Panama Canal

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Day 141 Monday 3 August

Cartagena, Colombia

32c very humid



Unfortunately when Gail went to the doctor because she still had some elements of diarrhoea so he confined her to the cabin. We had ordered room service breakfast because she had been asked not to go to the bistro for 48 hours. It was not very good.



After we sorted things out for the day I went for a bit of a walk. We were too far from the city centre to walk so I just walked through suburban streets up to a little shopping centre and took some photos then walked back. The streets were pretty boring because they were all the same, square 4/5 storey white buildings. Gail, filled in a very detailed report on her eating and drinking for the past 5 days which was hard because remembering what you ate 5 days ago is difficult then she sat on the balcony all day and watched the comings and goings.



When I got back to the wharf I sat in the shade at a bar and had a Colombian beer then walked back to the ship and joined Gail in watching the comings and goings. Luckily we were docked with our cabin on the dockside.



I went up on deck for the sail away. Luckily it was angled which gave Gail a bit of a view. I went to dinner and Gail had room service which was better than breakfast. I did not go to the show but came back to the cabin. We read then went to bed.



Day 142 Tuesday 4 August

Panama Canal

29c some showers and humid



We sailed through the Caribbean overnight and at 7.00am we arrived at the first lock of the Gatun Locks and commenced the traverse of the three locks in this set. This took about two hours. At 7.30 the doctor rang Gail to see how the night had gone and "released" her from the confinement which was good news. The Gatun Locks take the ship up 85 feet above sea level so that it can enter the Gatun Lake which was created by damming the river and flooding the valley and the town of Gatun.



There was a container ship about the same size as us going through each gate just ahead of us so we could see what was happening as well as feeling it. Another smaller ship was going through the other side of the lock in the same direction basically beside us so that gave us another perspective. In addition we had the Port Advisor giving us a running commentary on the operation and the history as we went through.



In Gatun Lake we moved forward very slowly as the channel is pretty narrow and there were ships coming the other way. They certainly passed by us much closer than ships normally do. It is also quite shallow as we could see the tops of trees growing up through the water on either side of the channel. We passed into the Culebra Cut which is where you cross through the Continental Divide and then to the Pedro Miguel Locks which is where the ship starts its drop down to sea level. Before we reached these locks we had passed under the Centennial Bridge which is now the main link between North and South America.



From the Pedro Miguel Locks it was only a short trip to the Miraflores Locks which complete the task of bringing the ship back to sea level. Throughout this part of the trip we had a good view of the expansion work which will create new bigger locks alongside the existing locks to allow the bigger ships to utilise the Canal. Our ship only had 25inches on each side as we passed through so the bigger container ships and tankers can't come through. It is a massive project costing billions and is due to be completed next year but it doesn't look that close to completion.



After we passed through the Miraflores Locks we passed under the Bridge of the Americas which used to be the main link between North and South. Then we sailed past Panama City which looks huge with an impressive skyline of very tall buildings.



We finally came out of the Canal after 5.00pm so had a shower went to dinner and then to bed.



Day 143 Wednesday 5 August

At sea

29c partly cloudy



After breakfast we went to Zumba and Sarah who runs it was on a real high from her day on the Suez because she was part of the ship's documentary, climbing down rope ladders, jumping from the moving ship into a moving boat, flying in helicopters etc.



Although we had not yet crossed it they had the Crossing the Equator ceremony which is the same bit of nonsense we had seen twice on the way over.



We went to a lecture on how countries got their names which was boring and I won't go to another of his lectures. Then we played 500 with Margaret & Geoff.



After dinner we went to the movies and saw "A Little Chaos" which starred Kate Winslett and Alan Rickman. It was a bit slow but not bad.



Day 144 Thursday 6 August

Manta, Ecuador US$

32c cloudy and humid



We had crossed the equator during the night. We had breakfast with Annette and Ray and planned the day. We met just before 9.00 and caught the shuttle into town. While we were waiting on the pier we watched the fish factory ships unloading sling after sling of tuna into trucks to be taken to the cannery.



The shuttle took us to the taxi centre where we negotiated hire of a taxi for 4 hours @ $20 per hour. With our limited Spanish and the driver's limited English we worked out that we would go to the Pacoche Wildlife Refuge which was about 30km out of town. The trip was through very arid country with mostly dead trees for the most part until we came over a hill and the vegetation changed and became increasingly green very suddenly. On the way up we passed a coffee factory and the smell was fantastic.



After we had filed in a form that for some reason wanted to know our ages we met our guide who spoke no English but was able to make himself understood. He took us down a track through the jungle and pointed out the animals. We saw some Howler Monkeys who were not howling but we could hear them. We also saw some up a tree with a baby and some squirrels that jumped from tree to tree. He also showed us the tagurea tree that the nuts that they carve into buttons and ornaments come from. They are known as ivory nuts.



At the end of the track we paid him $5 each and he rang our taxi which came to pick us up. A donkey came walking along the road while we were there and walked down the track and then back, completely ignoring us.



We drove back into town and the driver took us through the city centre which was very crowded and busy. The streets were very narrow and the markets were very busy. From there we went to the town of Montecristi which is the centre of Panama Hat manufacture. Panama hats are made in Ecuador but were originally sold to foreigners as they crossed the Panama Isthmus so they became known as Panama hats.



We went to a shop where they made the hats and sold them for prices ranging from $40 to $750 and you could really tell the difference. From there we went to a lookout where there was a cultural centre and displays of handicrafts as well as a good view of Montecristi and the surrounding area. After we finished there having bought some ornaments made from the Taguera nuts, we drove back into town.



As we had been 5 hours we paid the driver $50 each couple then Ray and Annette went back to the ship and we went for a walk up to the market we had passed on the way back to the town. It was pretty hot but the walk was interesting. At the market we bought a coffee which was good and Gail bought a necklace made from the carved Taguera nuts.



We walked back past two guys by the roadside who had two huge fish laying on the ground beside them. They were obviously trying to sell them to drivers passing by. We went to a bar and I had an Ecuador beer and Gail had an ice cream then we caught the shuttle back to the ship.



After dinner which we had in the Pizza restaurant we watched a male accupello group, The Alley Cats. They were good.



Day 145 Friday 7 August

At sea on a southerly course through the Pacific

23c fine



Before breakfast we found out that there would be no Zumba because Sarah who had been on such a high the previous day after her adventures on the Canal had to leave the ship because she fell and broke her arm during the crossing ceremony. It was sad to be on such a high then have it all taken away.



After breakfast I watched an NRL game on the large screen on the deck. Unfortunately Manly won. Gail walked around the deck. After lunch we went to see "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" with Harrison Ford and Cate Blanchett. It was a light bit of fun. We then went to happy hour and got ourselves a supply of drink for our pre dinner drinks. Then played 500.



After dinner we watched the harmonica player Bernie Fields who was quite good but I think one show was enough.

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