Tikal, Guatemala

The Mayan ruins were incredible!!!!! Here are some pictures that show the immensity of the civilization. We were allowed to explore anywhere we wanted. This was my favorite part of the entire vacation.







The temple of the Jaguar was in poor shape so we were allowed to climb all the way to the top via this staircase. On the top you were above the jungle and it looked like an ocean of trees.



The bus rides were fun. The villages we passed were so simple. We saw women standing in the streams doing washing, children running naked and swimming in the mud holes, and plenty of livestock on the road.
The plane however was horrifying, I was glad Jim stayed calm next to me. I wanted to kiss the ground when we made it back safely but the policia were escorting us quickly back to the bus. Totally an exciting day!

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

October 4, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

This country is incredible. We decided to take an excursion to Tikal. (Mayan ruins)
Something that I foufnd very interesting was how the people live in Guatemala. The first shots are of the city by the port that we drove through on our way to the airport. We then arrived at not an airport just an air strip outside of the port where we went through more armed policia and were allowed to board a small plane for our flight into the jungles. It was a beautiful flight we were able to see active volcanos and a few cities below. We then took another one hour bus ride into Tikal.

Huatulco, Mexico

October 2, At sea

This was the first day we spotted dolphin escorting the ship. They seemed so small as we watched them race beside the ship leaping and playing in the waves. We also spotted flying fish!

October 3, Huatulco, Mexico

This is the first port in Mexico that I think is very beautiful. It was clean and the ocean crystal clear. As you see in the first photo the beach was beautiful. The second photo shows where you disembark and the typical policia that are seen at all the ports with automatic weapons.




These kids were earning money using parrots posing for photos with the tourists.



At this port we went on a shore excursion of white water rafting. It was exciting I even jumped in the river. We saw lots of birds and the river trip ended by dumping into the ocean.

When we returned to the ship we went on deck as the ship left the harbor. The water was so clear we were able to see a giant sea turtle swimming in one of the beautiful coves that Huatulco is known for. What a beautiful port.

Los Angeles and Puerto Vallarta Mexico

September 28, Los Angeles

What a geat day to embark on our vacation. Here is a picture of our ship. We had a fantastic room, it was complete with a king bed, sofa and two comfortable chairs, a nice balcony and the bathroom had a jacuzzi tub and a separate full shower.



September 29 & 30, At sea

Time to explore the ship, eat and just relax with a drink or two. We chose our shore excursions and were excited to be on our way.

October 1, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

This was the view of the port as we woke up today. A pirate ship along side. We went ashore and went downtown to shop. This wasn't our first visit here so we walked a little on the beach and spent some time shopping. The beach was nice and the weather was great. All we ended up buying in port was a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper at WalMart.