JaneSmith

Geo: 10.4137, -75.5336Today we got right up when the alarm went off - we have arrived in Cartagena, Colombia. Well, we've not yet arrived as last night's strong headwinds and rough seas have put the Island Princess behind schedule, and several of our dresser and desk drawers have slid open from the ship's rocking. Nevertheless, we get up, gather our necessary things for today's excursion: hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, water, money and go to breakfast. I'm back to oatmeal and fruit, juice and coffee.We're to meet our excursion group in one of the ship's restaurants at 8:30, so we eat quickly and head that way. When we enter the room we see Mary sitting at a table with others in her group. She points Eve and Leroy out to us, they are across the room and Eve ... read more

Geo: 9.98102, -84.8392Last night we moved our clocks ahead and Jeff and I remembered to do that before turning in for the night, and we set an alarm for 8a.m. We planned to get up and either go to the weight room or walk the Promenade deck. The alarm went off, and we promptly fell back asleep! About 9:45 we finally went to breakfast. We joined another couple's table; they were from New Jersey and were still overwhelmed by how lush Costa Rica was. Suddenly Jeff said to me, "Look behind you." I did and there sat Mary and Trish! They were sharing a table as well. How funny.After breakfast Trish told us that she and Mary were going to have breakfast in their room in the morning - complete with champagne and invited us to ... read more

Geo: 11.2529, -85.8705San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, is a port I have been looking forward to a lot! It is here that the Poudre River Public Library District has its sister library, and here that we will meet Jane Mirandette. Jane has been the big force behind San Juan del Sur's public library; Jeff knows her, but I've met her only once.The seas are rough and this is the only port during our cruise that does not have the facilities for cruise ships to dock so we will have to be tendered in. Being tendered in means that the ship will use some of its lifeboats to ferry passengers back and forth to the pier.To our horror the captain announces that because of the rough seas, we may not be able to use the tenders. OH ... read more

Geo: 15.85, -96.32This morning we wake up to find ourselves in Huatulco, Mexico, on the 'Pacific Riviera.' (It is pronounced "wha-tool-co") We've never been here before, actually never even heard of the place. It's official name is "Bahias de Huatulco" or "Bays of Huatulco" because it is famous for having nine beautiful bays. You can reach five of the bays by road but for the other four, you need to have a boatWe get up early this morning for two reasons: 1) Jeff needs to call the dining reservations number for the reservation for the six of us to have dinner together tonight and 2) we are going on a snorkeling excursion! Today we will snorkel in two of the bays reachable by boat.Jeff successfully makes the reservations and we get ready for our excursion by ... read more

Geo: 20.6509, -105.215Our first port stop is today and we are in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Jeff and I have been here several times and we have booked a whale watching excursion. Puerto Vallarta is where Banderas Bay, the 7th largest bay in the world, is located and it is to this bay that the humpbacks in Alaska make their way south beginning in late December/early January through early April. We are at the beginning of the migration. The Bay of Banderas is the breeding and birthing grounds of humpbacks and dolphins and we're hopeful that we'll see some whales.We have a quick bite of breakfast and join our group. We board a mid-sized rubber dingy that seats maybe 20 people. Jeff and I, bringing up the rear of the group, end up sitting in the very ... read more