Two Dogs???

Well disembarkation was a mess. The US government decided to check every person and every one of the over 7000 pieces of luggage for drugs.To do this they had 2 drug sniffing dogs. You can imagine the bottleneck that created. I felt so sorry for the Princess staff because they were getting all of the flack from the passengers when it was not their fault. We did manage to get off of the ship, BUT the Quick shuttle that had been ordered and paid for decided not to wait and left. To get them to return we were going to have to pay all over again and wait 45 minutes which would have made us miss our plane. Fortunately there was another shuttle service available and we got to the airport on time. So be careful about ordering quick shuttle in San Francisco... they are not reliable!! Wayne and Carol met us and we had a wonderful ride home , talking non stop all of the way. The four of us had supper together and then they dropped us off. We were really tired and so we went to bed very early. However, we missed the rocking motion of the ship and did not sleep at all well. Hopefully tonight will be better. So cruise number 16 and 17 have come to an end and we can't wait to go again. Unfortunately that will be a year from now. Can't wait!!!

Whales in Cabo

Cabo San Lucas The captain announced that we would be trying to get ahead of a big weather system so we would arrive here early and we would leave here 2 hours early, giving us a little more time. He figures we might end of ahead of the system or if not we will at least be able to slow down and not have to go so quickly into gale force winds and 20 foot seas. Because of this our tour was changed. At first we thought there would be a stop at Lovers Beach but there was not. We boarded the tenders and they headed for the Eco Cat. It is a huge catamaran and it would take us around the point into the Sea of Cortez to hunt for whales. We saw many of them. There were great gray whales and hump back whales. The guide told us that local folklore says they having a gray whale wave its tail at you brings 7 years of good luck. If that is indeed the case we have 35 years of good luck coming. The catamaran was great, very stable and maneuverable as well as quick. While on board they served all of the drinks you wanted. There was tequila sunrise and tequila sours as well as pina colatas and beer and whatever you wanted. It was really quite exceptional. We boarded the vessel at 9:30 and we disembarked at noon so it was wonderful. The weather co-operated which was very nice. We roamed around and finally found a place where I could shop for the new baby. I bought 2 very pretty sun dresses. I love to shop for little girls. We returned to the ship for lunch and now we are travelling at full steam, determined to make it to San Francisco in time for everyone including the captain to make their connections. This will be the last entry because our next port is San Francisco and I am quickly running out of minutes. The connections have not been good and I have been using a lot of time continually checking on the arrival of the newest family member. She arrived on March 13, she is well and so is Mom. She weighed 8lbs 5 ounces and she was 21 inches long. We can’t wait to meet her.

Volcanoes

San Juan del Sur, This was a great day. The entire cruise critic group gathered in the Casino and away we went to meet our bus. It was almost too small and I ended up sitting on the fold out jump seat. It was very uncomfortable but it was my fault for letting people get in front of me. Anyway our first stop was to see the inland sea. It is really large and I guess the early explorers thought it was the ocean. Next we went to a crater lake. It has 2 volcanic islands inside and it is very similar to Crater Lake in the US. There were vendors here and I saw a wonderful pashima and I didn’t buy it. Big mistake!! Our next stop was Masaya Volcano National Park. The caldera here is large and deep and it is still steaming. There is a faint sulphur smell. I guess the early people thought it was the home of the devil and they sacrificed virgins and children here. There is a large cross at the edge of the volcano and there are stairs you can climb to look deep into it. There was no time for us to climb this but we could see it and take pictures. We began our trip back and we stopped at a very nice place for lunch. I was really impressed. The food was delicious and the service was fast. We went to an Indian market on this trip. When we arrived there a guide suddenly appeared. He shadowed us and translated and made sure we were back at the bus on time. This was a strange experience and it had both good and bad things about it. Of course he had to be tipped at the end of our 20 minutes here. Ken got a belt and I bought a pair of really cute leather sandals for Leo. We had to hustle back to the ship because time had flown. We were concerned that we might not make it in time but when we passed a Princess bus we relaxed. The ship will not leave without a Princess tour. All in all it was a very good day.

Valparasio

Amazing Architecture around the city.

Costa Rica

Puntarenas, Costa Rica This is a walk off port and so we don’t need to be concerned about a tender. There is a long dock, about 500 meters long. We gathered with the Cruise Critic group in the Casino and as soon as everyone is there we head out. It is hot already. As we are exiting this long pier we see a line of potential tour guides. We check them out and sure enough we see Daniel. He was our guide a year and a half ago. He took us to meet his family and it was him that we gave the school supplies to. We hugged and said hello. I am sure he remembered us as soon as we mentioned the school supplies his smile changed to one of recognition. We couldn’t stop long because our buses were loading. We hoped to see him on our return but it didn’t happen. Our guide for this tour is quite funny. He laughs and tells jokes etc. His tours are called “Okey Dokey Tours” So if and when we agreed we are to say Okey Dokey Charlie. Soon we were being divided into groups depending on what our choice of activity was for this excursion. Ken and I decided on the boat tour to see the Crocodiles. Others choose the zip line or the canopy bridge over the jungle. We drove around a little and then we headed off to the Roca Forest to feed the capuchin monkeys. I am almost certain that it was the same place that Daniel took us but I will have to compare pictures to be sure. It was fun. As usual the monkeys were very tame and they came and ate right out of our hands. Next we went for an hour and 15 minutes to see the crocodiles in Crocodile river. Apparently our guide was a stand in for the man who was the crocodile hunter on that television series. Ken got some amazing photos. We alo saw many species of birds. We hadhopped to see the scarlet Macaw on this excursion but it was not to be. We went to a mango plantation and we were treated to a demonstration of how they extract the juice from Sugar cane and ginger root. We had a great lunch at Jaco Beach. On the return trip the bus stopped at a bridge where dozens of large crocodiles were sunning themselves. Soon we were back at the dock but it was too late to see Daniel again. Our third visit to Puntarenas, Costa Rica had come to an end.

Sunday March 11

We are waiting for room service to arrive with our breakfast and we are all set to head out on o shore excursion into Puntarenas Costa Rica. We are scheduled to go with the Cruise Critic group. It will be a treck into the rainforest to see monkeys and feed them, hopefully. We will have a boat ride, see crocadiles and have a Costa Rican lunch. They have allowed time for shopping. Hope that I don't see anything I like because our suitcases are full. I will try again to send pictures but I am having no luck with that. Each picture is still downloading after 5 minutes so that makes it very costly and it requires more patience than I have. I have heard from a couple of you and it was great to be in touch with home. More later

The Funicular in Valparaiso, Chile