The Panama Canal, approximately 80 km long, unites the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. It officially opened on August 15, 1914 and has seen about 1,000,000 vessels travel through it. The canal knocks off about 100,000 miles to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Talk about screwing up a great vacation. Without the canal we could have added another 20 days to our trip. What a rip off!!
There is ample information available on the stats regarding the Panama Canal, when it opened, how long, how big, etc, etc. so you can look any of that up on the Internet or in travel books. CAA Niagara Travel gave our passengers the book “Panama Canal By Cruise Ship” by Anne Vipond. If you are planning to cruise the Panama, it’s actually pretty good as it also covers the ports of call and maps. Of course, most people didn’t get through it before coming on the cruise, myself included, but it works well as a reference book.
I thought Holland America handled the passage very well. They had a commentator starting at about 7:00 in the morning and he kept us informed throughout the day. They opened up the bow and all the other front decks so people could get a good view of the happenings, and provided beverages and sweet buns so we wouldn’t starve until breakfast.
The first set of locks were the best in that most of us were up earlier than normal and dedicated that time to listening to the speaker and photographing the 8th man-made wonder of the world. It was already over 80 early in the morning so we were slathered with sunscreen and made sure we had hats. The last three locks seemed to just pass us by as in the afternoon there were other activities to keep us occupied such as eating, movies, etc. It was way too hot to bask in the sun. We were a mere 400 miles from the equator.
We did make it back to the bow for the grand exit from the canal at Panama City. It would have added a lot to the experience to stop to tour this beautiful modern city and its surroundings. There is an information centre and museum at the last lock that some of our guests would have liked to see. Apparently people come from all over the world (especially engineers) to see this engineering marvel. Our resident engineer was quite put off in that the whole lock-type system used is exceedingly simple.
This evening we decided to opt for the Open Dining rather than our regular seating. We were placed with some very interesting people, a documentary filmmaker and this cruise’s guest travel speaker. Dinner conversation was lively, especially with some antidotes from Rene, our documentarian. He told a story about a trip to Brazil to a place that experiments and produces snake venom. He asked if they could go into the snake pit with the handler to film. After awhile the handler got bored and decided to have a little siesta. Soon, there were cries from outside the pit for Rene to watch out. When he looked down, there was a snake peering out from between his legs at which point he had to show me what that looked like. Really, Rene, you shouldn’t brag……
We spend the rest of the evening at the Piano Bar entertaining the entertainer. She was nice enough not to throw us out for singing along and on occasion correcting her words. We’re bad!!!
For Rick, the Spin Doctor’s, more professional view of today go to CAA Niagara Travel
Carti Island, San Blas Archipelago, Panama
Carti Island is one of the biggest islands in this Archipelago of no less than 365 islands but it takes about half an hour to see most of it. This small island is home to a large community of Cuna Indians who sell their handicrafts to the tourists. The Cunas are one of the three main tribal groups of this region.
The women are dressed in traditional garb of red and yellow with gold nose rings, earrings and costumes with unique designs embroidered using the Mola technique. The major items vended are Mola crafts – blouses, shirts, pillow cases, purses, pictures and the like. There are also painted feathers from a wide variety of birds.
Children are taught at a very young age to say “One Dollar” as just about everything from taking their photo to buying a child’s hand-drawn, coloured picture is offered at “One Dollar”. Many children had birds, parrots, iguanas or monkeys to included in the photo sessions.
Mola means “blouse” in Cuna but it refers to the appliquéd panel using on the garment. They start learning this craft at a very early age and we saw several women and young girls stitching new panels.
We were fortunate enough to meet a local boy named Kevin who took us on a tour of his life. He was an amazing entrepreneur and you had to admire his tenacity and salesmanship. He came to us welcoming us to his island home, introduced himself and shook my hand. Then he offered to show us his house. He never mentioned money to us but he knew if he sold it right he wouldn’t have to ask. He was right!!
We followed the young boy who we took to be around 9 or 10 years old to his thatch house. He took us directly into their abode with stylish hard-packed dirt floors, thatch roof, bamboo walls and lots of “modern” trinkets such as a bride doll, toys, and a 15” black & white TV with an aerial on the roof. An electrical line runs through the house with one bare energy-efficient light bulb installed. I don’t think these people have to worry too much about “Earth Day”.
The sleeping area was made up of hammocks and he showed off his hammock and offered to let us try one. I politely declined. There is no way I could sleep in one of those and still walk the next day. Then we went to the cooking hut where we met his grandfather, his two brothers, his aunt and her baby. There were no modern appliances visible or even a table to eat off of.
He then showed us their bathroom that was basically a hut over the ocean with two holes cut into a platform and “modern” toilet seats attached for your comfort. Again I declined the offer for its use. We decided this is why there is no snorkeling around the island even though the reef looks pretty good.
The village has a pharmacy, a doctor, 2 schools where the student wear uniforms of a white cotton shirt and blue skirt or pants, a couple of grocery stores, a museum and more. Of course, when you look at the pictures you will see these are NOT the same as what we are used to.
Tendering back to the cruise ship, you can’t help but feel the distinct difference between our two “islands” though it could be debated as to who are the haves and who are the have-nots. We have the better possessions, but they seemed very happy and had close familial bonds. It’s a toss up!!
You can follow us some more on CAA Niagara Travel
Welcome to Santa Marta, Columbia
This is a fairly new stop for cruise lines and you can tell. The coast is much more mountainous than Aruba but still full of scrub and cacti. We arrived at a working pier where there is a huge coal mining operation going on. Therefore, we were not allowed to walk to the city, but rather were bussed from the ship to the main gate.
Once there you are right in the main section of the city and right next to the beach. There were a couple of tours that some of our group went on, but because the tour guides lacked experience, there were some problems. Their English was not good and they seemed to leave half of their groups behind while they talked about the stop they were at.
One of our couples took a taxi and saw a lot of attractions and had a great time. We decided to do our own thing and walk around Santa Marta. I think we took some wrong turns as the areas we ended up in were definitely not touristy….
When we got back to the shopping area, we found that these items were the most represented: shoes, baby clothes and cell phones. I couldn’t figure out why I would want a cell phone from Columbia?? We did run into Juan Valdez and his donkey as you will see in the pictures and went to Columbia’s version of Starbucks – the Juan Valdez Cafe. It was about 100 degrees and the humidity was high so we ducked into such places as Exito – Columbia’s version of Walmart.
By the time we got back towards the water, we were pretty damp so we stopped at this little bar that was being renovated at the time, but the owner seemed to be pretty friendly even though he couldn’t speak English. He sure knew how to say 4 dollars in English. Not too bad for 2 beers. We tried the Aguila brand as shown in our pictures.
We noticed a lot of buildings being fixed, renovated and painted, so I hope that soon this will become a great stop on the Panama Canal Cruise. There is a lot of poverty in this area and tourism is a great way to increase revenues for such a nice port.
You can follow us some more on CAA Niagara Travel
,
Welcome to Oranjestad, Aruba
How can you tell this is a Dutch colony??? There is blue Dutch pottery everywhere….
We went on the Aruba Sea & Shore tour in the morning. If you haven’t been to Aruba, here is an idea of its size. It took us about 15 minutes for go from the south side of the island where the pier was to the north side of the island for our first stop. Apparently you can go almost anywhere on the island in about 20-25 minutes. There are about 100,000 inhabitants on the island not including tourists, a hospital and two medical schools. Where did you do your med school? Aruba!!
The island is very dry with mostly scrub and cactus for foliage. Our first stop was the Casabari Rock Formations. These huge rocks are just hanging out in this area with no mountains to have fallen from. At some point someone created stone steps to get to the top so you could get a panoramic view of all the scrub and cacti…..
Next we hit the Natural Bridge at one of the beach park. The original bridge collapsed in 2005 so we get a lesser bridge but it is still pretty neat. Also, all over the island you will see stacked rocks. These are wishes that people have placed in “strategic” locations. When you place your rocks you make a wish. It’s supposed to come true within three days. Mine still hasn’t happened but maybe it takes longer for tourists….
The third stop is in the resort area where we pick up a catamaran to take us out to a semi-sub. This is basically a boat that has a submarine-like hull to it so you can see the reef but not really submerge. We were over a shipwreck of a German freighter. The story of the wreck was more interesting than the fish – which there weren’t too many of. The German freighter was anchored at Aruba when WWII started in 1939. At first they were okay as the Netherlands were still neutral. That changed when Germany invaded the Netherlands. Then rather than hand the ship over to the Dutch, the captain scuttled it and he and the crew got to spend the rest of the war as POWs in Aruba rather than go back to Germany. That’s a tough life.
The last stop was the California lighthouse. The lighthouse is not named for the state but rather for the name of another ship that sunk in that area. Fortunately, everyone was able to swim to shore and the cargo was released. The Arubans were able to gather the cargo and use or sell it themselves.
The bus brought us back to the pier and we headed off to the shopping district. All I managed to get were a couple of t-shirts for the kids…..
You can follow us some more on CAA Niagara Travel
Day 3 is an “At Sea” day. These are very important days as you need a little rest after the previous day’s adventures and you need to get ready for the formal evening.
Rick and I hosted coffee and danishes for our tour group at 10:00 by the Lido deck pool. It was a nice visit and we got to know our group a little better.
Sea Days can be either very active with lots of activities put on by the Party Planner and Cruise Director OR you can spend the day like us and just pamper yourselves. We had breakfast in bed, lunch by the pool, Royal Dutch High Tea and finally the Captain’s Welcome and formal dinner.
It was definitely a lazy day for us after all of the rushing around to get everyone on ship and settled. We deserved it. Our captain is a darling Englishman, Peter Harris, with a delightful sense of humour and, I hope, great navigational skills. You know you’re getting old when the rest of the executive crew look like they are eighteen. I’m sure this is not the case but they were very young.
We “dressed” for dinner as it was a formal night. Rick looked resplendent in his tuxedo as he smoozed with our tour group. Everyone looked lovely and we had a delicious meal.
After the Stage & Screen show put on by the Westerdam singers and dancers, we were off to visit a few of the bars on board – each with their own specialty – some jazz, some crooners, some disco, and so on. Rick and i both love to sing and fortunately for us, no one has the nerve to come tell us to stop….at least not yet…..
You can follow us some more on CAA Niagara Travel
Welcome to Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
Holland America has its own private island in the Bahamas with beautiful beaches, parasailing, horseback riding, swimming with stingrays, and much more. When we arrive at the island, there is a welcome centre where you can meet for any activities you may have signed up for or just hang out at the beach. The water here is a beautiful turquoise blue with a darker blue in the deeper waters.
I decided that the Stingray exhibit would be different so we made our way to their enclosure. This is an amazing attraction where you can swimming and feed the stingrays in a enclosed environment safe from predators. After donning some snorkeling gear I head into the pool. You can not stand up in the enclosure as you may accidentally step on a stingray and break its spine. It’s difficult to know where they are as they kind of sneak up on you from behind so floating is a must.
Shortly we are allowed to stand close to the pier so we can feed the rays. A stingray professional instructs us in how to feed the stingrays properly and then we each take our turn. We each got a squid about 8 inches long that we held in one hand. Then when we put our hand in the water, the stingray comes right up and sucks it out of your hand. You have to be careful to let go of your squid or the stingray will suck so hard to get its food that you will get a “stingray hicky”.
While standing around feeding the stingrays, they have a great time swimming by your legs and rubbing their velvety skin over your legs. They are very soft but have a slimy feel to them when you pet them. The scary part is the massive stinger they possess – some were about 6 feet long.
There was one stingray with no stinger. I asked the guide why and he show me a finger stump on his hand and said that is what happened to the stingray. I was aghast until I realized that he was joking. I never did find out why the stingray didn’t have a stinger.
After this adventure, there was a nice BBQ on the beach where I had some mahi mahi (I thought that was a Hawaiian thing), lots of fruit and salads. Then we spent the rest of the day on the beach. Half Moon Cay is definitely a paradise and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
One lesson we learnt today is to check the expiration date on your sunscreen!! Rick’s was ending May, 2009 and mine ended in 2007!! We didn’t get burnt to a crisp but we did get some burn that we shouldn’t have. You could say we got a little colour……
Also, when I got back to the ship I did notice a lump and bruise between my thumb and index finger where I had held the squid so I guess I managed to get myself a “stingray hicky”!!!
You can follow us some more on CAA Niagara Travel
We are finally at Day One of our cruise. We got everyone assembled in the lobby of the hotel and checked that everyone’s luggage was properly tagged and on the luggage trolleys. After collecting some that were still in their rooms, we managed to get it all together.
The hotel had all the luggage put on the shuttle bus which could only hold 14 people. That meant there were 4 that had to go in another vehicle. The vehicle they sent for our seniors was a Suburban. I could barely get in it, let alone some of our passengers.
After getting everyone on the ship, through the security and check in, Rick and I delivered gifts to our passengers cabins to welcome them aboard. This was a little easier than I thought as the staterooms were still being cleaned so they were a surprise when our passengers finally got to their rooms.
Everyone was on their own after that. Whew!!! Of course our work is never done, so we were off to see the maitre d’ to make sure our group was sitting close together at dinner.
One of the nice things about cruising is that you can unpack, put things away, and not have to pack up again until the very end. We are on the ms Westerdam from Holland America and found the staterooms to be slightly different from other ships we’ve been on. A big one is that there is a minibar now which has taken the place of DRAWERS!!! What’s with that??? Anyway, we managed to find homes for everything and then we were off to dinner.
We are on the early sitting in the dining room which is a little too early for us, but it does give you lots of time to take in the other evening activities. We went to a “Game Show”, the Showtime extravaganza featuring the singers and dancers of the Westerdam, Charles & The HAL Cats in the Queen’s Lounge and of course, the “Disco” in the Northern Lights. Can’t miss that.
It was a busy day and I think it will be a very busy cruise for us. Time for a “Drink of the Day”…..
You can follow us some more on CAA Niagara Travel
Tags: cruising, Holland America, ms Westerdam, Travel
Today was a fun lesson in getting from one place to another. I had to get to Fort Lauderdale airport by 10:00 am and wasn’t sure how far it was or how to get there. I asked at the front desk of my hotel, but got more information through the Internet.
If you ever need to get from Miami airport to Fort Lauderdale airport or vice versa, there is the SuperShuttle that will get you there for around $30. You pick up the shuttle by the bag claim area of the airport. Unfortunately, you may have a few stops to make before getting to the airport as it will take each passenger where ever they need to go along the route. So even though it’s only about 40 minutes door-to-door, it may end up taking you longer. So give yourself lots of time.
Along the way I got to see what a typical seniors condo complex looks like. I hope they were nicer on the inside than on the outside. I guess you live there for the weather. I think I’ll stay in Vancouver for a while yet.
Anyway, after picking up our passengers at the airport, Rick Mauro from CAA Niagara and I, waited with them to get rooms. The timing was not great as the plane got in at 10:00 am and most hotels will not let you check in until at least noon as they need to get the rooms ready. This is another thing to consider when travelling and having to make connections.
Despite everything, our passengers seems to enjoy themselves though they were very tired from having to take such an early flight – many had not bothered to go to bed.
After checking everyone in and making sure all the luggage was in their rooms,etc, Rick and I went to Fort Lauderdale Beach, walked the beach and had lunch at Bubba Gump’s. The bucket of shrimp is still to die for and tastes great with a cold beer. I highly recommend it.
So, three things I learnt today is that you need to investigate travel arrangements yourself when in a strange land and, if possible, don’t book air travel to land hours before check in time of your hotel. And thirdly, always make sure your guests are well looked after. It’s only Day Zero of our cruise……
Tags: cruising, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Travel
Day One started with a very early morning at YVR with nothing open at the gates – not even coffee. The 767 was full so even though I sat in economy, my carry on flew in style in First Class where the Pods are. Those are pretty cool.
I made a major mistake on the first lag to Toronto and that was in my choice for movies. The first one was fine – Madagascar II, funny and cute. The SECOND was the killer – Marley & Me. I read the book so I should have known better than to watch this while “trapped” in a packed airplane. I almost turned it off many times but I just had to keep going.
I have had two Marleys in my life – we didn’t learn the first time!! Marley #1 was a pitbull/lab cross named Skye who could destroy a couch in under 15 minutes. We went to the corner store one day and came back to find the stuffing all over the family room. The amazing part was that she was able to unzip and remove the cushion covers before demolishing the insides. This was just one of several disasters we had with Skye. Despite the destruction, she was very endearing and loveable. I also had two Siamese cats when Skye lived with us. They also became part of her pack requiring her to defend and protect them. Whenever one of the cats was barfing up a hairball, she would get very upset, run around the house to find me and then do a real-life Lassie impression. She’d run to me with this really worried look on her face and whine that something was wrong. Then she’d run back to where the cat was. If I didn’t follow right away, she would go through it again…and again…until I went to the cat. Then I would pick up the cat and take her to Skye who would inspect her to see if she was okay. Unfortunately, we only got to have Skye around for 10 years before she got cancer.
Because Skye had turned into a somewhat manageable dog with a big, big heart, we had to get another dog to replace her as soon as possible. Marley #2 named Junior, a lab/shepherd cross. was and still is both an absolute gem and a nightmare. As a puppy she destroyed anything she could get her paws and teeth on – especially liking soccer cleats and shoes – but not exclusively. At about a year old she discovered she had this amazingly loud and scary bark and she uses it on all the neighbors, people walking by the house and certain people during our walks. I haven’t figured out what the common feature is that she doesn’t like, but if she doesn’t like you, you better make sure I have a good hold on her leash. Watching the couple walking Marley in the movie was just like walking Junior. And, like Marley, she flunked obedience training.
So by the time the movie was over I was a mess with one little scrunched up tissue. So it was off the lavatory to splash cold water on the face to try to look presentable. All my makeup was gone but everything was up in First Class having a good time and there was no time between planes to get fixed up again. So no makeup all the way to Miami. Oh, well. I didn’t meet anyone I know, so I guess it’s okay.
So, remember when you fly, not to watch sad movies if you want to look good at the end of your journey.
Tags: CAA Niagara, cruising, Miami, Panama Canal
Thanks to Bonnie Sainsbury at Connect the Dots for recommending this package. She always has great ideas of time savers that I need. I was looking for a way to write my blog offline and then upload and publish it when I get to port. I’m heading off on a cruise for 3 weeks and I don’t need a thousand dollar Internet bill at the end.
So, I’m testing my old HP Photosmart R817 camera with a 2 GB SD card for videos and Microsoft’s LiveWriter Software.
I think the camera could be upgraded. I just saw a couple of 10 mp cameras at The Source. That’s twice what this one is, as well as I may want a stabilizer. I’m hoping to get some fun videos on the ship and maybe a few interesting ones on the beaches….
I found loading the video to YouTube was VERY SLOW so unless I can find a free Internet cafe, that may not happen.
Setting up LiveWriter to work with my Blog was very simple – much simpler than the instructions Wordpress has for setting up emailing to your blog. AND Microsoft Installer even told me where I had to go in Wordpress to change an administrator setting to get it to work.
So, I’m down to the last part – which is uploading this to my blog. I’m going to try it now and will let you know how it went.
Ciao for now.
PS
Well, that was REALLY SIMPLE. I pressed the Publish button and Tah Dah, there it was on my blog. That was pretty quick. It may make up for the YouTube speed. I would highly recommend this package to bloggers everywhere…..
Tags: livewriter, microsoft, offline, software testing, youtube
