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Published: October 12th 2015
Islamorada
Storied boat of infamyOur day started off with more information on yesterday’s trouble at the mall. After tourists traded stories at breakfast, Pedro, our guide, said he had been there: it was “only domestic”; she was stable; and no shots were fired; maybe I only saw the guard level his gun; and, the very late arrival of the police was actually to quell a later incident of near-riot by youths. Hmmm. (Yesterday evening, we saw the shooter on TV news being taken in to jail by police.)
On our bus we wended our way through city streets to the toll highway and across the country to
Gamboa where we embarked on the
Islamorada. (At the end of the trip we learned that it is the oldest working boat on the Canal, built in 1912. Rockefeller built it; the US Navy used it in WW I for mine detection because of its wooden hull; Al Capone later used it for rum running; Steve McQueen then owned it with four friends; and, now it is a tour boat.) Joyce and I nabbed seats along the side of the boat, in the shade, for the morning at least. Over the course of the cruise, people moved
Erosion of the sides
Canal always under assault around freely to get good views.
Along the Gamboa Cut we saw that the sides of the Canal were terraced, the best effort to prevent slides, although in several places there were new terraces and some obviously recent landslips. The boat guide pointed out that new cuts were sown with grass.
We passed a Canadian sail boat and a few others. Fairly soon we were entering the
Pedro Miguel locks, and after tying up in the first lock we had to wait for some of the sail boats to join us before they lowered us. It was quite thrilling to feel the water dropping under us – a subtle but definite feeling of dropping.
Sailing to the
Miraflores locks, we were invited to have lunch – a buffet in the hold – which we ate above on deck. It was delicious: thinly sliced beef in a gravy/sauce; special rice with vegetable; vegetables such as carrots, zucchini, broccoli, peppers, and onions, all cooked together; boiled potato with parsley; and pound cake and fruit. Before we could eat it, we were into the lock, necessitating even more photos and video. This time a small cruise ship joined us in the
Bridge of the Americas
Soaring link across the continents! locks, giving a real sense of perspective.
Sailing out of the lock we passed through the port of Panama - huge! with many cranes for containers and four cargo ships being off-loaded. Over-sized ships offload their containers to be sent by rail to Colon where they are put on other ships. Then we sailed under the
Bridge of the Americas – truly a magnificent sight – so high against the ocean.
Our boat went near one of the
San Blas Islands and then left us near a yacht marina. Once again our bus drove down the toll highway, going much further this time, almost all the way to Colon again, which is entered by a lesser road.
Colon is a working place, a port city, not much for tourism. The houses are mean and dirty (from the outside, at least), and it is a dangerous place to walk. Our
Radisson Hotel is on the water near the entrance to the Canal, a part of new facilities for docking cruise ships. This meant that the hotel is quite nice and obviously new. Attached is a California–style mall. Joyce and I, plus many others on our tour, walked through the souvenir shops and the grocery
store. This latter is a cornucopia of all household things, from food to drink to appliances and dishes. I bought a Panamanian newspaper (in Spanish) and some hot sauce. Joyce bought our drinking water for this hotel. (Not enough provided in the room.
In the evening Caravan offered a reception for our group on the pool deck and a fashion show. The sexy outfits on very young women were designed by a Columbian woman and featured the molas (appliqué) done by the Indian artisans. After dinner (Panamanian dishes, including plantain), Joyce and I came back to the pool deck, where I have written this in the barely lit dark. The breeze is cool and the air warm. Now for a swim!
Watch the
">video highlights of our cruise through the locks.
