"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 12 Fuerte Amador, Panama January 11, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 90 degrees Part # 1 64 Pictures

Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 4:23:06 AM
Subject: FW: Report # 12 Fuerte Amador, Panama January 11, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 90 degrees Part # 1 64 Pictures

Report # 12 Fuerte Amador, Panama January 11, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 90 degrees Part # 1 64 Pictures

We had a rather short day here in Panama, with the tender boats stopping by 3pm. Most of the long tours had to go off of the ship by 7 or 8am in order to make it back on time. Many of the excursions took the folks back to different areas of the Panama Canal for closer look at the operations. One such tour took the guests to see the inner workings of the new locks. Others included a tour of old and new Panama. This old city was plundered by pirates, namely Henry Morgan, who laid waste to the entire settlement. This area is full of churches, convents, colonial palaces, bridges, military buildings and even dungeons. Now they are all in ruins. Finally, one tour we took back in 2003 was to the Embera Indian Village, where we got a glimpse of what life was like back centuries ago. It was pretty authentic, getting to the village by motorized canoes, then entering a village of natives dressed in period costuming or barely dressed at all. We discovered later that it was all a show, because we saw the minivans that had brought these people to the staging area. After the tour had ended, the "natives" climbed on the other side of the hill, changed to shorts and t-shirts, and went home in their vehicles. Very funny………

There was a complimentary shuttle to a mall this morning, so we had breakfast in the dining room (always nice), then grabbed the camera and headed down to the tenderboat. By 10am, there was no wait, and no need to get tender tickets. Actually, we don't have to get the tickets……just use our card to go to the head of the line on deck A. We never do that, but we take a seat like everyone else. Unless we are escorted by a staff member, we try to go when the crowds are off the ship.

Many passengers were wearing the "almost" Panama hats, made in China, we got last night at dinnertime. Last year we got some decent hats, but this year they are starched cloth and made for kids from the age of 5 and up. One size might fit all. Oh well, it's the thought that counts. Once we got off of the tenderboat, we found that the Panama hats were sold in all of the shops. Oddly enough, the original Panama hats were made in Ecuador, and still are we think. Excellent quality hats can run in the hundreds of dollars, and were created for the workers of the canal to protect them from the unrelenting sun. The tradition has stayed and everyone here wears them.

We lined up for the shuttle, which was a smallish van. We watched the local show by the colorfully-clad dancers in the outside patio while waiting. The bus took us across the Causeway for about 4 miles, then through part of the outskirts of Panama City to the Albrook Mall. We sure did not expect to see such a huge, modern, two-story complex chock full of highend shops, restaurants, and department stores. You needed a map to navigate it. Spending two hours walking, we never covered all of it. Since it was still too early for lunch, we decided to take the shuttle back to Fuerte Amador, and find a restaurant there. We were concerned about traffic, and getting stuck in town.

We did find the best place to eat…….Lenos and Carbon, an Argentinian steakhouse with a view of the marina. The menu was actually an ipad that we scrolled to check out their drinks and appetizers. We ordered nachos and one order of chicken fajitas with two ice cold beers. Our timing was good, because the place filled up within the hour. We saved a little room for some ice cream. The currency here is the US dollar, and everything was priced close to what we pay at home.

We headed back by 2:30pm, along with many other people that were returning from tours. The boat ride back was not as smooth as in the morning. Going way to the front of the boat, we had a merry-go-round trip back to the tender landing. Took some time off-loading the folks too. By the way, there was a table set up near the stairs on deck A for shoreside- purchased alcohol drop-offs. First time we remember seeing that on a world voyage.

The sail away began at 3:30pm, but this time, there were fewer people there. Perhaps it was too warm, and too many folks had way too much sun yesterday. We noticed that no band was present to play "Anchors Away" as they have always done in the past. Looks like the band has been pulled from this event. Too bad, because it made the world cruise "grander" than a 7 day trip. Another tradition to bite the dust. Yes, we did have "canned" music for one hour. A few trays of egg rolls were circulating around the deck, but for the most part, all of it was gone by the time we got there at 3:50pm. Have not seen the umbrella drinks being sold yet either. People have backed off of the sweet, fancy drinks these days.

We always look forward to sailing out of harbors for the birdlife. Last night, there were hundreds of birds flying low around the lights of the ship, plucking tiny fish from the water's surface. To our surprise, they were non-existent today. We saw a couple of pelicans and a small flock of boobys. Other than that, nothing. The Captain mentioned during his short talk that we may be in for some rain in a few days. Actually, we have a long stretch of sea days ahead of us on our way to Nuku Hiva. Seems like we just did that. Oh yeah, we did, in November of last year.

Dinner was different tonight with the offering of veal cheeks, which was more like a braised meat with a tasty gravy. The sliced sirloin was good as always with cheesy grits. Barb recommended it and she was right. Even though it was not on the menu, one of us ordered jello. It came in the tiniest of glasses with a few blueberries. Was enough. We have been pretty good about not ordering the overly-sweet and sticky desserts. The fruit plate has been a nice way to end the meal.

Good news: we had two more gifts…….journals by Moleskine and one hour back on the clock. Always a gift when it goes back.

Bill & Mary Ann

Isla Flamenca