Last night we received a letter explaining (ahead of time) that our internet service will be experiencing slow speed, partial loss of the signal, and temporary outages. This is due to the fact that we're heading into the middle of nowhere as we traverse the Pacific Ocean. We know this fact quite well as we recently sailed back to San Diego from the Marquesas in November. In fact, we had no internet. We have been asked to reduce our use of video streaming and large downloads as much as possible from January 10th to the 17th. When we reach French Polynesia, the service should be better.
The day started off very warm with the sun shining in our room. We were the first guests to arrive for breakfast and got the best attention ever. By 8am, a few more folks showed up. Something tells us that the rest of the President's Club members did not read the message in our original letter of perks saying that we had our own special place for breakfast in the dining room.
Anyway, there were some tours today that took people mostly out of the area. There was an excursion to see the new set of locks on the Pacific side for $85 or a ride to see Old Panama for $75. An aerial tram offered views of the jungle for $130, while a canal cruise took the guests to possibly see monkeys in the canopy for $110. The Best of Panama covered the basics for $160, and there was always a visit to the Embera Indian Village for $120. That was a hoot…we did it 20 years ago.
Watching from our veranda, we noticed there were few folks taking the tours. Maybe because there were shuttles taking people to either the Multiplaza Mall or Perico. We have no idea where Perico is located, but Greg and Heo were going to check it out after dinner last night just to see where the bus went. They promised us all that if they felt it was not safe to go off of the bus, they would ride back to the ship.
The line waiting for the shuttles at 9:30am was very long. Since it was very hot and steamy this morning, we decided to wait until 11:45am to leave the ship. There was no walking in the terminal area at all, and no way to access where we used to tender in the small boat marina. Once we boarded a small mini- bus, we saw why there was no walking. The entire area around the new terminal was still torn up. It will be a long time before this project will be complete.
The ride to the Multiplaza took about 20 minutes, and we were glad we had worn our masks. Most everyone, except crew, went mask-less and lots of them were coughing. Probably not Covid, but the start of colds or flu, who knows? Neither of us want any virus, so the masks will stay on. Buried within the downtown city of mega-towers, we arrived at the mall where we immediately recognized the entrance at Luxury Avenue. We had done this same transfer back in 2019. This mall was very nice and upscale with tons of shopping from everyday stores to the high- end ones. Basically, we went there mostly to take a walk in a comfortable air-conditioned setting. If we spotted a restaurant serving wood-fired pizza, we may have eaten lunch there. Sadly, we saw nothing like that.
No matter where we looked, we could not locate a map of this mall, so we just walked each level window-shopping. Funny that in a mall this size that we would run right into tablemate Susie and Ellen outside the supermarket. Ellen had already found some fresh flowers and Susie was working on a list of forgotten items. They were heading back, and we were still wandering aimlessly. Everything we needed we had bought while in Ft. Lauderdale. One good thing was that the Panama dollar was the same as the US dollar, and they accepted both as well as credit cards.
Time to head back, we left around 1:45pm and rode the little mini- bus back to the pier with Gyl and Howard. The skies were getting darker and it sure felt like rain. The weather can turn on a dime here as we saw yesterday. Back in our room, we ordered room service with a promise the food would arrive in 30 to 40 minutes. Honestly, the delivery came within 10 minutes. These guys are good. While enjoying our salad and sandwiches, we suddenly heard a huge bang outside like ka-boom. The room lit up and we saw a flash and smoke. Thinking it could be a bomb ( you never know in this part of the world), it looked more like lightning. The Captain came on the speakers and said it was a lightning strike and it hit one of our antennas. Not sure exactly what it damaged, but we are certain it can be replaced.
At the same time the lightning hit, local workers were delivering produce and other items to the ship. They never missed a beat as they used a crane to lift the heavy load into the ship. Unconcerned with the blast we heard, they must have known what it was, and did not panic. By the time the job was completed, the rain began falling heavily.
Around 4:30pm, the Volendam left the pier, tooted their horn, and headed south for their grand journey. We left later than expected and followed their path around 5:45pm. As we said, we will have eight days at sea in the wide-open ocean before reaching the Marquesas.
We were all there at dinner, and shared stories of the day. It is nice to hear what everyone did, since we all did something different. We are getting used to the earlier dining time of 7:30pm. It is better getting back by 9:30pm to the room or have time for the show. The entertainment this evening was a show in the Mainstage called Panama. Hope it turns up on TV, because we were way too tired to stay up that late.
Tonight we were all given the Orange Club menu which offered a special of the day. It was roast lamb, and one our tablemates ordered it. We had one trout entrée and one cordon bleu plate….both delicious. So far the meals in the dining room have been very good.
And we had a reminder to turn the clocks back one hour tonight. That works for us.
Bill & Mary Ann
