Fast forward - cruise catch up

As it seems I'm very far behind, we'll fast forward to the end of a wonderful cruise. 

I would recommend it to anyone, the Norwegian Pearl's Panama Cruise!

So, next stop in Mexico, Huatulco

with its beautiful beaches

Vic, Larry, Kitti and I spent some time renting and riding bikes around the quaint little town

And as we said good-bye,gorgeous!

Next stop, one of our personal favourites, Puerto Vallarta!

This is a very neat map in the cruise terminal with all the Mexican States colourfully portrayed.

And our evening pet

Life  onboard included some great ping pong matches

 and one day Vic actually reigned supreme in the day's tournament!

King for a day as he was dethroned the next

And we played some cards and tennis with our new friends from Colorado, Peggy and Roger.

Great stage shows every night included such entertainers as magicians, singers, dancers, a great ventroloquist, comedians, hypnotists

and our own crew director staff, these amazing fun and entertaining young locos, who portrayed a hilarious skit of "fountains", as they filled their mouths and spouted on each other in a very "classy" way, along the lines of the ancient Egyptians.

Our final pet, a monkey!

In our romantic stateroom - tight quarters, but so much more of the ship to explore and enjoy

Final day on land in San Diego. On a quick run through of old town, we discovered a great petting zoo in for just a few days!

And in the market, a great and mellow band playing to entertain

Lovely year round gardens - a distinct advantage of southern climes

And Vic and I chose the local light rapid transit to tour the city for a day, taking most of the routes in the system for a day pass cost of $5. each. 

Very comfortable way to travel

Several very neat sports stadiums

And still the lovely wildlife, as a family of ducklings posed for their picture

in the lovely waterfront area - a very quaint spot to spend the day

And then time to say good-bye - to all our new and old friends

Terry and Jim were a super couple we'd met from New York - Terry and I ran up on the 12th deck 3 times/week to try to combat some of the great food!

And yes, I'd do it again and hope to spend my time with as many wonderful people as we'd met aboard the Pearl. Good-bye to Kitti and Larry, Jim and Terry, and Roger and Peggy, as well as many others whose company we thoroughly enjoyed! All the best always!

Chiapas Mexico

yeah, we're back in Mexico! A different and very colourful part which was wonderful, both arriving and leaving. A beautiful spot!

A very sweet welcome to the area awaited us as we exited our ship

And Kitti and I shopped a little

And the four of us toured a little of the town

And then back to the bus! Ha.

The coastline as we were leaving was very impressive

Costa Rica

Well, Puntarenas, Costa Rica was not quite what I was expecting of Costa Rica, but kind of cute anyways

Kitti and I shopped at some really cute vendors and picked up some great souvenirs

Our ship sure looks impressive from the shore

And I'm sure the natives really love it when 2 ships arrive at the same time!

We climbed aboard for another local tour

and saw great lots of alligators

and macaws

And even an ox pulled car carrying some very heavy stones

with the driver hoping for tips for taking pictures

Some neat churches and older buildings along the way

And we met a wonderful, young, retired couple who we shared a beer with. They'd gone ziplining this afternoon and had a great time.

Some wonderful sand art

And time to head back to our floating home

And a beautiful night sky

as we pulled out of port

The pools were so pretty by night

And back to the cabin and our pet mascots, for another rocked to sleep night :)