Day 18 - Panama Canal Cruise - Cartagena, Colombia

Tuesday October 9

We pop out of the canal and we're suddenly in the Caribbean! ... and it's still really hot...  Mom & Dad choose to stay near the ship so John & I get another day of 'adventure'.  However, there's only so much adventure you can really have on a bus tour full of 60+'s...

To this day, I can't hear 'Cartagena' and NOT think of the movie 'Romancing the Stone'.  We didn't see anything at all that looked like it did in the movie but, then again, it was filmed 25-30 years ago so things were bound to change, right?

Here's some shots of what we did see...

 

Cartagena from the La Popa monastery on the hill

Historical Military Fortress

 

     

Colonial Cartagena

  

Colonial Cartagena

  

           Colonial building                        La Popa Monastery on the hill

   

Colonial Clock tower            Old jail cells that are now

                                                  used as tourist shops

 

    

The modern part of the city - built late 1980's

(part of the post-Romancing the Stone boom perhaps?)

Day 17 - Panama Canal Cruise - THE Panama Canal (part 3)

and still Oct 8....

...did I mention that the temperature was almost 40deg and the humidity was around 96%?   Hoooootttt!

   

Gatun Lake

   

Gatun Lake

 

   

Sillyness with Grampa during Gatun Lake passage

   

Enjoying our time through the canal

    

Proof we were there!

   

Proof...

  

 Police escort, waterway & construction of new canal

 

 

Hooking the ship up to one of the trains

Day 17 - Panama Canal Cruise - THE Panama Canal (part 2)

still October 8....

Surprisingly, there is no stopping of the ship in or near the canal.  It's a no parking zone!  Too many security risks, especially for cruise ships.  So, we have to experience the whole canal from the ship.  Plus, it actually only takes a hour to go up the first 3 locks, a few hours to cross Gatun Lake, then an hour to go down the last 3 locks.  We're in, up, across, down & out in about 6 or 7 hours.

Our ship is so big that there is less than 2 feet of space at between the ship & the canal wall on either side.  The bridge is unable to see the canal walls so 8 small train-like engines have to tie on to the 4 corners of us and guide us through the locks.  It's pretty cool....

   

On our way from the Pacific in to the first locks.

 

 

   

              Entering the first lock                  One of the little engines that will steer us

  

Following a Princess Ship through                   Fun with Grampa            

   

The locks

  

The lock walls just inches from our window

 

  

Construction underway of the new canal locks

 

   

Can you see how close the ship is to the side of the canal?  Inches!

  

Tight fit!

Day 17 - Panama Canal Cruise - THE Panama Canal (part 1)

Monday October 8, 2012

Today is the day!  Dad is going to get to see something he has wanted to see his entire life, I get to tick another 'life goal' off my list and mom, John & Maya are there too (ha, ha) to witness it all...

The ship reaches the bay very early & is already moving in to place by the time we wake up.  Cruise ships don't really have to 'wait' for their turns in the canal.  They have their passage scheduled down to exact minutes so we're always moving ahead.  Plus, they pay a LOT of money to go through so are given a wee bit of priority over the other (mini) boats waiting nearby.

Here are some details about the canal to make you sound smart at parties:
-It cuts through the middle of the small country of Panama (hence the obvious name) but the area surrounding the canal itself was not owned by Panama until 1999, nor were/are citizens permitted near it.  It's a guarded security zone.
-Construction was started by the French in 1881 but they abandoned the project in 1889.  The USA took over the project in 1904 and completed it in 1914.  They controlled the canal (and the profits) until Panama took over constrol & ownership in 1999.
-It is 48 miles long, has only 6 locks and lifts the ships only 85 feet to the high point of Gatun Lake
-When going from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea/Atlantic Ocean, you are actually going East to West (figure that one out)
-The Locks are 110ft wide x 1050ft long (which is small for todays needs)
-Many (cruise) ships are built with the canal size in mind as it would DOUBLE a ships time as sea if they had to go aaaaaallllll the way around South America.
-A third set of locks is currently under construction and is due for completion in 2015 with a budgeted cost of $5.25Billion..  They will be longer (1400ft), wider (180ft) & deeper (60ft) than the current locks so larger ships will be able to pass through.

OK.  Lesson over....

Day 16 - Panama Canal Cruise - At Sea...

Sunday October 7, 2012 - Our last day on the Pacific Side of the continent.

Yesterday, I spent the day quarantined in my room.  However, a day alone, reading, watching movies & eating any food from any restaurant I wanted via room-service was not a bad thing, after all.  It turned out to be rather nice.  Now, had I been allowed to do this on a sunny deck or a balcony, that would have been even better!

Before breakfast, I called the medical office to see if I could be released from quarantine.  After a dozen or so questions, they released me and I was allowed to rejoin the populous for our daily AM feeding at the buffet toughs.  We spent the day doing what we usually do on sea days: eating, drinking on the pool deck, taking Maya to kids club &/or the kids pool and wandering around the ship. 

Here are some pics of what the ship looks like on the inside.

   

          All carpet fish face the front of the boat      One of the lounges at the front of the ship     

(it helps you find your way around)                                                                      

   

Our room                                            Our room

  

            A mid-ship lounge at reception         A mid-ship lounge during a cooking show

  

Colour coded carpeting on stairwells        A different mural on every floor  

(Both help you to figure out where you are on the ship)

   

The Bridge                                             The pool deck

Day 15 - Panama Canal Cruise - Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Saturday October 6, 2012

I didn't get to see Costa Rica.  I'd eaten something that didn't agree with me the night before & had a few quick dashes to the bathroom that night but felt just fine by morning.  My family suggested I tell the medical centre about it in the morning but instead of taking my assurances that it was not an uncommon reaction for me, the medical centre suggested I stay on board for today. The gang had to go ashore without me :-(

Once off the ship, John realized that he had forgotten the camera and, in order to avoid going through the extensive security checks with Maya 2 more times, he called me and asked me to bring the camera out to him.  When I gave my room card to the scanner lady, my picture came up with a big red QUARANTINED banner flag on it.  Quarantined?!  I thought it was a 'suggestion' to stay on board.  Now its a 24 hour quarantine! 

The scanner lady almost jumped out of her skin!  She quickly handed my card back, took 2 steps back from me (seemingly holding her breath while doing so) & told me I was to return to my room immediately.  I reassured her 'I am NOT sick!' but she wasn't listening to it.  I gave her my camera (which she held by the strap only with her latex gloved hand) and asked her to give it to John who was standing right outside of security, waving at us.  She reluctantly gave it to the security officer to pass on to John. He got the camera & I got shoo'd back to my room.  Movies, books & room-service for the next 24 hours...

Here are some pics that I DIDN'T see or take...