December 23 - We pulled out of our driveway about 10AM for the drive to Fort Lauderdale in a Dodge Hornet rental for a Princess cruise through the Panama Canal! Joanne found a last minute deal on the Island Princess, an older but still serviceable cruise ship. Supposedly oversold, we bid on a cabin upgrade, we lucked out swapping a "port-hole" cabin for a cabin with a terrific balcony with an unobstructed forward view.
With all rental cars unfamiliar, there are always a few things to figure out along the way. This car had two flaps for fuel, one on each side. Expecting to fill the gas tank in Fort Lauderdale, we opened the flap on the driver's side only discover a plug for a electrical cord! - gas goes in on the right side.
As our room number was 637, we expected it to be on deck number 6. Wrong! It was on deck 10. We were routed to our cabin all right, found our muster station, ate some lunch and after a few miss-directions, we settled in. Before long, we knew our way around.
Our lovely Cabin
Our Balcony, with partition only on stern-side
Pilot Boat, Pilot Waving Goodbye
Leaving Florida
Christmas Eve Onboard - Formal Night
Princess cruises feature formal nights. Everyone dinning in one of the restaurants except the Horizon Cafe which offers a buffet is supposed to be dressed smarter than smart casual. We did as you can see above. Many did not; the dress code was not enforced.
We thought we would see many young kids. We saw some but were surprised to see so many really old-looking people, many dressed pretty slobby. More than a few were using walkers and mobility scooters. Many were "weigh" overweight.
We found the very well equipped gym sometimes crowded with men and women serious about their workouts - so not all passengers were unfit. We managed to workout - but not as often we should have!
One of Two Pools
The Island Princess featured two pools with hot tubs, the one above open to the sky and the other directly behind it closed. One night we watched a great movie, The Penguin Lessons, on the big screen behind the pool.
At the other end of the pool we discovered the pizza place on the pool deck and the place for hamburgers on the next deck up. Joanne found the pizzas excellent while my lunches were mostly cheese burgers with fries. They were tasty!
Princess Ships
After two days at sea, we docked at Aruba for one day, a small island off the coast of Venezuela. We signed up to go underwater in a submarine.
We had never been under water in a submarine so this was our chance.
We saw a few fish, a few wrecks and the sandy bottom a hundred and fifty feet down but not much coral.
After our submarine surfaced, we walked around the tourist strip just off the dock for a bit before reboarding the ship.
Early morning before sunrise the 28th of December, the Island Princess approached the Atlantic Bridge to begin our transit of the Panama Canal.
Approaching Atlantic Bridge
View from the Atlantic Bridge
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Approaching First Lock
Mules
Devices called "Mules" hold the ships in position so that they don't collide with the canal walls. Ships move through the locks under their own power.
Looking Back
London Bridge, "Roll On - Roll Off" Car Carrier
Crews on the ships locking down to the Caribbean Sea waved to us and we waved back.
On Gatun Lake
Pedro Miguel Locks
Lines are rowed out to the ships.
Panama City from Island Princess
The following day, we joined a bus tour to see the new locks on the Atlantic side. Also included was a great IMAX film about the canal.
Ship Entering New Lock
Tugs are used in the new locks instead of mules. Gates slide in and out.
Locking Down to the Atlantic
On our way to Los Angles from Panama City, we stopped at Puntarenas Costa Rica; Puerto Chiapas, Huatulco and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
At Puntarenas, we chose to visit the Natuwa wildlife sanctuary. Natura provides rescue and rehabilitation for Costa Rican wildlife.
The macaws in a very large cage were difficult to photograph due to the cage but this one was free.
This was our first time to see a sloth!
The jaguars prowled around behind a fence making a photo tough to get.
Puerto Chiapas is a few miles from the nearest town, Tapachula. On a bus, we skirted around the nearest town, Tapachula located a few miles inland from the port, to Tuxtia Chico for folk dancing and chocolate making demonstrations.
Dancers at the Port
At Tuxtia Chico, Rabbit Town
Following the chocolate demo, we visited an IZPA archeological site that appeared to be little visited and less maintained. Stones from Mayan times protected by little huts lay around the perimeter of large grassy field. One of the stones depicted the Tree of Life. A beautiful Ceiba tree held court in the center of the field.
Tree of Life
After another day at sea we docked at Huatulco where we snorkeled.
Puerto Vallarta was our last stop before Los Angeles.
Malecon
After strolling through the cathedral and square that lie just across the street from the Malecon and a short bus ride we arrived at the Lazaro Cardenas Park in the Romantic section of the city. The mosaics were quite colorful.
Next Up - A stop at an "upscale" flea market. We saw lots of souvenir and tee shirt shops but no fleas.
After what seemed like a long bus ride with many turns through run down sections of the city and a stretch of unpaved road, we arrived at Rio Bendito for a tequila lesson and tasting. Joanne enjoyed the coconut and chocolate tequila! Following the lesson and sales pitch, Joanne & I split a fajita lunch before returning to the ship. Yum!
Rocking Horses for Papa Tourist, Mama Tourist and Baby Tourist
Taking Advantage of Stern Thruster Turbulence
Island Princess needs to turn around to depart and did so with the help of its stern thrusters. Pelicans found the fishing excellent in the turbulence.
It's the start of a new year where we have hope of selling our home here and relocating to the Sacramento, CA area to be nearer to family. 2025 was a wonderful year of travel for us. However, in October Richard had a serious operation, but was fortunate that his polyp was benign. We ended the year with this wonderful adventure through the Panama Canal. We look forward to 2026 and hope our health holds out and we will be able to travel with the Friendship Force and by ourselves to some more great destinations!
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