About two years ago my husband, Steve, and I decided we wanted to take a special cruise and go somewhere we hadn't been before. Our chose was an 8 day cruise to Costa Rico and Panama, which also had a stop in Costa Mesa, Mexico.

My husband had a stroke about ten months before the cruise. We thought getting away would be therapeutic for him and me. He must walk with a cane due to weakness on his left side and he has poor balance. The nice thing about a cruise is, you get into your room, hang up your clothes and then you are waited on and you do whatever you want. He was able to enjoy many things but still able to get the extra rest that he seemed to require.

The first stop was Costa Mesa and we thought we would try snorkeling. We got on the boat that took us out, listened to the instructions and we were dismal failures. The tide was strong and my husband just couldn't handle it. I tried to help him and kept getting water in my mouth. We are through with snorkeling for this lifetime.

The next stop was Costa Rico and we loved it. We went to the rain forest and rode in little cars that went high about the trees. It was spectacular. We saw a white face monkey, some beautiful birds, some bats and gorgeous foliage. When we left there we took a boat on the Tortugas Canal which was also beautiful. It was a long day and Steve was exhausted.

We had to cancel the Panama event because he just couldn't handle another long day. The ship docked in Colon, Panama, right by the Panama Canal and there were numerous ships waiting to go through the canal. I woke up with the sun and went on one of the higher decks with my cup of coffee and just watched the sun rise, plus all the activity. I took a lot of pictures. It turned out that there was a day of protest in Panama and most of the side trips were not completed because the roads were blocked. So, we didn't lose out on anything but a headache.

I met some wonderful people. I had some free time while Steve was resting so I played Trivia Pursuit and listened to music. I took a deck chair on the port side and read my book. I sat with a couple at lunch one day when it was crowed. They were from some Eastern European country but spoke English. The husband was reading to his wife while she crocheted. It was so sweet. I told her she had better hang on to him because he was such a thoughtful man and she smiled while saying that was her plan. I spent a couple of hours talking to an delightful elderly woman whose husband was in their room because he was sick. We became friends with a group of Canadians on the first day and met with them every morning. I took a lot of pictures with my new Nikon Coolpix camera which is small enough for a shirt pocket or purse.  I was very much at peace and never bored. I have wonderful memories and pictures to share.