Central America Archives - Life with julia

Julia / February 1, 2016

Panama Canal- Holiday Cruise 2015

Now it’s finally time for the long-awaited post that I have been putting off for a while: the journey through the Panama Canal. The voyage through the canal was the highlight of the cruise as it was the reason why many of us had chosen that cruise line in the first place. A few facts about the Panama Canal to boost your IQ (you can thank me later): There are 3 sets of locks: Miraflores, Pedro Miguel, and Gatun. If you go on a full transit cruise through the canal, you pass through all 3 locks. If you do a half transit, I think you only go through 1 set of locks. (Gatun) Miraflores has 2 steps, Pedro Miguel has 1 step, and Gatun is composed of 3 steps. It first opened on August 15th, 1914. The very first ship to make the transit was the SS Ancon. Work on…

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Julia / January 22, 2016

Cartagena, Colombia- Holiday Cruise

If you read the title of this post as Carta-JAY-na, you made the same mistake I did prior to visiting this city. It’s actually pronounced Carta-HAY-na. Once you get the hang of it, it’s actually a very fun word to say. Carta-HAY-na. Cartagena. So far, the cruise has already stopped at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Puntarenas, Costa Rica (If you’ve missed the last two posts, you can check them out by clicking on the Travel heading at the top of the page!) After the humidity I found myself in, in Costa Rica, I didn’t think it could get any hotter. But I was wrong. It was like going out of the frying pan and into the fire, literally and figuratively haha. Despite the heat, (I was starting to miss the Canadian cold!) I loved Colombia for all its culture, the stunning castles and museums, and of course, for the…

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Julia / January 17, 2016

Puntarenas, Costa Rica- Holiday Cruise

Costa Rica translated in English literally means “rich coast” and undoubtedly, this area is certainly rich with flora and fauna. The first thing I noticed when our cruise ship pulled into the harbor was the amount of green I was seeing. There was just so much green everywhere. Our tour excursion today was a Rainforest Aerial Tram and Nature Walk, plus an added authentic Costa Rican lunch. I had very high expectations about this tour because I was excited to see some of the birds and other exotic wildlife this land was famous for. On the tour bus heading from where the ship docked to the rainforest, we spotted a scarlet macaw in one of the trees. Right before we boarded the aerial tram, we also saw a toucan perched up high on one of the branches and an iguana (pictured above) lounging on one of the paths. However, what…

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Julia / January 15, 2016

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico- Holiday Cruise

Ahh, Cabo. The heat. The ocean as blue as the sky. The myriad of fish swimming in the crystal clear waters. The warm, brilliant sunshine on your face. Nothing is better than vacationing in Mexico to escape the cold Canadian winters. (Actually, nothing is better than vacationing in Mexico period.) This was the Island Princess Panama Canal voyage’s first port of call and what better way to start things off with a bang? My family and I decided to do the Chileno Bay Sail and Snorkel tour excursion with the cruise. The tour guides led us to a great place to a snorkel as there were lots of coral and where there is coral, there are plenty of fish. If you’re lucky, you’ll even get the chance to feed some of the fish. (Tip: If you go snorkeling or do any sort of underwater sport, bring a GoPro or underwater…

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