A MAN
Leigh Mercer (1893 – 1977)
A PLAN
A CANAL
PANAMA!
The above has to be the best palindrome I have ever seen, and it’s the most appropriate one for today too, as the Borealis would spend the day going through this amazing feat of engineering, from the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean.
We had previously transited the Panama Canal, on the Arcadia in 2007, but we’d done it in the other direction; from the Pacific to the Caribbean. So we’d now be able to say we’d done it both ways. 🙂
I awoke at 7.20am to the balcony doors wide open, and no sign of Trevor; I assumed he was out on deck watching as the Borealis entered the famous canal. I went outside into the sultry, tropical air and watched in fascination from our great vantage point at the stern.
The ship had entered the Gatún locks, and I could see that we had already passed underneath the wide Puente Centenario, or Centennial Bridge. This is a major suspension bridge crossing the canal. It was built to supplement the overcrowded Bridge of the Americas and to replace it as the carrier of the Pan-American Highway. Upon its opening in 2004, it became the second permanent crossing of the canal.
We were just getting ready to enter a narrow lock gate, and it was amazing to see the small locomotives, or ‘mules’ as they are known, tied tightly either side of the vessel to keep it in alignment as it went through the canal. There was only about a foot (30cm) either side of the ship at this point!
It was incredible to think that the Panama Canal first opened to marine traffic in 1914, over 100 years ago. It is such a wonderful construction when you think of the technology that was available at the time. In fact, it was an extremely difficult project. Cutting the passage through Central America from the Caribbean coast to the Pacific coast, through jungle and disease-infested swampland and even having to move mountains meant that over 25,000 workers died over the span of three decades. People were killed by anything from a dislodged boulder to the bite of a malaria-carrying mosquito. Working conditions back then were horrific.
We arrived at the first of the locks, and the gate opened up to let us in. Obviously, from my position at the stern, I could only see where we’d been, rather than where we were going, so I didn’t see the gate until we were in the lock, but I was able to see the lock gate close, and the water start to fill up.
Between 13,000-14,000 ships pass through the Panama Canal each year, that’s over 1,000 per month, or an average of 37 ships per day. Wow! In fact, as I stood there watching all the goings-on outside with interest, I could see another large ship following us…
At this point we had to tear ourselves away and go and have some breakfast! In any case, it takes around eight hours to transit the canal so we had plenty of time to have a look later on. 🙂
I enjoyed a plate of charcuterie with some fresh melon and pineapple, washed down with orange juice and hot coffee in The View. Afterwards, we decided to go to the bow of the Borealis to watch as the ship exited the locks and entered Gatún Lake.
Despite the fact that it was still only 9.30am, the weather was already very hot and sultry at 29°C. As we walked along on the upper deck, we saw that the retractable roof over the pool was open, and we decided to have a refreshing swim.
Returning to 7063, I changed into my cossie with my matching sarong over the top, then we left our cabin with our large striped pool towels rolled up under our arms, and returned to the pool, one deck up. There were one or two people swimming around, but it wasn’t too crowded. Spreading our towels out over a couple of vacant sunloungers, I divested myself of my sarong and flip-flops and entered the pool.
The water was not too cold, and it was extremely pleasant swimming lazily along; I felt that the gentle low-impact exercise would be good for my bad knee as well, although it had been OK since we’d left Charleston.
We spent about 30 minutes in the water, then returned to our sunloungers where we decided it was time for the customary cold beer. Waiting staff were also coming around with tall glasses of iced water, to keep us hydrated in the ever-increasing heat. We enjoyed our water and our beer, and let the sun dry us gently. 🙂
Afterwards, we then returned to our cabin and I got showered and dried and changed into clean clothes. I couldn’t be bothered to blow-dry my hair so I just scraped it all back into a short ponytail; I could always wear one of my wigs later on! 🙂
We then returned to the topmost deck to get some good photos of the amazing passing scenery.
It was very hot outside, and we decided to seek refuge (!!) in the Observatory, where we’d still be able to take in the fantastic views from the big wraparound windows at the bow. We sat on bar stools and watched the slow passage of the Borealis through the canal, marvelling at the landscape, the bridges and the sheer scale of this amazing waterway. As we did so, we enjoyed more chilled beers and a couple of cocktails. 🙂
We stayed in the Observatory until around 2.30pm, then we decided to return to 7063 for an afternoon power-nap; we felt quite tired after our early start, the hot sunshine and the beers we’d consumed. 🙂
After waking up feeling refreshed, we went out onto our balcony to continue to watch some of the Borealis‘s transit. Around 4.15pm we passed underneath the famous Bridge of the Americas, a bridge that spans the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal and carries road traffic between the North and South American land masses. It was completed in 1962 at a cost of 20 million US dollars.
What an amazing and interesting day we had had; it had been great. 🙂
As the Borealis continued on her passage into the Pacific Ocean, it was time for Trevor and me to start getting ready for dinner once again. As we hadn’t had any lunch, we were good and hungry by now, our appetites whetted by the tasty canapés that Gilbert brought to us just before five o’clock.
In the restaurant, we all regaled each other with what we’d been doing today. We had all been through the canal on previous cruises, but it hadn’t lessened the interest or excitement. Tomorrow we were due to arrive in Costa Rica, and Trevor and I tried not to think about the fact that it would be our last port of call before we flew home in two days’ time. 🙁
After dinner, we went out on deck and saw that the Borealis was docked at some sort of fuel place. The captain’s voice came over the PA to say that the ship needed to take on enough fuel to get them to Mexico where they were due to arrive on 29th January. He said that it may delay our arrival into Costa Rica tomorrow, but he would keep us posted.
The entertanment in the Neptune Lounge featured the singer Guy Melidoni once again. We thought he was better this time than in his first show, although he still had that annoying habit of putting “-ah” on the end of every line.
When we came out of the Neptune Lounge around 9.30pm, we were surprised to see that the Borealis was still taking on fuel, and shortly afterwards the captain’s voice, like a prophet of doom, informed us that we were taking longer than anticipated and would therefore have to miss our visit to Golfito, Costa Rica tomorrow, and would have a day at sea instead. There was a collective groan at this news from those who, like us, had excursions booked tomorrow (we were assured we would receive refunds for these) but we were disappointed as Costa Rica is a lovely country, with its wonderful rainforests and fantastic array of wildlife, the most famous of which surely has to be the sloth.
It was just as well Trevor and I had already been to Costa Rica, in 2007, otherwise it would have been very disappointing indeed. As it was, we would be spending the last day of our cruise at sea once again.
At 10 o’clock, we met up with Alan and Lesley for the quiz once again; they too were a little disgruntled as they had an excursion booked as well, but at least they would have Thursday in Costa Rica (Puerta Caldera) while we would be flying home. 🙁 We didn’t win the quiz.
We finished the evening off in the Observatory, where we could still see that the Borealis hadn’t moved. We enjoyed a couple of drinks there and listened to the music before heading back to 7063 around midnight.
At some point during the night the Borealis must have resumed her journey, but we didn’t know about it as we were both fast asleep, our balcony door wedged open to let in the warm sea breeze. 🙂