December 30, 2022

Our first full day sailing in the Pacific Ocean. It is a beautiful day and the seas are calm.

Breakfast was in the Restaurant. Lamb !

Kathy had eggs benedict.

But lunch was special.

I had a ham sandwich which was very good but I didn’t take a photo. So, what was special? I saw the Pastry Chef and thought I recognized him from the Black Forest story. I asked Casper. He remembered the story.

I was correct.

And the Pastry chef said we are currently sitting at the wrong table. We sat at the naughty table in the corner. He remembered us immediately. So, he said he would again make the German Chocolate cake in the next few days for everyone in the dessert section.

It might be a lazy day at sea, but it is filled with memories.

I took loads of pictures but only post the one.

Between the east locks and west locks there is loads of jungle. Once in a while there are people living there.

Not for me!

At the west we reached Panama City. Wow! What a city.

It isn’t a vacation for us until I have a picture of a helicopter.

One of the desserts served at dinner in the cafe was Black Forest Cake. Why is that important? On the Grand Pacific Cruise, they also served Black Forest Cake. But one passenger asked about German Chocolate Cake. The Pastry Chef didn’t know what it is. So, Kathy provided a recipe. Two days later the Pastry Chef delivered it to our table. No! It is not for us. Soon we found the gentleman and asked him to join our table with his wife. And we had several platters of cake delivered. We shared with many others.

Panama Canal day at Sea

Last night we went to Manfredi’s for dinner. Of course, I had lamb and served with risotto.

And for Bob we shared a tiramisu.

When we awoke on the morning of the 29th we had just entered the first lock on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal. The series of locks on this side is called the Gatun Locks. I took lots of pictures but will only add 1.

For breakfast I had an omelet and a cronut. What is a cronut? I had never heard of them. It is a croissant shaped like a donut. Probably only a Viking Ship name. But very good.

December 27, 2022

Our first time in South America. That is our 6th continent. Only Antarctica left to visit. Maybe!!

Cartegena is a colonial walled city founded in 1533. So, the most prominent area we visited was near the fort.

It was photo worthy. But everywhere there were hawkers trying to sell everything from hats, to beer, to belts and some women dressed in very colorful dresses. they wanted to be paid for having their photos taken. I didn’t photo.

The other amazing thing were the flowers.

Walking back to the ship included an aviary.

There were many other like flamingoes and ostriches.

And for some strange reason there were many funky trees. There were even more normal trees but why take pictures of them.

At Sea.

Christmas night was special. Dessert in the Cafe was a huge buffet of treats.

Then we went to the Star Theater for a Christmas Concert.

While all of the party things are great, we also enjoy meeting and talking with the crew. Some we have known from previous cruises. Like Marco!

Others are new to us and becoming friends. Like July!

Today there is actually a blue sky. No rain but very windy. And from what we see on the news the storm that almost caused problems with our flights did major damage in parts of the US. We were lucky to get on board when we did.

Yesterday we were in Cozumel along with about 4 other large cruise ships. And it rained all day.

We did take an excursion to an old Mayan City in ruins. But walking around in the rain wasn’t much fun.

The ship is decorated for the holiday. So that was more fun than the excursion.

It is raining so hard at the moment that as the ship sort of rocks the water on the veranda flows to the drain with a splash! No walking around on the deck today. We did a walk yesterday.

Day at Sea.

Yesterday was a bit stressful. But very successful! We were on the ship with all 4 suitcases by about 4. After unpacking we had dinner in the cafe from about 6 until 9. We are very slow.

Typically, we start with some shellfish and a salad. I did have a slice of duck but not much. Then off to bed.

Casper, a Restaurant Manager whom we know from our Grand Pacific Cruise, was walking around. So we stopped him and talked for a while.

Since today is a sea day. Perhaps we will meet some new friends.

Snow. We are concerned that our flight tomorrow morning may be cancelled or delayed so much we will miss our flight from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale.

Our dining room table is loaded with things to pack. We leave in 3 days if the weather allows. I am practicing to blog since it has been some time since our last cruise.

I hope that many of our friends and family can follow along. Around the World. Wow!!!

First of all “The Saga Continues!” Our flights home were booked by Viking. It included the flight from Iceland to Boston. On to Detroit and last the flight to Des Moines. Only problem was the flight to Detroit. There was a violent storm at about the time we were to land. The wind was severe. We couldn’t land safely. So on to Columbus Ohio. Refuel and a flight to Detroit after the storm cleared. Way to late to fly on to Des Moines. And being a weather issue meant it was our issue. We needed to sleep. So we went to the Westin connected ito the airport. It was expensive but I needed to sleep.

Delta rebooked us on the next direct flight. At 4PM the next day.

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I have to include a photo. When we did have some internet (which was very rare) it was too slow to upload photos. So I have to add one of my favorite photos from the second to last day. Iceland is very rugged and made for rugged People. So think of this as your retirement home. Not So Much!

Unlike other cruises I will include a postscript after we get home.

Hopefully we will get home today.