Our 15 night Panama Canal journey on the Coral Princess began with the most stunning sailaway ever!!!  The weather in San Francisco was a perfect 70 degrees with a sunny, cloudless sky.  To sail under the Golden Gate bridge was spectacular!  This itinerary is heavy with sea days, 9 sea days and 5 port days.  So if you enjoy relaxing by the pool, catching up on those books that you have always wanted to read, or listening to enriching lectures, this is the perfect itinerary for you!

Our first port of call was Cabo San Lucas.  We enjoyed a whale watching excursion with Whale Watch Cabo.  We saw a breaching Gray Whale and a mama and baby Humpback Whale.  The trip commentary was given by a marine biologist. The highlight of the trip was getting to hear the male humpbacks sing with the boat’s underwater microphones.  This tour was not just educational, but also encouraged the conservation of our marine eco-system.

The next port stop was in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua.  Here we went on a city tour and then took an ATV up to an adventure park.  Along the way, we saw iguanas and a sloth.  My husband, Marty, zip lined for the first time ever.  He enjoyed the thrill of hanging upside-down while speeding down a wire!

Port stop #3 was Puntarenas, Costa Rica.  We took the 10 in 1 Combo Tour with Thumbs Up.  Some of the highlights of this tour included being entertained by white-faced Capuchin monkeys, a stop at a fresh fruit stand, and a traditional Costa Rican lunch of chicken, rice, and beans.  The main event of this tour was a 75-minute safari boat tour on the Tarcoles river with an experienced naturalist guide.  Along the way we saw 20 foot long crocodiles that the Costa Ricans have named after American politicians and celebrities.  Who would have thought that we would see Donald and Hilary in Costa Rica?  We also saw many varieties of heron and egrets, crested cara-caras, roseate spoonbills, and Jesus Christ lizards.

Bright and early, on day 11, we made it to the Panama Canal.  What an engineering feat this canal is!  It was built over 100 years ago and is in full operation today.  If you are going through the locks from west to east, the bough of the ship is the best place to be because it is shaded and breezy. I stood up on deck 11 forward for 4 hours!  I did not want to miss one moment of going through the two-step Miraflores locks and the 1-step Pedro Miguel lock. Going through the old locks is a must!  We could see the new locks in the near distance with the huge cargo ships trudging through them. It was going to take 3-4 hours to get across Gatun Lake and arrive at the 3-step Gatun Locks.  Since we were not scheduled to reach the Gatun Locks until 12:30 pm, I decided to schedule a 11:00 am massage.  Boy, was I startled when at the end of my massage when the ship struck the side of the locks!  I did make it back to the bough of the ship just as we were exiting the first step down to the Atlantic. It was thrilling to experience what is considered to be the 8th wonder of the world!

Our 4th port stop was an afternoon stop in Cartagena, Columbia ~ talk about HOT!!!  We did a private tour with Dora of Cartagena tours.  We were able to go up to La Popa, a monastery and chapel, that dates back to 1607.  A large tour bus can not make the switch back turns up Mount Popa.  (This is just one of the many advantages to taking smaller tours.)  On this mount there are 360 degree views of the city of Cartagena.  Next, we went to San Felipe de Barajas Fort, located on the Hill of San Lázaro in a strategic location, able to see approaches to the city by land or sea.  The highlight of this tour was a 2 hour walk within the walls of the old city. It is a real gem of colonial architecture, packed with churches, monasteries, plazas, palaces, and mansions with their famous overhanging balconies and shady patios.

Our final port stop was Aruba.  We happened to arrive on March 18, National Anthem and Flag Day in Aruba.  Everything in Aruba was closed for the national holiday.  So, I found an UTV tour to the natural pool.  When we arrived at the tour office and were handed our face masks (mine had a picture of a very large open mouth screaming!), I knew that we were in for some major FUN!  After being fitted to the safety harness in the UTV, we were on our way. We made our way through Arikok National Park to the simply gorgeous Natural Pool ~ a calm swimming hole formed by a cluster of rocks that protects the pool from the rough surf on Aruba’s Northeast facing coast.  On the way back, Mr. Lendl, was feeling quite adventurous and at times let the tires leave the dirt!  My face under the mask and the sounds coming from my mouth matched my mask!!!  This was one of our most favorite shore excursions ever!

Panama Cruise tips:  1.  Go through the historical old locks.  2.  Do the full transit.  3.  If you want to experience the canal from the bough of the ship, take the west to east voyage.  Being so close to the Equator, you want to be shaded!

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