10 18 2010 At Sea

Flower arrangements that could be bought.

Our itinerary:       

Lost another hour!

Another lecture by Ray Rychnovsky about the engineering marvel - Panama Canal.

The king of Spain studied the possibility of building a canal in 1534. A railroad was built in 1855 across the isthmus. Theodore Roosevelt involved the US in building a canal. They favored the Nicaraguan route. See the Nicaraguan blog.

The French started to build a canal in 1882. It was Ferdinand de Lesseps, who built the sea level Suez Canal, who started the project. He wanted to build a sea level canal here too.  22.500 workers died from malaria and yellow fever before they gave up in 1880.

After the US Congress decided to build the canal in Panama (part of Columbia) and not in Nicaragua, the US entered negotiations with the Colombian government but the Colombian Senate  refused to approve the treaty. Within a short time, the Panamanians revolted against the Colombians in 1903). When Colombian troops tried to intervene, the United States Navy prevented their intervention. Within 15 days, the US signed an agreement with the Panamanian government almost identical to the one which Columbia had refused.

The engineers realized that the Pacific Ocean was 19 feet higher than the Atlantic Ocean so a sea level canal would not work. Therefore, locks were built. The three Gatun locks raised the water level from the Atlantic to Gatun Lake by 85 feet. Then ships travel 40 miles on Gatun Lake, that fills up from all the rain that falls, to the Pedro Miguel locks where the water level decreases 30 feet, then to Miraflores locks for 52 more feet to reach the Pacific Ocean.

Ray  actually stated that the oceans are at the same level but the Pacific ocean has bigger tide differences. The previous info was found on Internet.

The canal was built between 1904 and 1914. Fifty thousand men worked and 5,609 workers died. The mosquitoes were eradicated which minimized yellow fever and malaria. Dr.William Gorga, a US Army physician,  known for his work in Florida, Havana, and Panama. He conquered yellow fever and malaria by controlling the mosquitoes. This was met with considerable scepticism and opposition. The canal is 53 miles long and 45 ships/day travel through it.

The US controlled the Canal Zone until it was returned to Panama on December 31, 1999. The Panamanians are doing a great job running the canal. The canal is now a neutral international waterway. Any vessel is guaranteed safe passage even in time of war but US ships go first by treaty..

In 2007 work began on an expansion of the canal. It will allow ships twice the size of current Panamax ships (maximum size to travel through the canal) - increasing the amount of goods that can pass through the canal. The new locks are to be finished in 2014.

That evening we had our second formal dinner. This is how I looked. Jalil had the same suit on. We were invited to the Captain's Reception  in the Vista Lounge with a formally written invitation. This was for passengers who had traveled with Princess before and we had taken a cruise to Alaska three years ago. We found Christine there with lots of other passengers. Princess must be popular.

After dinner, there was - guess what - baseball!!! I went to a piano concert.



10 19 2010 Fuerto Amador, Panama

Cloudy, showers and sunny spells - 28C/82F-23C/73F

We woke up just outside Panama City. The sun rises over the Pacific Ocean due to the angle of the Panamanian isthmus. 

There were many ships just waiting for their turn to enter the canal.  One slot per day goes to the highest bidder.

This day was for exploring the country Panama. There were many choices. We chose a bus trip up into the higher mountains - Elle Valle - where the Panamanians go to cool off two hours from Panama City. The wealthy have built large homes in the verdant area. This is an ancient volcano with steep slopes 2,000 feet above the sea.

There are thermal springs, spas, waterfalls.

First we had to transfer to a tender that transported us to Fuerto Amador. This is chain of three small islands connected by bridges. It was planned             as a tourist site.  A bus and a  guide were waiting for  us there to drive up towards the mountains. Again, we started on the Pan-American highway going north.

Bus stop

Fruit and ceramics for sale

We passed many homes along the way.

 A most interesting fence. It looks as if sticks have been stuck in the ground and some of them have grown into trees. I saw many fences like this.

                                                                    A school   

Selling cashew nuts with the honor system.

View towards the Pacific coast

 Several mountain peaks ring the valley floor.

We stopped at a Mineral Bath. An employee covered my face with mud. Then he offered to take my picture. Jalil did not care for the mud but he enjoyed the soak in the mineral bath.

Click on the picture to see  to see the content of the water.

                Jalil is done

Clay treatment 

 

                                                              

 Does anybody know what these are? It has to do with birds, I think,  but I do not remember.    

 

  

The next stop was at a wildlife refuge where we hiked down a steep trail and crossed the river on a hanging bridge to a waterfall. It was swinging quite a bit.

   Only five persons could cross at the same time.

On the way to have lunch at a restaurant our bus driver had a very difficult time negotiating the drive way. He tried back and forth for a long time. I thought we should just get off but he never stopped trying until he got through. The bus was scratched quite a bit.

Lunch at La Casa de Lourdes. Had Arroz con pollo which was quite plain. I asked for Salsa Lizano but was told that was Costa Rican and they did not have it. The sky opened and it rained forcefully for a while.

Our guide stopped the bus and bought cashews for one dollar for anybody who wanted some.

Our guide showed some of us how to call US on a pay phone for 10 cents.

      

The bus arrived in Fuereto Amador late but the tender was waiting for us and  we were the last passengers to return.  That is the good thing with Princess tours -  the ship will wait for us. The tender was moving up and down  so the picture of the ship is zigzagging. 

We rushed to dinner at the Rigoletto where we ended up sitting with eight persons from the UK. They were from different parts of  the UK and we had quite a bit of trouble  understand them. It took quite a bit of time for them to warm up except the 81 year old man next to me.  He told me about his travel by car through the US - almost got caught in the Katrina storm. He told me not to say boat when I should say ship.  Ulla already pointed that out but I still feel that they are boats first, then the big ones become ships.

Jalil then hurried to catch the end of some game with his California buddies. I went to the Wheelhouse Bar where Christine was sitting, visited for a short while with her before going to the theater for the International Crew Show. Before the show started, balloons were let loose the the audience kept hitting them so that the whole place was full of bouncing balloons. It was quite lively!   The staff performers were introduced with name, where they worked, where they were from and how they were going to perform - sing, tap dance, etc. The show was OK.

I found Jalil outside, exited about being in Panama. You could see Panama City with all its high rises and all the ships and small boats waiting to go through the canal. It can take a eek without a reservation.  Jalil wanted to walk around and enjoy the warm night and then he anted jello! So we headed for the cafeteria (never closed). Then it was time for bed!

                               

10 17 2010 Costa Rica

Temperature 86F/30C

We arrived in the morning at the pier in Puntarenas on the western (Pacific) shore of Costa Rica. Puntarenas mean Sandy Point. We were met by some women in folk costumes. The guide Jorge and his bus picked us up for a tour to the Scarlet Macaw Sanctuary via the Pan-American Highway (again). Jorge told us that Costa Rica has 4.7 million inhabitants and is the size of West Virginia. It lies 600 miles north of the equator. Rainfall is 70"/year (varies 51-300") - dry season is December to April. The sun shines in the morning and it rains in the afternoon. The temperature is 100F and the humidity is 75% on the coast. Agriculture: rice, corn, sugarcane, coffee, pineapple, mango. Salaries: minimum wage (field worker, etc.)$300/month, average $700-1,000 (teachers, nurses), $6,000 (CEO. etc.). Free education. 82% of homes have electricity in the country side.

The bus left the highway and followed a narrow gravel road passing small houses before reaching the Macaw Sanctuary. There are 36 macaws there. The macaws are protected by the government. People poach them for sale or pets. One bird can sell for $1000. We saw macaws that were living in the wild. They were free to leave but likes being there. The caged ones did not know how to fend for themselves so they could not be released back in to nature. Any babies will be released. There are also toucan birds, mountain turkey, Howler Monkeys (howls to protect his territory), Spider Monkeys, Two Toes Sloth (comes down from tree one time/week to go to the bathroom), wild boar, tapir (related to the horse and rhinoceros - endangered), Lauras (?) - green parrots - imitate sound. There are four monkeys in Costa Rica - spider, howler, squirrel, white face. The guide pointed out two sloths moving slowly up in a tree. He also showed us a mother and baby monkey high up in another tree. The different trees and flowers were described but I do not remember the names unfortunately. In the middle of the reserve there were picnic tables with fresh bananas, pineapple, papaya and a bottle of cold water for us on the tour. It was muggy and hot even though the sky was overcast - probably 80F/30C.



Lipstick plant





Mother and child



Spider Monkey



Macaws



The next phase of our tour was to take a boat on the river back to Puntarenas. The bus transported us on gravel roads through the country passing sugar cane and rice fields and fields for cows (Indian Brahma (?). We passed some poor looking dwellings and were told that they were squatters.

At the river we boarded a small boat with a canvas top. We were now looking for birds and crocodiles. They are all so enormously well camouflaged that they are difficult to see and even harder to photograph. They left quietly when got near them. We saw two crocs in the water. You do not see much of them and it looks like a log i floating by. Jalil thought he saw one a few times but it was only a log. Then we found one sleeping on the bank above the river. He did open his eyes but did not move. All along the river we saw many birds after the guide had pointed them out - kingfisher, white ibis, great blue heron. Not easy to get a picture of them.



Tapir



Sloth

 



Macaws

 

Wild Boar




Sugarcane field







When the sugar cane blossoms, the field is burned, which leaves canes to harvest.  The environmentalists do not like the burning so the canes needs to be cut with sharp machetes and the worker has to wear special shirts. Sugar cane and bananas come from Asia. Coffee comes from Ethiopia. Tomatoes and potatoes come from Peru.

Swimming crocodile

 

 



Mangroves have long branches for support. The difference between high and low tide is 11 feet. The tide changes every six hour.The water is brackish - in between seawater and fresh water. Mangroves are now protected as they were destroyed before. They are needed to protect the coast line.


Turkey



Squatter home



Pelicans







Sloth



Toucan

The river boat brought us to Puntarenas where the bus picked us up to bring us to our ship by the pier. Before exploring the market by the pier, we decided to have Afternoon Tea as we had had no lunch.  A woman joined us at the table. She complemented me on the yellow color I was wearing. She was from Australia and we talked for a while. She sounded faintly German so I asked as I always try to figure out where people come from. She was not particularly happy with my question but did explain that she was born in Berlin but had lived in different places. Her children wanted her to write her memoir and I supported that idea. "No, I know too much".  Did not feel I knew her well enough to ask what she was referring to and she did not volunteer. She did explain that she was leery of the question as people in Australia often comment that she should not have an accent after all these years. She was 19 when she arrived and was now 75. That always upset her but I had asked politely so she did not mind answering me. I then explained that I was Swedish but had lived in California since I was 21. But there are so many accents there that you often ask. I want to know if I guessed right.  Only one time did I encounter somebody who minded (in a warming hut skiing at Royal Gorge). He became so angry and said I was so rude by asking! It threw me and I defensively answered that I had asked that question numerous times and never met anybody who responded like that. Most people are proud of their culture. His wife later approached me and told me that he was born in Poland and had spent time in concentration camps and therefore did not want to talk about it. Understandable, but  he could just have nicely said that he preferred not to talk about it and that would have been the end. 

The Australian woman - Christina Belle - invited us to have dinner with her that night.  Jalil was planning to watch the baseball playoffs again so I accepted to have dinner with her.

After having tea Jalil and I walked  to shore to see the market by the pier. Jalil bought himself a hat.



Banana tree

I had dinner at Rigoletto with Christine Belle and Jalil watched his  ballgame. We had a pleasant time. Met Jalil afterwards for a Western Music Show - pretty good. After that we went to the 12th deck where a band played Carribean music and we danced.  There were lots of food in fantastic shapes but we could only have fruit as we had eaten so much already. Jalil learned to eat mango with the skin. We  really enjoyed ourselves. It had been quite a day.