TheBanyanTree: Thinking for Myself

[Margaret R. Kramer]

I didn't’t have to think for myself for 10 days.  When we landed in Fort
Lauderdale, FL and gathered up our luggage, we left our thought processes on
the luggage carousel.

We found the cruise person who took us to our bus that would take us to the
ship.  We got onboard and the ship’s personnel directed us through
embarkation procedures and showed us to our room.  I did my usual worrying
about our luggage, because we didn't’t fill out the cruise tags and I wasn’t
sure if they would be able to deliver our precious clothes and cruise
supplies without knowing our stateroom number.

We went to the safety demonstration.  We learned where to go if the ship hit
an iceberg in the Caribbean Sea and how to put on our life jacket.  After
muster, Ray and I took a tour of the ship.  We found the bars and lounges,
the restaurants, the fitness club, the internet café, the spa, the pools,
and the stores.

Our luggage arrived right before dinner and I was able to change from jeans
into “smart casual” attire.  Our dinner companions were two couples from
Canada.  Dinner was served in courses; appetizers, soups, salads, entrees,
and finally a glorious dessert.  We always had the same waiter and his able
assistant.

Our first two days were “at sea” as we sailed towards Limon, Costa Rica.  I
worked out at the gym and ran over two miles on the Promenade deck.  I laid
and read in the sun.  We ate breakfast and lunch at the buffet.  Our
walkie-talkies didn't’t work.  We took pictures.

We were anxious to get off the ship by the third day and eagerly entered
Limon.  We went on a jungle river cruise.  We saw bats, sloths, monkeys,  a
crocodile sunning himself in the mud, birds, flowers, and the mouth of the
river as it flowed into the Caribbean.  We had a drink in a marketplace
before being taken back to our ship.

The next day was the highlight of our cruise, the Panama Canal.  We entered
the locks around 6:30 am.  The bow of the ship was jammed with people taking
pictures.  Our ship is one of the largest to use the Canal and just barely
fits into the locks.  After we completed going through the three Atlantic
side locks, we entered Gatun Lake and tenders approached our ship to take us
to our tours.

We did the “Ocean to Ocean” tour.  This was an all day tour of Panama, from
Cristobel to Panama City via bus and the Canal.  We had lunch onboard our
canal vessel.  It was an incredible ride past the continental divide and we
went as far south as 8.53 degrees above the equator (Ray had his GPS thing
with him).

We went through the three Pacific side locks and entered Balboa harbor.  It
was filthy.  It stunk.  It was disgusting.  China owns this harbor.  It was
full of ships loading and unloading cargo.  It was obviously an important
port, but, please, clean it up!

We took a tour of Panama City.  The poverty there is heartbreaking.  People
are living in shacks.  Litter is all over the place.  It was disgusting as
well.  Obviously, there is a huge difference between the “haves” and the
“have nots.”  Our guide said that even though now Panama is a democracy
(courtesy of USA intervention because of the change over of the Canal to
Panamanian control), corruption and bribery is the “real” government.

The next day was a “sea day.”  Another day of reading, sunning, and working
out.  Ray got very sick during this time.  He had an incredibly bad cold.
We bought some Advil and Robitussin DM.  Ray had a slight fever.  He was
coughing constantly.  He did see the ship doctor and got on some
antibiotics.  Ray basically was in bed for two days.

We weren't’t able to go to Grand Cayman because there was a cold front
approaching and the sea was very rough.  Our ship couldn't’t dock at Grand
Cayman and we would have to take tenders to shore and the sea was too rough
for the tenders.  We took pictures of the incredible waves slamming into the
Grand Cayman shore.  It was another day “at sea.”  That was OK.  It was
“chilly” to me, so I put on my jeans and found a comfy sofa in a lounge,
slapped on my ipod, and listened to great music while reading and drinking
coffee.  Ray was able to get some rest and his fever broke that night.

Every passenger onboard tried to get off the ship at the same time in
Cozumel (just kidding, but we were getting tired of “sea days).  We had to
wear jeans and shoes in the bright and warm sunshine because we were going
horseback riding.  It was a great ride – very relaxing.  Ray is comfortable
on a horse and took some good pictures of all the iguanas on the trail.
After our ride, we had a cool drink in the cantina.  We couldn't’t use the
bathrooms, because they were filthy.  It was a clean trail, but filthy
bathrooms – go figure.

Our final stop was in Belize.  What a beautiful country!  It was the best
stop on the cruise.  Our tour was the longest – another all day trip.  We
drove out of Belize City to the mountains on the Guatemalan border.  We
stopped at some Mayan ruins.  We had to take a hand cranked ferry across the
river and then ride vans up this huge hill and then climb up another huge
hill to the ruins.  It was spectacular!

We were able to climb up the Mayan temple pyramid.  There were no railings,
and they were the original Mayan stairs, totally uneven, and the grade was
like straight up.  I wasn’t going to do it, but then I saw a bunch of “old
people” climbing to the top, so I figured I could do it, too.  I took some
great pictures and managed to get back down without killing myself.  We had
a delightful lunch at the St Ignatius Hotel before barely making it back to
our ship before it sailed away.

We saved a lot of money, because we didn't’t go shopping at Grand Cayman and
we didn't’t have any time at all to shop in Belize.  Our tour took too long
to even to have time to buy a small refrigerator magnet.

We had our final day “at sea” as we headed towards Fort Lauderdale.  We
spent that day reading, sunning, playing bingo, eating, and packing.  And I
did get in a run, too.  Ray sat in a deck chair and counted my laps for me.
I worked out every day except for two days on board.  And I tried to keep my
eating under control, however, I did eat a lot of chocolate.

Each night we saw a show.  The ship has its own dancers and singers.  We saw
comedians and magicians and singers.  The ship had several different types
of bands from swing to jazz to country and rock and roll.  We watched the
Final Four on huge screens in one of the ship’s theaters.  We had a moment
of silence for John Paul II.

Back on land and the cruise people directed us to our bus that took us to
the airport.  As we found our luggage, we had to begin the process of jump
starting our brains again and to think for ourselves.  We were back on our
own.  But it was wonder to surrender our minds to nothing but pleasure for
10 days.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.polarispublications.com
Be a star!

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

I see great things in baseball.  It's our game - the American game.  It will
take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger
physical stoicism.  Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set.
Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us.
~Walt Whitman