Panama Canal Cruise
Mike and Judy Henderson
April 11 to April 27, 2016
After we left the Panama Canal, we headed to Willemstad, Curaçao. In the part of the trip prior to the Panama Canal, I was unable to upload any of the blog to the server - FTP access was blocked. I've been updating on shore, wherever I can find WiFi access. After we exited the canal, I was able to upload from the ship. I asked the ship's IT guy and he told me they had switched to a new Internet access system about the time we completed the Panama Canal transit.
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4/23/2016 We were scheduled to arrive in Willemstad about 9am. It was a windy day and there was some chop in the sea. It seems that no matter how fast we go, this small pilot boat always beats us - at least it's always already there when we arrive at every port, and it comes out to greet us. She was really rocking and rolling coming out to meet us here.
Here's a panoramic view of Willemstad as we arrived.
It was really hot this day. Judy and I took a short walking tour of the waterfront. In the picture above, you can see the entrance to the harbor and the very high bridge that goes over the channel. Large container ships call at Willemstad and need to pass under the bridge. But Willemstad is built up on both sides of the channel - how are the citizens to get from one side to the other easily?
Well, there a pontoon bridge across the channel, called the Queen Emma Bridge. In the picture below, you can see people walking across the bridge.
But what do you do when one of those big container ships wants to enter or leave the harbor? The answer is in this next picture. The whole bridge pivots on one side and is brought against the bank. Here's the bridge swinging open.
Here's the bridge against the shore.
Since the bridge was open, we boarded a ferry to get to the other side. And here comes the container ship.
After the ship passes, the bridge is swung back into position. The two blue "boxes" are essentially large outboard motors and power the bridge in each direction.
There's not a lot to see in Willemstad but we did see the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, which is the oldest continually operating synagogue in the western hemisphere.
We walked back to the ship via the pontoon bridge. Those are boy scouts in the picture. There was some kind of scouting event (boys and girls) going on in the town that day.
And I was able to talk Judy into posing for a picture on the bridge, even though the hot and windy weather had taken its toll.
While Curaçao was interesting to visit, both Judy and I agreed that we do not feel drawn to return.
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4/24/2016 and 4/25/2016 Two "at sea" days. Our return took us through the channel between Haiti and Cuba, then along the north coast of Cuba before turning north to Miami.
Judy and I participated in the golf putting contest. Judy won second place today (4/25/16) and third overall.
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4/26/2016 We arrived in Miami about 6am.
As we were getting off the ship, we saw a deckhand painting the side of the ship. Apparently, the ship scraped along the side of at least one lock. It's called the "Panama Canal stripe."
Our friend, Jura, picked us up and then we picked up Ray at the hospital (where he's on staff) and we went to lunch at a nice restaurant on top of a building in Miami Beach.
It's quite a view from the restaurant. This is a panoramic shot.
They drove us around - a guided tour of Miami - and then took us to Key Biscayne, where they live. On the end of Key Biscayne is a park, and a restored lighthouse.
After a light dinner with Ray and Jura, they took us to our hotel at the Miami airport, and we hit the sack early because we had to get up for a 7am flight out.
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4/27/2016 We got up about 4am this morning to catch the 5am shuttle to the airport. Our flight left on time at 7am and we arrived in LAX about 10am (Pacific time). The limo was waiting and the ride home was uneventful with light traffic. As soon as we got home, we went to pick up Skipper and Bernie. Skipper was definitely happy to see us.
And that was the end of this adventure. We're headed next to Iceland in July to do a Tauck small ship tour around Iceland, with a number of land tours included.
Thanks for riding along with us on this cruise.
You can see some of our other vacations here.