Adventures without pictures....but adventures nonetheless!

Hello all!
Firstly, I apologize for not having any pictures on this blog post.  The Internet connection here is quite spotty and instead of putting it off until the next port, I figured I would just post the pictures layer.  I am writing today from Costa Rica and apparently I am getting used to it because I am not sweating like a pig which was the case last week!  Yes, that's right folks-I no longer have to hold cold drinks to my forehead in order to keep cool.  People that I hang out with here are really sad about that because I looked really cool doing it...NAT.
Ok so right now I am on the ship and we are making our way back from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego.  This is essentially the same cruise as before except we have two new ports: Colon, Panama and Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala.  We haven't reached Guatemala yet, but I did get to experience the Panama Canal from a different perspective a few days ago (but more on that later).  First, I will talk about my SUCCESSFUL shopping trip that took place in Cartegena, Colombia.

If you read the last blog post (which of course, I'm assuming you all did), you may remember me talking about a dress that I bought that I instantly regretted.  Well, I can now announce that the dress has been returned and exchanged for a new one!  HUZZAH.  It took awhile to find the little shop, but after about 30 minutes of wandering around Old Town, Alex and I found the place!  I was so happy that Alex happened to video tape me after my purchase.  Totally candid.

After our dress adventure (which, I must say, Alex was a great sport to go with me), we found a little book store, did some internet stuff, and enjoyed a coffee and a piece of banana bread.  I have never actually eaten a full meal off the ship because I am too cheap.  I would rather walk all the way back to the ship and eat for free than buy a meal that I could get for free otherwise.  So, the banana bread was a bit of a splurge, but I was desperate because I hadn't eaten at all that day.  We did a bit more wandering afterwards but called it quits pretty early.  It was boiling hot for most of the afternoon and then it started pouring rain!! Before the rain hit, however, we had a chance to encounter some parrots.  For those of you who don't know, I hate birds.  Not as much as my sister, Kristen, but I dislike them A LOT.  But these were parrots!  In Central America!  So I thought I should make an exception and try to get some pictures with them.  Alex kept telling me to go have a seat next to one which I thought would be easy enough but I was too scared.  So, he sat down and showed me that there was nothing to be afraid of.  As soon as I felt confident enough to conquer my fear (and hatred) of birds, I walked over and they started squawking at me which of course terrified me! I ran away a few times and couldn't actually bring myself to sit down next to them.  Fortunately, Alex was able to capture the entire thing because he was taking photos of me every second. You will see that picture in a later post...

We beat most of the rain so that was good, but it is definitely rainy season here in Central America and I always have my rain jacket packed along with me, even on the sunniest of days!  The day after Cartegena we were in our next port, Colon.  I had booked a tour for this city because it is not really safe to go beyond the terminal.  My tour was awesome!  I went kayaking in Gatun Lake which provides fresh water for the Panama Canal locks.  For those of you who do not know about the Panama Canal and how it operates, I will give you a brief overview.

The Panama Canal is a route that joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  The first effort to build an all-water route through Panama began in 1880.  Without the Panama Canal, ships would have to go
all the way around South America to reach their destination which obviously cost them a lot of time and money.  The Canal is an 80 km waterway that officially opened in 1914 and has transited over 1 million ships since then.  The waterway uses a system of locks with two lanes (going in opposite directions) that operates as water elevators and raises the ships from sea level to the level of Gatun Lake (26 meters above sea level) to allow the crossing through the Continental Divide, and then lowers the ships to sea level on the other side of the Isthmus.  The most interesting thing about the locks is that the water used to raise and lower the vessels is obtained from Gatun Lake simply by 
gravity  and poured into the locks through a culvert system that extends under the locks chambers.

Our ship was going through the locks the following day, so it was very interesting to see the locks from a different perspective on the tour.  First, however, we went kayaking on the infamous Gatun Lake!  There were about thirty of us and the kayaks were built for two people each.  I had the option to go by myself, but there was this man David who asked me to be his partner and he was AWESOME.  Well, actually, it was kind of funny because our guide would take us to various parts of the lake and everyone would come to a stop except for us.  David would keep paddling while I just sat there and we kept hitting other people's boats and it was just hilarious.  I think I said "sorry" a thousand times in one hour. The guide was very good, however, and I learned a lot about Panama, the animals that inhabit the forest surrounding Gatun Lake and some interesting acts about the area in general.  For example...there was a season of Survivor that was filmed on Gatun Lake so that was pretty cool.  I think it was Season 3 if I can remember correctly..?  Anyway, the coolest thing I saw was the wildlife.  AKA Monkeys!!  It was hard to get a really good picture of them, but I tried my best!
We also saw a sloth...!  It was basically impossible to get a good picture of it (there were still people who couldn't see it after 30 mintues of staring at the same tree), but again...I tried my best!

My favourite moment of the tour was with David when he asked me to video tape him.  I think I screamed a bit and then said OF COURSE!!! He had a video flip.  We were meant to be kayaking partners.  I asked him if he wanted to sing a song, maybe do a few dance moves but he declined.  He was, however, impressed by my interviewing skills.  I think he was expecting me to just turn on the camera and videotape him kayaking but instead I asked him a bunch of questions and he just started laughing because he was so embarrassed.  It was great.  Everyone was looking at us and didn't understand what was going on.  We became good friends.  I even got a few photos of us together!

After the kayak adventure, we went on a tour of the locks.  I was able to see a ship go through and it
was pretty cool.  I took a video but I am not sure if it will upload right now, but it was really interesting to see how the whole system worked.  After the tour was over, I went to the grocery store and bought some goldfish.  The snack, not the pet.  It was the first supermarket that I had seen in a long time and it's so funny because crew members are just buying a TON of stuff.  Cookies, kool-aid, chips etc.  Everything that we can't really get on board.  I limited myself to the goldfish, not only because I'm cheap but because I know if I bought a ton of junk food "to last me a few weeks", I 
would eat it all that very night.  SO, after my shopping adventure I just got back on the ship and had a little nap before my sets that night.  It was a tiring day, but it was really nice.  And we didn't get rained on so that was  bonus!

Since Panama, we have had two sea days and I have just discovered an area on the ship where crew members are allowed to go and relax in the sun!  So, I have been getting a bit darker (at least that's what people tell me when I keep asking them "Am I darker?? Do I look darker to you?  I went out in
the sun today and I think I look darker, do you think so?") which has been really great.  I have also spent a lot of time thinking about my next project which has been organizing a church service for passengers on board...

On this cruise, we have two sea days that happen to fall on Sundays and a lot of passengers ask if there is a church service they can go to.  At the moment, there is nothing set in place and passengers have had to arrange everything by themselves.  I go to the services simply as a participant, but of course, my inability to embrace the lack of organization has made it impossible to NOT step in and help.  Just imagine 150 people singing acapella in 5 different keys at a tempo that is so slow, you think we'll reach our next port before the hymn comes to an end.  So, now I am hoping to plan a service that will be in place each week so that passengers don't need to lead everything themselves.  There is usually a pastor on board that is willing to preach and administer communion, so my job would be to arrange for a piano player (me), select the hymns (which is probably my favourite thing to do ever...I'm not joking), and meet with the pastors to discuss any particular things they want to do at a service (I feel like this sounds oddly familiar to a job that I had this past summer...YAY!).  Anyway, we will see how it goes.  I don't think I'll have these 70 yr. olds moshing for Jesus anytime soon, but I htink I can put together a nice service that is enjoyable for everyone.  I will keep you posted! Literally.  HA That joke never gets old.

Ok, well I have spent WAY too much time on the internet today.  I guess I should get some sunshine before it starts to rain (because it will.  It always does.) and I will write more in a few days!  Hope you all are doing well!

Love,
A