A Cruise to Central America

Just got back from a cruise to Panama, Costa Rica and Belize aboard the Carnival Legend. I went with my girlfriend of 3+ years, Emily. We also invited Emily's mom to come along, who had a different cabin. It was a wonderful time and am glad to show you some of the highlights....

The cruise was for 8 days with the first two days at sea. Plenty of time to get acquainted with the ship.

Our stateroom had a balcony which provided for some spectacular views.



Towel animals made a nightly appearance:



The 11-story atrium is the center of the ship, but was photographically challenging to shoot because of the low light and its large size. Some cruise critics have harshly criticized its design.



The atrium bar was always pretty subdued (note the piano player behind the bar):



Of course no self-respecting cruiser under 50 can avoid the nightclub. This one was a nice two-story affair:



The nights are always windy above deck making it difficult to get clear shots without a tripod.



Our first stop was Panama:

Panama's answer to public transportation (taken through bus window):



We passed a lot of these buses. Apparently, they each play a different type of music and riders pick which bus they want to ride based upon the music they played. According to our tour guide, they are being eliminated next year in favor of regular buses.

We first visited some old Spanish forts which guarded the town of Portabello-a very important trading port in colonial times.



My girlfriend and future mother-in-law framed by a window in the fort.



Also visited a Church dating to colonial times (note the tree):



Then off, to the main attraction, the Panama Canal.

The water starts out unequalized between the two locks:



Then equalizes, opening the locks and allowing the ship to pass through being pulled by locomotives:





Many ships, such as this one have just a few feet to spare:





Then, we are off to Costa Rica.

Here is my better half, Emily with her mom on the dock:



We took a tour which featured wildlife, a visit to a banana plantation and a boat ride....

Emily got close to the natives. These sloths really do move in slow motion. Picture watching a sports play in super slo-mo and then slow it down by ten steps and that is a sloth.



Then off to the banana plantation. Not much is automated there with the workers manually dragging in the bunches from the field and manually cutting the bunches apart:





Off to the boat ride.....hopefully we fare better:



Our ship looks small looking down at the harbor:



Our final stop was Belize and the Mayan Ruin site called Altun Ha. This site was developed around 200 BC with construction lasting until 900 AD.



The main temple:



We were able to climb to the top using the stairs at the right.

An overview:



Emily:



The harbor in belize (Belize City) is not deep enough to handle the ship we were on, so it had to dock about 5 miles out. Tender boats shuttled us to shore and back to the boat.



View from our balcony (note the dust in the shutter-have to fix that on some pictures):



After this, we had one final day at sea. Of course no cruise is complete without a gala buffet:





Our table (minus Emily's mom) and our wonderful waiter Raghu who knew everything about everything on and off the ship:



All in all, it was a wonderful 8 nights. We got to visit 3 countries and spend our time being catered to aboard the ship.