Panama Canal 2 - 2

At sea

A day of rest at sea! Jack and I belong to an internet group called Cruise Critic, where information is exchanged for specific cruises and one can also get signed up for private shore excursions....meaning that you can pass on the ship tours and go in smaller groups! These groups also have Meet & Greet gatherings onboard and sometimes other exceptions become available to us. On this cruise, our Cruise Critic group has been invited to tour the galley and to also tour the bridge. These tours are not given to everyone, and we are asked to keep it "confidential"! Today was our day to visit the galley. We were invited to meet at the Champagne Bar, where we were given Mimosas or just plain Champagne, while everyone gathered. We were then divided into two groups and we were guided through the galley. Our guide was the Assistant Hotel Manager. The pictures are of just the salad, vegetable, soup and desserts side of the galley. The meat and seafood are all prepared on the opposite side of the ship. One of the many afternoon events was the ice carving. Jack just loves to get pictures of this each time we sail! Tonight's entertainment was a male singer who I thought was so-so!

Acapulco

We sailed into Acapulco Bay on a beautiful sunny morning. I was so surprised to see such a huge city! There are more than 5 million people living here. We had arranged a tour through Cruise Critic and we quickly got off the ship to meet with our group of 28 people. We all piled into 3 large air conditioned vans and set off for the day. Our guide was Rosie and she was wonderful! We toured the city and then headed to the hills for a beautiful overview. Next was on to the famous Cliff Divers, then some shopping time before heading to Las Flamingos Hotel, which was once the favorite Acapulco hangout for the Hollywood Stars. It was very hot and we were able to rest a while and have a drink and some snacks. All in all, I was very impressed with Rosie and also with Acapulco. It was really quite pretty, despite the size of the city. Tonight's entertainment was Joey Van, a musical impressionist and comedian. Jack and I really enjoyed this show; he was quite amusing!

Huatulco

After a pleasant night of gently swaying in slumber, we arrived in Huatulco Bay. It was VERY hot today and VERY humid. This is a very underdeveloped place that won't stay underdeveloped for long because it is really quite beautiful. It consists of nine wonderful coves along the coast, with very little but some private hotels and almost no tourism. We did not tour here, but just waited until the crowd died down and then went ashore and walked, for just a short time, through the few shops in the town square. The beaches looked beautiful and the water looked very inviting, but Jack and I are not that adventurous. After just a short time we were soaking wet so we returned to the ship for showers and dry clothes. This is definitely a place to go for a quiet, slow paced rest, though, as it is quiet and peaceful, plus very beautiful! Tonight's entertainment was a Violin Showman and Composer, Martin Lass. I was skeptical, but really did enjoy the show!