We chose to stay onboard today. Yesterday we saw pretty much everything there was to see. Today we followed our usual routine of a late start, gym time, lunch and then Adrian practised his guitar and I went for a walk. It's Tuesday so I went to afternoon tea, only to be disappointed that my favourite dessert wasn't there - so much for my Tuesday theory!
The top photo is one view of the port and the next photo is the other. We're docked in a large working port area with lots of containers coming and going.
The final photo is of me doing my sit-ups - pretty proud that the bench is in its lowest position. Working out with Adrian is pretty humbling so everytime I hit a new level I'm pretty pleased. 
​Tonight we are invited to dinner with the HR Manager - I think she's from Canada. Tomorrow we're at sea!
Today I also managed to change my travel package with Eastlink so now my cellphone is working again when we're in port! They're travel easy package doesn't include that many countries but their travel pack does - actually the travel pack is cheaper too for long trips such as ours! Feeling much better not having to depend on Adrian - we'll still have to negotiate the wifi when we're at sea though...
Hope everyone is well - please stay in touch.

Last night, around midnight, we crossed the equator and now have our certificates for same! No ceremony at that hour but by our calculations we should cross 3-4 more times so likely one of those times we'll get to experience the usual shananigans.
Today we missed the shuttle bus into the city centre - it leaves when it's full - ven if that's before it's scheduled time. So we checked from our balcony and it was there - sadly by the time we headed down the gangway it was gone.
So we met Lou and Amy from San Francisco and shared a cab for the day. We went to the Malecon 2000 which is the city's beautifully revitalized waterfront. Lovely gardens, monuments, restaurants and so on. The highlight for us was supposed to be a visit to La Penas, the artists community in the city. The area is beautiful with fully 444 steps to the top of the area, however the galleries are closed on Monday. We had a beer overlooking the waterfront. We also visited a local market - and then returned to the ship. 
There's an amazing gondola over the harbour to another island which may visit tomorrow! Deck party tonight so if we manage to stay up that late we'll post photos!

Lovely day in Manta, Eucador! Cloudy so quite comfortable as we travel by Chivas, traditional bus, from the ship to Montecristi. Manta's the world leading supplier of tuna and the port is full of tuna boats. Montecristi is the home of the "Panama hat". Actually it's a Montecristi hat, supplied to Panama but know the world over as a Panama hat. 
We visited a family owned business - the process is incredibly long. From timing the cutting of the raw palm to separating the fibres and the boiling and drying the material - everything is done by hand. Family members specialize in different parts of the process so everyone has a hand in the final product. It can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 5 months to make a hat - the tighter the weave the longer it takes and the more expensive the hat. What fun we had - Adrian and I each bought a hat and celebrated with a local beer.
We also bought a fridge magnet today - but for our door - each day more and more cabin doors have been decorated by passengers! Given the average age, some of the artwork likely helps folks with dementia find their door. Such a fun practice we decided to follow suit. Just like back in my university dorm days! Our magnet depicts a woman making a hat - perfect commemoration of our day here.
We're in cabin 7059 perfectly situated, starboard side, midship. Deck 7 is 2-3 flights below the pool, Terrace Cafe, walking track and so on and 2-4 flights above the Grand Dining Room, Boutiques, Baristas Coffee, reception and the gangway. While the elevators are well used by others we take full advantage of our location to get some exercise without having to officially workout.

We're back in time for Adrian to watch the football game - 

The ship across the wharf from our stateroom has been unloading tuna all day!

What a great day - we attended our first lecture in honour of International Holocaust Day - which was Jan 27 but celebrated on board today, Jan 28,  with a passenger who was a Holocaust ​ survivor who spoke about his experience. What a humbling experience, hard to comprehend.
This afternoon we attended our first wine tasting event - Bordeaux versus Napa Valley California - California won...
Tonight we have a Captain's cocktail party and tomorrow we're in port - Manta, Ecuador!

Friday - sea days are beginning to find their own rhythm. A bit of a lie in - with one of us getting cappuccino, usually Adrian (thank you),  lunch in the Terrace Cafe, exercise in the gym, a walk on deck perhaps, and so on. We even managed stay awake long enough to take in our third show, Jared Freiburg and the Vagabonds -  three of the 4 Quartet from the Broadway show "Million Dollar Quartet" . Last night we watched Viviana Guzman https://viviana.org/
In addition to our white round the world hats that we'll likely never be caught dead in we received some additional swag - gold member hats, bags and a pin! 
We had our first meal in Polo the specialty steakhouse onboard, excellent meal and new friends made, Bill and Gerry from Louisiana!
Interestingly, most of you likely know Adrian is an actuary by profession and given the average age on board is quite high, we feel very young indeed, I recently asked him how many people we should expect to lose over the 6 months onboard, he said without knowing the specifics demographics, he'd guess at least 2 and probably 4. Sadly we've already had one death and one couple return home due to illness and we're less than 2 weeks in...go hug someone you love and live today like there's no tomorrow!

We're only in port today until 2 pm. Decided to take the shuttle into town - the shuttle was provided by the community Acajutla. Unfortunately our bus arrived at the Botanical Gardens and many onboard wanted to go to the city Centre instead. The city centre was two stops away and the 
poor shuttle driver tried her best to appease everyone - my first experience this trip of toxic tourists. Adrian and I got off the bus and walked around, as much to get out of the environment as anything else. The Botanical Gardens weren't what we 're used to but you could certainly see the potential. The ocean and waves were lovely and we had an early lunch of grilled shrimp and beer before returning to the ship. Love to come back someday and get to see more! This particular location isn't one we'd return to but we also didn't want to take the longer ships tours so we made that choice.
After we sail at 2pm we have 2 days at sea - so posting will likely be intermittent, and we lose another hour - on Sunday we'll only be 1 hour behind NS.

Today we docked in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. As often happens when cruising the port is primarily a container port and there's nothing right here to see. We ended up sharing a cab with a couple from England and making the 1 1/2 hour drive to Antigua, a heritage community.
The drive was pretty bumpy and long but the community was lovely. Very much in Mexican style you can't really tell what's there by the street facades - beautiful ornate doors behind which are often hidden lovely courtyards surrounded by shops or homes.
We had a wonderful lunch - shrimp tacos for me, and some local beer! We enjoyed walking the cobble streets and the town square where everyone gathers to socialize. . Shout out to my niece-in-law Shannon who loves tacos and immediately came to mind at lunch and also to Norman and Sara - couldn't resist a shot of the Why Not? Hotel!
Adrian and I decided today that we should rate our ports (places we visit) as much for our own ability to remember where we'd like to return to as anything elseWe'd both return to Guatemala and visit Antigua and similar communities again - not from a port though.
Adrian and Lynn  3 stars

Today is 90 degrees and sunny! We docked in Puerto Chiapas, but which actually turned out to be Tapachula. Adrian had some work to do this morning after our gym so we didn't leave to see the port until after 1 pm. Seems that there was no community to walk to from the port, only a shuttle to Tapachula. The lovely shuttle operator tried to tell us that it was a 40 minute ride to town and the last shuttle back was at 3pm - but we decided to go anyway and maybe take a taxi back - turns out Tapachula wasn't interesting enough for us to get off the bus - we ended up just coming back!
Today is Tuesday though - and we with fingers crossed we went to afternoon tea. last week we went to afternoon for the first time on Tuesday and they had the most delicious macaron style treats, coffee flavoured that we went back to tea the next two days looking for them. I finally remembered that ship menus rotate and that maybe Tuesdays were always the day for our treat - and I was right!! Had 2 today but now I know when to show up I'm hoping one will be enough next week. It's rare for me to find a treat that's worth the calories but this one definitely is.  We followed it with a 30 minute walk hoping we may be hungry in time for dinner...tomorrow Guatemala.

We've decided to add a rating to each port - because the ship docks sometimes a long way from anything interesting that may influence our score!
Adrian  - * star 
Lynn - * star

Today is a sea day and also a very special day for us! While we met in November of 2020 our relationship really began when we self-isolated together on Adrian's return to Mahone Bay after spending Christmas with his family in Calgary.
Saturday night, January 23, 2021 Adrian arrived on my doorstep to self-isolate during the pandemic - the invitation to self-isolate with me was a huge, largely out of character, move for me and we were both pretty nervous! Prior to Christmas we'd only seen each other a few times! Needless to say we've never looked back and now here we are just 2 years later, going around the world together, spending 180 days in a 200 sq foot cabin! I'm one of the few people for whom the pandemic was a blessing. Full of gratitude!
What a great day - we started by spotting sea turtles from our balcony as we enjoyed our morning coffee! This was followed by dolphin sightings at lunch, more turtles, flying fish and birds. Fabulous sunset and a lovely dinner in the dining room. 
Today the ship announced we wouldn't be stopping in Peru - we've been waiting for them to finally say something as it's been pretty clear, based on the news, that we wouldn't be stopping since before we left home. This change will give us an extra overnight stop in Guayaquil, Ecuador. 

Almost forgot - finished my second book today - loved this one but I am a thriller fan. Lots of twists and turns and I didn't guess the ending!

Fabulous day today in Acapulco, beautiful 31 degree weather! After a late start we had a great lunch on the beach, followed by a walking tour of the waterfront and more beer! Both of us got lots of sun - maybe too much! Adrian's practicing his guitar and I'm reading my book. Off to the gym next and then we'll be on our deck to watch us sail away at 5:30 pm. Tomorrow we have a sea day!