One of us was awake early enough to watch as the Volendam sailed under the Bridge of the Americas which was completed in 1962 at a cost of 20 million US dollars. It is part of the Pan-American highway. The time listed on the front of our newsletter said the journey began at 6:30am, but it must have been a bit later than that. We had a narrator by the name of Richard Detrich who raised coffee in Panama as well as having traveled the world. Now being retired, he goes on small and large ships to make our adventure a learning experience. One other aspect of today’s sailing had to do with the oppressively hot and humid weather and how to avoid heat stroke. We were all given a detailed letter that suggested proper clothing, using sunscreen, drink lots of fluid, preferably non-alcoholic, and limit our exposure to the sun. Heat exhaustion can reveal itself with headaches, nausea, faintness and weakness. Finally, call 911 of we feel we are dying. And sometimes these things can sneak up on you without warning, so we take the message seriously.
It was already 86 degrees and 70% humidity at 9am. The winds were mild at 8.1 mph and there were some clouds and some sun. No doubt in our mind that it will get hotter as the day progresses.
Our special treat of Panama rolls were delivered by Joan who remembered to add some to her tempting tray of pastries. Many folks like us came a bit later to the Pinnacle Grill since we were watching the start of the day-long trek. We did not want to miss the chance of spotting the capybaras near the Pacific Ocean side of the canal. And we were not disappointed because there they were, cavorting in a huge pond-like puddle left from the rain. Of course, this was on the starboard side of the ship, so going out on deck six forward worked quite well. Also seen were three large crocodiles swimming along the banks of the canal. The bow was opened by 6am, and since it had not rained last night, the deck was dry. While the photographer among us was taking the capybara pictures, a couple of deer snuck out of the canopy of trees on the port side of the canal. Yours truly got a quick picture of them before they disappeared under the trees. It was the first time ever to spot deer here.
So how do you describe the Panama Canal story in a nutshell? The Panama Canal is the world’s most famous “shortcut” which cuts through the Continental Divide linking the Atlantic to the Pacific. Sounds like a simple idea, but it sure turned out to be a monumental project. It came with a price, mostly in the loss of human lives due to malaria, yellow fever, and accidents of all kinds. There are many books written on the subject, which if you truly want to enjoy what you are witnessing, understanding the history is most important.
We happen to be here in the low season, or the beginning of the wet and wetter season. It lasts from late April to early December. So what are the favorite foods eaten in Panama? They include sancocho which is a chicken and veggie stew. Next is propa vieja - a spicy shredded beef over rice. Rice, beans and fried green plantains go well with everything, especially fresh fish which is abundant. Cerviche is everywhere in Panama. Coconut water and tropical juices are available and their favorite alcoholic beverage is made with seco, a type of rum, mixed with milk and ice. Perhaps many folks had a chance to try some of the local cuisine last night.
One thing we missed were the flyers and maps given to us by the local Panamanian Canal officials. The ship did provide a map with descriptions of the Canal, which was a big help. There were many types of birds to be seen that included frigates, pelicans, ibis, vultures, egrets, grackles, brown boobies, little swifts, gulls, cormorants, and the best sighting of an osprey or two.
The ship entered into the Miraflores Locks before 8am, but we missed most of the transit due to breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill. That is one downside to that venue, and it is the fact there are no windows. The next set of locks was at Pedro Miguel, which sits 85 feet above sea level. From here, we could see the new sets of Cocoli Locks where a giant container ship was being escorted by tugboats. For several years now, we have witnessed the progress of this new technology which produced these new locks in 2016. The Cocoli Locks are 31 feet higher than the old locks we were sailing in. We could see the difference from our veranda, where we spent the majority of the day.
By 10:30am, we were sailing under the newer Centennial Bridge which opened in 2004 to lessen the traffic on the Bridge of the Americas. The distance between the two bridges is only 9 miles. On a past cruise right after the bridge opened, we drove across both bridges in one day while on a tour. It was the thing to do back then for bragging rights we guess.
The Culebra Cut is an excavated gorge for 8 miles crossing over the Continental Divide. It proved to be a bear of a job completing this section due to the unstable mud and soil as well as the extreme working condition for the laborers. We have a few photos of this pyramid-like cut even though it was on the starboard side, we caught a glimpse of it before the ship turned. We did see a quick look at Herman the German, one of the largest cranes used to lift the gates of the canal for routine maintenance. For some reason, we did not hear any narration during this part of the transit. In order to hear any of the narration, we had to keep the TV on the bow channel and go in and out of the veranda all day. The outside speakers on this deck were not working.
We also passed Gamboa where we believe Noriega was imprisoned for many years following his dramatic capture. He has since died, and we did not hear any mention of the prison itself.
A slow and steady pace brought us to Gatun Lake around 12pm or so. By damming the Chagres River in 1912, this lake was left with little islands which were once mountaintops. This 166 square mile lake is at an elevation of 82 to 87 feet above sea level. It is the heart of the operation of the locks making it one of the greatest engineering projects in the world. There are more than 100 species of reptiles and mammals, and 500 different types of birds. Due to the heat, most of this wildlife is rarely seen.
We did notice that there was two way traffic today with mostly commercial vessels and few small yachts passing the other way. We did not see any other cruise ships, which is unusual. It looked like we were heading into rain, but we only got some drizzles….nothing more. It would have helped cool the air down if nothing else. All through the mountains and valleys of the lake, we saw some bright yellow trees blooming. Looking them up, we discovered they were the guayacan trumpet trees which can grow to 164 feet tall and live up to 50 years. Their nickname is sunshine tree and can actually be seen from space due to their brilliance.
The Volendam arrived to the Gatun Locks around 2pm which is located on the Caribbean side. There were three sets of locks which dropped us down 100 feet to the Caribbean Sea. It was even more interesting watching the locks next to us raising a commercial tanker to the lake. We could not see the new locks at Agua Clara because once again, they were on the starboard side.
The finale was going under the Atlantic Bridge, which was completed in August of 2019. It is also made with double cable stay supports and connects the town of Colon. It took six years to complete. From here, we were on our way to the next and final port of this cruise – Cartagena, Colombia with one day at sea before we get there.
Since it was so warm this late afternoon, we stayed in our room and worked on photos and research for the day’s journey. Our room heated up to almost 80 degrees despite the fact the thermostat was turned down as low as it could go. We had the tower fan running all day, which did help. And because the hallway outside our room was recently flooded, the fans had been running day and night to dry it up.
Since we still had some non-refundable shipboard credit, we paid a visit to the Shops and did find an Effy treasure to purchase. We happened to be the only customers in the Shop at the time, so we had their undivided attention. After the purchase was completed and one of us rang their bell, the salespeople posed with us for a group photo. We still have a little more to spend under the “use it, or lose it” plan, and the “cashable” credit will be credited back to our card on file.
Dinnertime found the upper dining room rather empty of guests. Dinner for us was one spicy chicken creole salad, one Caesar salad, and mains of Kingston chicken with mac and cheese with a spoonful of coleslaw. Quite different. Dessert was ice cream – coffee and mint chip. The Pinnacle Grill hosted the last of their pop-ups with the Tamarind venue.
The “Tailor of Panama” was the Wajang movie, and the entertainer in the show lounge was Salvatore Hasard, an instrumentalist with “Life is Music”. It was written that he is one of the most iconic headlining shows in the cruise industry.
We had a package from Luggage Forward with all of our tags left on our bed along with our pillow candies. A reminder we have to get busy with the packing soon.
Hope our room cools down so we can get a good night’s sleep. Somehow we doubt it.
Bill & Mary Ann
