Another time change, from Central Standard Time to Eastern Standard Time, accompanied our departure last night, marking the eighth time zone experienced on this trip.

We used another day at sea for “executive time”, i.e. we basically did very little except for reading email, talking with other cruisers, watching television, etc. while sailing from Costa Rica to the Panama Canal. As expected, the pool area was packed from daylight on. 

We again had dinner with birders Don and Marianne from Dallas, after which we watched the Broadway-style “Blazing Boots” show presented by the exceptional cast of Norwegian Gem singers and dancers, and liked it so well we watched it again later in the evening. 

As the ship anchored about 10 PM to take on fuel and get in queue for locking through the Canal, we retired for the night to get television feedback on the State of the Union speech and rebuttal.

As the sun rose above the horizon, the Norwegian Gem sailed into the port city of Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The high, heavily forested coastal mountains were a bit of a surprise as a more lush environment was expected, like that seen on travel brochures highlighting the Caribbean side of the country, versus the relatively dry side of the country where we were.

A quiet morning by the pool preceded the day’s afternoon shore excursion to Pura Vida Gardens and Waterfalls.

The long drive was broken up by a stop at a crocodile viewing area. These sometimes large reptiles, numbering about 4,000, are protected in Costa Rica and can be found in three rivers.

From there, the tour bus followed numerous switchbacks upward for almost 3,000 feet. We arrived at the gardens to find the temperature to be in the low 90s, humidity at about 85%, and a breeze providing almost no relief. The abundant flowering plant life was offset by the lack of birds and butterflies, though Crimson Macaws and a few species of butterflies were observed.

About halfway down the mountain, the tour bus stopped at a shopping area selling indigenous products. The return to the ship barely preceded its departure. Dinner, a stage show, and music closed out the evening.

Costa Rica is an educated country with a literacy rate of 98 percent; interestingly, English and “tourism” are mandatory courses of study from the beginning grades thru college. Also, energy in the country is surprisingly 100 percent green!

The ship landed in Corinto, Nicaragua, at 7 AM and an early morning shore excursion meant an early breakfast. The ship was met with a live band and much fanfare.

The bus departed for colonial Leon and the oldest botanical garden in Central America. The 12 hectare garden hosts over 1200 plant species and 80 species of birds, all of which are representative of a tropical dry forest. The one hour tour allowed visitors to walk around the garden on their own, and while there were some birds and butterflies, the Pacific breeze and poor choice of camera lens resulted in a poor photo shoot. 

Old Leon has retained its colonial architecture of one-story houses with tile and wooden roofs. The tour included a visit to Leon’central Park, common to most Spanish colonial cities and towns, bordered by the La Asunción Basilica and Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and various markets. Icy cold Victoria beer, a Nicaraguan beer, was sold at one of the sidewalk cafes and beckoned me to taste.

The return trip to the ship passed some of the 40-mile line of volcanoes along Nicaragua’s Pacific coast; two are currently active and gasses billowing from their tops were easily visible.

According to the guide, a former Sandinista rebel, Nicaragua has a very high literacy rate. There are some 100,00 autos, trucks, etc. in the country versus over 300,000 motorcycles. There were many small horse/pony drawn carts using the roadways. Nicaragua has a heavy dependency on Venezuela for its existence, but China is now investing very heavily in the country to take advantage of the country’s resources. A hybrid “democracy” is the current form of governance, though the country is now trying to emulate China with consolidation of power among all elements of government.

The ship was relatively quiet as many of the passengers were watching the Super Bowl, and no shows were being presented. We did listen to “Leo”, our favorite entertainer on the ship.

Haze shrouded the landscape as the Norwegian Gem slowly sailed into the shallow port of Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, this Central American country’s largest ocean port. Guatemala was the first country to produce chocolate, is the jade capital of the world, and the origin of the Mayan culture. There are many volcanoes in Guatemala, and were visible from the shoreline as we sailed into harbor. 

The smell of burning garbage slowly encapsulated the ship, common to all the third world countries In which I’ve been. The pier at which the ship docked was in an industrial port with no evidence of shops, stores, gardens, etc., only shipping related industry. We were bussed to a gated area just outside the port’s boundaries filled with shops selling hand-weaved goods, chocolate, and jade. I looked hard for birds and butterflies, but was rewarded only with a few lizards! Kay shopped, but only bought a handmade water bottle holder.

NOTE: We did not book any excursions in Guatemala because of safety and security concerns, especially for Americans. The more we travel abroad, the smaller the world becomes, a “global view” comes into focus, and the significance of other countries, particularly industrialized nations, comes into play compared to the relevance of the US related to world matters.

A day at sea provided a much needed break from shore activities. Kay was up early, dressed, and headed for the pool deck to “reserve “ a couple of lounges in the shade. She had had two cups of coffee and was eating breakfast on the aft deck where I joined her after filling an insulated cup with strong coffee, followed by a lite breakfast of mueslis and dried fruit. The warm breeze was refreshing—nothing like having coffee and breakfast outside.

Changing into swimsuits and armed with beach towels, we found the two prime “reserved” chaise lounges in a shaded area close to poolside filled with Pacific breezes. Reading and soaking in the hot tub filled our morning before a lite lunch, and then, nap time!

We joined a couple from Dallas, Don and Marianne, for dinner and visiting about trips, birds, butterflies, etc. The featured show tonight was Carole’s Kings, good but not up to their performance earlier in the week. Interestingly, each of the three young men had performed on Broadway. After dinner, we joined a crowded lounge for drinks and listening to Leo Jostol, a very talented singer and guitar player. He does everything from oldie goldies to jazz, and has attracted quite a following on this cruise.

We have met some very interesting people this past week. Americans are definitely in the minority, and there are few young people and even fewer children—the average age is reportedly 64 years. The largest segment of the cruise population is comprised of Asians, followed by Canadians, the US, UK, other Europeans, and Aussies.  The vast majority of passengers have beverage packages and can really consume the alcohol; we don’t hold a candle. One must be patient as there are lots of lines, sauntering in the food and beverage lines, stopping and talking in doorways, aisles, and stair landings, abruptly stopping in the dining areas, etc. Kay makes sure the filter between my brain and mouth is in place before coming into contact with people! And, it’s quite loud and noisy—old people can’t hear.

After arriving in Mexico’s largest port city, Manzanillo, just before dawn, we were up and on the aft deck for breakfast. Our early morning was to enable Kay to disembark for an 8:00 AM “shore excursion“ consisting of a tour of the city and its surrounding areas.

While Kay was touring, I escaped to the upper indoor lounge to send and read emails and Facebook, and work on photos and this blog. After several attempts to publish the blog, I gave up and resorting to posting the write-ups and accompanying photos on Facebook. From here internet becomes prohibitively expensive! After completing all this, an audio book provided the rest of the morning’s entertainment.

A quick soak in the hot tub was followed by lounging on the deck in the warm breeze. Subsequent to Kay returning from the shore excursion, we had lunch and a brief afternoon nap. Dinner at the Orchid Garden, the complimentary Asian restaurant—best food yet—and the Flying Fingers of Stephen Kane, a really good pianist and the day’s featured show, were followed by lounge time listening to live music, ending another fine day.

Early risers again, before sunrise, and armed with strong coffee, the quiet of the forward  lounge provided a great opportunity to work on the blog and “read” an audio book. Just before sunrise, we were off to the other end of the ship for breakfast outside. As Mexico’s western shoreline came into view, we were again treated to blowing and breaching whales. 

We arrived in port about an hour early, but Kay and I opted to remain on the ship and enjoy a relatively quiet and peaceful day.

Fifteen minutes in the sun-shrouded hot tub was enough; the cooling wind off the ocean provided just the right amount of relief from the sunny day as we lounged in the shade by the pool. 

The day went quickly, perhaps because of an afternoon nap. We left for dinner at the complimentary Asian restaurant at 5:30 PM in order to avoid the later crowd and make a 7 PM show; the restaurant was packed and there was a wait to be seated. The food was good. We left with 10 minutes to spare to make the show, but found it already underway at 6:50 pm. And then an internal alarm went off; we were supposed to turn the clock ahead last night. We had operated all day one hour behind schedule, but no adverse impacts as we made the 9 PM show. Oh, the joys and benefits of retirement! The show, Swing, was perhaps the best cruise production we’ve seen— both the dancing and singing were superb. Afterward, we sang a couple of songs at the karaoke bar before retiring for the evening.

Up early and loaded with strong coffee, we went to a lounge in the front of the ship to watch the sun rise over the Baja Peninsula; what another beautiful day God had provided! As the morning wore on, we reversed direction towards the back of the ship and food finding a table on the open deck. While eating a lite breakfast, whales were observed blowing and breaching in the Cortez Sea. We sailed along the western shore of the Baja Peninsula until the terminus of the Peninsula came into view. As we entered the Gulf of California, a cell signal from Mexico pinged our phones.

The Norwegian Gem anchored in the bay and the first tenders transported  passengers to shore for excursions. Kay and I waited until after lunch to “tender” to shore where we walked around the much too commercialized area, stopping near a small “7-11” type shop for cheap beer (Ultra at $1.50 a can versus $9 + 20% gratuity on the Gem). After a long walk we caught the tender back to the ship for hot tub and sun time.

Dinner was at one of the complimentary restaurants, and just okay. A stand up comedian, Johnny Cardinale, performed the show tonight; Kay liked him, but I thought he was not too funny.

About mid-morning, we took our Norwegian-tagged luggage to a collection room and caught a pre-arranged shuttle to the ship. We were quickly checked in and boarded (thanks again, Dana).

We immediately headed to the dining room for lunch (no breakfast). The cabins were soon available, where we changed into swimsuits (we made sure they were in our ship carryons). And then it was off to the pool to begin almost three weeks of R&R. A “sail away” poolside party soon began and the music was great. Dinner followed a safety brief. A preview show wrapped up the day for us. As retirees, we so needed this “vacation”!

Monday was an all day sailing day, providing impetus for sleeping late. After awaking and breakfast, we attended an advanced bridge lecture by a bridge playing couple from Little Rock (small world), before the hot tub and pool called. A soak, sunbathing, and lite lunch preceded a long afternoon nap. Dinner was followed by a show featuring Carole’s Kings, a trio of guys from New York who performed a tribute to Carole King. When they sang in the preview performance Sunday evening, they were not great, but their performance was really good Monday evening.

We were ready to escape the cold (at least to us) and wet (40% more rain in 2018 than normal) of Arkansas. Our first real winter at home in 10 years has  proved better than expected so far, except we weren’t quite ready for the weather and soggy golf courses.

Up next on our life list was a cruise thru the Panama Canal, and this winter provided a perfect opportunity. Working with Dana at Vacation Valet in the Village, a 19-day Norwegian cruise from Los Angeles to New York was selected, as it provided 12 ports of call, excluding LA and NY. 

We left home two days early. Uncertain of the length of time to go through security (TSA was not getting paid because of government shutdown) early Saturday morning, we drove to Little Rock late Friday afternoon, staying at the Comfort Inn. There was no delay and we flew to LA via Dallas arriving just after noon—a day prior to sailing (previous cruises have taught us to arrive at the departure port a day early because of airline schedules and customs inspections).

We were met by Norwegian representatives and caught the arranged shuttle. Check-in at the hotel was uneventful (thank you Dana), and a restful afternoon and evening ensued. The window of our room overlooked the northern hills of LA.