On March 5, 2010, we left on a 10 day cruise on the Jewel of the Seas to the Caribbean for a restful, relaxing vacation.



Our first stop was at Labadee, Haiti which is a private island owned by several cruise ships. Our ship brought several skids of supplies to earthquake ravaged Haiti though this island was not touched by the quake. The average Haitian earns about $500 per year. Haitians who work for the cruise lines as they arrive each day earn about $600 per month.

In Cartegena, Columbia we toured the fortress overlooking the city. We stopped at shops that served as prisons at the Inquistion and a museum. The day was hot - it was the first day in four months that the sun shone.

In Costa Rica, a little iguana posed as I took a picture of him. His mother was nearby watching over her young one.

This is a banana pod taken from a tree. Each of the yellow hair like extensions eventually becomes a banana. Each plant grows one bunch of bananas and then is cut down. Another plant grows out of the mother plant producing another bunch of bananas. For lunch we were served plantains which is considered to be a poor man's banana. They are always cooked as they do not taste good raw.

Panama City is a thriving metropolis with lots of construction. Donald Trump just built a 100 story building and sold all of the units before construction even started.

Our ship docked in Colon, Panama. We were bused about half way across the isthmus to a docking point where we were loaded onto a ferry that took us through three sets of locks allowing us to disembark in Panama City. We were surprised to learn that the canal goes in a north to south direction rather than east to west.

We were standing on our ferry while it travels down the Panama Canal.

This is a cashew plant. They grow on trees about the size of apple trees. The bottom part is soft, but not good to eat as is. It is used in some jellies.





We took a tour on gondola system over the canopy of the rainforest in Costa Rica. The views are breathtaking with many unusual plants. The day was beautiful. The area has rain 200 days per year.

Trees and plants fight to be the tallest as they reach for the sunlight that helps them grow. Many trees are up to 300 years old. When one falls, it destroys the vegetation around it, but within 5 years everything around it has grown up again.

There are many unusual trees and plants in the rainforest.

We were supposed to stop in Grand Cayman, however the weather was stormy so the ship bypassed the island. We did stop in Key West to make up for the lost day at Grand Cayman.