.  Here's my debut hula performance.  

Puerto Quepos, Costa Rica – May 2nd

Puerto Quepos is located in Puntarenas province, the largest province in Costa Rica, situated in the western part of the country and covering most of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. 

It was extremely hot and humid as well as being a tender port, and Michael and I just did not feel like venturing out that day.  As a result, we have absolutely nothing to say. 

That evening, however, we were fortunate to have “The Master Gauchos” onboard, Hilario and Hayley, an unbelievable husband and wife act.  Gorgeous and talented – a winning combination.   They did it all – they tangoed, she hand balanced and they both were masters at using bolas.  Extraordinary and one of the best acts we’ve seen on the World Cruise.  https://www.backstage.com/hilariocabral/

Michael’s Observations:  I just looked over and he’s sound asleep.

Panama Canal Transit - April 30th

Locomotive

Visitor's Center

Low-tech signage

Since its opening in 1914, more than one million ships from all over the world have transited the Canal.  The historic millionth mark was reached on September 4, 2010 with the transit of the bulk carrier, Fortune Plum.

The waterway uses a system of locks with two lanes that operates as water elevators and raises the ships from sea level to the level of Gatun Lake, 85 feet above sea level, to allow the crossing through the Continental Divide, and then lowers the ships to sea level on the other side of the Isthmus. 

In honor of our transit and thanks to my cousin, Marco, who reminded me of the significance of the Panama Canal in the movie, Arsenic and OId Lace, we watched the movie Friday night – just one of 200 movies Michael has on his cell phone and easily accessible on the stateroom’s television through one of the many cables he brought onboard.

Arrivals and departures on a cruise ship are always estimates because there are so many variables.  Not wanting to be up at the crack of dawn, or even earlier, we decided to leave the tv on all night on the channel which shows the live webcam.  As soon as we were lined-up for the day’s transit, the narration would begin and we’d wake up.  This worked out perfectly for us.  By the way, I chronicled the entire transit on Facebook. 

It’s my understanding that cruise ships have priority – probably because they pay a small fortune for going through – and we were first in line on Saturday morning.  Awakening with the voice of our navigator, Antonio Grenald, from the Panama Canal Commission, he provided commentary throughout the day from the ship’s navigational bridge. 

From our balcony, in our bathrobes, we were able to watch as the ship approached the Gatun Locks and lifted the ship up in two steps to reach Gatun Lake.   Probably one of the most interesting things about the transit was the system used to guide the ship through the actual locks.  In order to pull the ship through the Canal locks, a steel cable must be attached from the locomotives on the locks to the ship.  This “high tech connection” begins with a small rowboat, one man rowing, one man holding the cables, who tosses the cables to the ship, they’re caught by a crew member, the cables are pulled taut, the rowboat returns to the locks and the locomotive slowly pulls the ship through the locks.  This same row boat repeats the procedure at the back of the ship so that we are connected in the forward and aft to the locomotives.  Once the ship is through the locks, it will disconnect the cables and they’re pulled onto the locks. 

Once through the Gatun locks, we were told that until around noon, we would be anchored in Gatun Lake so our 10:00 a.m. cycling class didn’t interfere with our enjoyment of the passage.  I was so hot and sweaty from cycling class that I didn’t feel the outside heat and humidity as I sat on our balcony enjoying the views. 

We continued to enjoy the transit with lunch in our room as we proceeded below the Centenario Bridge to the Pedro Miguel Locks and finally to the Miraflores Locks. 

The Miraflores Locks area were especially wonderful because across the way was a Visitors’ Center where hundreds of people arrived – many by bus – to wave and welcome us to their country.  It was amazing to see all those people standing on three levels of the building to watch as this cruise ship slowly moved through the locks.  We were encouraged to prepare posters and signs either for the benefit of those welcoming faces or for our own photos taken by the ship’s photographer and videographer who were actually standing on the locks.  If we decide to go through the Panama Canal again, we are going to prepare a really huge sign printed on a bedsheet and hang it over our balcony. 

This was the fastest transit our cruise director ever experienced and we arrived in the Pacific Ocean soon afterwards after transiting below the Bridge of Americas, on our way to Puerto Quepos, Costa Rica. 

Michael’s Observations:   In order to save money, cargo ships, which are either empty or have a light load, will wait for days outside the Gatun locks because it’s cheaper for them.  Our ship was the first to go through and I recall ten years ago the cost to Princess was about $100K to transit the Canal.  I spoke to our port lecturer who indicated it’s probably closer to $200K now – what a ride!