On our original plans, the ship was planned to go to the port of Cartagena. Before we entered the canal, Columbia denied us entry. After leaving the Panama Canal, the captain told us that we were going to Cartagena but not docking. It seems that a "rule" requires us to appear in the port. Weird! Who came up with such a ridiculous rule? We made very good time overnight so we would arrive at Cartagena by morning. We stopped just outside the port. The captain announced he was putting the ship in station keeping and not dropping anchor. The computer kept us perfectly still for 3 hours. As we were having breakfast, we saw what we thought was a rock with some sort of navigational marker on top. Then we noticed that the rock was moving, and it was then obvious that it was a submarine. I think this is the first time I have ever seen an operational sub. When our required time was complete, we pulled out of port and took off across the Caribbean Sea at over 24 mph. I don’t know what top speed is but wow we are moving. I think someone could ski behind us.
Tonight, we went to the main stage to hear a comedian Kristin Key. She is really good. We were supposed to get another entertainer, but they were not able to meet the ship in a port.
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Today, we cross from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic through the original Panama Canal. History Warning: (there may be a test) Before the completion of the Panama Canal, all ship traffic had to make the 7,800-mile trip around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. After the canal passage, the trip is only 51 miles between oceans so reduced both cost and time even with the fees to pass through. Interest in a passage started all the way back to the 1500's when the Spanish King sent representatives to study the feasibility. The thought the canals between the lake and the oceans was difficult. but the bigger issue is cutting through over 8 miles of the continental divide mountain range. Over 96 million cubic yards of earth and rock was removed to make a 40-foot-deep channel. Yes, the depth of water in some areas is just 40 feet deep. In the 1880's, the French attempted to make a canal but failed. The US took up the construction in 1904 and completed the canal in 1914. Of the 56,000 workers, 10 percent or 5,600 died during construction. Most died from diseases like malaria and yellow fever. Ships are guided through the locks by mules which are small train engines. Each mule is 8 foot wide and 12 feet long. They weigh 42 tons each and can tow 25,000 lbs running on electric motors. Using lines and powerful pulleys, they keep ships from brushing into the sides of the canal. Ships use minimum power to move forward with the mules slowing and stopping ships once in the middle of a lock. The term Panamax is used to identify ships that are the approved size to use the original locks. The ship can be up to 950 feet in length and up to 106 feet wide but no more than 39.5-foot draft. That is pretty specific. A new set of locks were built to accommodate much larger ships. Construction started in 2009 and was completed in 2016. Any ship that is larger than the original canal must use the new canal. The newer canal allows for lengths up to 1,200 ft and widths up to 160 ft. A couple of interesting facts:
End History lesson... maybe. (Ok no test) We got up very early because we were to start through at 6am. There are a lot of ships waiting their turn to go through the canal. We get to go through close to our starting time because we have a reservation. That costs a lot more than just waiting for a gap in traffic. It will take most of the day to transit. We started lining up and getting our pilots at 6am and should be out into the Atlantic by late afternoon. Amazing! We will go through both Pacific locks before 11am. We gathered on the bow to see the approach to the first lock. On the bow were offered coffee and Panama Rolls. The rolls are a little sweet. A Frigate bird looked us over to see if we were ready. These birds are HUGE. They can have up to a 7 1/2 foot wingspan and a body of over 30 inches in length Seeing that we have a delay to enter, we took time for second breakfast or first lunch. Whatever… On ship we eat like Hobbits. Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevenses, Lunch, Second Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, Supper, Midnight snack… and of course, cocktails throughout the afternoon and evening with holdovers. Enough about that and back to the canal. First, we passed under the Bridge of the Americas. This was finished in 1962 to take traffic off crossing the canals on pivoting bridges. It is starting to get just a bit shallow. This is the display in the Crow's Nest. Yes, the depth was 34 FEET! There are huge docks with ships loading and unloading ships. Many companies bring boxes to one end of the canal then unloads. The boxes are reloaded on a special ship/barge that is built only to carry boxes to the other end of the canal to loaded on sea going ships to take them to the destination. The ship below is one of those transfer ships which is passing through the new canal system. As we approached the first set of locks we slowed, and ropes were passed to the lock workers. We were then tied off to the Mules. In the past actual Mules were used to pull ships but for a long-time small train engines are used but the name is still used. They even have huge rollers to help guide ships if needed. Once in the first lock, we could see how close we were to the sides. Once in the lock the doors were closed, and the water lifted us. We got a view of both our lock filling and the other set of locks closed double doors. The next lock was waiting for us to enter once we were at the correct level. On to the next lock. The older locks are showing their age and, in some places, need repairs. On to the next bridge and the "Cut". At 11:25 am, we passed the continental divide from the Pacific to the Atlantic side. The divide is a cut through the mountains. An amazing amount of rock was removed to make the cut. As we passed through the narrow channel, we passed several ships. The Texas Highway is a car carrier. Reserving a spot is $35k but to transit ocean to ocean is $500,000. We started before 8am and got in the Atlantic by 1pm. We are a Panamax ship meaning, we are short enough and not too wide to use the old locks. Our ship leaves 2 feet of clearance on each side and 26 feet shorter than the locks. Wow, it takes a while to move a million gallons of water. Yes, each time the lock empties or fills it is 1 million gallons of water. The only thing is that water can only flow out of the lake or to or from basins next to each lock. If it was dumped into the lake, it would eventually become salty. We passed through the lake and started lining up for our entry into the last sets of locks. Each lock has “mules” which are small but powerful locomotives. It took 4 for the bow and 4 for the stern to keep the ship off the walls and pull us through each lock. Our last set of locks. As we started into our second lock, we were being followed by a sister cruise ship the Carnival Pride. It was so strange seeing a ship higher than we were in our lock. It was amazing to think of the amount of work that went into the construction of the “Cut", canals, and locks. We left the last lock at 4:30pm. Original plan was to visit Cartegena, Columbia. But just 2 days before our ship was told that we need new covid tests done or they would not let us dock. This was not part of the agreement with the cruise lines since we had just been tested before going through the canal. An exemption was asked for and plans made to stop at a new port in Limon, Costa Rica. Then at 5pm, the captain came on for an announcement that we had another change to our ports list. Some weird rule says that we have to visit a South American port after leaving from a US port and visiting Central American ports. Who knew?! Because we are NOT allowed by Columbia to dock, we will anchor for the required amount of time in their harbor and then proceed to Half Moon Cay as our last “port of call”. This also means that our next port in Costa Rica, Limon, is not going to be visited this cruise.
Our next port was in Costa Rica. The dock on the peninsula is called Puntarenas.
Our tour started right off the ship on the dock where we were picked up by a bus.
It was several miles up into the mountains. We had some pretty views. It took 2 hours to get to the top. One interesting thing about our drive is that we passed over the continental divide. The excursion/tour is a "Walk in the Clouds".
The walk will take us through lush forest and over several swinging bridges. The jungle was overwhelming with waterfalls, giant trees, huge ferns.... everything seemed oversized.
Even the trail took us around unusual trees.
We saw an amazing number of unusual plants.
Orchids and other flowers.
The bromeliads were everywhere in the trees.
On one of the swinging bridges, I almost put my hand on a huge lizard. It may have been a type of iguana.
Our last stop was near the beginning of the hike. Fruit was set out for birds. They were so colorful.
After returning from the hike, it was time for our lunch. We have heard a lot of concerns about food in Central America and Mexico. We did not have a problem with any food we ate. Yea, because Montezuma’s revenge is no joke from what we have heard.
On the return to the ship, we stopped at a small store where bathrooms were available to us. They had a lot of touristy things, but this did include free coffee and liqueur tastings. The building had little murals painted all over the outside wall. Behind the building was a garden.
Time to head out to sea.
Today, we are passing by Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua in the Pacific Ocean. Not something I thought I would ever be able to say. We are now further south and closer to the Equator than we have ever been, and we are still traveling south.
A small flock (colony officially but who thinks that over flock?) of huge seagulls flying along with us. I think they are using the updraft from the wind blowing against the ship. I wonder if they will stay with us all the way to Costa Rica.
The port is very nice but the city about 14 miles away.
If you look to the left of the picture above that blue shading, the background is a volcano. Our guide later told us that was one of the top 5 active volcanos in the world.
Above you see the cruise port but also the commercial side. Every cargo container is for Chiquita Banana. This area supplies a lot of bananas for the company. There are gigantic fields of banana palms.
Tapachula is capital of the Chiapas region (like a state) of Mexico. This area is right next to Guatemala. When we stopped at the ruins, we were less than 3 miles from Guatemala. Scary! Today, we will be visiting one of the Aztec city centers and temple. The ruins are of the city of Izapa. Only about 1/4 of the city is exposed to tourists. Almost the entirety of the rest of the city was developed as farms or homes. The ruins were only recently discovered and unearthed. Izapa was a city from 1,500 BC to 1,200 AD by the Aztecs and Olmecs. We have had great busses on every one of our excursions so far.
The walls of Izapa are in very good shape. It is easy to get the feeling that the Aztecs had just moved away.
There were several examples of water channels that they used to direct water where needed. Soft rocks were carved to make the channels and basins to dip water. Only a few have survived but these channels were miles long originally and spread water from rivers to fields.
There were several carvings though most were difficult to see dry. Tourists are no longer allowed to wet the stones, but our tour guide did have a picture taken with "special cameras" to get the finest details.
A section was dedicated to a ball game. Our guide described the game which involved a ball and sounded a lot like socker with one big exception. The captain of the winning team is sacrificed to their gods. This is considered an honor.
The highest point on the temple is aligned with the nearby volcano.
On our return to the ship, we stopped to tour part of Tapachula. This included a museum and church.
The tour was great but Mexico so different from the US. Everywhere we stopped the police are present and carrying loaded machine guns. Our tour guide warned us to stay with the group and if we explored on our own, he would not be responsible. As I expected, most of Mexico is very poor. Most homes look more like shacks than houses. The houses are surrounded by fences and barbed wire. It was disturbing. The city was very busy which is expected as the capital of the region.
The power run in the city is insane. I would guess the accidents and power outages are common.
Well, it seems that you can find some stores anywhere. The tour guide made sure to point out these stores.
He also wanted to point out a "church" building. More like cult.
At the city center was a park, museum, and church. In the museum, there was a demonstration of a traditional native dance.
This was a billboard in town. $190 Pecos for 8 pieces of chicken, two fries, and two Cole slaw (I guess). That would be about $9 in dollars. I don't know why I found this interesting.
Back to the ship after the tour.
We watched the sunset from the Crow's Nest as we pulled out of port.
Huatulco is a small town along the southwestern coast of Mexico. The cruise dock can support two ships but today we are the only ship in port. The entrance to port is very narrow.
We took a boat right off the dock to a beach nearby called Playa La Entrega.
The guides were great. They got us our equipment by size and when we arrived at the beach walked us up to a restaurant. Our guide told us that anything we left would be watched over by him personally and that nothing has ever gone missing under their tours. Next, we got down to the beach and into the water. Just 50 feet offshore was a coral reef. At times, it was only two feet below the surface. We did meet someone later that had mistakenly brushed her knees on the reef. Ouch!
When we got back to the restaurant all our things were there and we got something to drink.
Back to the ship for more music and food. There is always food on a cruise ship.
The Manta Rays were around the ship most of the day. I missed getting pictures of them jumping. I was so close in one picture, but it was just too quick.
Time to leave and continue to the canal.
Dinner tonight had Escargot on the menu. Yes! We all ordered that for our starter.
As always, dinner was great. Another day of relaxing. There is almost nothing like relaxing on a ship. There are so many ways to NOT do anything but enjoy every minute. Early in the evening, we laughed with comedian Marc Yaffee. He was fun. Next, we went to a show in on the Mainstage was the Jukebox Rouges but this time they did a medley of music across several decades.
For us a sea day means relaxing maybe we do afternoon tea, play cards, read a book overlooking the front of the ship, or just watch the sea pass by us. We might go to the pools or hot tubs. Sometimes it meant Shawna visiting the spa for a massage or facial and me going to the gym. Other times listening to live music. We did go to "Port to Table" which is a cooking demonstration. In the evening before and after dinner, we visit some music venues. On this ship, we have B. B. King's whose band is focused on blues, classic soul, and rock and roll music. Billboard Onboard which is a pair of piano players that play and sing requests. Lincoln Center Stage which is classical music. This does not include music played on very good audio systems throughout the ship like near pools, bars, and the crow's nest.
Dinner at the Pinnacle restaurant dressed up. I wish I could say the Pinnacle Restaurant held up to its name, but I can't. This is supposed to be the best restaurant on the ship but what we experienced was anything but quality. We had the worst service and food we have ever had on a ship. The steak was overcooked and dry. We had to get the waiters attention several times. in the dining room, we would have the waiter there almost before we even noticed something we needed refilled or otherwise. Later we stopped by BB Kings where the cruise directors staff setup a game of Majority Rules. This is a game where a question is asked, and teams turn in their answer. The most popular answer gets that team a point. This was hilarious. Not only was the host funny but the answers were also. Off to the Crow's nest for a drink before going back to the cabin.
in the past, I have been pretty adamant that I would not travel to Mexico. Visiting by cruise ship and going on excursions is very different. We felt very safe.
Our sail into Cabo was interesting.
I have not been able to decide if this is a whale or something else.
On our way in we were “escorted” by the Mexican Navy.
In one picture, I caught a ray jumping. We will see these jump many times but never got a good picture other than this one.
As we approached Cabo, we passed “Lands End” and the famous arch.
The port is pretty and large but with 3 ships in port it seemed crowded. There was a big Norwegian ship, another Holland ship and us.
This made for a busy tender boat trip to the docks. Every ship had several boats out running back and forth all day.
On land in Mexico for the first time, Yep, this is the first time we have ever been to Mexico.
We are headed out for our excursion.
We will be sailing and snorkeling with a video of the fish at the reef.
The excursion was call Luxury Day Sailing from Cabo Adventures. It was GREAT! We were tendered into the harbor dock and then transferred to the sailboat. There were 10 passengers and 3 crew. The captain Jose, First Mate Benjamin, and photographer Karolina. First, we had to get out of the crowded port. At times, we were only a few feet from others moving in or out to sea. The captain was very skilled, and we had no problems.
You cannot get to this beach any way but by boat.
It also is known as a place to dive around this big rock.
As we rounded the other side, we saw a huge sea lion resting.
Our first stop was to sit offshore at ‘Lands End’ which is the very end of the Baha peninsula. The Arch or El Arco and Lovers Beach/Divorce Beach. Lover's beach is safe on the Sea of Cortez side.
Divorce beach is on the Pacific side and is very dangerous because of waves, currents, and rocks just below the surface. Our captain said that anyone swimming off that beach was usually never seen again.
Lands end was very packed with boats, so we kept moving.
More sea lions sunning themselves.
The crew passed around snacks and drinks. Everything is included in the price of our excursion. They had very nice margaritas and rum punch.
Next, we looked for whales and found several.
We got to the area where we would anchor and snorkel. We stayed for two hours.
In this area, the ocean is extremely salty nothing like the Gulf of Mexico.
Shawna and I swam for a while and used the new GoPro to get some fantastic video of the huge number of fish we saw.
Lunch was served along with more drinks.
While we were eating, a big flock of Pelicans few over.
On the return trip, we sailed and relaxed. It was a long day but well worth the money spent.
Time to return to the ship.
Sails up. We had to be ready to lay flat as the sail moved across.
We got a great picture of the ship. That is our cabin in the red circle top floor to the front of the ship.
Yes, it is at the very top of the ship. Right down the hall is the “Crow's Nest” which looks out over the front of the ship and is our favorite place to visit. Oh, and it has a really nice bar and coffee shop.
Almost back to “Lands End”.
Heading back to the tender and then the ship.
Our sunset picture from the ship was fantastic.
Later we took in show at the mainstage. The Group was 'Jukebox Rogues', and tonight's show was focused on Frankie Valley's music. They were fantastic.
At sea today, so a Gala tonight, that means a suit and tie for me and fancy dress for Shawna. This morning, we went to a coffee chat with the cruise director which was interesting. Then later in the morning, off to hear more about ports and shore excursions that would be available on this cruise. Sunset was pretty. This is not our first time on this ship, Zuiderdam. It is the same ship that took us on our Canada Cruise in September 2019, starting in Quebec City up the St Lawrence seaway ending in New York City. The ship went through some renovations since then. Lots of effort was made to upgrade the ship. Before dinner we went to the mainstage which is the large theater at the front of the ship. It seats several hundred and has both a main floor and balcony. First was the Captain's Welcome Aboard. After that we were able to enjoy some music and dance from the dance group Step One Dance Company. They are six very good dancers. Hopefully, we will see them again later in the cruise. On the way to dinner, we saw another pretty sunset at sea. Tonight was our first Gala and was very nice. The food as always is fantastic.
We then stopped by the BB Kings Lounge for comedy by Marc Yaffee before bedtime. |
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