scubacruiserx2

We spotted these on the roof Since Esther lives with her mom we wanted to send food home for them . But it was another great job by Esther and we hope to see her and Aruba soon and we would highly recommend her . It was now time to sail off finally North this time

We feel like the best way to get to know our guides better is having a meal together . We don't think that Esther had been to West Deck so we asked her to make reservations . We wanted to try a number of local dishes so we ordered and ate family style . And with the orders in there was time to take a couple pics

Our next stop was down to Arashi Beach ( watch out for thorns ) Followed by a ride up to Alto Vista Chapel

California Lighthouse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Lighthouse

The next stop was Boca Catalina , the snorkeling beach . This is where your snorkeling tour will probably end up but you can swim right off of the beach

Our next stop was De Olde Molen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Olde_Molen Followed by a walk on the MooMba Beach

We have been to Aruba a number of times before but this was the first time that we went to the Butterfly Farm . A tour was beginning so we listened a bit There weren't too many people shooting photos so we started a short walk to try to catch the butterflies still before people started moving around much . Brunch on the Lido The butterflies were contained by a screen room like we have over our pool to keep out biting bugs and debris from out of the pool

We did a quick ride downtown before a stop at the beach I think that this was a Divi Divi tree . Most of the people who live or stay awhile bring their own chairs instead of renting

As we tied up it was next to the Scientology ship Tradewinds which makes it's home here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freewinds And so we were off to meet our guide Esther and headed out for a quick day

Thursday October 20th was another day at sea and we ate early to make a follow up appointment with the doctor . While we were waiting the 4 guys from unity were getting a Covid test so we were able to chat a little They did say that their next show would be a tribute to Billy Joel . The next stop was with our small Bible group and 2 of the ladies were ones who had been left behind in Costa Rica . They said that had to walk about 2 miles in the dark , rain and mud that tried to pull the shoes off of their feet . From there they we bussed to a nice hotel , showered and ate and given new clothes to replace their muddy ones . Quite an adventure indeed ! The weather had cleared a bit and we had a special Winemasters Dinner so we wanted to have lunch at the Retreat . We had wanted to try their milkshake so we just split a burger . And they had a new fries container , eh . We were not sure if it was half full or half empty

We watched as most of the folks boarded but won't show photos to respect their privacy . They did return to applause and we had ordered dinner in the room which they said would be 45 minutes . It took almost twice as long . Because we are in the aft where the food is prepared it should have been much less . We were in a little hurry since we wanted to watch the group Unity and they were all the way in the front of the ship . Here's: the intro and the first song

A couple of outtakes from the Canal After exiting the canal as we headed out we stopped near the breakwater and reversed course and backed into the Hotel where we had a ringside seat to watch the Disco bus and the return of the zipline and adventure group who had been left in Costa Rica A clean sweep of the balcony

Near the Gatun Locks The Black Lighthouse A mule climbing the hill Mud under the Atlantic Bridge

We're not sure why the Pinnacle was open for lunch but we did enjoy it We did see this RORO on the lake

Approaching the Culebra Cut and the Centennial Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culebra_Cut

Breakfast in the Canal With what else ? Panama Rolls which tasted suspiciously like apricots on the inside . Busy in the canal The clanging of the mules sounds like the trolley in San Francisco which made me crave some Rice A Roni

Wednesday October 19 - Transiting the Panama Canal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal Ships waiting their turn outside of Panama City The Bio Museum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomuseo Sailing under the Bridge of the Americas And what we saw

We forgot to show you how the morning began .

A changeover day for more tropical flowers The guys at the Retreat promised us a surprize on our day at sea The ad for the shore excursion folks that were left behind . We did pray for them in our at sea Bible study group .

Because of the weather the ship almost felt empty . We did a quick change to make dinner at the Pinnacle . We were surprised to see some of the ladies from the Tamarind having dinner together and they told us that they had closed the Tamarind for the evening ! It would not be the biggest surprize of the evening though . The Captain's announcement that we would have to sail and leave people behind ! 😱

Thank you very much from so far away . We would love to make it to Oz and New Zealand one day ! Please stay tuned . 😊

Our original time in Costa Rica was from 0800 - 1800 but it had been changed from 0800 - 2000 . Lunch was included and was very good . We did stop at a store and the prices were a little high but we got a wildlife guide and a unique locally made bag We did catch some rain in the mountains and there was extra traffic at rush hour going the other way .We did have to stop as they cleared some debris from the road several times . It was dark when we got back to the port and we had to wear raincoats and saw lighting and heard thunder as we walked the long bridge . A bus load pulled up at the same time and we walked in ahead of them as the rain stopped .

Before we left the hummingbird place we stopped to wash up at a funny disco type hand cleaner . They had some nice paintings but they were pricey so we asked if we could shop around later . We stopped at another park /hike We were not the only ones there and I was chasing butterflies near the planted garden A kinda ragged Blue Morpho Halloween colored berries Funny seed pods Pat and Kiki we sitting still on a trail so I quietly approached . There were 3 turkey sized Brown Guan sunning themselves Out of the bushes popped an Agouti that weighed about 10 pounds A little later we saw one chasing another .

We certainly did enjoy it also . No live Quetzel sightings yet , but how lucky that you got to see one the first time around ! We did stop at another park with a couple of different sightings .

Thank you Nancy and all the best to you . We really don't mind going by Pat and Joe ( As long as you remember who's who ) . 🙂😄