Cruise through the Panama Canal

Our cruise is the news for April.  We sure enjoyed being with Ron, Afton, Brent and Jo Ellen.  A cruise is always more fun when you have good friends along to share all the fun with.  We came home with a few extra pounds and feeling very relaxed.  So relaxed that it took me a week to feel like doing much, my vacation was extended.

We meet Dave’s brothers and wives in Fort Lauderdale and boarded the ship and started to eat and to enjoy the entertainment.  The next day was spent at sea enjoying the warm air and the beautiful blue Caribbean sea. Our first stop was in Jamaica.  

This was not the Jamaica I remembered.  You will notice that we are not being crushed by vendors.  We had a pleasant time visiting the shops and wandering along the beach.  Those of our group who went up to the falls found plenty of opportunity to buy.  Uncle Ron bought a couple of lovely???? carvings.

After another relaxing day and night  we arrived at the approach to the Panama Canal at 5:00 in the Morning.

Approaching the locks.  They look so narrow.  Can we possible fit. What about those big container

ships?

You will notice the tracks to the side of the canal,  locomotives called mules are hooked to the side of

the ship and they pulled us through the canal.

It was interesting to see the gates close and the water rush in, so we could move up to the next level.

 

The first set of locks brought us to a huge lake. We moved out into the lake and proceeded across panama.

 

The canal is very busy. 

The lake is full of islands covered in lush vegetation.  I imagine it is full of monkeys and beautiful tropical

plants.  You can see some of the beautiful flowering trees in the jungle.

As afternoon approached we arrived at the second sets of locks and started our decent to the pacific ocean.

More gates.  Here are the workers returning home after a day of guiding the ships through the Locks.

As we approached the pacific Dad sited this building.  Can anyone guess what it is.

After viewing the quiet beauty of the temple our next view was of Panama city.  In contrast I call it Babylon.  The city is built by the Chinese.  It reminds me of Hong Kong, all those beautiful high rise buildings.

Time for a little history lesson.  The Americans built the canal way back in the early 1900.  In the seventies President Carter gave the canal to Panama.  Panama took over in the last part of 1990.  It appears that the Chinese are now in charge.  They are everywhere keeping watch.  The Canal authorities charge each ship a fee to go through the canal.  They also charge a fee based on the weight or tonnage on  the ship.

  

The clever Chinese unload their containers and ship them on a train to the other side of Panama, thus avoiding the tonnage fees.   In the meantime a new canal is being built to accommodate larger ships.  This canal is being funded by the US and other European countries.

Costa Rica

   

Another day at sea is followed by a stop in Costa Rica.  I could willingly spend more time in this country.  We rode a trolley through to tree tops.  Our guide pointed out lots of birds and monkeys.   After reaching the top Dad was disappointed  that we didn’t take the zip line down to the park entrance.  Study my pictures closely and maybe  you can see the monkeys.

 

The round ball in the tree is a termite nest.  Termites are the friends of the jungle they eat up

all the dead wood and keep the jungle clean.

some found the trip not so fascinating as others.

Our excursion included a jungle cruise to see the crocodiles.

and the birds.

We searched  the mangrove canals looking for Macaws.

We found some in the trees at a rest stop.  Enlarge the picture and see if you can find them. My zoom lens

didn’t help much.

 

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is  a very poor country.  Most people live in little shacks put together with scrapes of wood and

what ever else they can find.  Ian you would Love this country, Mangoes growing everywhere.  Many many lying on the ground.  Maybe if your lucky you can go on your mission here.

 

We traveled through a little town on our way to see Nicaragua’s famous volcanoes.  This town was full of little nurseries, colorful and well tended.

This lagoon is an old volcano crater.

We wound up through a park to visit three volcanoes, this one was very active you could smell the

sulfur.

I loved our drive through the historic city of Granada.  It was founded in 1524.

We saw lots of ornate Spanish churches , colorful colonial houses and the central market.

On the way back to the ship our driver stopped to let us watch the monkeys in the trees.
Enlarge the photo and I think you will see them.

Formal night, ready to eat again and to be entertained.

 

Huatulco, Mexico

Our last stop, Huatulco Mexico.   This was a quiet little place, lots of golden sand beaches and bays.

We wandered about the little town and when we got too hot returned to the ship.  We left early in the

after noon for Acapulco. 

Sunday morning we arrived in Acapulco and disembarked for our long day traveling home.  That is

another adventure I will report later.  Acapulco is a beautiful city.  Lovely buildings, clean streets, and

lots of lush vegetation.  The cruise line warned us not to linger here but when Mexico gets

settled down I could be interested in returning.  

We had a lovely trip, glad we went, thanks to Ron and Brent for begging us to go. 

Love to all         Mom and Dad