mrell345

I tried the antioxidizer juice drink this morning, watermelon, red grapes, cantaloupe and carrots. Not bad except I can taste ginger and turmeric from one of the last drinks that went through the juicer. I don’t mind the extra taste but they should clean the machine between drinks.

The lobster tails were on the small side, however I was able to get a second one (no charge)

So tonight was a night with baked Alaska for desert but not the baked Alaska night with the parade. That will be the last night

Supper tonight, surf and turf with baked Alaska for dessert

It doesn’t say for what level but we are Platinum

0715 and we are up sitting by the Neptune pool enjoying the morning. I have been pleasantly surprised this voyage, the rampant chair hogs that come up and claim all the chairs early in the morning haven’t been present this cruise. The chairs are usually mostly free until around 9:30 or so on the upper decks and around the pools. Having the coffee restaurant with the espresso machine up here also means you don’t have to go all the way down to the IC if you want such a drink, though they don’t have the food options the IC has. It doesn’t feel as humid this morning though that may change during the day.

Two sea days coming up

Two sea days coming up

Ours is a sold out cruise but you can always find a quiet place on the ship. The Panama Canal lecturer has been pretty good. It’s been hot and humid for most of the cruise. 27 to 28 with high humidity on top.

We did the Walk in the Clouds tour today, a tour of the San Luis park with a stop at the El jardin tourist stop on the way back to the ship ( I did a write up on the tour over in the Costa Rica thread).

We departed the ship at 07:30 and the tour bus picked us up on the pier not too far from the ship. This appears to be a very popular tour. There is walking involved up and down lots of stairs and across suspension bridges in the park. You need to wear good walking shoes and pants instead of shorts are a good idea. Bring insect repellent as a couple of people got bites and one lady who was wearing sandals possibly got an ant bite. It was a really nice tour and it lived up to its name of cloud forrest. We had about an hour and a half ride on a comfortable air conditioned coach that was in excellent shape (it also had a toilet in the back). Our tour guide kept up a running commentary on the ride out though winding roads up into the mountains. Upon arrival at the park we were given time to go to the bathroom if needed at which time we had a guide take us around. We started in the humming bird area with the local guide giving information on the local ecosystem and what we could expect to see. We then went on a walk down into the valley with different stops along the way for him to explain various items of interest. We could also hear the people zip lining and bungee jumping not to far away. After the tour we were given the included lunch which was rice and beans with chicken/fish or pork, plantain and salad. It was quite nice. We had about 30 minutes for lunch and to explore the stores at the park entrance. We got back on our buses and were taken to a tourist area with a shop and some animal exibits and a garden. There was also a butterfly garden there. Afterwards we had a drive of just over an hour to bring us back to the ship for around 2:30 PM.

We did this tour on the 30th of December while stopping in Puntarenas on the Emerald Princess. Tour Description: Explore the lush ecosystem of a cloud forest as you walk along beautiful trails with a naturalist guide. Begin with a 1 hour and 45 minute scenic drive to San Luis Park. You'll walk to the hummingbird garden, an open area where these tiny, colorful birds flit about gathering sweet nectar from blooming flowers. A series of suspension bridges cover more than a half mile of the cloud forest, and walking across them is the ultimate way to get a bird's-eye view of the ecosystem. Back on terra firma, hike alongside sparkling rivers and cascading waterfalls. Refresh at a restaurant with a traditional lunch. On your return, stop at El Jardín to admire the gardens and peruse a well-stocked souvenir shop before continuing to the ship.

Not so far

Sunrise in Puntarenas

So far as I know we are on time

Currently pouring rain outside, (Ca tombe des clous). Sitting here in Skywalkers doing some tour reviews in other forums on the boards here.

Not a bad day, this tour had us back to the ship by about 11:00, as it was very hot and muggy it was nice to hit the pool before drying off and grabbing some lunch. There were some older people with us and one lady with a crutch that were lagging behind. Its a tour with a moderate walk but we were able to wait for them and it did not slow down the tour too much.

After driving around we finally stopped at the Colonial city where we got off and followed our guide around the city to see the sights while he gave us a running commentary all the while. He was also giving us the commentary the entire time on the bus and cheerily answered any questions we asked during the whole tour.

We then boarded the bus and continued on to drive past La Viejo and the new city, we didnt get off the bus but just slowed down a bit to see the sights at some points.

We were picked up by the tour bus directly at the pier, as the new terminal was not opened to us and they used gangways directly to the dock. We boarded the bus with our group and bumped our way out of the terminal area on the road still under construction. Once we got to the cause way we were on regular paved roads. We drove across the Amador causeway stopping in the middle at one of the observation points to get pictrures of Panama city and enjoy the view. We also had a view back to the cruise port