Heathen is the new black.: 2012 Cruise

So I just got back from my "Western Caribbean" Cruise today. The entire cruise was a record setting (for me) 11 days. After getting back, I have come to a conclusion that a week would probably be best.

Here was my home for a week and a half.

Since the tradegy with the Costa Concordia (you know where that Italian captain bailed on the sinking ship), there have been substantial safety measures in place. This was the emergency meeting spot that we had to report to.

Here is a shot of our stateroom. I liked the plasma TV. There were not a whole lot of channels. They were mostly news. Sometimes we got BBC, CNN, TNT, and a view of the front of the ship.

Unfortunately we got an inside cabin. It was a decent size though. Approximately 350 SF.

First stop was Belize and this is a picture of the bannana fields in Costa Rica. Belize was super hot and humid, and dirty, and depressing, so I don't have any photos of that. Back to Costa Rica, those blue bags protect the bannanas from bugs and bacteria etc. You see a whole lot of fruits there including papayas, pineapples, mangos as well as coffee in the mountains. Dole is big in Costa Rica.

One of the big things to do in Costa Rica is "Eco Tourism". Basically you tour the ecology in Costa Rica which is a forest. One of the newer things opened to tourists is this tramlike thing. You are in this "basket" that can fit 6 people that was initially used for scientists observing nature. I really like that the locals really take pride in taking care of their land. Everywhere I went there was no or very little litter.

Here is a view from the tram. Lots of birds, bugs but we didn't see any animals.

Afterwards we took a boat tour.

There we saw all kinds of animals!

Here is a sloth. It just hangs out literally for most of its life. Nice and easy life. It likes to eat on the leaves at the top of the trees.

Here is a Spider Monkey.

Next stop is Panama!

This place really surprised me in many ways. Their skyline alone was very impressive. They make a killing of the canals and invest it locally.

You can see with this pic that there are buildings all the way across the skyline.

We took a train across the country! We went from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side. It's an hour's ride and like 50 miles. The train was fully refurbished inside and it felt like you were back in time. They served drinks and snacks.

So here is where the money is at. Supposedly the country charges 65k to cross the canal plus $100 per container.

These are the machines that do all the work.

You can see the machine that pulls or pushes the boat through the locks. They are called mules. The requirement is that you have to let the county drivers take control of your boat and gets you across from 8-10 hours.

This is their new bridge. It's the Millenium Bridge. Nice.

Here is a view up close. Keep in mind that I am in a bus...

Here is looking up

Nice.

So next up is Cartagena Columbia.
The weather was hot and humid. I was sweating profusely and seeked a/c everywhere.

Here is a skyline pic I took from my Droid Razr. Lots of high rises!

On the way to "Old Town"

Here is the entrance to "Old Town".

Nice Fountain!

So we checked out the Inquisition Museum. This is where the Spaniards tortured people to see if they were true Catholics. This is where religion, torture, and art come together.