Panama Canal Trip
October 1999.
After many years of dreaming of going to the Panama Canal, we finally planned to do it. We are not normally cruise people and prefer to travel on our own, live among the people in the countries we visit, and try to experience as much as we can about the people and the culture firsthand. We thought we would like the luxury of being served, not having to live out of our suitcases, and getting dressed up for dinner. And we did enjoy those things. We had an absolutely spectacular transit through the canal, beautiful weather for that portion of our trip, and we met wonderful people (as we always do on our trips). In the end we were glad we that we had experiences with "retell" value, and we hope that the readers who don't know us will be able to find our sense of the absurd and humor even in the worst of circumstances during this trip.
But first we had to get there ---
The Plane Ride
We normally would not write about our plane ride when talking about a trip. However, this plane ride was extraordinary and we are glad that we lived to talk about it. We flew from Philadelphia to Dallas via American and that was uneventful. One of our party was flying for the first time and we assured her that the flight was a good one. She was not convinced. If only she knew what was yet to come.
Our flight to Acapulco was with a charter service that we had erroneously been told was owned by Princess. The engines screamed and strained, at least to our untrained ears, as we flew toward Acapulco and into very bad weather. Our pilot was good about keeping us informed. Since we were seated across from the galley it was impossible to miss the goings-on among the flight attendants and the obvious tension. The purser was very annoyed with us when we made a simple request, and we knew there was some problem. After that we decided to keep a low profile and not make any more requests during what was supposed to be a short flight.
As we approached Acapulco the weather became more severe and the plane shuddered and bounced. The pilot informed us that we would have to circle above the airport as the conditions were too bad to land. We circled for over half an hour before we were told that we would be diverted to a small airport in Ixtapa, a small fishing village that has been turned into a tourist resort, because the plane needed to be refueled. As we headed toward our new destination in even more turbulent weather, we were suddenly struck by lightning directly outside our window. What a sensation!
It was deadly quiet on the plane. No one reacted at all. (Except internally.) The outward calm (even our own) was amazing to us.
We landed in this very small airport and of course could not get off the plane because of immigration regulations. None of us felt very safe. Our pilot announced that he had given the plane a visual inspection and could not see any damage from the lightning strike, except for a burnt streak in the paint. He also said that it had "popped a circuit breaker." (None of that was too reassuring.) Finally, we were informed that our immigration papers would be collected and with any amount of luck we would be able to leave after an hour or so when the weather cleared. Some of the passengers quietly joked about staging a mutiny and demanding a bus to transport us to Acapulco. But it wouldn't have been possible in this remote place, anyway. The only overt anger expressed was from a person who had gone on many cruises. She angrily told our escort that she would find her own transportation to and from the boat from now on!
A short time later, with no signs of the weather clearing up, we were informed by the pilot, his voice cracking, that we would be leaving right away and it would be a rough ride. One steward was mopping his brow and when he saw us looking at him, he said, "It is really hot in here!" Guess you could say it was a bit tense.
Needless to say we did arrive safely at Acapulco, or we wouldn't be writing this. However, none of us were certain that we were going to make it and we talked later about how frightened we really were and how we were prepared to die. Throughout the cruise the topic continued to be brought up among other passengers on the ship and our group was known throughout the shipboard community as the ones whose plane had been struck by lightning! What a claim to fame!
After we landed, we thanked one of the attendants for being so calm and pleasant, under obviously difficult circumstance. She informed us that the attendants were fighting among themselves because one of the new employees was not carrying their weight; they had run out of food; and there were numerous other problems aboard. It was also after the flight that we learned that this plane charter service transports professional sports teams and government personnel. So our lives were in good hands after all!!!
Acapulco
We didn't get to see much of Acapulco as we drove through driving rain and flooded streets to get to the boat. We were about 5 hours late at this point and would miss the big welcome and the evening meal. However, from the little we saw, it looked like a spectacular harbor. We did not wait to see the ship leave its dock at midnight. We had been up since 3:30 AM to make our flight in Philly and we were exhausted. Later we were a bit ashamed when we learned that one couple with us, celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, had stayed up until 1:30 AM for the celebration when leaving port. (We continued to admire their stamina and attitude throughout the cruise.)
Ship and Cabin
Our ship, the Sea Princess, was the newest of the Princess Cruise Line at that time. It is a beautiful ship with 410 outside staterooms with private balconies. Unfortunately our overall experience of the ship itself was not very positive and we addressed that in a letter to Princess Cruise Lines. Suffice it to say that there were many problems on this particular ship, which cost $350,000,000 to build. There were many kinks to be ironed out
There were about 2200 passengers, about 900 crew, and this was its inaugural year. It was a floating city.
Our stateroom was more than adequate with a queen size bed, private balcony with a table and two chairs, and plenty of storage and closet space.. an improvement over earlier tiny cabins on many ships. Our steward did a good job of taking care of all of our needs. We were glad that we paid the extra money to have a balcony. We spent a lot of time there (except when it was filled with cigar smoke from a neighboring balcony). We were especially glad to have it when going through the canal. What a feeling to be many stories above miles and miles of ocean in every direction on your own private balcony. All alone in the world and quite peaceful and romantic.
Costa Rica
Our first stop was in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. We were greeted at the dock by dancers in traditional costume who entertained all the passengers as we disembarked.
We had decided to forgo the organized tours as we understood that some were geared to taking people to places to buy things and others involved long hours on a bus in the rain. Not our idea of a travel experience. We walked through the town, interacted with the people, bought a few trinkets at a flea market where we met this little girl, and bought some Diet Coke. On board, Diet Coke was sold for $1.50 per can plus a 15% gratuity("for your convenience"). We were told to always make certain we asked for "Coca Cola" and not "Coke" during any of our stops on this cruise...
Costa Rica is considered to be a beautiful country. The nation protects its rainforests and has turned them into successful tourist attractions. It has a stable, democratic government and is said to be safe for tourists. The economy is stronger than other Central American countries, though we did see many idle people on our walk through town.
We felt safe and welcomed as we explored the town. However, two couples who left the ship with us became uncomfortable when we talked about leaving the tourist area. They went back to the ship while we continued to walk the perimeter of Puntarenas. Many people on the street greeted us and were friendly. In a neighborhood grocery store, an elderly man started a conversation with us and said that he had visited Alaska.
Panama Canal
After leaving Puntarenas and cruising at sea for a day we were more than ready to transit the Panama Canal. It was the reason for our trip and would prove to live up to all of our expectations.
We woke up at 5 A.M. to a beautiful, sunny day. From awakening to 10 A.M. (with a short, but essential breakfast break) we stayed on the front deck. We didn't want to miss a thing!! As we entered the channel at Balboa, two people boarded the ship: a pilot who would have control of the Sea Princess during the transit and a Panamanian guide who provided a wonderful narration about the canal. (At the present time, 90% of the personnel operating the canal are Panamanian and the canal will pass completely into Panama's control at noon on December 31st, 1999.)
When entering from the Pacific side, the first thing one sees is the "Bridge of the Americas." In that area were 60 boats waiting to transverse the canal. Some would wait for a couple of days before doing so. Since we had a reservation we would begin our journey through the canal right on time.
We went through two series of locks that raised us 85 feet. It was fascinating to view the ships in the locks ahead of us 27 feet higher than we were.
Approaching the first lock it did not seem that we would fit
The locks demonstrated the ingenuity of the U.S. engineers. Each lock is 110 feet wide and 1000 feet long. The water comes in through the force of gravity, there are no pumps.
The 80 foot high lock gates (fabricated in Pittsburgh) weigh 700 tons but require less than 50 horsepower to open them. They worked more quietly and more smoothly than the doors in most homes. Ships are under power throughout their passage through the canal, but in the locks they are positioned by powerful locomotives, whose essential design has not changed since the canal's opening in 1914.
We were amazed at the ease with which our 79,000 ton ship was raised and maneuvered. The maximum ship size that can pass through the canal is 108 feet by about 950 feet. (At 106 by 895 the Sea Princess had a little room to spare, but we did bump the sides of the locks several times -- the scrapes were painted over at our next port of call.)
After being raised 85 feet we went through Gaillard (Culebra) Cut. The canal is 51 miles long, and this 8 mile section took 8 years to dig. Frequent, massive landslides during the digging exacted a terrible toll in time and lives.
Roughly midway through our transit we entered Gatun Lake, one of the world's largest man-made lakes. The many islands in the lake are actually the tops of hills. People can buy an island, but they can only build a grass hut on it.
The final locks -- Gatun -- had three chambers to lower us 85 feet to sea level. On this end (further west than the Pacific side) we could look down on the ships preceding us through the canal. In our case we had been been playing tag with a cargo ship from Brazil that was carrying a load of copper to Europe. In this photo you can see how much lower it is in the lock to our right.
Leaving the locks, we actually did sail off into the sunset -- a beautiful and appropriate end to an a day of experiencing an awe-inspiring creation of humans.
The never to be forgotten trip lasted ten hours and cost Princess Cruise Lines more than $150,000 in tolls.
If you are interested in reading about the canal, we recommend David McCullough's, The Path Between the Seas. It's the definitive study of the building of the canal and the human toll exacted by the construction.
Cartagena, Colombia
Our ship was greeted by Colombian soldiers with drug sniffing dogs, a comforting welcome to Colombia! We had heard so many rumors on the ship that we weren't certain exactly what to expect. We heard that two American tourists had been abducted in Cartagena in the last couple of days and we heard that the only unsafe place was Bogota, many miles to the south. The official word from the ship's personnel was that Cartagena was safe to visit on our own. However, we needed to make certain that we not pay our taxi driver until we returned to the ship and that we shouldn't travel anywhere unaccompanied... We were told to look for a man in a white shirt, signifying that he was a licensed guide who spoke English. A tan or yellow shirt meant that only Spanish was spoken.
We had a driver who spoke no English and a guide who spoke English. We were with another couple who were novices at this sort of thing and wanted us to show them the ropes. So we were crammed into the taxi. Tom told our guide that we wanted to see historical sites and "no shopping!" We negotiated the fee -- $60 for a two-hour tour. So far so good.
Cartagena is a city, rich in history, that is named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It was the one port that we were most interested in seeing. The guide began the tour by holding up his hands for us to inspect. He said, "You Americans think that everyone in Colombia uses drugs. I want you to see that I never smoked, I never drank and I never used drugs. Many people in Colombia don't use drugs." With that the tour began. And as it evolved it was clear that our guide would take us where he had predetermined we would go.
Our first stop was the huge fort of San Filipe that held off pirates and a 20,000 man force led by a British General named Vernon(as in Mount...) Here we taught our friends how to handle vendors -- no response to their pleas to buy and no eye contact. The tactic worked well when we were approached by a man who asked if we wanted to pet the sloth draped across his shoulders, as well as the many people aggressively selling things.
From the fort we traveled to the old city, which is entirely walled in -- some buildings date back to the mid 1500's. We visited the "dungeons", which used to actually be dungeons. Now the cells have been replaced by shops to entrap tourists. From there we had a walking tour of the old city and we began to wonder if we would have done better to have gone on our own. There was so much we would have liked to explore and there were some other tourists who seemed to be without guides. It was too late, however, and there was an air of uncertainty about the place. If it had been a European city we could have easily spent several days there. Unfortunately, it wasn't. After completing the walking tour we returned to our cab and thought we were heading back to the ship per our request. Our guide had a different idea. Before we could react, we were parking at an emerald shop!
Inside, we were given a brief lecture on the mining and cleaning of emeralds before being escorted into the main showroom. After milling around for a while, we asked to be taken back to the ship. Our guide took the long way back and went past the mall that the cruise line encouraged people to visit. When we firmly said we didn't want to stop we were taken back -- finally to the Sea Princess.
As we approached the area where the trip began, the guide looked at his watch and said in a stage whisper, "Almost three hours." Needless to say, as we left the cab and paid him, he said we should pay him for three hours. When Tom resisted, he suggested $70 as a fair price. Tom reminded him that the trip had lasted longer than two hours (actually two and a half hours) because he had taken us to shops that we did not want to visit. Then we turned and walked away.
We wish we could have seen more of this fantastic city and that we could roam around to get the feel of the place. However, it just was not to be. When we talked with our friends about it over the dinner table, they concurred that it wouldn't be possible to explore on our own. They had gone to the monastery overlooking the town on their tour. From that vantage point they saw many armed guards surrounding the area. In fact, throughout our time in port an overriding impression was a place that was swarming with armed policemen and military, many looking too young to be soldiers. So I guess we won't go back to Colombia any time soon.
On arriving back at the boat we noticed that all the crew was carefully inspected and often frisked as they boarded. Some passengers got the same treatment. We must have looked harmless because no one stopped us and the dogs had no problem with our passing them.
(We weren't able to get as many good pictures of Cartagena as we wanted. If you are interested in seeing some beautiful pictures of this historic city, we urge you to check out CHEZ ALBERTO.)
Grand Cayman
When we arrived at Grand Cayman we needed to anchor off the coast of the island and take a tender to go ashore. This is necessary to protect the coral reefs that surround the island. This island is known by any scuba diver as it is one of the best places in the world for this sport. Since we are neither scuba divers or snorkelers we weren't quite sure what we would do at this port. The water is a beautiful turquoise and coral could be found lying all around so just enjoying the scenery is one way to pass the time. (Our friends who did a port tour that included a glass-bottomed boat tour enjoyed their view of the coral reefs. We had decided to pass that up since we will have a chance to do that in the Great Barrier Reefs in Australia in the spring.)
However, our stop in Georgetown was basically for shopping as we soon learned. As with all our stops the ship's staff told us which shops we should buy from and we were pretty certain it was because the cruise lines have a financial interest. (Are we getting too cynical?) The whole town seems like a tourist area and is filled with shops selling jewelry, liquor, or clothing. Glassware is also popular.
Grand Cayman is a British island and thus seemed less foreign to many on the boat. Since several of us were sick by this time, we were happy to find a western drugstore that was fully stocked with the kind of medication we needed. Lines were long but we were relieved enough that we didn't mind the wait so much. And Diet Coke was the cheapest so far.
The two of us decided we would like to find something local to eat and we wanted to walk as far into the less touristy part of town as we could. This was the only stop that seemed safe to our new friends and therefore they felt free to wander about on their own and we did the same. However we never did find a restaurant that looked appetizing and ended up eating back on the boat. Afterwards we wished we had consulted a friend who goes scuba diving there twice a year as he would know exactly what to recommend. Oh well, our loss --
Cozumel, Mexico
Before cruise ships discovered the island of Cozumel, it was best known to scuba divers and snorkelers. Of historical interest, however, are the Mayan ruins both on the island and the nearby Yucatan Peninsula. Tours were available to both sites but we passed them up. From everything we could read and the people we talked with it appears that ruins on the island are not that impressive and the trip to the larger, more important site, involved a ferry ride and several hours on a bus. We are hoping to make a trip later to larger more important sites so we can spend more than a few hours learning about Mayan life.
We knew before we ever arrived at this port that our priority was to get an authentic Mexican meal. We also knew we could get vanilla, tequila, and Kahlua at a fraction of what they cost in the USA. The tequila was $10 a liter and the Kahlua was $7.50 a liter -- prices we couldn't resist.
From our spot on the dock to the end of town where "Pancho's Backyard" was located was about 2 miles. Between the boat and that restaurant seemed to be hundreds of stores selling jewelry, clothing, jewelry, clothing, jewelry, clothing.. and a few souvenir shops interspersed. Each store had several hawkers strongly encouraging everyone who passed to check out their merchandise. One man even shouted, "Almost free!" about the jewels he was selling. We enjoyed the festive atmosphere and the marimba playing and entertainment at one store we visited for novelty items. A housewares store sold the glassware that we use at home at the same price we paid for it at Pier One.
We made our way to the restaurant and were not disappointed. The nachos and the enchiladas were great and we enjoyed the marimba playing of two men whose features said they had to be of Mayan ancestry.
People We Met
As with all of our traveling, the most memorable moments come from the interactions we have with people. On this trip we met fellow cruisers who enriched our experience and whom we hope to spend time with in the future. Marie, the first time flyer, was a wonderful sport and had a great attitude about all the things that happened, including very rough seas for a couple of days. For many people if it were their first trip, they would vow to never fly again, never sail again, never leave home again, maybe! But she was great and she and her new husband had a great deal in common with us.
We couldn't have asked for better dinner companions and we looked forward to seeing them each evening. One couple was from Philadelphia and were older than us. The other couple was younger and married 22 years, and lived in the country. We doubt that any of us went to the dinners for the food, because it wasn't all that great. However, none of us missed a meal in the dining room when we could have gone to the buffet instead. The company made the meal. Our waiter, Piero, asked us if we were all friends before coming on the cruise and he said he enjoyed watching us interact. By the time we had to say "Good-bye" we felt like we had known each other forever.
We got to know a few crew members fairly well and met people from all over the world. One young man from Thailand told us of being recruited through a newspaper ad in his country. He was terribly homesick and planned to leave the ship at the end of his contract (most are 6 months). We gave him our website address and email and have since heard from him. A young woman from New Zealand gave us travel advice for when we visit her country in the spring, and a young lovesick American told us his life story. We wished him well as we departed.
During our walk around Puntarenas, Costa Rica, we stopped at a restaurant/motel for a coke. Marie asked the proprietor where he was from. He replied that he didn't know how to answer. He was born in Israel, traveled in Europe and Mexico and now held a Canadian passport. His father started the business in 1984 and willed it to his sons. The current owner bought out his brother. He seemed like the kind of person who had many interesting stories to tell and we wish we had had more time to be with him.
These are just a few of our stories of people we met along the way. As always, it is the people we encounter that add the greatest richness to our travel experience.
Also, as always, it is great to be home. We found our ponds to be in good order, the garden overgrown, and grass needing to be mowed. All work that we love.
Our next big trip is in the spring. We are doing a round-the-world trip and will write about it when we get back.
Bye for now,
Tom and Marie
PS. If you want to read about the year we lived in Japan and traveled throughout Japan, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, and Korea, click here.
An update from 9/20/00: We have received many email messages in response to this site. We want to thank you for giving us your feedback. Here is one message that we received recently that we wanted all of you to be able to read.
Just purused your account of trip through the Canal Zone--My grandfather and great uncles the Websters,Wades and Sheas spent 7 years digging that big ditch on the Bucyrus steam shovels----They were quite Valiant men--many lesser men died not only from the swelltering heat and rain but they either drank themselves to death or killed themselves or dropped dead on the job. I was brought up on the stories of the construction of the canal-no nursery stories---So if you look back on your trip-say a prayer for those men who died and are buried in the hills at Culebra Cut.
Margaret WebsterSo if you are traveling to the Panama Canal, please keep them in your thoughts.
And to read other's responses to our trip and their own Panama cruise stories go here.
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