Almost Ready to Leave for Panama
Why Panama? My dad spent a couple of years there before World War II, in the service as a fledgling medic (skills he put to good use later on in Europe as part of Patton's vaunted Third Army). I have a photo album of him and his buddies and some of the sights, and more than a few stories of his time there and, well, I was captivated by all of this as a child. So, we're going to see for ourselves.
But over Christmas? Yes, we'll actually be in Honduras on December 25 and looking forward to an untraditional celebration. We're hoping to have all three kids and families with us next Christmas so this seemed to present an ideal time.
We've got quite a nice agenda for this. We arrive on Saturday and board the ship. This is our second Viking ocean cruise (Greece in 2024 was the first) and we were very pleased . . . .not too many people (about 1,200) vs. the larger cruise ships found on other carriers which handle 4 - 5,000 at a time. And, much as we like kids, especially our own, there are very few if any on these Viking trips (not that I'm a grumpy old man!). On Sunday, we spend the whole day in Panama City before departing that evening for day 3 in Colon, Panama (its "second city").
Day 4 is Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, where we'll do a long nature walk with an aerial tram to see the deepest parts of the jungle. The following day is entirely sailing in the Caribbean so that's when we usually hit the spa and get a muscle tingling massage. I believe, too, there's a pool on this ship and, with the December temperature in the Caribean averaging about 80+ degrees in the daytime, should be pretty darned nice. Right now in Columbus is damned cold so we're looking forward to that.
Our sixth day is in Roatan, Honduras where we're visiting an animal sanctuary and doing a mangrove forest cruise. I'm expecting the wildlife in Honduras to be pretty cool, including monkeys in the wild which I've never seen other than in a zoo. On to Belize for Day 7 and a heritage experience and an airboat ride. Day 8 is on to Cozumel, Mexico where we'll tour some Incan ruins.
From then on it is more sailing in the Caribbean until we land in Ft. Lauderdale and get up early for a short flight to Atlanta and then home, arriving about 5 p.m. at night. I love when we're home at a normal hour and grateful to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Mona and John, who pick us up and drop us at our doorstep.
My habit on these trips is to right a daily blog of what we're doing and seeing so you can follow along vicariously. Watch for the first post (likely) on December 21, just as you're admiring your tree and all the glowing lights. Looking forward to bringing you our alternative and hope you enjoy.
You two are the coolest. We're ready to tag along, vicariously.
ReplyDeleteWe are in Grand Rapids for Christmas. They’re having a heat wave today at 33degrees F. We’ll be thinking of you every day and wishing we were with you.
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