Panama Canal

                                          Cuba/Panama/Costa Rica

Diane and I had an overnight flight to Miami. We were both just getting over flu-like symptoms(or the real flu). The flight left about 1 am. We left my car at Sam and Kate’s and took Uber to the airport. We had upgraded to first class so after we took off and the lights went off, we both dozed off. In Miami we met the AHI representatives and were shown to our shuttle van. We were early arrivers so instead of going directly to the ship we were given a little tour of Miami. We headed towards downtown and went past Marlins Baseball Field. We went to Little Havana on Calle Ocho and then to the artist district. Here we stopped for coffee and doughnuts. After driving through South Beach we headed for the ship terminal to check in. After checking in we headed for the buffet line were I ran into Jimmy Simmons, a Beaumonter who used to live across the street from me in Minglewood. He was closer in age to Pat and he told me of some of the trouble they got into. He told me about Keith Carter who has become a renowned photographer. He lived next door and we called him Kippy. We went to our stateroom and rested until dinner where I ran into Patricia Adams and her friend Joette. After dinner, Diane did some reading while I went to a lecture on Cuban history.

The next morning, Friday, we arrived at Cuba. After a breakfast buffet at Discoveries Café we meet on the Cabaret Deck for our tour in Havana. The departure procedure consisted of checking out of the ship with your stateroom key card and then go through immigration with a metal detector screening, then we presented our passport and visa to the immigration officer. Next was the currency exchange where we got some CUCs(pronounced cooks). We then proceeded to the tour bus. Our first view was Moro Castle that was built in 1589 and overlooked and protected the harbor. Our next stop was The Great Statue of Jesus made of Italian Carrara Marble by Jima Madera. We viewed the La Carbona, one of the largest citadels in the Americas. We stopped at the Plaza del Revolution where Castro gave his speeches. There were two buildings there that had the likenesses of Che and some other Cuban revolutionary. Next we went to the Colon Cemetery where our guide gave spirited stories of Cuban folklore.  We were then dropped off at the flea market, Almacenes San Jose and walked back to the ship. After dinner we went to a movie about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

On our second day in Havana we took the Old Havana Heritage tour. We walked through squares dating back to the 1700s. We saw fountains, cathedrals and plazas. We stopped at the Melia Cohiba where they had Cuban Rum and Cuban Cigars for us. We drank the rum and took the cigars with us. We made our way back to the ship and settled in for the voyage to the Panama Canal.

The next day, the seas were angry my friend.( A Geroge Kastanza line from Seinfeld). No joke, there was a rough sea and some people were having a little trouble. Diane and I fared pretty well. This day would be followed by another day at sea but fortunately the water was calmer.

On this day, Tuesday, I think, we would transit the Canal. We arrived at 6 AM and went past a new bridge that was under construction. It was still dark and the bridge and canal were lit up like Christmas. We took on the pilots from the canal who would navigate us through. Ropes were handed off to some guys in row boats. They used these ropes to hook up to the “mules”, the electric cars that would pull the ship through the locks. The ship entered the first lock and the gates(built in 1914) were closed. The lock was then filled with water to raise the ship to the level of the next lock. This was repeated two more times to get us to the level of Gatun Lake. Gatun Lake was formed during the building of the canal by building a dam to hold back the Chagras River. The lake provides 32 of the 50 miles of the canal. The dam built to form the lake is an earthen dam  and the materials to create it came from the Culebra Cut. Once we were on the lake and free of the mules, we traversed the lake until we came to the Culebra Cut, now called the Gaillard Cut. Digging out the Culebra Cut was one of the most difficult challenges of building the canal. It was subjected to many, many slides down into the just excavated cut. The slides covered the rail tracks used to transport the huge dredging machines. It would all have to be dug out again and then it was often subjected to another slide. The solution was to dig out the walls to decrease the slope of the side walls. It required the removal of enormous amount of material. We continued on until we came to the Pedro Miguel lock that now lowered us to a smaller lake, the Miraflores Lake. This lake was 1.5 miles long and took us to the Miraflores Locks that lowered us down to the level of the Pacific Ocean. We had now exited the canal after a transit of time of 12 hours. We anchored that night in the Fuerte Amador Harbor. It was truly an exciting day.

The next day, Wednesday, we took tender boats from the ship to the shore. Those of us from the ship who were in the Lamar group got a very special tour. The president of the Panama Canal, Jorge Quijano, was a graduate of Lamar and he agreed to host us(about 40-50 of us) for the day. We were privileged to be able to tour the brand new locks recently completed that allow the largest container ships in the world to pass through. The construction of these locks and their operation is a modern day engineering miracle. The gates are double sliding gates that have a buoyancy to allow the gates to slide across the canal. We visited the computerized control room that had the feel of an air traffic control tower. After this private tour of the new locks, which are not open to the public, we loaded back on the bus to travel to Mr Quijano’s residence. As administrator of the canal, Mr Q is entitled live in the House from Culebra Hill. This house originally built at Culebra Cut to house the Administrator of the Canal. The first to live there was John Stevens. George Goethals resided there after he succeeded Stevens. After the canal was completed, the house was moved to its present location in Balboa near the Pacific terminus of the canal. It cost nearly as much to move the house as to build it in the first place. Since it had great historical significance, it was well worth the expense. The governors of the Canal Zone and later the administrators of the canal resided in the house. We were greeted at the house by Mr. Q and treated to a fabulous luncheon and reception on the grounds of the house. It was located atop a hill with a great view. The house was magnificent. After we left the Culebra House we went into town(Balboa) and toured a museum that depicted the history of the building of the Canal. We then went back to the ship to prepare for our excursion that night to Old Panama. Panama Viejo was founded in 1519, the first city on the Pacific coast. We were bused into town for a performance at the Old Panama Cathedral Tower. The folkloric performance depicted the rich history of the city and the Panamanian people. It was then back on the bus to return to the ship, which would sail that night for towards Costa Rica.

Thursday was a day at sea. We explored the ship. We found the library, the computer room, hung out at the pool and ate. It seems we were constantly eating.

On Friday, we arrived at Golfito, Costa Rica. We did not have an excursion scheduled so we walked into town and found a taxi driver who offered to give us a tour. We saw some beautiful sights and then suddenly the driver stops the car and jumps out shouting”Monkeys!”. There were a bunch of Capuchin monkeys at the side of the road. We fed them bananas and I took a lot of pictures and videos of them eating out of Diane’s hand. We continued our tour stopping on a hill overlooking the bay and our ship. We made it back to the ship to have lunch with Mike and Elizabeth Petit from Beaumont. Mike graduated from BHS the same year I graduated from Kelly. We had several mutual friends including Curtis Comeau and Jimmy Fontenot. The morning we arrived at Golfito we saw about 12-15 sport fishing boats heading out for a fishing tournament. That night a reception was hosted by AHI Travel and then we had dinner at Discoveries Restaurant with Leon and Martha Hicks our new friends from Beaumont.  

Our ship traveled overnight to Quepos, Costa Rica. We had signed up for a white water river rafting trip on the Savegre River. We took the tender to the dock and loaded on a bus to Santa Domingo. There we donned life jackets, helmets and were given our paddles. Next, were the safety instructions. We were 4 to a boat with a guide. In our raft were a couple of guys from South Carolina. They sure talk funny! It was kind of a shallow river with mostly mild rapids. It took about two hours and they had watermelon and pineapple waiting for us at the end. When we got back to the dock, Diane and I found a Sports Bar and we had a bite to eat. When we got back on the ship we got ready for “White Night”. They had decorated the pool deck in mostly white and we were supposed to wear white as well. They had prepared a fabulous meal, everything from lobster to steak to salmon with all the trimmings. I had crepe suzette for desert. There was entertainment as well. It was a fun evening.

On Sunday we were scheduled to go a beautiful white sand island for a day of snorkeling, beach activities and lunch. When we got to the dock, the wind was blowing so hard that the excursion had to be cancelled. We were disappointed but made up for it by hiring an English speaking guide to drive us around Puntarenas and show us the sight. It was a fun afternoon. The next day we would be leaving, very early I might add. So we went to bed early.

Monday/Departure Day. We were to meet in the Casino Lounge at 5:00 AM. We had packed the night before and had placed our luggage outside our stateroom. They had coffee and pastries and egg burritos for us. We got on the bus to head to the airport around 5:30. The trip to San Jose took about 2 ½ hours. The adventure was coming to a close. We had a great time, reconnected with some old friends and made some new friends.