Year 2 Day 363 – “Living the Dream”. Thursday, 4/27/2023. Day 13 (Cartegena, Colombia) of 21-night Radiance of the Seas Galveston TX to Los Angeles, CA cruise.
We got off the ship and walked through the Port and outside to the first block of stores. We passed immigration officers with boxes of passports. They were opening them and stamping the crew’s passports. Last time we were here in February 2022 we had to take our passports off the ship with us. That is the only time we have had to.
We debated a long time before we went outside the port area. Finally, we gathered up the courage to push our way through. Kind of reminds me of paparazzi. Lol – The taxi drivers are so in your face. It is horrendous the amount of people that are around you trying to sell you tours. They just keep following you. The local shop owners are much nicer. We bought a few souvenirs. There are two casinos right there. You had to go through metal detectors to get into the casinos we headed back to the ship after about two hours of wandering.
Here are links to two other times we have been to Panama:
1) https://deestimes.com/…/serenade-of-the-seas-day-5-of…/
2) https://deestimes.com/…/living-the-dream-day-294-day-6…/
The ship crew at the gate told us to walk straight through and there are two markets. We were already heading back on board when we heard that. After we were on board we ran into our assistant server, and she told us to walk to the duty-free area. She said there were lots of good stores there. It is a few blocks up. She is from Peru so probably was not as nervous as we are. The port area is really being refurbished and is much nicer than the last time we were here. There were a few Immigration offices on board for lunch. You see this in a lot of ports. It is good to build a positive relationship with them. We are back on our 21-day ship home by noon time. The poolside towel animal zoo is growing.
At lunch time you find us enjoying lunch on the back of the ship. We must be stalking the captain!! lol
Tonight, we move out of port and wait with other ships to go through the Panama Canal. We are supposed to start into the Panama Canal crossing at around 6am tomorrow morning. Our ship will be going through the original Canal since we are a smaller ship.
In the afternoon the Monjasa Striker is moored up alongside of us. She is an Oil/chemical tanker.
Another great menu tonight.
Then our evening deck stroll! Life is good!
Today’s product recommendations are for keeping your skin looking its best at sea and in the sun. My favorite skin care products are made by Elemis. Although I do sometimes try a new product here and there. I actually find myself going back to Elemis. 1) I start my morning in the shower with a face wash. Currently I am using ELEMIS Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash https://amzn.to/3qZkwqC 2) After showering I am currently using ELEMIS Superfood Facial Oil https://amzn.to/3XvfUVu 3) Then the Elemis Pro-Collagen Maine Cream with spf30 gets applied. It is the best. It costs a little more than the drug store creams but wow it works. Whenever I decide I want to buy another less expensive brand I am sorry and head right back to this cream. https://amzn.to/46sJZsH 4) Steve also uses an Elemis product. He tends to break out when he uses sunscreen often. He finds the ELEMIS Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads excellent to use. It cleans that sunscreen out of his pores. When he uses these pads to cleanse his face he does not break out. https://amzn.to/3px1oQn
To see more about Radiance of the Seas, click here: Radiance of the Seas – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count
To view the complete daily diary, click here: Living the Dream – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count