Our Day In Cabo

Cabo:

We were up, well I was at 0630 and headed to a top deck fro the sunrise and coffee. Lynn joined me shortly thereafter and we had breakfast. No real plans for the day. 

We caught a tender at about 0900 and arrived at the gauntlet of vendors. No Gracias was my most used phrase. No specific quest as we wondered about. I was  unable to decide as to which wrestling mask to get, and Lynn is not a jewelry person. So we walked about 3 miles until I spotted an alleyway leading to a food truck. Here we had chips and great salsa,  guacamole which was amazing, Lynn had a mango smoothie and I had a mango margarita, added to that were three bean and cheese burritos. All items were great. We did observe many takeaway orders going out to locals, an indicator go a local following. The mango margarita was strong and one was more than enough. I know he stacked the price for the gringo, but the friendly service was worth it. 

Back to the ship where we down loaded photos. Just a pelican and a couple sea lions were photoed. 

While catching up on logs etc, the ships thrusters came alive and they seem to be resetting the anchor or something else. 

Tonight was the Crew Talent Show and it was excellent. I appreciated all and enjoyed the regional and cultural dances of a few of the crew. There were also some very talented singers and musicians, as always a show not to be missed. 

We had a Chicken Curry brought to our table and it was great. After dinner we went to the show of String Fever followed by bed.  

Costa Rica Day

Costa Rica Day 

We were up early and I was up even earlier as we had sailed through a thunder storm. We headed up for a quick breakfast and prepared our bags for a very very full day. 

We learned from our pre cruise trip research that most excursions that involved eco tourism were not located near the port and required a lengthy bus ride. We had chosen the Tropical Forest Aerial Tram and River Cruise. As we departed the ship, we were placed on a motor coach for a one hour  and ten minute ride to a 222 acre eco tourism park. 

Here we boarded an aerial tram to ascend through the dry forest and into a rain forest eco system. Here we experienced many different birds and animals of these environments. Photography from this swinging, moving platform was a bit difficult, more so when you add the dense forest. 

After the 45 minute tram ride, we went on a short half mile walk through an area of the forest. Here we were exposed to many aspects of the forest. This ended in a butterfly enclosure, where I fulfilled my quest to photo the iridescent blue butterfly. 

Next was a lunch of salad, rice, beans, chicken or beef, and various fruit juices. 

Back on the bus for a 45 minute ride to the Tarcoles River. Here we boarded canopy covered boats and cruised up the river and mangroves. The bird life was quite diverse and many good sightings were made. The river cruise operator provided a bird viewing guide.  We did see several crocodiles and it was difficult to photograph in a way to show the size of these animals. A 15-17 foot croc is amazing. 

When we got off the river, we were offered fruit and juice as we navigated local vendors. 

I must say the boat operator and our tour guide did an excellent job in spotting and presenting information about the wildlife we saw. There were many great photo opportunities of many of the birds we viewed.   

Back on the bus for a 90 minute ride back to the port. The traffic at the port was crazy and the bus was required to drop us off at the ship.  As the day was long and our all aboard time was only 30 minutes away we did not return to town to explore the local markets. 

Back on the ship we played trivia and did poorly (again, but that is ok) and went to dinner. Most folks were tired and we were soon off to bed. 

Croc waiting for prey to come by 

Real Croc 

April 14 Day at Sea

4/14 Day at sea 

After exiting the canal, we anchored and took on fuel and departed at about 0300. 

When I woke, I noticed the sun was rising outside our window. As we are on the port side this would mean we were headed south. At first this was a tad confusing as I thought we should be headed north along the coast of Central America. I turned on the TV to the channel showing our position and noted we had not yet made the turn to the north. 

We got up and did a couple miles of walking before breakfast. Then after breakfast we attended the Good Morning Disney Wonder Show. 

Todays lecture will be about the turning over of the Canal to Panama. Very interesting, in that he brought to light the fact we do not need the Canal as many of our Navy Ships are too big to make the transit of the Canal. 

We then went to Disney Movie Trivia and did OK but not great. Then we had lunch inside at Tritons, Shrimp Wontons. 

During the course of the morning, we completed the photo challenge and turned in our answers at the Port Adventures Desk. 

We then went to the room to chill and Lynn spotted a pod of dolphins feeding at a good distance away. There were also some Brown Boobies flying about the bow of the ship so I went to deck 10 and took several photos, observed were 15-20 Brown Boobies and one Masked Booby.  

The evenings entertainment was Will and Anthony, twin brothers who did a tribute to The Sherman Brothers. The Sherman Brothers were composers for Walt Disney and brought us many hits and movie scores. Some of their works included Mary Popping and It’s A Small World. 

We then went to the pub and did terrible at 80’s music trivia. Then it was dinner time, where our head server Feisal had a chicken curry made for us, it was great. Off to bed, as we know we have a very full day ahead. 

PANAMA CANAL DAY

Panama Canal Day: $393,000

We were up at 0530 to overcast skies and still a good way from the entrance to the Canal. A restaurant was open for breakfast. I grabbed a slice of toast and some bacon and soon we were entering the breakwater. I went down to the cabin and grabbed the camera and found a location on deck 4. The temp was hot and deck 10 was a mad house. 

Actually deck 4 is a good location to transit as one can see the most activity and you are closer to the lock workers as they prepare for the transit. On deck 4 you also get a good view of custom officials, Pilots, and line crew boarding from the various pilot boats. 

APPROACHING THE NEW LOCKS

THE FRENCH CUT

NEW LOCKS AHEAD 

The was a crocodile basking on the bank.

Soon we entered the first lock of the Agua Clara Locks. Here we would have three steps to take us to the Gatun Lake at an elevation of 85 feet. The new canal uses tugs, spring lines and the ships thrusters to maintain the ships position in the locks. 

NEW LOCK GATES SLIDE AND THERE ARE TWO PER ENTRY/EXIT OF EACH LOCK,

THREE STEPS UP AND THREE STEPS DOWN

There is also a tug forward and aft. The new locks are huge compared to the old locks. The new locks use a system of retention ponds to provide the water for the locks. This provides a great savings in water taken from the lake to operate the locks. 

Once through the locks we were in Lake Gatun and started the transit, passing many islands where we saw a bit of bird life. In the cut there was a bit of dredging going on to widen the cut for visibility, making it easier for ships to see each other as they wind through the cut. Thus far no howler monkeys. 

DUFFY JUST CHILLED

Looks like we might get rain of biblical proportion as we pass the Culebra Cut. We will see. Well, it was a nice shower as we passed the Culebra Cut and passed under the Centennial Bridge. This bridge connects North and South America.  

Transit traffic is backed up a bit so our expected time to enter the Cocoli Locks is 1600. The rain did get a bit heavier and there was a lightning strike. I was surprised there was not an announcement closing deck 10. 

There is a cut (channel) which leads to the Cocoli Locks (new locks) and the section near the Pedro Miguel Locks (old locks). This  is interesting in that at this point a ship in the old locks will actually be 33 feet lower than a ship in the cut  leading to the Cocoli Locks.

We decided to watch about the last half of the passage from our cabin veranda as it is somewhat protected from the rain. I think we will stay here for the Cocoli Locks. Reflecting, it seems like the first passage we made took longer. The new locks and the system is interesting yet I guess I am a classic kind of person and enjoyed the nostalgia of the old locks. 

We entered the Cocoli Locks at 1700 and exited at 1900. The sun had set as we exited the last lock and made our way to The Bridge of Americas.  

If one is interested, a very good book about The Canal is “Path Between The Seas” by David McCulough.  It is a good read with a lot of interesting information. 

MORE PICTIRES :

FRIGGATE BIRD 

CONTROL TOWER

LINE HANDLERS 

GUESSING A FIRE SUPRESSION SYSTEM 

CHANNEL MARKERS 

MORE SHADE ON DECK 4 AND LESS PEOPLE

  

1630 arrived at Cocoli Locks