Day 10 of 111. Tikal, Peten, Guatemala. We left the ship, got on a small airplane and flew to the northern portion of the country to visit the Mayan city. We climbed lots of wooden stairs to get to the top of two of the temples. The weather was great, but it was still a…

(Day 10 of 111) While visiting the Mayan ruins at Tikal, we saw a coatimundi. We also saw spider monkeys in the trees, but they were difficult to photograph. We also saw a wild turkey that I thought was a peacock. It had pretty feathers on its body. The tree is called the tree of…

(Day 9 of 111) Corinto, NicaraguaDriving up to the Finca Emma banana plantation, we saw one large mass (the bunch of bananas) covered with a blue bag and over that a white bag hanging from each tree. These bags protect the bananas from the sun, insects and other problematic animals such as bats. A tiny…

(Day 8 of 111) Costa RicaLike many people, I am very fond of coffee, especially French Roast coffee. So, it was very interesting to visit a family-owned coffee plantation. This one was about 50 acres. Coffee originated in Africa, but since we are only 10 degrees from the equator in Costa Rica, the beans grow…

While we traveled back from the volcano, we spotted this sloth hanging on the electrical wires next to the road. I was not able to get a great picture, but he/she was fun to see. We were told that there are three-toed and two-toed sloths. The two-toed is more rare and larger and lighter colored…

(Day 8 of 111) Costa RicaWe spent the entire day in Costa Rica. Our first visit was to the Poas Volcano in what I learned was a tropical cloud forest. We went through many different microclimates as we traveled from the Pacific Ocean to the top of a mountain. We got to see some beautiful…

Day 6 of 111. The Panama CanalWe got up at 5:00 a.m. to watch the ship enter the Panama Canal. I learned from a documentary shown the night before that the entire project is much different than a just a couple of locks that the ships pass through. I am very impressed with the entire…

Day 5 of 111. Sea Day before the Panama CanalCooking class aboard the ms Amsterdam. We learned four dishes. Ours was an avocado soup. The photo totally washed out the green. Avocado soup, lobster spring rolls, coconut chicken with banana and prosciutto, grilled pineapple over pound cake with rum caramel sauce. Yum. It is interesting…

Day 4 of 111. Santa Marta, ColumbiaDuring the tour, Ron took lots of photos. The views of the beaches were really nice. The walking was not overly strenuous but I did enjoy the opportunities to sit quietly and cool down. It was fairly humid. We did catch glimpses of some pretty butterflies and a clear-winged…

Day 4 of 111. Santa Marta, ColumbiaTayrona National Park is a nearly pristine park where we walked, looked for wildlife and had a nice lunch. The bus trip to and from the park was a great opportunity to see the different styles of vegetation as the altitude changed as well as the varied types of…