"Semi-Live" Aboard the Celebrity Infinity - Panama Canal Nov 21 - Dec 5, 2010 W/Pics

[sayvan]

Our next stop on the tour would be the Chapel of Peace. This Chapel is located in one of the most exclusive areas of Acapulco. The Chapel which stands 1250 ft above sea level is a non-denominational church and was opened to the public in 1970.

 

The 128 ft cross that stands beside this church can be seen throughout Acapulco and is said to have been visited by every person coming to Acapulco since it was built in 1970 as a tribute to the two son's of Mr. and Mrs. Trouyet who died in an accident in 1967. Next to the cross, is a smaller statue of two right hands joining together to signify brotherhood.

 

The views from this location of Acapulco were breathtaking and something to behold!

 

Chapel of Peace:

 

The Cross:

 

Brotherhood Statue:

 

Inside the chapel:

 

[sayvan]

As I said above, the views from this location were spectacular.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cookiejarvis]

Continue to enjoy your review and magnificant pictures.

[sayvan]

Next stop on this tour would be the famous La Quebrada Cliff divers. Waiting to greet us at this location was Rudy himself who had reserved a great spot for us to view the divers from. The Cliff Divers have come to represent this city itself. This was the main attraction we had waited to see. We arrived for the 1 p.m show. Only a few minutes after we settled into our spots the divers took to the waters below. The divers would then swim across the crevice with the waves of the Pacific crashing around them and head for the wall where they would climb the 148 ft cliffs to the top. Along the wall of the Cliff they would position themselves and then one by one and sometimes two by two begin their plummet to the crashing surf below. The show itself did not last that long. The climb seemed to take longer. The sun was hot and beating down on us but the sweat was worth the wait. This was truly a memory we will have for a very long time

 

Cliff Divers prepare to climb the cliff:

 

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

Not much I can say about this... the Pictures say it all...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

and some more....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

 

 

 

 

 

Vanda with one of the fearless Divers...

[sayvan]

The Cliff Divers would end the tour for us on this day. After looking around the area for a bit, we headed back to the van and Jose took us all back to Infinity. When we arrived back it was great to be greeted with some nice cold, wet towels and a some water or juice.

 

We decided we needed a beer and some lunch so we headed for the Oveanview grill to re-fuel. After lunch, Vanda had decided that she wanted to have a bit of a rest so I went back out on my own and did a bit of exploring around the dock area.

 

I decided to pay a visit to the Fort which was right across the street from the Infinity dock. The Fort is called the San Diego Fort.

 

San Diego Fort was an important Spanish fortress along the Pacific Coast. The fort is unique and is the shape of a five point star. There were approximately 15 rooms you could go into and all had been converted to a museum. I spent about another hour at this location to see the fort.

 

 

 

 

View of Infinity from the Fort:

 

 

[sayvan]

Some more shots of the fort:

 

 

A close up shot of some of the Infinity balcony rooms and the Mexican flag:

 

 

Winding road toward the dock:

 

After a brief walk around I headed back to the ship and went onto Deck 11 as the sun began to set.

 

 

[sayvan]

After the sunset it was time to get ready for another evening aboard the Infinity. So far none of the nights had missed our expectations and we looked forward to more fun at dinner and in the lounges.

 

Just another look at that Acapulco sunset:

 

Tonights show was the "Future of Magic" starring Dale Scott and Ana. The show was pretty good but nothing really over the top but it did on occasion leave you with a "how did he do that?" thought.

 

After the show we again had our pre-dinner cocktails in the Rendez-vous Lounge (pictures of all lounges will come).

 

Today was also America's Thanksgiving. In Canada, we celebrate this holiday in October. Of course, the popular item on the menu tonight at dinner was Turkey. I think almost everyone at the table had it. I also ordered the short ribs because I hate to pass those up.

 

After dinner guess where we headed? If you said Deck 11, then clearly you have been following my review. Tonight was another theme party in the Constellation Lounge and this celebration was a combination of Mexican/Country. Yes it was Country and Western Night with a Mexican twist. There would also be a Mexican Buffet. As we had just finished dinner the buffet was not on our agenda.... the drinks on the other hand...as always were!

 

 

 

 

The Band "Fusion Wave" was once again in fine form on this night!

 

[Hatteras51]

Wow, I'm loving hearing about your trip. We are considering booking this cruise for next fall. Looks like you are having a great time. Thanks for including your pictures. They look great. I look forward to your next post.

[sayvan]

Our night ended with a nice stroll around deck 11. The night was incredibly warm with a slight breeze.

 

 

Which way to Huatulco?

 

 

Tomorrow (in just a few hours actually) we would be in Huatulco, Mexico

Thus far, our journey was everything we had hoped it would be!

[sayvan]

Wow, I'm loving hearing about your trip. We are considering booking this cruise for next fall. Looks like you are having a great time. Thanks for including your pictures. They look great. I look forward to your next post.

 

Thank you very much.... if you have any question just ask... I learn't alot about this ship and the Ports while we were on her.

 

More post's sometime tomorrow.... Stay tuned we still have 10 days to go!

[monkeyinhat]

best thread ever !

[emileg]

I want to go to the same photography school you go to, Sayvan. This is the most unique cruise review I have ever read, and I have read a lot of them. I appreciate the hours and hours of work, hopefully enjoyable, that you have put into this thread. Is there some easy way you know of to post pictures of these sizes on these boards? Thank. - Emile

Edited December 15, 2010 by emileg

[docandbabe]

Your pictures of the cliff divers in Acapulco are FABULOUS! I took some in the fall of 2009 on our cruise through the Panama Canal and they are no where near the quality of yours. Of course, I only have a little point and shoot ($150) and not a really good camera like yours (I think about $800!). Since I have some good lenses for my old analog Minolta that will now fit on the Sony a-series cameras, I am thinking about buying a new Sony digital SLR (maybe an a-230) when I go to St. Maarten in February at Boolchards. Do you have any experience with Sony DSLR cameras; and any recommendations?

 

Don

[docandbabe]

What camera settings do you use to get the shows without using a flash?

 

Don

[sayvan]

I want to go to the same photography school you go to, Sayvan. This is the most unique cruise review I have ever read, and I have read a lot of them. I appreciate the hours and hours of work, hopefully enjoyable, that you have put into this thread. Is there some easy way you know of to post pictures of these sizes on these boards? Thank. - Emile

 

Thanks for the kind words... I upload my pictures to Photobucket and then once I have them reduced in size (which you can either do before the upload or on the site... I shoot my pictures in RAW form) you simply copy the picture link (which is under the picture on photobucket) and paste to the Cruise Critic thread. It's actually very easy and seamless

[sayvan]

Your pictures of the cliff divers in Acapulco are FABULOUS! I took some in the fall of 2009 on our cruise through the Panama Canal and they are no where near the quality of yours. Of course, I only have a little point and shoot ($150) and not a really good camera like yours (I think about $800!). Since I have some good lenses for my old analog Minolta that will now fit on the Sony a-series cameras, I am thinking about buying a new Sony digital SLR (maybe an a-230) when I go to St. Maarten in February at Boolchards. Do you have any experience with Sony DSLR cameras; and any recommendations?

 

Don

 

Thanks again.. The camera I am using is actually not that expensive. Its the Panasonic Lumix FZ28. Its a great camera with an incredible zoom. The lens has an 27-486 mm equivalent that allow for wide angle and great zoom. The cost was around $450 or so. For my underwater shots, I use a Olympus camera. As far as DSLR are concerned my personal preference is anything Nikon. Frankly, the Lumix camera is great if you don't want to go really expensive and carry a bunch of lenses around.

[sayvan]

Well here it was Day 7 of the cruise already. It seemed like we had just begun. Many of my past cruises would be coming to an end today but not this one... we still have 7 days to go.

 

Today we found ourselves on the backside of back to back ports as we arrived in Huatulco, Mexico. That is pronounced by the way as "Wah Tool co". I understand this to be a fairly new port. Why I understand that I have no real idea... maybe I heard someone say it while I was doing my laps and passing the bar (or stopping at the bar).

 

We had a very late night and today I actually missed the arrival into port. We were not scheduled to arrive until 8:00 am but we actually arrived early and by 7:30 we were already docked.

 

As I approached deck 11, the weather was beautiful, warm and the sky was as blue as can be.

 

 

The overall view in the port was also very nice. Just off to the port side was a beach and the other side you could see the men getting their fishing nets ready. The Port did not seem all that busy and actually seemed very serene.

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

We did not plan anything particular at this port. We were meeting our friends Craig and Vicki on the dock and really had hoped to perhaps take a scenic drive and then head off to the beach. Once off Infinity, we would seek out a taxi and see what it would be to look after us for the day.

 

Heading off the ship:

 

 

 

We actually didn't get off the ship until around 10 pm. We had to be back on the ship by 3:45 pm as sail away was scheduled for 4 pm.

 

Once we walked into the actual port area (which was rather small but very clean), we found a taxi who agreed to take us around and to a beach for $20 each (it was actually $10 each but we ended up keeping him a little longer so we each gave him $20 instead). His (the taxi driver) plan was to take us around the area and show us a few of the usual tourist spots and then to whichever beach we wanted. Although the drivers English wasn't the best, we did manage to communicate very well.

 

The first stop we made was a spot where we were able to get a beautiful view of Infinity docked in the Bay. I have to say, this was one of the most spectacular views I had ever been fortunate enough to see. This stop alone was worth the $20 bucks IMHO!

 

 

This was the view from the other side of where we could see the ship. This view reminded me of one of my favourite beaches in St. Thomas, Megan's Bay.

[sayvan]

After this stop we then headed to another scenic lookout spot. This spot gave us a nice view of the Pacific Ocean as it turned the corner to head into Huatulco Bay. We stood at the top of a cliff where you could see the surf crashing into the rocks below. The power of the ocean was something to behold.

 

 

Large Iguana on the rocks below:

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

After about an hour driving around we then headed to the first of two beaches. The first beach we went to was called Oragun Beach. I would not recommend this beach to anyone. The beach was very crowded (many locals), there were vendors everywhere and many of the locals immediately coming at us... Our driver did take some control and fended off the locals for us but we knew this was not the place for us (sorry but i did not take any pictures here). We left almost immediately.

 

After a bit of a chat with the taxi driver, he finally understood we wanted to go to a beach that was very quiet and peaceful. He delivered! We hopped back in the taxi and about 25 minutes later the driver had taken us to this fantastic beach. When we arrived it was hard to believe but we were practically the only one's at the beach. The name of the beach was Marguay. Highly recommended!

 

 

 

 

As the day went on some locals and also a few of our fellow passengers did begin to arrive but this beach was never crowded. For $10 we had four recliners an umbrella and when we were in the water our taxi driver minded our bags. Perfect experience.

 

Craig, Vicki and Vanda enjoy the perfectly refreshing clear water:

 

[sayvan]

We absolutely loved this beach and spent just over 3 hours here enjoying the sun, the water and of course $2 Corona. The ladies enjoyed some very large Margaritas.

 

Here are some more pictures from our day at the beach:

 

 

 

Vanda and Vicki take a stroll:

Meeting up with few of our fellow cruisers, Tracy and Reg who were also at our dinner table:

Local walks by with a big snake around his neck... thats me in the background talking to some locals in the water.. they didnt understand a word I was saying!

Edited December 16, 2010 by sayvan

[sayvan]

After our day at the beach we then headed back to the port and walked around the shops a bit before boarding Infinity again. As I said earlier, the port was small compared to others I have visited. However, This was a very clean port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beach area near the dock: