Monday, October 13, 2014

Panama Canal Cruise

The Norwegian Jewel
Dinah had never seen the Panama Canal while I had been through it twice, courtesy of the US Navy, but that was almost 50 years ago. So on 24 September we headed for Los Angeles and the Norwegian Jewel.
A beach in Mazatlan, Mexico
 Our first stop was in Mazatlan where we hiked around the town and looked at places to stay during a possible future land based vacation. Then on to Puerto Vallarta, Huatulco, Puerto Chiapas, and Puntarenas, Costa Rica, before arriving at the canal.

A pirate ship in Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Chiapas



























































































A Marimba in Puerto Chiapas
A beach-side market in Puntarenas, Costa Rica
The canal transit was an all day affair; three locks up, cross the Isthmus of Panama, then three locks down. When I had transited with the Navy, the talk was about the brand new Japanese locomotives that had just replaced the original  GE ones. Now, those replacement locomotives have grown old and they have also been replaced by a third generation.  Makes me feel pretty old.
The locks are in sets of two. Here we are locking along side a cargo ship.