After Puntarenas we had three days on the Pacific on our way to our new destination in Mexico of Puerto Vallarta. The highlight of these three days was the ‘On the bayou’ show’.
Our cruise through the Panama Canal started in Fort Lauderdale and would take us to Aruba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and finally San Francisco and then onto Monterey.
Day 12 Friday 20th October Pacific Ocean
Nicaragua was a distant memory when we woke this morning. The ship had headed out into the Pacific away from the coast of Central America and away from all of the storms.
Our breakfast was in the Bordeaux and we were sat once again with our friends from California. At every meal that I ate with them I learnt something and just as important had a great time.
Back in our room we watched the calm seas and read about our new port of call, Puerto Vallarta, on the list of newly available tours. We hoped to get a a port guide soon as we had learnt over breakfast about the place from our breakfast friends. We were advised to stay along the boulevard by the port and not to venture too far into the town especially where there were no tourists.
Walks and shopping then lunch
The cruise sales office was open and as Princess Cruises still had a Future Scheme (unlike P&O) and it was too good an opportunity not to buy some at $100 each.
The shops were in full sea day mode with a display of reduced price clothes on one side of the Atrium and a collection of watch sets on the other.In the kiosk area of the shops they were selling Chukkar Cherries discounted down to $1.49. These were from a company that we had visited in Washington State and at this price were a bargain.
We stopped at the International Cafe for tea and coffee (too early for oatmeal cookies though). After a short rest I collected my camera and we went out out on Deck 7 for a stroll in the sun.
There were a handful of sea birds following the ship and diving in to catch fish. We watched our first flying fish in the Pacific as they ‘flew’ away from the ship.
We came across this large butterfly sunning itself on the wall.
Walking around the ship we chatted to some Australian passengers about their time in Costa Rica and compared their experiences to ours. Then it was time to inside to Alfredos(or Sabatinis at lunch) for a pizza. We just made it through the door before they closed. Our pizzas came quickly and were excellent especially with bottles of Grolsch.
Dolphins…
As we left Sabatinis I noticed people running to the railings and pointing out into the ocean. I joined them and there were a pod of dolphins splashing around about 300 yards or so from the ship. Unfortunately they were rapidly left behind as the ship sped Northwards.
The sea was calm and despite another hour on the balcony I had yet to see anymore sea-life. At about 2.45 pm I was watching the TV map and we crossed past the Nicaraguan border.
Just after 3 pm we arrived in the bar and met up with the Belgian ladies who had kindly saved us seats. Happy Hour (first drink full price, second drink $1) was now very popular as everyone slowly had discovered the deal. Instead of having the gentle sounds of a steel band we now had a group playing. Their volume was so loud that normal conversation was impossible. However, we did make do and had lots of (shouted) conversations about the cruise and sharing our travel experiences.
Hearing about the antics, or lack or preparedness, of one of the ladies’ sisters for her wedding in South Africa was indeed an eye-opener. Clearly being a laid back person and relying on your guests to arrive and help with the wedding preparations was not a great idea.
I tried a Mojito (sorry two Mojitos) and they had to last until the end of Happy Hour at 5 pm. Then it was time for me to head back to the cabin for a rest and to read my book.
Evening
By the time I had read a few chapters and had slept a while too, sunset was almost past. Our balcony was facing East but the sky was still spectacular.
I tried the TV while we were getting changed. A Tom Cruise movie was on. I stupidly changed channel up one to try and and see which channel the movie was on. But, mysteriously moving back one channel produced a blank screen. Fifteen minutes later I gave up scrolling through the channels looking for the movie. Lesson learned, on this ship, was to stick with a presented channel when the TV was first switched especially if you wanted to watch it!
Dinner was in the Bordeaux and we joined two couples who were from Washington State. We learnt how one couple had had a thermal neutral wine cellar built into their home. The other couple were from Seattle and he worked for Boeing. Just recently had been in Portsmouth staying at the Gun Wharf Quays Holiday Inn – small world indeed.
After our orders had been taken we were joined by a couple from Santa Rosa in California. They had had to evacuate their house before coming on the cruise. The call to leave was made in the middle of the night but luckily they now knew that their home was OK. Their district had survived the terrible fires but had no water, gas or electricity so they agreed that being on the cruise was definitely a good option.
Love Boat Disco
The evening’s #1 entertainment was the Love Boat disco out on Deck 14 around the pool. On the screen we watched Princess Cruise’s staff dancing interspersed with cast members from the old TV show, The ship’s dancers came out and along with the Entertainment team joined the party. We managed a slow dance before the choreographed dancing took over the floor before we retired for the night.