Panama Canal

Sailing Across the Continental Divide
October 17, 2003 We left Knoxville airport for Chicago and then San Diego. It’s always wise to arrive a day early for a cruise. We stayed near the waterfront and enjoyed Chinese and Mexican food. We walked along the boardwalk and watched the ships, birds, and tourist. San Diego is a lively town.
The next day, we went to the cruise ship dock. It was within walking distance of the hotel, but with two-week’s luggage, we took a cab. The GTS Infinity had not arrived yet, but we soon saw her sailing around the bend. This is a big ship. She is classed as a Panamax ship, which means that if she were any larger, she would not fit in the Panama Canal.
On board we were escorted to our stateroom which had a balcony. It was located on the port side near the rear of the ship, on deck seven. We met our steward, a young gentleman from India named Darrell. Next we investigated the mountains of food that are always present on cruise ships. The Celebrity line excels in the food department. This was to be our tenth cruise and our fifth on Celebrity, so I guess you could call them our favorite line. It was also our first two-week cruise. Others had been one week, which never seemed long enough.
At dusk, we sailed out of San Diego bay and turned south along the Baja California coast. After the lights of Tijuana faded from view, we were out to sea too far to see land. We ate in the main dining room and later saw a show in the big theatre. Our servers in the dining room were a gentleman from Honduras, named Angel Cruz, and his assistant, Myia a young lady from Bosnia. These two people, plus Darrell, our steward, were largely responsible for making this a great cruise.
Monday was a day at sea. We had no trouble finding our way around the ship, since we had sailed on her sister ship, the Millennium, on a recent cruise. We enjoyed the spa and hot tubs, saw another show that night and generally relaxed and watched the Pacific slide by. Infinity is powered by gas turbine engines and is very fast for a large ship. We normally cruised at 22 knots, but at times we ran 25 knots for hours at a time. At night, speed was usually reduced to about 14 knots. There is very little vibration with gas turbines and you don’t see any visible exhaust from the stacks.
Most cruise ships have a big lounge up high at the front. Infinity has the Constellation Lounge on deck twelve just above the bridge, which means that I could sit up there and have an even better view than the Captain. On cruise ships, unlike on-land lounges, you are welcome to lounge around in the comfortable chairs without buying a drink. There is live music in the evenings, and we did a lot of lounge-hopping.
The entertainment on this cruise was the best we have encountered. There must have been 40 or 50 musicians on board, not counting the singers and dancers. We heard everything from banjo music to a concert piano. There was the band that played for the nightly show, usually six musicians, a number of combos, an several instrumentalists who played solo or with groups. Can you imagine "Fiddler on the Roof" played on a banjo? I’m not talking about a tune or two. It was practically the whole score. One violin player did classical, pop, and country. He also cracked a few jokes, and yes, he played "Fiddler on the Roof" too. Also on board were comics, jugglers, a magician who played Chopin on a grand piano, a male quartet, and a guitarist who played everything from Nashville to Vienna. A group of singers and dancers gave us a touch of Broadway with music and scenes from "Phantom," "42nd Street," "West Side Story," "A Chorus Line," and just about everything else that ever played on Broadway. Nobody ever sang "Carmen" or "Phantom" any better than that.
Cabo
Our first port was Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja California Sur. Cabo has a spectacular harbor and a quaint Mexican flavor with a taste of Hollywood. I got some great pictures. It was hot, but we walked around and did a little shopping. We passed up tours at this stop. Cabo even has an English language newspaper called the "Gringo Gazette." The word "Priceless" on the front page means that it’s free, but I found it to be priceless in a number of ways.
The next day was at sea. We saw a lot of dolphins and I saw a sailfish from our balcony. The "at sea" days are relaxed and enjoyable, but days in port can be hectic especially when there is no pier and you have to shuffle back and forth on tenders. Cabo was the only port where tendering was necessary.
Acapulco
Thursday finds us in Acapulco, fabled playground of the rich and famous. The cruise ship dock is right in town, and we arrived at daybreak. We took a cultural and historical tour of the town. We saw the old fort, the cliff divers, and an old cliff-top hotel where John Wayne and the who’s who of Hollywood used to stay. Acapulco is a large crowded city. The shoreline going south from the center of town is the best part. It is clean and modern and might remind you of Waikiki.
Huatulco
From Acapulco it is just a short cruise down the coast to Huatulco (Wah TOOL co). This is a developing resort town. Almost everything is new, clean, and uncrowded. There is a nice hotel in the main shopping center and several others within walking distance. There are eight or nine beaches, separated by rocky headlands. The ship docked at a new pier at the main beach in the middle of the waterfront. You could spend a week there without needing a car. The town is somewhat isolated by mountains.
We saw lots of pelicans and frigate birds along the Mexican coast.
Saturday was another at-sea day, as we sailed for Costa Rica. I saw a large sea turtle.
Each night we ate in the formal dining room and then went to the show in the main theatre. In between, we would find a lounge with some good music and grab a table for two. One of our favorite lounges had an instrumental quartet with piano, bass, violin, and clarinet. They mixed classical and old favorites.
There was also a movie theater on board but we found time for only one movie. It was a James Bond effort called "Die Another Day." Two thumbs down.
Puntarenus, Costa Rica
Our stop in Costa Rica was on the Gulf of Nicoya at a little seaport named Puntarenas. That means "sandy point" which is exactly what Puntarenas is. The town is about 4 blocks wide and about 20 blocks long. The cruise ship pier is right downtown. We found a taxi driver on the pier and took a tour that lasted about four hours. Much of that area of Costa Rico looks poor by our standards, but in Central America, it is downright prosperous. The driver told us that they have no army, so they can spend the money on schools. He also said (partly in Spanish) "I thank God for my country." The climate in Costa Rica is warm, they have good soil, and water. It’s easy to grow food there. "Fruit is free," we were told. "Nobody in Costa Rica goes hungry." We saw a large church building made of iron. It was actually boiler plate riveted together like an early 20th century ship. The inside was beautiful, and I got some good pictures.
We saw parks, butterfly farms, and factories. The scenery was much like the Smoky Mountains. We saw the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, but it extends across to the Caribbean. I think I’d like to see that side someday.
Monday was another at-sea day. There was more food, more music, more entertainment. This was the first day that we saw any serious white caps. The sea looked rough, but the Infinity is big and stabilized so that it rode smoothly. When we were just 7 degrees north of the equator, we saw a little rain.
Panama
The Panama Canal is the only place in the Americas where you can sail across the continental divide. We arrived at the Gulf of Panama (Pacific) end of the canal at daybreak on Tuesday. A number of cargo ships were waiting to pass through, but passenger ships have priority, so we went to the head of the line. We passed slowly under the Bridge of the Americas, which is the Pan American highway that connects the continents. Then we went through the Miraflores locks, a set of two that raised the ship to the level of the Miraflores Lake. It’s a small lake and we could see the next lock, the Pedro Miguel lock, as soon as we started out on the lake. The Pedro Miguel lock raised us to 80+ feet above sea level, the elevation of the Culebra Cut. Our direction of travel was roughly northwest because of the curve of the isthmus.
We ate lunch in the main dining room while sailing through the Cauebra Cut (a.k.a. Gaillard Cut). We had an excellent view because the stern has a picture window that is two decks high and almost as wide as the ship. After lunch we went up on top as the ship sailed out into Gatun Lake. Several large cargo ships passed us only a few feet away.
Gatun Lake was at one time the largest man made lake in the world. It furnishes water to operate the locks as well as providing a channel for ships to pass through to the next set of locks. For more information, read "The Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough, a history of the canal.
The full transit of the canal took all day. Thunderstorms were predicted, but we only got a brief sprinkle. We could see towering thunderheads in all directions, but they missed us.
Sailing across Gatun Lake is the best way possible to see a jungle. The surrounding vegetation is so thick, only a monkey could cross it without a machete. We saw lighthouses at every turn as we wound our way through groups of vegetation-choked islands.
Arriving at the Gatun locks, we had a brief wait before passing through, then sailed into the dusk as the sun set off the port bow. When it got dark, we docked at Chistobal for a brief shopping tour.
Aruba
Wednesday morning found us sailing east . The sea was calm but we sailed through a shower. At that latitude, even the rain is warm. We sat on the balcony and the watched flying fish. The wake of the ship would cause them to leap out of the water and glide to the next wave. This is a defensive instinct. I suppose the ship represents a big fish that is trying to eat them.
On the other side of the ship, we could see hazy mountains on the coast of Columbia. We have never been to South America, but we have seen it. I suppose we could say the same about Cuba. We followed our usual "at-sea" routine of attending lectures, eating, soaking, eating again, listening to music, eating some more, walking the decks, eating, watching the ocean and eating again before going to the evening show. Some how, we both avoided gaining any weight. I am not making that up. The secret is avoiding dessert and exercise. Lots of exercise. In the spa area, there was a health food lunch counter. The menu was in French, so we never knew exactly what we were eating. That didn’t matter much because most of it was fairly tasteless anyway. By trial and error we managed to find a few good dishes. Everything was low calorie and tea and coffee were decaf. I admit stopping by the pizza place sometimes after eating that healthy stuff.
Thursday was Aruba, the only island stop on the whole cruise. The island is a desert, surrounded by a warm ocean. Inland, you would swear you were in Nevada. But the shore lines were beautiful beaches and wave sculptured rocks. The island is quite small, about 20 miles long, and they say you can see South America from there. But the sky as slightly hazy and visibility was limited to ten or twelve miles. We took a bus tour to see some interesting rock formations. We even climbed to the top of a hill. It was really a pile of rock and the trail at one point went under a 100 ton bolder that appeared to be balanced between two other such rocks. It was a good view, but we barely go back to the bus before it poured rain. Rain is rare on Aruba.
Friday morning we were sailing north with showers in the area. Our actual course was 330 degrees, or 30 degrees west of due north. Our speed was 23 knots or about 27 miles per hour.
Haiti is the west end of Hispaniola. There are two peninsulas pointing toward Cuba and the southern peninsula came into view about noon. At one point we passed a small island, about 100 acres. It sat on a white limestone foundation, with darker rocks above that. There was very little vegetation but it had a tall white lighthouse and some small buildings. With binoculars, it appeared that nobody was at home. I couldn’t see any beaches, and there was no harbor or pier. I guess the light house is serviced by people who arrive by helicopter. It would be fun to explore an island like that.
Friday evening was baked Alaska night in the main dining room. We have never been on a cruise that didn’t have baked Alaska night, complete with a parade. For some reason, you are expected to swing your napkin around your head as the parade of servers marches in with the dessert. On that one night, a band replaced the harpist who had entertained during dinner each night.
Saturday was the last full day of cruising. We sailed north west along the coast of Cuba. During the night, lights were visible along the shore, but throughout the morning it was rainy and hazy. In the afternoon, clearing weather revealed that Cuba was still there.
The morning rain mixed with periods of sunshine and with the sun directly astern, the ship seemed to be sailing through rainbows. Every time the sun came out a rainbow would appear directly ahead. They would disappear just as we reached them and in a short time there would be another one in the distance. I sat up in the Constellation lounge and watched them for a long time.
That evening, and the next morning we said goodbye to our table mates (main dining room) and other friends that we had made on board. You get to know people very well on a two-week voyage, and it was a little sad to say goodbye.
We sailed through a powerful storm just before Florida came into view. There was no lightning, but the wind was strong and the rain was heavy. We watched it from the balcony and it was more beautiful than frightening. A short time later we docked in Fort Lauderdale.