VACATION CRUISE TO ARUBA, PANAMA COSTA RICA

On November 9th, Kay tried to sleep on the couch but failed. I went to bed and slept a few hours. We were both awake by 1 AM. We drove to Shafer's, got on a bus, traveled to Newark, made it through security, onto plane and into Fort Lauderdale buy 1 PM. Since the ship had several cases of Norwalk Flue , it was sanitized. This took an extra five hours and meant we could not board the ship as planned. They put us up in the convention center, provided buses to a nearby Mall, and fed us well, but it was tiring. We finally got on board about 11 and settled in by 12. We departed at midnight. Seas were ok, We spent the next day wandering and exploring the ship, eating and sitting on deck to read. Giants beat Philly quite badly Sunday night, but we never got to see the game.

The second day was also spent in leisure. We did have a wake up call at 3 in the morning saying the ship was on fire, but that turned out to be a minor event. We arrived in Aruba, toured the island, non impressed. On to Curacao. Since the hurricane had caused us to not visit the Cay where we had planned to horseback ride and ride sea boats, we had some extra money so Kay signed up to swim with Dolphins. I toured this island and was also unimpressed. She had a wonderful time and really enjoyed it.

We then traveled to Panama, woke up early to watch our ship go through the locks, then went on an excursion on Gatun Lake. We went by launch and traveled the length of the lake, visiting sights that allowed us to feed wild monkeys, see Crocodiles, sloths and lots of birds. Part of the tour involved going to a floating restaurant and eating a Panamanian lunch. Very good. We also got to feed some Tamarind, see snakes, Iguanas, Toucans, monkeys and a traditional Panamanian rain storm that looked like the dam had burst. We had a delightful time and really enjoyed this part of Panama.

The boat was moved to Colon, so we had to catch up to it. This meant a land trip of several hours through rural Panama and then into the city of Colon. It struck me as we drew near the ship, that I was in one of the most depressed areas I have ever seen, and less than a mile away were three cruise ships that were throwing away enough food to easily feed the entire area. Back aboard ship, we went to lunch and were seated with a couple who did nothing but bitch about the quality of the food and how bad the service was etc. They were on their 23rd cruise and really could not understand why people got off the boat in these horrible locations.

Anyway, we moved on to Costa Rica where we went zip lining. Two years ago, I would have obsessed and worried about this for so long, I would have been paralyzed for days. This time, I never gave it a thought until that morning. We rode a bus for about an hour while a guide explained about the ecology of Costa Rica and why we should buy only organic bananas. I watched Kay and I am sure my banana bill will be rising dramatically. Anyway, we arrived at the location, were given instructions on how to use our free hand to "brake", what hand instructions we would be given and "be sure you sign the release form before you get on the wagon" the wagon twisted and turned its way up the mountain and when it stopped we went single file up even further. Now I am still not in a state of terror, just a little apprehensive. The line stopped in front of a twelve step stairway that led to a metal platform. Just above the platform was a double zip line. The first person was taken up, attached and zipped out. Now they were zipping away from the platform about twenty feet above my head and I thought, "That's not bad, I can do this." Kay went, then it was my turn. I shot up the stairs, hit the platform and realized I was on the edge of a cliff that dropped 197 feet. Snap, snap and I am hooked into the wire. "Lift feet please" I am dangling 197 feet above trees zipping across a jungle canopy that is somehow below me. Actually, it was a great view and terror was quickly replaced by awe. I crashed into the second platform, was asked if I wanted to continue, was hooked up again and off on a spectacular view of the river a long way below me. this continued through 8 more platforms and lines, ending somehow very near the spot we had boarded the wagon an hour before. It was exhausting, heart pounding and I would do it again in an instant.

Once reunited with the ship, we headed north in very heavy seas. In fact the evening show was canceled because the scenery kept falling over and breaking lights and innocent people standing nearby. We got back to Ft. Lauderdale and were back in Binghamton by 9PM November 19th. It was a great trip, great sights, met some wonderful people, most of them working for the cruise ship, thrilled we did it, but it could rain for forty days and forty nights and as the Ark went by I would just wave, because I am never getting on another ship as long as I live.