Feb 11 Heading for the Equator

Sam is looking at the map on the television in his cabin. Today the ship will be crossing the equator. The equator is the widest part of the earth between the north and south poles. The weather in the tropical part of the earth is warm all year. There are many rain forests in this part of the world with many plants and animals that Sam has never seen.

 

 

Some of Sam’s towel friends decided to watch a movie on the big screen out by the pool. Can you find Sam with his blue hat?

Feb 9 - Guatemala

Sam is in the country of Guatemala. It is in Central America. Today he saw three volcanos, banana trees, and fields of sugar cane when he was on the tour bus. The pictures he is sharing are from the town of Antigua, Guatemala. It used to be the capital of the country. But they had several earthquakes throughout the years and got tired of rebuilding the town. So the people left the town and established their capital in Guatemala City. But some of the people wanted to go back to Antigua.  The city is a national treasure and there cannot be new buildings built in the town center. There are many ruins that can be seen around town.  Sam ate lunch at an old building that had been restored in part and is now used as a hotel and restaurant as well as a historical site. This picture is of one of the ruins of an old church.

 

Here is Sam near the ruins.

Another interesting stop that Sam enjoyed was the jade factory and museum. Here Sam is sitting next to a display of jade.

This is a harpsichord made of jade. The harpsichord is the national instrument of Guatemala.

Feb 8 - Huatulco, Mexico

Today the ship is docked in Huatulco, Mexico. Sam sees beaches near the ship. There is also an interesting little town. Sam is not planning on getting off the ship today. He is hoping to go ashore in Guatemala tomorrow.

Feb 7 - Bingo

There are games  of bingo played on the ship almost everyday. Sam is checking it out.

Feb 6 - Games on the ship

Sam has been exploring the ship. He found many exciting things to do. There is a chess board. Sam filled in for a pawn that was on break. Can you see him?

 

There are not many children on this cruise, so Sam is waiting for someone to play with at the splash pad. It looks like a lot of fun!

 

There is a giant, twisting, turning water slide. The attendant at the top of the slide told Sam that he is too short. So Sam can only watch other passengers enjoy this activity.

 

 

 

 

 

Guests can also play connect four with this over-sized game board. Sam pretended he was one of the game pieces. Sam likes to have fun!

 

On the 14^th deck, there is a 9-hole miniature golf course that has a pirate theme. As long as he stayed out of the way of the golf balls, Sam enjoyed “playing  golf”.

 

This is the first time that Sam has been on a cruise so he didn’t know about the towel animals. Every night when the cabin steward prepares the room he leaves a towel animal on the bed. Sam has made friends with a dog, a snake, and this elephant so far.

Feb 3 - Boarding the ship

After spending a night at hotel in Los Angeles, Sam is back at the airport waiting for the bus that will take him to the cruise ship.

The bus dropped Sam off at the pier where the ship is docked. Before getting on the ship, Sam needs to go through check-in.

The attendant said that Sam is cleared to get on the ship!

 

 

This is the first time that Sam has seen the ship. He is on the gangway, the ramp that goes from the check in area to the ship. The name of the ship is the Carnival Splendor. It is really big. There are fourteen (14) decks.

After a quick snack, Sam found a seat to watch the Super Bowl game on a really big screen on the Lido deck.  There are many things do see and do on the ship. During his trip, Sam will share some of the fun activities and sights he finds.

Sam really likes having a balcony in his cabin.  

Travel day!

Sam decided to travel in the outside pocket of the gear bag.  The bags are packed and he is ready to go.

This is Sam after going through security at the Cedar Rapids airport. He had to go through the xray machine. 

 

After leaving Cedar Rapids, Sam has to change to a different plant in Dallas, Texas. He is looking out the window at the plane that will take him to Los Angeles, California. There is a lot of things to do to get a plane ready to fly.

 

 

It is fun to look out the window of an airplane. Everything looks different. Houses and cars are very tiny.  Sam saw mountains, rivers, lakes, desert areas, and clouds.