Cruising the Caribbean and the Panama Canal: 2014

Celebrating 100 Years of operation at the Panama Canal

Our cruise ship slowly and carefully entered the approach-way to the Panama Canal around 6:00 this morning, December 7^th 2014. Yes, it was Pearl Harbor Day+73, but the excitement of nearing the canal superseded any immediate recognition on our part of this historic date. We scurried around the decks of the Coral Princess looking for an optimal viewpoint, while garnering the ambiance of a strange and different land.

Our ship being accompanied into the Panama Canal

We were floating thru a narrow channel past a shoreline dense with jungle, as we cruised ever closer to the famous Panama locks; the climate had become hotter and more humid which was indicative of our proximity to the equator. But even these were not distractions to our immediate awe of cruising toward the Panama Canal. We tried to assimilate our new surroundings as best we could from the promenade deck of the ship, but then we positioned ourselves directly above the ship’s bow where we could see everything in front of us and get the best pictures.

Approaching the Gatun Locks

The ship’s public address system kept us continually apprised of activity thru the canal, announcing every movement of the ship. Finally, we got within sight of the locks, and the ship lined herself up with the lock on the left side.

Note the truck crossing in front of the bow of our ship --
a retractable bridge carries vehicular traffic right up until the
last minute. One driver even waved to us as he passed by,
unintimidated by us bearing down on him.

There are 2 sets of locks here on the Caribbean side, which allows 2 sets of ships to go thru the Panama Canal at the same time. The Panamanians love as much traffic as they can accommodate; the more traffic, the more money they collect for allowing these ships to cut thru their country. And, we’re talking $8 to $10 million dollars per day for Panama! More on that later.

The mule on the right positions itself to guide
the Coral Princess through the locks

We entered the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal, which are the name of the locks on the Caribbean side. On each side of the ship, heavy duty “mules” (small locomotives) were lashed to the holding rings of the ship’s sides with a 1-inch diameter steel cable, centering the ship in the narrow canal.

There was only 2 feet of clearance on each side of our big ship as she passed thru the locks, so if not secured by these mules, the ship would bump her hull continuously on the concrete walls that comprise the sides of each lock.

A lone mule with cables connecting it to a ship

These “mules” are actually mechanical locomotives operating on railroad tracks, each weighing about 50 tons and equipped with a 290 horsepower engine. The mules are secured to the tracks so that a large ship like ours could not lurch and pull one of them into a lock. The mules may weigh 50 tons a piece, but an average cruise ship weighs between 20,000 and 60,00 tons!

Entering the final lock with Gatun Lake in the backdrop

We were glued to the rail above the bow as our ship entered the lock at 6:45 a.m. By 8:45 a.m. (just 2 hours later), we were elevated thru the 3-lock system to about 90 feet above sea level, and began cruising on Gatun Lake looking for a place to anchor. By now, the sky had opened up and a pouring rain was pelting our ship. I guess that shouldn’t surprise us since this is indeed a “rain forest!”

Tender pilot looking out the overhead hatch
in order to navigate!

We needed to take tenders to get ashore; tenders are small boats the cruise lines use when they are unable to dock the ship. The tenders were bombarded with such heavy rain that the tender pilot couldn’t see out the front window; he had to pop the overhead hatch in order to see what was in front of him! It was a slow and painstaking ride to shore where we were assigned a bus for our tour.

Only those passengers who booked Princess excursions were permitted to leave the ship. We had chosen a tour that allowed us to see more of the current lock operation and learn about the expansion. Our 1^st tour stop was at the Canal Expansion Project. The Panamanians are building two new locks to expand the existing canal. The new locks will be able to handle wider and longer ships adding more volume thru the canal.

Expansion Project -- note slots to the left where the
water gates will be inserted

At the Expansion Observation Center, we got to see the new “ditch” and the massive gates that will soon be moved into place. The Expansion Project was started back in 2007, and, although it has suffered the usual delays, it is tentatively scheduled to be operational in 2016. (And we want to come back to ride through the new locks!)

A view of the new expansion channel and the massive
"floating" gates that will be put in place when the expansion
is completed in 2016

A little bit about the operation, costs, and politics of the canal. The canal is all about money. In order to pass thru the canal, a ship needs to pay big bucks to the country of Panama. The Panamanians will only allow passage if a ship pays their required fee in cash two days ahead of the requested pass-thru time. Yes, if a ship from France, for example, wants to go thru the canal, it will be charged a fee based on size, cargo, and number of passengers. If the fee comes to $100,000 (this is not an unusual fee!), that money must be wired by France to the country of Panama two days ahead of the ship’s arrival. No money, no passage!

Four mules on tracks ready to guide our ship thru the locks

Cruise ships are the most expensive because of all the people they shuttle. Our cruise ship, based on berthing facilities for about 2700 persons was charged about half a million dollars to enter the canal (and we didn’t even go the whole way through)! This canal is a big business for the country of Panama, and you can easily see why they want another set of locks (hence the “expansion project”). The new expanded lock system will allow them to put about $20 million dollars per day in the country’s treasury, instead of just a mere 8 or 10 mil. That’s some big & easy shekels for this otherwise poor country! By the way, the people of Panama get some pretty significant benefits from the canal operation: they pay an 11% income tax and receive free healthcare, almost free education ($50/year to go to the National College) and a decent pension at retirement. Thank you world for frequently using the Panama Canal!!

Water gates ready to open allowing the water level on the left
to drop to the same level as the water level on the right

For our second tour stop, our bus drove over sloppy, wet, dirt roads that wound around thru the jungles of Panama until we arrived back at the Gatun Locks. We had seen the locks from the ship this morning, and now we would tour the locks from the “land” side.

Coral Princess re-entering Gatun Locks

As it happened, we were at the locks just in time to see the Coral Princess pass back thru the Gatun Locks. Yes, this morning we were on that ship going into the canal, and now we were on the land side observing the ship coming back out. The rains continued to come down, but fortunately the locks and other areas have protected observation rooms just for times like these – which must occur often here in the rainforest!

This was one EXTRAORDINARY beer -- Balbao!

The bus finally took us to the rendezvous point to re-board our ship, but actual boarding didn’t begin for several hours. The terminal for the ship is unfortunately located in the town of Colon, and it takes hours for the ship to get thru the Panama Canal and down to Colon. It continued to rain, but fortunately it was dry in the terminal and the nearby restaurant where we holed up and had a few Balboa beers and a bite to eat with our friends Charlie and Mary. By the way, for anyone contemplating a trip to Panama, Balboa is an excellent beer in this beer-drinker’s estimation. One of my new international faves!

Ready to build me a canal for the aliens!

Despite the rain, this was one of the best adventures this engineer has ever been privy to. It was engineering to the nth degree, and Frank really learned the nuance of how the canal works. He now firmly believes that if aliens abducted him and threatened to blow up planet earth unless he built them a similar canal on their planet, he could be flown to that planet and fulfill their demands; he could construct a similar canal for these aliens and save the earth. Wow, what an adventure that would be! But then, we’ll save that one for some future blog.

Here are some more pictures of this incredible achievement:

On the Promenade Deck approaching the Gatun Locks

Flushing the Gatun Locks

Navigating the Gatun Locks

Our Coral Princess on Gatun Lake

Marelvy holding the Cartagena poster created by her husband

For the port stop of Cartagena, we arranged a private tour with Marelvy Peña-Hall and her daughter, Sheila. Sheila led us from the dock to a comfortable van that would carry us, Mary & Charlie, and another family from the ship on our city tour. Marelvy got the tour off to a great start by presenting each family with a beautiful poster, created by her husband, which commemorated Cartagena’s Bicentennial of Independence in 2011.

View of Cartagena from La Popa

Our first stop on a tour was La Popa, the highest point in Cartagena where we had a fabulous view of the city below. We were surprised by the number of skyscrapers in the modern city. Marelvy explained that the government is currently offering new hotels a special incentive to come here: 30 years tax-free!

La Virgen de la Candelaria

We walked inside the convent of “Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria” entering a lovely flower-filled cloister. Inside the chapel was the figurine of “La Virgen de la Candelaria”, the patroness of the city. La Virgen is much revered -- she is carried thru the streets of Cartagena during religious celebrations, and the winding road up Mt. Popa to the convent includes Stations of the Cross for the faithful, who hike up on certain holidays.

The "taxi motorcycles" of Cartagena

As we drove into the Old City, we got to see a bit of local life in Cartagena – lots of colorful buildings and loads of motorcycles. Motorcycles operate as 1-person taxis cruising through the city looking for customers; the driver carries an extra helmet while cruising thru the city (helmets are required for motorcyclists by law). When a fare is encountered, pay is exchanged just like a taxi for hire, and the cycle takes his passenger to the required destination.

Fortress of San Felipe

We did some shopping in a charming arcade that was once an army barracks. Then we took a look at the fortress of San Felipe, one of the military wonders of the world. During the Spanish occupation, Cartagena served as the warehouse of the empire storing all the Spanish “acquisitions” (such as gold) before it was shipped back to Spain, so the city needed to be well-protected. The city also suffered thru 200 years of the Spanish Inquisition when people were tortured and killed for minor offenses like reading banned books or for crimes they were accused of but never committed.

Flower-filled street in the Old City of Cartagena

The highlight of the day was wandering the streets of the Old City. What a beautiful place with colorful plazas every few blocks and buildings adorned with wooden balconies holding cascading flowers. Many of the lovely old buildings are former convents, restored and converted to hotels.

Elegant church in Cartegena's Old City

Columbia is a fascinating country, the 4^th largest in South America, boasting ports on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Their main products are organic beef, cacao, emeralds, coffee, and sugarcane. Many of you may equate Cartagena with bad boy Pablo Escabar, the ruthless cocaine drug lord who had a home in the area; happily, he was killed off in 1993 and the drug trade has all but gone away. Columbia has become quiet since then, and Cartagena has earned the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a worthy city for tourism.

Fisherman "statue" in the Old City of Cartagena

According to Marelvy and Sheila, drug traders are still around, but now they keep a low profile, and the former crime and violence associated with the drug world no longer exists. After all the damage caused by the drug traffickers, the government launched major anti-drug campaigns, and apparently they worked because Sheila said domestic drug use is very low.

The Old City of Cartagena bursts with color from the ever-present flowers and the brightly dressed vendors. Lots of character too with mimes perfectly disguised as statues of fishermen and lots of unusual sculptures. Rather than attempting to describe it, here are some faces of Cartagena: