Panama Canal trip

This our ship, the Norweigen Sun parked in Cozomel harbor and going through the locks in Panama.

The next few entries will be interspersed with some accounts of our cruise through the Panama Canal beginning on April 14.
April 14 we flew to Houston and then to New Orleans. Tom and LuAnn Jones took us to the Harlingen airport. We arrived in N.O. Around 4 and went to our rooms at the Ambassador Hotel near the French Quarter. We took a taxi and were charged with $26 for the ride and an additional charge for the luggage. What a joke. We were blessed in that there was a French Quarter Festival occurring when we were there. There was music all over and we had a muffelato sandwich for dinner. It was nostalgia. We mistakenly walked down Bourbon Street and saw some of the debauchery on display. Hustler had at least three strip clubs within two blocks. We were inadvertently ripped off by the Hare Krishnas when a woman got some money from us pretending to give us a cap. We were in bed by 10 ready for church tomorrow.

April 15 we walked to the St. Louis Cathedral for Mass. The service was a blessing and we went to the Cafe DuMonde for begnies for breakfast. We packed our things and took a taxi to the ship. On the way to check in, I remembered that I had left the camera on the bed. I was not willing to go on this trip without it, so I jogged and walked back to the hotel to get it. The hotel was closer than I thought and I would not have needed to jog. I really hurt my injured leg that bothered me throughout the cruise. We had a barbecue welcome party and an entertaining show that featured many of the acts that would be available throughout the cruise. There was a free raffle for jewelry which we didn’t win. We went to bed after eating at the outdoor cafe. We sailed around 5 and were still not out of the Mississippi River by dark. The Gulf is farther from New Orleans than we ever imagined.