Here's our ship - The Royal Caribbean Splendour of the Seas.

It sure was nice to feel the heat of Cozumel, the first stop of our Central America cruise

We spent the afternoon on a Hobie Cat. After we learned how to sail it, Polliann chipped a tooth while we were racing, but...

...we won!

In Belize, we snorkeled with Southern Sting Rays and touched them as they swam by us.

This site is called Shark-Ray Alley because of the abundance of Nurse Sharks in the area. Swimming with these sharks was exciting. Nurse Sharks average four to six feet in length. They are rough to the touch, like sandpaper.

Here's one up close!

Heading back onto the boat after a couple of hours in the water. We didn't want to leave!

We ate lunch and spent part of the afternoon on the small island of San Pedro, Belize. As you can see, golf cart, bikes and feet are the modes of transportation here - not cars!

Passing through the Panama Canal - one of the greatest engineering marvels of all time - was an awesome experience.

We passed through the Panama Canal's first set of locks - the Gatun Locks.

Being guided through the locks

Here's the view of Gatun Locks from Gatun Lake, once we passed through the locks. We spent the afternoon here basking in the sun. It was HOT!

Our ship only had about 5 total feet of clearance (2 1/2 feet on each side of the ship). As you can see, looking staight down from this window, all we saw was concrete! That's a tight fit!

Dancers performing in Panama City, Panama

Natives selling their handmade baskets, etc.

Their native dress and tatoos were a sight to behold, for sure. We purchased a couple of weaved masks, which are beautiful.

Downtown Panama City. We were shadowed by a police officer for some time. We were warned about the potential dangers tourists face here.

Headin' back to the ship from Panama City.

Costa Rica, another cool stop

Tree sloths call this park home...

...as do Spectacled Owls!

Inside the park

For a couple of dollars, some local kids helped us spot the sloths around the park. They were very helpful. I'm not sure if we would have found any without them. These creatures were so strange! They have long, shaggy fur and eat tree leaves. They moved in slow motion, which was just weird! The kids told us they come down from the trees every few days to poop!

Smallest banana ever!

"Pirates of the Caribbean" ship, just off the coast of Georgetown, Grand Caymen.

Seven-Mile Beach in Georgetown

We went to a turtle farm and saw 85-lb monsters!

Interested in some turtle soup? Then you need to visit Georgetown - it's very popular there, along with other turtle treats! I couldn't make myself eat a turtle sandwich for lunch!

They're too cute!

Hell ain't so bad. Hell, Grand Caymen, that is!

Don't take any rocks, or you'll go to hell!

These were the rock formations in Hell.

Walking around downtown Georgetown

Nice watermelon carvering. I could do that with my eyes shut!

Coming back to our ship from an excursion

Here's the atrium of our ship...

...and here's our cabin. Check out the "monkey towel" hanging near the mirror!

Yep, after taking a class on the ship, I carved this sculpture in 4 minutes 27 seconds. Yeah, right!

Sunnin' with Kris and Greg, - a Dallas couple whom we met at our dinner table and hung out with

Rock-climbing wall on a ship at sea, yep! And that's Polliann climbing to the top!

One of our formal nights

Another pre-dinner pic (Kris and Greg took better pictures than the professional photographers!)

Kris and Greg

Everybody at the dinner table

All of that artwork is food!

We ate and ate and ate and...

...ate!

There was a great chocolate buffet that we devoured!

More of the chocolate buffet

A bread-crab!

Back to the chocolate!

Us with our waitress and assistant - Denitsa and Carmalita!

In the Solarium pool gettin' splashed

We took a city tour of Galveston and Houston before we headed back to Anchorage. Here's Minute Maid Park - home of the Houston Astros.

Safe!

Back to snow and cold temps! After a long day of travelling, we had to dig our truck out of two feet of snow! To top it off, it was freezing outside. I'd say the cruise was well worth it!

Y'all come back now, ya hear!