Fuerte Amador

After leaving the canal, we arrived at Fuerte Amador, which is on the Pacific entrance side. We had decided to take an excursion that would give us an understanding of the people and culture of this area.
Dolphins frolicked in the waters along side our boat.....
and birds flew in formation!
We took a bus ride to the river where we sat in hand-hewn canoes (with motors!) and took a 20 minute journey through the jungle and river. It was amazing. The water was murky and swift and I, for one, was thankful for the motor!
Here are the people lining up to get into the canoes.
We passed several villages, some under construction/repair, and others fully functional. The land is owned by the national park service of Panama and they allow the natives to live in the area as this is their homeland.
We were greeted by the men of the tribe as we arrived on shore.
They watched us get out of the boats - wonder what they were really thinking of these American tourists!
Their music was very rhythmic and inviting.
All over the village were hibiscus in bloom.
We were served a native meal: tilapia caught the night before our visit and plantain. All of it was wrapped in banana tree leaves.
The women who served were dressed in their native dance attire. Their normal dress is just a skirt and the men only wear loin cloths.
Washing up was very refreshing - warm water and mint leaves.
The natives then performed a traditional dance for us.

and the men played their instruments. One of the instruments was a turtle shell.
During the dance, the men and women asked the tourists to join in. The male does not look directly at the woman he is dancing with - pretty strange to dance with someone who won't look at you!
The kids were adorable. They sat around the dance area and played.
The young girls asked to paint tatoos on our wrists. They are quite good, but it was so hot, the ink just smeared - it just didn't get dry fast enough.
It was an absolutely amazing experience and one we won't forget!
Back in the boat - we were so loaded with people (some were super sized!) that it took 6 of the men to push us away from shore.
One of the canoes following us back down to our bus.
Back at the harbor, waiting to catch the tender out to the cruise ship.
Our cruise ship awaiting our arrival. We were sad to leave this beautiful country but we were now on to Costa Rica.

Formal Night

We had 3 formal nights and these are probably the most fun for me! The guys in tuxedos, the gals in formals and good times. It's not something we do very often - much to Greg's delight!!
Four gals: Eileen, me, Kathy and Diana (Kathy and Diana are Eileen's sisters-in-law.
Four guys: John, Dennis, Greg and David
Four couples: All dressed and ready to dance!

Then and Now

We first cruised through the canal in January, 2007. Here are the pictures of then and now. Much progress has been made on these third set of locks.
-----------------------------------------------THEN 2007-----------------------------------------------
The three pictures above show the beginnings of this area being cut away. The picture below shows the current state of the construction.
--------------------------------------------------NOW 2010---------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The pictures below are from this year. In 2007, the landscape was dense jungle and hills. Now it is terraced and being made ready for ????? We're not sure how the new locks will be channeled through this area as it is still under development. We hope to return in 2014 for the completion and maybe even travel through the newest locks.

{JUST IN}

We interrupt this cruise posting for an announcement! A new blog has been started! Check it out!
www.449gm.blogspot.com (You can also click on Four-Four-Niner Gulf Mike to the right!)
This is the manufacturer's plane. Greg actually took his demo flight in this plane. Ours won't be red....for those of you who know us....guess what color it will be? (A hint, though....I get to design the color scheme!)

Traversing the Canal

We began our journey through the canal around sunrise...7am....the sun rises later the closer you get to the equator and sets sooner, too (that was a bit weird to get used to!). It was warm but pleasant.
Sunrise in Panama: it wasn't as spectacular as we were hoping for but still a very peaceful way to begin our day
The naturalist on board explained that whenever you see turkey vultures on the shore, a crocodile lurks in the water. Sure enough, there he was.
Pretty amazing to see this big animal. With Greg's telephoto lens we were able to get up close and personal.
Panama has a beautiful jungle canopy and the sunrise casted an interesting glow over the trees.
Approaching the first set of locks. Shortly before we entered the locks.......
.....the pilot crew boarded our ship and it was like Chinese fire drill. They just kept coming up out of the boat and climbing aboard our boat. As we passed through each set of locks (there were three), one crew would be getting off the ship while another was boarding. Our balcony was pretty much directly over the entry point!
We spent some time on the upper decks of the ship enjoying the views. Even though it was our second time through the canal, it was still pretty amazing to see all of it. (Temperature: 102)
There were four cars that pulled our ship through the locks. The crews hook up the ship as it enters the locks and the cars take over.
Not much room to spare (like 11" on each side!!!). The new set of locks is being built and these will accommodate much larger ships than ours.
Getting through the first set of locks...headed for Gatun Lake....
Gatun Lake: This is the area the ships queue up to await the order of entry for the journey to the next set of locks. Depending on the priority list, ships can wait up to 8 hours to enter the locks. Cruise ships pay a hefty fee to move to the top of the list.
We traversed the "river" or waterway area and passed under this bridge. Pretty awesome sight.
We played follow the leader with these ships the entire day!
Which way do we go? At each set of locks (whether you are entering from the Pacific side or the Atlantic side), there is an arrow indicating which side of the locks the ship is to enter.
Our final locks. We entered the first set of locks around 8am and left the canal at 5pm.
Say hello to the Pacific Ocean!
And good-bye to the Atlantic side! (Okay, that's a bit of stretch, but you get the drift!)
One last look at where we came from. It was an amazing journey. Now it's on to Fuerte Amador.