Panama Canal Cruise

 December 23 - We pulled out of our driveway about 10AM for the drive to Fort Lauderdale in a Dodge Cornet 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 causal. 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 like slobs. 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 overweight slobs. We managed to workout but not as often we should have.

One of Two Pools

The Island Princess featured two pools with hot tubes, 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 found 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

Duro River Cruise - September 19 - Porto

 We glided into Porto on the afternoon of the 18th, back where we began. I took some pictures of tourist boats on the way to our mooring. The next day Joanne photographed a few sailboats alas for them without much wind. 

Boats on the Water

The next day we took a Viking provided walking tour visiting the cathedral, the railroad station and a shopping street. The tour ended by walking across a bridge and then along the river to our Viking boat. 

Porto Cathedral

The shell on the blue background marks the route of Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.  The route begins in France, crosses the Pyrenees and ends in Santigo, Spain.

Porto Sao Bento Train Station

This train station features historical scenes rendered in blue and white tiles called Azulejos. 

Cruise Boats Docked Across River

Crossing the bridge

Port Transport of Years Gone By

The next day we waited aboard all morning and were among the last to leave. Viking ordered a taxi to take us to the aitport for flight to the Azores.

Duro River Cruise - September 18

 

Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios 

Lamego

Duro River Cruise - September 17

 

Favaias

Favaias - Old School

Four Corner Bread

Automated Sampling and Testing at Winery Cooperative

View from Restaurant

Our River Boat - Viking Gorda

Barragem da Regua

Duro River Cruise - Salamanca Spain

 September 16 -  The Duro River formed a mirror on this clear and crisp morning reflecting the bridges and shoreline. From the dock here on the Spanish side of the river, we bussed several hours to the Spanish city of  Salamanca. 

An image of Old Town is pictured in the Google Maps image above. After visiting am market, we walked across the street to Plaza Mayor. 

From the plaza Joanne and I walked down to the  Art Deco Museum. Photography was not allowed inside the museum so I snaped a few pho tos in the gift shop. See some of the museum pieces at Art Deco Museum Images. We took a short break in the museum's cafe before walking back to our meeting point at Plaza Mayor.

Casa de las Conchas

University of Salamanca

Cathedral

Astronaut