TURNING 60 ON A PANAMA CANAL CRUISE

Harry's wish for his BIG birthday was to get out of town, away from the attention of family and friends.  My assignment was to find a trip to accomplish just that.  We chose a cruise through the Panama Canal, something that we have never done before.  Here is our itinerary:

We arrived in San Juan late at night on the 17th, and we had a few hours to explore the town before we boarded our ship.

  We stayed at Hotel Milano in Old Town.
 Blue cobblestone streets are typical in the area.

Stateroom #9072 on Celebrity Millennium -
our home for the next fifteen days.

CARTAGENA COLOMBIA

April 21 we ported in Colombia.  The tour that we chose took us to the Fortress, the Inquisition Museum, and the beautiful old Colonial City of Cartagena.

COLON PANAMA

April 22 we arrived in Colon.  We took a short bus ride and were oriented to the port area.  Then we boarded a little boat and travelled around on Gatun Lake, seeing the wildlife (everyone was really thrilled to see a white-face monkey) and all the many boats waiting their turn to make their way through the Panama Canal.  After that we visited the Embera Indians, a group of people native to the area.  They still live in much the same way as they have for hundreds of years.
Our tour concluded at the Gatun Locks, where we were able to watch several ships pass through the canal from an observation deck.

The Embera Indians with their handmade crafts.  The woman on the right is the current leader of the tribe.

PANAMA CANAL PASSAGE

While we were on the ship, we had a professor from Boise State University offer lectures on different phases and aspects of the amazing Panama Canal.  The lectures were informative and very well attended.  Harry and I had done lots of research at home before the trip, but it was good to get Professor Penny Schwiebert's lessons.  The one thing that is amazing is, that even though we were doing a WESTbound crossing, the ships travel through the canal in a SOUTHEAST direction.  Odd, but true!

Our ship entered the canal zone at 6:30 in the morning.  The passage took all day.

PUNTARENAS COSTA RICA

Harry and I took the Jewels of Monte Verde Cloud Forest tour. 

PUERTO QUETZAL GUATEMALA

On April 27 we arrived in Guatemala.  This was one of our favorite stops.  We went to the old city of Antigua, very beautiful old colonial town built in 1530.  It is up high in the mountains, and because of the higher elevation, the climate is ideal.  We explored the town on our own and had a traditional Guatemalan lunch in a beautiful regional hotel La Posada Del Don Rodrigo.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY

Me and the birthday boy!
The waitstaff presented Harry with a birthday cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to him in their varied accents.

ACAPULCO MEXICO

Harry and I were shown the local sights by our cab driver, Alberto.  

A Mariachi band from Acapulco came aboard our ship and entertained us before we sailed away that evening.
It was great.  Many passengers knew all the songs they presented, and they all sang along.  It was so festive!

CABO SAN LUCAS

On May 1, we ported at Cabo San Lucas.  Harry and I have been here several times.  Rather than taking a tour, we tried to catch up with our friends, Jerry and Carol.  They had been staying in their new MonteCristo Villa at Sunset Beach.  We knew that they were flying home the day of our arrival, but we hoped that we might catch them before they left.  Even though that plan failed, we enjoyed seeing this part of Cabo San Lucas.

SO LONG CELEBRITY MILLENNIUM

This cruise had a nice balance of ports and at-sea days.  We enjoyed Bob and Jane, who we dined with each evening.  We were well-served by our waiter David at dinner.  Harry's daily ritual before dinner was a hot-tub soak in the pool on deck.  Each evening we had FREE cocktails in Michaels' Club.  We did a lot of reading.  Two great books that we both read were "Unbroken" and "The Girl Who Played With Fire".  A daily bulletin kept us informed about the goings-on in the world...The Royal Wedding, American Idol Updates, the tornadoes in Alabama, and the end of Bin Laden.  It was another wonderful trip.  We are thankful for safe travel.