Ship: Swan Hellenic - SH Diana
Itinerary: 11-Night Puntarenas to Cartagena

This morning started with breakfast in Swan Restaurant where Rickee ordered Eggs Benedict.

The weather and sea conditions look a little sketchy for our Zodiac ride to the island.

We watch the expedition team returning from their scouting journey of the island and can tell that it appears there will be no island visit for us today. Sure enough, the announcement is made that sea conditions are too rough to risk a beach landing.

The good new is, the Emberá people have no problem with bringing their show to SH Diana! Here the Chief of the tribe greets us and gives us some insight into their culture.

The Emberá children ranging in ages from 5 to 10 prepare to dance for us.

Local musicians play their traditional music while the children invite guests to join them on the dance floor.

After the dancing, guests are offered the opportunity to get a traditional Emberá tattoo. Of course, Rickee is one of the first to volunteer.

The tattoos are temporary and will wear off in about a week.

The Emberá are expert basket weavers and wood carvers. They bring many of their baskets, carvings and beadwork on board for guests to shop from.

For lunch today, we head back to the Pool Bar and Grill on Deck 7 aft. Here you can get burgers, chicken sandwiches, pizza, shrimp skewers and more.

I decided to give the cheeseburger another try, and I am glad I did. My first cheeseburger suffered from a stale bun, but this bun was fresh, soft and perfectly toasted. The bun can make all the difference. I would place this cheeseburger solidly in the top 3 cruise line cheeseburgers! The fries are also hot, crispy and delicious.

Guest lecturer, Ben Clark, talks about his involvement in the exploration of Mars. Very interesting and a good presentation.

This afternoon, Alex gave an interesting and enlightening lecture on the history of The Panama Canal.

The dinner menu this evening features one of our favorites, Cream of Mushroom soup. Rickee made her main course the Waldorf Salad while I went back to another Rib Eye steak. Both were very good.