March 09 Carribbean

March 09 Carribbean Cruise

Our balcony view.



Cartegena, Columbia.



There were 2700 people on board, including 500 kids. The families, mostly form Panama, seemed to enjoy the pools and the music.

Colon, Panama, before departing.

I have been remiss in updating this blog since our friends Stan and Camille left in early February. We enjoyed their company and seeing Panama through their eyes.

Our major activities since then have been our cruise and beginning to build our casita in the mountain community of Altos del Maria.

The cruise left from Colon on Sunday morning, March 1. We had lucked out with an upgrade to a balcony suite. A balcony is the only way to go. We spent many enjoyable hours sitting on our balcony as the ship sailed to each port: Cartegena and Santa Marta, Columbia and three Netherland Antilles islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire. Each port was different and we enjoyed our day exploring.

Stan and Camille's Account of Panama

The Hermans, Stan and Camille arrived in beautiful, warm, Panama on Jan. 28th. We had a 6:00 am flight out of St. Louis and left our house in the last gasp of a snowstorm. It was 28 degrees! We had to wear heavy jackets, gloves, etc. We tried to dress in layers that we could shed on our way south. We stopped at an Xtra Market on our way to the casita to stock up on the standard Herman breakfast fare, cereal, milk, bananas, eggs, bacon, juice, and bread for toast. John & Jayne's breakfast of fish and fruit around 11 sounded much more like lunch to us! We stayed in Casita #4, just 2 doors away, but spent most of our time together in their Casita. Stepping out our front door gave us a lovely view of the pool and ocean beyond. Everyday we were there brought sunny skies, warm temps & cool breezes. John & Jayne were great hosts. We alternated days of lying around the pool/ocean not doing much of anything with visiting some of the local spots and also tourist attractions. We took two delightful trips into the mountains, one to see El Valle and enjoy the views as well as their open air market. The other was to see J&J's lot in Altos and go to a party at the top of the mountain that placed us squarely in the middle of a cloud! We visited a variety of local restaurants eating everything from native Panamanian to Italian food! J&J knew all the good spots and we enjoyed every bite. We really enjoyed brunch at the Leet's Casita and the VERY fresh fish John cooked along with his fruit smoothies and fresh fruits and vegetables.Of course, Stan couldn't miss the Super Bowl so we left the countryside for Panama City on Sunday to cheer for Arizona & Kurt Warner in the Marriott Bar. On Monday, we made a visit to a National Park and also Old Panama City and the President's Palace (at least we got to walk past it). Very interesting to contrast the old with the new. Tuesday morning, before we left, John & the Hermans paid a visit to the Panama Canal. We got to watch 3 ships move through the Canal. This was fascinating. Stan especially loved the little engines that pull the ships through. We visited the wonderful museum that is there and learned all about the history of the Canal and the new locks that are being built. We met up with Jayne, who spent the morning in PC handling real estate and legal business, in time to head for the airport and our trip home. Worst part of the whole trip was coming back through customs in Miami. You have to walk - forever - to nowhere. Then it was back into our winter wear for a 26 degree arrival in St. Louis!We had a wonderful, relaxing time with John & Jayne. They are great hosts. They showed us some of their favorite places and took us places where we could discover things on our own. It's doubtful we would ever take the step of retiring to a foreign country but it's nice to have friends who have. We found the people very friendly and the drivers worse than New York City, although probably not as bad as Rome!! All in all, we came home relaxed, refreshed, and glad to have been warm for a week - Camille & Stan