Cartagena Columbia and the Panama Canal

April 17, 2008 Thursday
Cartagena, Columbia

So much for not getting off the ship. Suzi and I decided we wanted to explore the cruise terminal and the duty free shops there. AND, the jeweler I had bought the emerald ring from had notified me that American Express wouldn’t approve the sale until I called them to let them know I was really in Columbia! Kudos for AmEx for double checking that….bad on me for not notifying them that I was going to be in Columbia and Mexico for a few days. SO, I had to figure out how to call AmEx. The salesman from the Jeweler came to meet me at the cruise terminal and between the two of us we finally got AmEx on the phone and of course, we were talking to Bogota and there was only one person in the office that spoke limited English. We finally got the sale approved. He was very gracious to me for being honest – as he said; I could have walked away with a $2500 emerald ring. However, I have to look at myself in the mirror every day! But like I told Suzi, I felt like I was doing a drug deal…meeting in the parking lot, strange man, etc!

Back on ship (with a bottle of vodka from the duty free shop) we met Jack and AL for lunch. After lunch we went to the show “Michael Clayton”…however, I lasted about half way through and I was freezing – it was so cold in the theater, so I left. I never did figure out the plot to the movie either.

Dinner last night was at the Mexican Restaurant on board. Not bad, however, I think the cook was Philippine because it had the same taste that the Mexican food used to have in Saudi when our cook at where I worked at JACOR would cook Mexican food….and he was from the Philippines. Adobo sauce instead of mole sauce. Oh well, it was okay.

After dinner Jack and Suzi went to the show, Al and I decided to just go back to the room. Al’s legs are beginning to really bother him; so he wanted to rest. I walked around the promenade deck three times (makes a mile) and then came back and read.
The sea is really choppy tonight….swells are 6-9 feet and the ship is rocking and rolling pretty good. We are traveling very slow as we are to transit the Panama Canal on Saturday morning and we aren’t that far from it.

April 18, 2008 FRIDAY.

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY SHERRIE!! WE LOVE YOU.

Last night was one of those nights where you were either A.) rocked to sleep or B.) Hanging on to the edge of the bed so you wouldn’t fall out! Yes, it was a little windy and rough and it still is this morning. Makes walking a little more difficult and tricky.

By the way, there are a lot of people from the Pacific Northwest on board…which makes sense since this cruise ends in Seattle. Our neighbors on one side of us are from Redmond; he is a retired Seattle Police Detective. In the laundry the other day I met a lady who was from Portland, OR, however, she grew up and went to school in Medford. I casually mentioned that my sister and family lived in Medford and went to school there. When she asked their name I told her “Beaman”; she replied, I went to school with a Pam and Sue Beaman (my nieces)…after I picked up my jaw from the floor I wondered just how small this world is. Pam and Sue-- her name then was Carol Templeman and she graduated in 1967. I am sure if we searched hard enough we would run into people we knew from Bellevue/Redmond, etc.

Also, we have a celebrity aboard. Seal, the singer, is presently occupying the “owner suite”…ahem, which is advertised as $24,000 per person for the cruise. Of course, he has an entire entourage with him, but I can bet he isn’t paying the top dollar price – whadda’ bet he got a “special” price? Apparently he came out of the owners suite (which has its own pool, patio, etc…you would never have to associate with the common people) and into the reception area yesterday for a moment until he was recognized, then he disappeared quickly back to his own world! And no, he isn’t schedule to perform on board.

After breakfast Jack went to the gym, Al back to our cabin; that left Suzi and I at loose ends. What to do? We explored the game room, the library, the shops (again—nothing new) and basically wandered around the ship. Finally we landed in the Spa. We made appointments for a massage/facial for today. After lunch we headed to the spa. What a wonderful treat! First off, I don’t think I have ever been in such a luxurious spa…personal hot tubs, a plunge tub (we discovered it was ice cold…no thanks), sauna and steam rooms, hydrotherapy pool and heated lounges. WOW! We spent an hour in the hot tubs, hydrotherapy pool, etc. before our massage started. The massage was probably the best I have ever had and the facial was absolutely wonderful. I could do this once a week (Al said, no, I couldn’t!) After the pampering we crawled back to our rooms and changed for the show and dinner. The show was a tenor and he was good and then dinner in the Italian restaurant. It was good, but not spectacular. After wards Jack and Suzi walked the promenade deck and Al and I went back to bed. I collapsed into bed…yawn.

April 19, 2008 Saturday
PANAMA CANAL

We were up early this morning…6:15 a.m. to see the beginning of us going through the Gatun Locks.

We began transiting the locks at 7:15 a.m. and it is fascinating to watch. Our ship is the largest ship the locks can handle and it costs $314,000 for us to transit the canal! OUCH! This is the highest toll ever paid to go through the canal lock system. It is amazing how they can take this huge ship and put it through these small locks!
Gatun Locks

And watching the locomotives pull us through never ceases to amaze me. We stayed in our room and watched from our balcony. I did go up to the pool deck, but you couldn’t get anywhere near the railing. They were also selling Panama Canal souvenirs, but the line was miles long and I didn’t want to miss anything—besides, I have enough tee shirts! We finished transiting the locks at 10:00 a.m…and into Gatun Lake. After crossing the lake we went through the Culebra Cut to the next set of locks, the Pedro Miguel locks, which we transited around 2:30 p.m. Suzi and I were sitting on deck 12 aft when we did this and when we went under one of the two bridges.

Pan American Bridge seen from the Panama Canal

Pretty fascinating stuff. Also, since this ship is so large there are a lot of people on shore that come to watch it go through these locks.
I might mention here that it is 93 degrees with the humidity at 90%--a little like sitting out in a steam room! My camera lens keeps fogging up…so do my glasses. To say nothing of me wilting. But the aft deck has a nice breeze blowing across it and that made it bearable…barely.
Going through the last set of locks, the Mira Flora Locks at 4:30 p.m. today now we are on the Pacific Ocean side. There is a restaurant on shore and there were plenty of people there to watch the Pearl go through. It finally dawned on me why all these people are watching us go through…it only happens twice a year! Since this is a repositioning cruise from the Caribbean cruising of the winter months to the Alaska Cruising for the summer months. The Pearl won’t be back this way until October.
Finally, we went under the American Express Bridge and we were spit out into the Pacific Ocean. There are a lot of ships waiting to go through the canal towards the Atlantic side..I would say at least 30 or more.
So now we can say we have been through the Panama Canal and now we are on our way to Acapulco, in two more days. We have two full sea days ahead of us and we arrive in Acapulco on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. and our tour begins almost immediately.
So until next time……we are wroamin’ the sea’s with the Waddicks.