A Relaxing Sea Day

It is 95 degrees today and I love it. We had a riot in the pool today. Being in the Pacific Ocean there are a few waves and as we floated about, the waves in the pool pushed us from on end to the other. We enjoyed dinner in the Versailles Dining room again and the entertainment tonight was an amazing ventriloquist that had us in stitches.

The Panama Canal

We entered the Canal which is 80 kilometers long, at 7 a.m. I think every single person on the ship was hanging over the railings. The approach looks just like going into a river but then you get to the 3 Gatun locks which lift you up to Gatun Lake 26 meters above sea level. It only takes 8 minutes for the locks to fill or empty. It looks like there is only 2 inches to spare on the sides but there is actually about 2 feet. 197 million gallons of fresh water from Gatun Lake is used for each lockage and flushed out to sea. Ships can make appointments to go through a year ahead of time and the cash has to be in the bank or you don't go. It cost $300,000.00 for our ship today. Apparently it depends on weight, depth and length. The Americans finally got the lock system built, the inaugural passage was August 1914 so it is now 95 years old. It was returned to Panama in 1999. Since 1963, it has been running 24 hours a day. It is continuously being dredged for maintainance. There were 12 ships waiting in Gatun Lake and then we went through the Pedro Miguel Lock to lower us to Miraflores Lake. We passed under the Bridge of the Americas and next were the 2 locks to lower us to the Pacific Ocean, where we arrived at 4:00.

Cartegena, Columbia

We arrived at 7 a.m. in this town founded by the Spanish in 1513. The original people were Chibchas Indians who were excellent goldsmiths and miners, so these were plundered by the Spaniards along with their emeralds and all shipped to Spain. The dock had many cargo containers with the city in the background. I took a tour around the harbour on a replica of a 17th century Spanish galleon, much like the ships used in the slave trade at that time. There were local dancers depicting the changes in dress and culture through time. We saw the La Popa 17th century Monastery on the hilltop and then headed downtown past the Fort San Felipe and went to the old dungeons where there is now a handicraft market. Our next stop was an emerald factory where workers were polishing the stones. Right next door was Juan Valdez coffee house. This is definitely a colonial city with narrow winding streets with cobblestones. very quaint and pretty with flowers hanging on balconies.

Crossing the Caribbean Sea

Another sea day and beautiful weather. The crib board came out today and a dice game had us hooting with laughter. four times around the ship is a mile on the jogging track. Tnight's entertainment was the dance troupe as well as Chinese Acrobats. Very amazing.

A Day at Sea

We found our way around the ship today. Ron went in a shuffleboard tournament. I found the library and card room with jigsaw puzzles. We discovered iced buckets of beer are sold 2 for 1 on sea days and served in a plastic football helmut. We spent our day up on the pool deck in beautiful 85 degree sunshine. Tonight we had a 'Dress Up or not Night', to have your picture taken with the Captain. We ate in the Versailles Dining room, very fancy and great food. At the Stardust Theater show, Sandy and I caught Tshirts thrown into the audience. The show was a dance company which was really good. After this we went to the Casino and my ticket was drawn for 100 minutes on free Internet and then I won a beautiful blue topaz pendant on a silver chain worth about $200.00. Cool.

On to the Norwegian Star

We took the shuttle down to the dock to get on the Norwegian Star for our Freestyle Cruise. We connected with Sandy, Michel, Tina and Rich and explored the boat. It was built in 2001, is 965 feet long, 91,740 tons and carries 2240 passengers and 1095 crew. It is finished in rich cherrywoood, is 14 stories and has a beautiful atrium 7 stories high. An added bonus, the crew is putting Christmas decorations up. We watched Miami go by as we enjoyed a Sail Away Party on the 12th deck by the pool. We went to the Stardust Theater where a dance company performed - very good. They also had passengers on stage for a contest of threading a rope through their clothes, very hilarious. We found a lovely bottle of wine on ice in our cabin, courtesy of Suzanne and family.

Panama Cruise

Sandy and Michel arrived last week with their friends Tina and Rich and surprise! We're all going on a last minute cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines to the Panama Canal. We fly to Miami Sat and get on the ship Sun for a 13 night cruise. Can't wait. This is something we've always wanted to do. Mike H drove us to the airport in Palm Springs at 4:30 a.m. where painted mountain sheep watched us as we boarded at sunrise. We flew out over the Salton Sea and had good flights to Miami. Imagine our surprise when we had to take an underground subway to change planes in Atlanta, Georgia.