Cruise: Costa Rica

** Nancy and I leaving the ship **

We had a sea day after the Panama Canal before we reached Costa Rica. This was the one place where Himself and I took separate excursions. He wanted to do the zip lines thru the rainforest canopy... which I wanted to do too BUT you could not take pictures while zip lining. So I opted to do a canopy gondola ride instead.

My excursion was an all day one involving both a boat ride on a river including a mangrove forest and then a gondola ride thru the rainforest canopy. I went with a new friend Nancy, her husband and father-in-law.

We started with the river ride. We saw a lot of wildlife! Probably about 30 different types of birds, 4 types of lizards, crabs and crocodiles...BIG crocs!

** Mangrove tree **



** Coconut tree, they grow wild near water **



** One of the many birds I saw **



** Heron **

** Another heron **

My favorites were the lizards. There were several brown basilisks - these are the ones who have the nickname "Jesus Christ lizard" because they're the ones who can run on their hind legs across water. The ones we saw were basking, and there was some joking that we should knock them into the water to see them run.

** Brown basilisk **

** In action (not my photo) **

We also saw some really big iguanas, both the green and spiny types. All those cute little lizard babies you see in pet stores aren't going to be cute and little for very long...



The crocs weren't as interesting as the gators in the Everglades. They were bigger but they just sat there for the most part. There was one basking on a log jam, apparently for a long time, because when he slid into the water at our boat's approach he nearly scared the life out of a small egret who had been perched next to him. I guess the egret didn't realize he had been standing about 8 inches from a very large bird-eating-monster until it moved. I've never heard that particular sound come out of an egret before!





After the ride we had some refreshments of fresh fruit and juice and coffee (Costa Ricans are very proud of their coffee. Our guide said it is considered rude to refuse a cup. If you don't want any, you say "Yes, thank you... but maybe later.")

Then it was back on the bus for our ride to the rain forest.

The canopy ride was nice. The gondola seated 8 people in two-person benches, so everyone had a great view. The ride was about an hour (I'm not sure how far we went) - with the gondola turning around halfway thru, of course. The guide was very informative and if he didn't know the answer he would pull out a book and look it up on the spot. He also had some specimens he would pass around as we came to various points on the ride.

After the ride was lunch there at the tram park. Beans, rice, chicken, baked plantains, fresh fruit, salad and choice of fresh juice (I picked guava) and of course - COFFEE! After eating, there was time to walk around the gardens and to shop in the gift shop.

One of the things available was "Café Britt" coffee. What made that so interesting to me was that on the ship a few days earlier, there had been a "coffee tasting" class. In this class there was only one brand tasted (tho several varieties of that brand) and the spiel was that Princess had a special arrangement with the Café Britt coffee company to sell their very fine coffee -- and you could ONLY get it in large quantities (minimum 10 bags) thru Princess or online. Yet here it was for sale at this souvenir stand. AND the young man who was assisting me said that a particular type was the favorite of his family and you could buy it in the local grocery stores too! Oh... it was 20% cheaper in the gift shop too... I picked up 4 bags.

OK Princess... hasn't anyone ever told you it's not nice to lie?

** On the tram ride **

** Going up! **

** Looking down 110 feet **

** Beautiful plants **

** variegated squirrel **

** Mahogany toucan **

Himself took 2 excursions. His morning excursion was the zip lining. From his telling, I would have loved it and if I ever get the chance, I WILL be doing it! They did 8 zips; some were 120 feet above the ground. Wow!

He had a bit of time before his afternoon excursion left, so he went down to the beach and looked at some souvenir sellers.

The afternoon excursion was a river boat ride, also thru a mangrove area, to a Scarlet Macaw sanctuary. Ended up it wasn't just macaws but also toucans, sloths and other wildlife that had been made pets of then abandoned. The sanctuary rehabilitates those who can go back to the wild, and cares for those who cannot make that transition from pet to wild.

** Climbing to the zip line platform **


** Himself zipping **

** Costa Rica souvenirs **

A traditional coffee maker, a traditional whistle in the shape of a toucan, a small clay Scarlet Macaw, a Christmas ornament with a toucan and macaw, a carved cross and the coffee.

Cruise: Panama Canal

On our 5th day of cruising we reached the Panama Canal! We got to the harbor at Limon Bay around 5 am and waited our turn to start the journey. To go thru the canal, the Panama Canal Authority places quite a few of its own workers on board the ship - including a pilot who assumes command of the ship from her captain. Also coming on board was a commentator who talked over the public address system about the canal and things we were seeing during the trip.

France started the canal in the 1880s, but failed to make a go of it. In the attempt, they lost almost 22,000 men to disease (yellow fever and malaria) and accidents. The US bought out France, and started work on the canal in May 1904. It was formally opened in Aug 1914 - nearly 2 years ahead of schedule. Over that 10 year period, the US lost 5609 men. This large decrease in deaths was largely attributed to the work of Dr William Gorgas who believed the research that speculated that yellow fever and malaria were caused by mosquitoes, and did all he could to instill sanitary programs to reduce their numbers.

The total length of the canal is 48 miles. It took us 10 hours to do the trip. One thing I did not realize is that the transit goes from north to south! I'd always thought of it as an east to west trip.

From sea level you are raised by the locks to 85 feet above sea level. From the Atlantic side, you go thru the Gatun Locks, which have 3 chambers. Then for a while you sail through the artificial Lake Gatun and on thru the Gaillard Cut that goes thru the Continental Divide. That is where you pass the Centennial Bridge.

After that you start coming back down. You can still see the Centennial Bridge when you enter the Pedro Miguel Lock which has one chamber that lowers you 31 feet. A short distance past that are the Miraflores Locks whose 2 chambers lower you the other 54 feet to sea level. And just before you leave the canal at Panama City you cross under the Bridge of the Americas, which connect North and South America via the Pan American Highway.

** The Lock System **

** Centennial Bridge **

** A container ship going thru next to us **

** Panama City at the Pacific side of the canal **

With six different lock chambers to go through, we made sure we saw it from all angles - from the bow of the ship, from the fantail and from our cabin balcony.

** From the front **

** And from our balcony **

** And from the rear of the ship **

To go into each lock, they basically put the ship into "neutral" and connect tow lines to little railroad cars on each side of the lock. These pull the ship into position and hold it steady.

** Our canalside tugs **

A few years ago they started new work on the canal to add a 3rd lane in each of the locks. It will be a much wider lane that will allow the huge container ships to pass thru. As it is now, the maximum width of a ship can only be 106 feet... our ship was 104! They actually had to pull in the life boats a bit so they did not rub the walls of the locks! Anyway, we were able to see some of the work being done on this... from dredging to blasting away the hillside.

** A dredger digging in **

** See how huge it is? **

** Cutting the hillside. The pipes will hold dynamite for blasting. **


** We got to see one blast go off! **

I surprised Himself with a bit of luxury on our canal crossing. The ship offers a "Panama Champagne Breakfast for Two" served on your balcony. I just couldn't pass it up! They served:

*French Champagne (or in our case, a non-alcoholic white wine)

*Warm Basket of Homemade Pastries

*Delicate Smoked Copper River Salmon with Lingonberry Cream Cheese and Toasted Lemon Brioche

*Medley of Fresh Fruit and Forest Berries, served with Citrus Chantilly Crème

*Alaskan King Crab Quiche, with Tomato and Fontina Cheese Gratin


I ordered it to be served late enough that it was a brunch for us. Good thing, as there was so much food we didn't want anything else until supper time.

** Himself with our Champagne Brunch"

Since it was a through transit, with no shore excursions, Princess had a "Panamaian Market" on the top deck with souvenirs that were made in Panama.

** My souvenirs - a book and small piece of pottery **

All long the canal there were pullouts and even restaurants were people would go to watch the ships go thru the canal transit. We would wave at the kids and I would wonder what they were thinking at seeing such a huge and fancy ship. If it were me, I would have been dreaming that maybe I could do that someday... as I once had and as I was now doing.

** Watching **

Cruise: Cartagena, Columbia

Our second excursion was at Cartagena, Columbia. The old town area of Cartagena is on the United Nations World Heritage list, so I was very excited to see the area.

Since most of the excursions offered by Princess were some version of seeing the same stuff in town (with a lot of shopping at a mall in most of them) we decided to go out on our own. That way we could see what we wanted for whatever length of time we so decided. The cruise forums said it was easy to hire a cab at the dock, which is what we did.

After a bit of spirited negotiation we found a driver who was willing to listen to what WE wanted, rather than telling us where he would take us. What made the negotiations even more interesting was in this Latin American country, men aren't used to listening to women. And I wasn't about to hire someone who wasn't going to listen to me - after all, I was the one who had researched what to do! Himself? He stood back and watched the show!

We ended up with Alphose, who was great. He got us to places ahead of the tour bus crowds and showed us things missed by those on the large tours.

** Entering the harbor at Cartagena **

Our first stop was Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas - a huge fortress built by the Spanish in the mid-1600s, with some additions in the mid-1700s. It has all sorts of cool tunnels that are a genius of architecture in how they can echo back sound or hid soldiers or allow view of attackers yet not allow them to see you.

** The Fortress walls **

** Another view **

** Coming out of one of the tunnels **

** Inside the fortress **

We spent a lot of time here, as it was so interesting. Once you left the fortress, there were many vendors selling either souvenirs or a photo op. What sort of photo opportunities? Let's see... there were the ladies of African descent who walked around in bright clothing with large bowls of fruit or baked goods balanced on their heads. Or the man with his pet sloth Maria, who you could hold for a picture.

** The tour buses catch up with us! **

** And here comes the thundering herd! **

** The vendors are ready! **

** Photo op time **

** Himself and Maria **

Then we headed to the highest point in the city, Convento de la Popa, at 500 feet. There was a great very of the city from there. And the convent was really quite lovely. One thing I found amusing was that all the signs telling you about the convent were written only in Spanish. But there was one sign that was in Spanish AND English... one asking for donations! Uh-huh!

** View from La Popa **

** Inside the convent **

** The alter in the chapel **

After that we headed thru the fortress walls to see the downtown area. The streets are narrow, and the buildings colorful. Many had beautiful balconies. Short distances from each other were squares (parks) where the locals gathered to visit (and vendors set up carts of things for sale - there was no lack of shopping in Cartagena!). Our day was finished with a late lunch at a local restaurant recommended by Alphose.

** The walls around the city **

** Bolivar Square **


** Street scene **


** More in the downtown area **



** Our lunch **

** End of the day with Alphonse **

** Souvenirs of Columbia (including Himself's first bag of coffee) **

** This little "Juan Valdez" made me laugh! **