Day 7 of 15…. Colon Panama

September 27, 2023September 27, 2023w2bergen Leave a comment

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Thursday April 27, 2023

Day 7 of 15….Welcome to Colon Panama, the gateway to the Panama Canal on the Atlantic Ocean

Arrival 9am……Gangway Open 9:30am….All Aboard….5:30 pm

Yesterday, Cartegena Columbia…… Today, Colon Panama…….. Tomorrow, The Panama Canal….Its a very busy 3 days. Today our excursion will be the Imax Theater production of The History of the Panama Canal. We headed to the Aurora Theater again to check in and get our number and colored sticker. We waited to have our number called and then proceeded playing follow the leader again down to the 4th floor to get off the boat. We had docked this time at the dock. It was a very short distance to all the buses.

**There is our dock, and all the buses lined up waiting for us.**

**The red bus in the middle will be ours.**

We looked for the guy with a sign with our Tour Number. On the way we stopped and had that Quick picture taken again…..Ughhhh…..

Then followed the Guide to our Beautiful Red Bus. As we had come down the inlet to dock, we had seen all these warehousing looking buildings. We found out it is the Tax Free Zone. Colon is a Tax Free Port dedicated to re-exporting to Latin America and the Caribbean. It is the largest free port in the Americas and the 2nd largest in the world. Hong Kong is first. It covers approximately 130 acres. It is separated from Colon by a wall. As we drove by the many entrances, it looked like regular shopping streets inside. Each entrance is gated. Our guide said it is totally locked up every nite at closing.

The guide we had this time was not the best. He had a very heavy accent and was difficult to understand. We also didn’t realize the Imax was clear on the other side of Panama, on the Pacific side. That was about 50 miles. We also didn’t realize until later that the back of the Imax was against the Canal. So, we now had about an hour drive across Panama from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It really was a very pretty country. Lots of Trees, hills, just like the states, some small mountains, Lake Gatun, the manmade lake they flooded to make the Canal. There were plenty of small homes, very poorly made, hidden in the landscape. The main highway was Route 9, a beautiful highway, 4 lanes in places that ran from Colon to Panama City.

**Countryside and the Highway from Colon to Panama City**

**Lake Gatun….The man-made lake for operating the locks.**

We arrived at the Imax to a very large modern building. There were many buses there, not only from our ship but many others. It is probably a main Tourist attraction coming out of Panama City also.

**The Imax Theater 3 miles from Panama City**

We entered and was given free popcorn and soda. It was a very well-made movie about the History of The Making of the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal was constructed at the Isthmus of Panama in order to save ships from going around Cape Horn in South America, saving 8,000 nautical miles. The canal is approximately 50 miles long from Atlantic Ocean deep water to Pacific Ocean deep water. The French first attempted to build the canal but gave up. So many men died of Malaria and Yellow Fever due to mosquitoes. Finally, the United States took over and acquired the Canal from France in 1904 and it was completed and opened in 1914. In total over 25,000 men died constructing the Canal, mostly French. Now what we did not know, was behind this Imax was the 3rd set of locks, Miraflores Locks. There was a stadium seating viewing area that they did not show us. The next day as we went through the canal, I seen the back side of the Imax. Now I sure don’t know why they didn’t take us there. We headed back to our BRIGHT RED BUS.

**Drivers seat with his hanging monkey friends.**

The tour guide drove us all through the area. The Canal was owned and run the United States from 1914 until a Treaty was sign in 1977. It stated that the Panama Canal would be officially handed over to Panama Dec. 31, 1999. During the United States time they owned it, they had constructed many buildings. Office buildings, homes for the officers and their families, as well as hospitals etc. All these were given to Panama.

**The Style of all the American Buildings. They were all given to Panama**

Our guide took us past many of these buildings that are successfully being used today. We drove by the Corozal American Cemetary. This land was designated for a permanent cemetery in 1914 when the US opened the Canal. Citizens of over 70 nations are buried here, among them over 5000 Americans, Veterans and Civilians.

**Rolling Hills of tombstones, in Corozal American Cemetary. 5,000 Americans buried their since 1914.**

Then we headed towards Panama City. We rode on the Official Highway 1 that connects the Americas. We saw the Bridge of the Americas through the trees and then passed some apartment areas with graffiti paintings.

**Bridge of the Americas….Highway #1 in the distance near Panama City**

**Apartment Buildings overlooking Highway #1**

We headed for a little strip of land that ended in an area called Flamingo Island. It was a beautiful drive to the point. The ocean was on either side. Panama City was in the distance. So impressive with its tall buildings.

**The Skyline of Panama City….This is as close as we got.**

We drove all the way out there to stop at a souvenir shop and a bathroom break. lol. But it really was a pretty area. At the Souvenir shop I bought this cute little purse. I bought this purse for a purpose. I will write all about that the next time. Its worth a laugh.

Time to head back to the ship. We were pushing it for time. I heard comments being mentioned about how late we were. But remember……..We purchased this tour through Royal Caribbean. They wait for any tours that come back late. So I wasn’t worried. So back across Panama we went to Colon and our ship, The Radiance of the Seas. Another pretty drive back through the trees, hills, some mountains, Lake Gatun to Colon.

**Pretty red curtains on our bus. You don’t find that in the USA**

**There she is “Radiance of the Seas” “Home Sweet Home”**

We finally got back, again tired and hungry. So off to the Windjammer for Dinner. We looked for Conmelia and Shane. As usual there they were. It is so good seeing them every day. Like seeing long lost friends. It was so good to sit down and relax in front of the windows and see the magnificent scenery that lays before you. Here we sit after a full day tour and are eating a wonderful meal before us, while looking out of the wall of windows from the 11th floor. Your looking at this magnificent view and think. WOW, Is this real? How Amazing life can be. We left port and are now traveling to Limon Bay near by. It is the entrance to the Panama Canal. We have to head out and wait for our turn to enter the canal in the morning.

**Ships waiting in Limon Bay to head across the Canal.**

Tomorrow, we will be entering the Canal and riding through 3 sets of locks to the Pacific side. It will take all day. This will surely be the highlight of the trip.

This is a map of the Panama City side of the Canal. The red flag is where the Imax was and the last of the 3 locks, Miraflores Locks. The long strip of land called the Punta Nature Center is where the driver took us. Panama City is on the right upper side of this photo. So tomorrow we get to stay on board, but it will be the Purpose for taking this Cruise. Our Passage all the way through the Panama Canal to the Pacific. It’s a once in a lifetime trip for us.

**This was an actual license plate that we purchased.**

Day 6 of 15…..Cartagena Columbia, Amazing

September 10, 2023September 10, 2023w2bergen Leave a comment

Wed. April 26 2023

Day 6 of 15….Welcome to Cartagena Columbia, in South America, Wow, are we really here?

Arrival: 7 am.—Gangway open 7:30 All Aboard—4:30, Departure 5pm

After Grand Caymen was another cruising day, so now here we are approaching South America. I woke up early to see us enter the harbor of Cartagena Columbia. It was a beautiful morning with the sun coming up.

We chose an excursion in Cartagena. It was a bus trip through the city seeing some of the top sites, traveling along the coast to a little fishing village, La Boquilla. We will board hand hewn mahogany canoes and travel through the swampy mangroves watching for wild life. This excursion will be one of the more exciting of our cruise. I have been wondering, when they have all these excursions at each port, how does everyone get on the right bus or van to their destination. I imagined chaos.

**Everyone** **in line to receive their sticker for their excursion.**

**Waiting** **for their number to be called.**

We received instructions to meet at the Aurora Theater at 8am. You check in with your tickets that were delivered to your room. They give you a colored tag and number to stick on your shirt. When your bus is ready, they call your number, and everyone plays follow the leader. You head out to the dock, going through x-ray and scanning Sea Pass Cards as usual. Outside, your bus’s, vans etc, are awaiting you. You board according to number and color. It really worked out quite well.

**OMG……Our picture coming right off the ship…. File in line…snap…..keep going**

We boarded our bus ready to begin this exciting day. Our Tour Guide was a young lady named Victoria. She had a very nice loud voice, great English, perfect for her job as well as a side of humor that was fitting. As we traveled into town, it became so so crowded. It became terrible. The traffic didn’t seem to care about anything. I had a passing truck loaded with trash, hit my window. Crazy. It seemed one of the popular sources of travel was the motorcycle, or minibikes. They were in work clothes, business attire, but had no concept of dying. They would zoom up from behind and drive right up between the 2 vehicles traveling side by side. It’s a wonder they weren’t smashed and killed.

**Cute hood ornaments…..lol…But this is how close we were. It is not zoome**d..

We made our way through Cartagena and down the coast to a little fishing village called, La Boquilla. We pulled off the road into a parking lot near a large grouping of trees. After we got out of the bus, we walked down a path to the canoes. Oh Boy, yes, they were definitely hand carved, or homemade, which ever you choose to call it.

**These look really safe, don’t they?…..lol**

They loaded us all into these canoes, 1 on a seat. (Thank Goodness) We were full. They told us to be careful about balancing. No sudden moves. OMG……I could tell. I felt tense as any move Rich made, he leaned one way, I leaned the other. I felt like we would Rollllllll…….But we did stay upright. Vicky was our guide also on the canoes, as the guides couldn’t speak English. There was one man in the back of each canoe to push with a long stick. She told us if we did roll and capsize, don’t worry…….JUST STAND UP…..It was shallow. They pointed out different things they seen in the water as we passed.

**This is a nest of termites. This is how they live in the wetlands. Their trails came from the nest all the way down a limb to the water…..Grouse….**

**A little crab hid out in the roots of the Mangrove**

**Entering the center of the open lake area. That was so cool as we approached it. I felt like we were explorers searching for new lands.**

**Beautiful Opening into the Lake Area**

This was such a quite beautiful ride. So peaceful. The Mangroves were just tunnels through all the roots. It twisted and turned until you would come up on a small opening. I can see how people could get lost or hid in these. We heard birds, heard the rustling of the trees, and the water splashing as the guides pushed our boats. But it was also HOT and SWEATY that day. When we came out into the lake, we seen a man in the distance. We headed his way and all the boats parked near him like a school class. Actually, that is rather what it was. Vicky told us he was a local fisherman. This is what they do to support themselves and their family. In Colombia, they are allowed to have more than 1 wife. Hence, they obviously have many children. He was going to show us how they throw out a net to catch crabs, fish, or turtle. Whatever is in the water.

**Showing us how to throw his fish net**

After that, of course they passed a tip basket around the boats. It was handed boat to boat. So, I guess everyone has a way to ask for a tip these days. We traveled on in the open lake to the little hole where the tunnel begins again to head back to the dock.

**Finding the hole for** **the channel back to the dock**

**Waiting at the dock to unload 1 canoe at a time**

We met this couple the day before for breakfast. We were surprised to see them on the bus. She took our picture, we took theirs. We would exchange later. She wanted all her friends to believe they really did this. Well later never came. We never seen them again on the Ship…..lol

Finally back out of the canoes. Dry also, nobody tipped the boat. I was so happy to get back into the bus and AC. Now we were going to go back into town to another shopping site. We passed many of the walls that were still standing around the city. They were built many many years ago to defend themselves from the pirates raiding their country. Then we stopped at Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. It was built by slave labor, on a hill in the 1500’s at a strategic point to protect them from battles. Around the castle is a nice area of benches and trees and of course little shops of locals selling their trinkets. This is where the bus stopped. Before we got off, Vicki told us. She said, “You know how Mexicans usually barter and beg for a deal? That is nothing. DO NOT look at them, do not ask about an item if you have no intention of buying. Do NOT look them in the eye”. She was so right.

**Vicky warned us about this lady. She is always there. She will stop you and want you to take a picture with her. If you do not tip her, she will follow you until you do. She was very persistent.**

**So here is our picture with her. This smile only came out for her pictures…lol**

As we were walking, a guy kept coming after Rich to buy a hat. He wouldn’t leave him alone. He followed him all over as Rich walked by the little shops. Finally Rich bought a hat. lol. He was so persistent. I wish I had taken a picture of him. By that time, I was so hot, I was wanting to get back on the bus.

**It actually was a pretty cool hat and looked nice on him.**

The bus took us back to the ship. We were so hot and tired. They took us instead to a parking lot to drop us off. But we were still aways from the ship. I wasn’t very happy about this. But it turned out it was a Bird and Monkey Aviary. It was so beautiful. The birds and monkeys were free to roam. Of course, it also had a very nice Souvenir shop.

**Isn’t she just beautiful. The full wing spread.**

**This tree was just so full of birds. If you look up, you seen them everywhere.**

**We looked up in the tree and also seen monkeys climbing limb to limb. These were not the same ones. I came out of the gift shop and their they were….so cute.**

**Beautiful parrots everywhere. all squawking. Have you ever heard one?**

**Beautiful white Peacock. He was hiding**

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**What a better place to be for dinner. The back of the boat, with a view of Cartagena Columbia.**

Finally, we left the Aviary. There was a shuttle on the other side that took us to the ship. We were so hot and tired, and……. HUNGARY……Back to the Windjammer Buffet……Of course, we found Conmelia and Shane, they take good care of us. Such wonderful conversations with them. We sat at the back of the ship and watched the beautiful view of Cartagena. As we sailed away, we reflected on the day. All the things we did, the things we seen. We never ever dreamed this could be. It was like we were living a fantasy. What a day of memories. Tomorrow, we have to be up early again. We will be at Colon Panama. We will be getting off the boat and going to an Imax Theater and learning about the Panama Canal. Another Great Day It Will Be….

Day 4……Grand Cayman Islands, So Beautiful

September 5, 2023September 5, 2023w2bergen Leave a comment

Day 4– Welcome to George Town Grand Cayman Island. Overseas British Territory.

Arrival 7am.–First Tender Boat, 7:45–Last Tender Boat 5:15,–Departure 6pm.

We arrived at George Town about daylight. I went out on the Balcony to watch the approach to the island. What a beautiful morning it was. We watched as the Pilot Boat from the harbor approached our ship

**The Pilot boat from George Town meeting our boat. Look how little the fishing boats are. This was taken from our balcony on the 7th floor.**

The Pilot is dropped off on the lower level of the boat while still moving towards the Port. It is his duty to help the Captain navigate the Ship into the harbor. He knows his Port, the sand bars, the waters entering the channel and all things important to docking the ship. Here at Grand Cayman, the harbor is to shallow for the cruise ships to dock. They use Tender Boats {water taxi’s} to transport the passengers between the ship and the Port. The first Tender Boats showed up by 7:15 after the ship had anchored. All the passengers that had booked excursions were the first ones off the boat. We didn’t book any in this port as they were mostly all water fun. Diving, snorkeling, Trip to Stingray City to see the Stingrays in the ocean and possible pet them. Also, the many, many beaches and the Famous 7 Mile Beach. We have excursions booked on all the other Ports we visit, so we decided to just take it easy on this one. We waited till later to go souvenir shopping. Finally late morning, we went down to the 4th floor. We had to go through the x-ray machine like the airports and they also scanned our Sea Pass cards. You cannot leave or arrive at the boat without your cards. This is how they keep count of passengers on or off the ship. I like to book only Excursions with Royal Caribbean because they will wait till all excursions are back to leave. If you go ashore and simply take a tour somebody sells you, they won’t guarantee they will wait. Wouldn’t it be terrible if you arrived back late and seen your Ship with all your belongings sailing off into the sunset?……GOOD BYE…..Find your own way back to the states. We boarded the tender and proceeded to shore.

**The Port pictures begin. 8×10 pictures every Port.**

**Loaded Tender boat arriving at George Town pier**

These Tenders hold as many as 200 people. But remember our ship is technically a small ship of over 2000. You can imagine how many Tenders they have to transport passengers back and forth between the ship and the dock. We arrived at the terminal and did some shopping at the little shops. Then we proceeded out of the terminal into George Town. We found a few things but what was interesting was the cars drove on the left side of the street and the drivers sat in the right side of the car.

**The steering wheel on the right side.**

**Vehicles driving on the left side of the road.**

We walked the streets, did more shopping, walked by the fish market, where they were cleaning fish and many restaurants. We found this little Flea Market sort of tucked in an empty lot.

We bought a few souvenirs from the locals, and ran into a very interesting small time business man. He was selling items as well as Caymanite Jewelry. I had never heard of Caymanite.

This semi-precious gemstone is found only in Grand Cayman. It contains bands of red, orange, white, black and brown. The locals of the island make beautiful jewelry and gifts and sell it throughout the islands. This man makes trips to Miami to buy supplies for jewelry crafting as well as selling. Since he was such a friendly nice guy full of info, I asked him a question I had been wondering about. I had bought a visor. The visor and many of the things in the gift shops had “Grand Cayman BWI”…….“What does BWI stand for”? This was when I realized how stupid I was sounding…..Bristish West Indies. I knew that…..Grand Cayman is run by the British government.

Another well known fact is the Cayman Islands is home to over 160 banks from all over the world. They have been cited as a financial destination. They have so many tax benefits etc, that it has become known as a great place to park your money and grow your wealth.

**Heading** **back to** **our Beautiful Boat on our Tender Boat.**

We were getting really hot so we decided it was time to go back to the ship. We didn’t have to wait long. The Tender boat was loading and another one was ready to take its place after we left.

**Our Tender Boat will drive right up to this open door. The ladder will be extended for us to board.**

**Our room is the floor above the lifeboats all the way in the back. Very last room behind the pole.**

We boarded our ship, went back through the x-ray machine, scanned our sea pass card, so they know we were onboard. We went to our room and was exhausted. But what do you do after you’ve cooled down? off to the Windjammer Buffet. We hadn’t eaten since we left that morning.

**We found a great table overlooking George Town coast Isn’t that just a Beautiful Site**

**Beautiful Grand Cayman from Deck 11. I think we were leaving**

We found a nice table, filled our plates with goodies, and relaxed. Rich loves cookies. He had found which food island they put them out every meal. So he started bringing a bunch to the table every day. Then I had to stash them in my purse to take up to the room. I wish I had taken a picture. He loves the Oatmeal. Of course, we found Conmelia. We had to say our “Hi’s”. We found out something exciting. Conmelia is engaged. He fiance is the CHEF on board. His name is …..Shane……More about them on further blogs…….At 6pm, we finally pulled up anchor on time and “away we went” Now 1 more day at sea before we arrive at Cartagena Columbia. We seen several Entertainment Shows in the Aurora Theater. They were wonderful. Their was different shows every nite.

**Royal Caribbean Dancers and Singers Can you imagine dancing like this with the boat “rocking”**

**Piano Man in the Aurora Theater. He was very good.**

Evening in the Centrum. Look Close…..See the people sitting down below? Their are people standing 2 floors up while the Entertainer is playing the guitar on the stage below. This area was so busy. At least 6 or more different shows a day. Always checked out the shows as we walked by. The music carried down the halls.

**Doing some more exploring as we leave port**.

We had a nice time in Grand Cayman but we did miss alot. After reading more about the Island, their were many places to see, and it would be easy to get around by taxi or many reputable, local tour agencies. But that’s ok, we can always see more another time. One day at sea and then…….Next Stop…..Day 6 Cartagena Columbia. It will be much more exciting. We will be boarding a bus and traveling through the city seeing so many beautiful sites and then stopping at a fishing village. We will take a canoe trip in hand carved mahogany canoes through the Mangroves. It was hot but so exciting….As long as we didn’t tip the canoe….lol

^{…….Stay Tuned……}.

………….''AND LET THE FUN BEGIN''……………..

Our Diaries of Daily Life and Travel

Month: September 2023

Day 7 of 15…. Colon Panama

Day 6 of 15…..Cartagena Columbia, Amazing

Day 4……Grand Cayman Islands, So Beautiful

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