The Traveling Widower

Category: Expedition

  • Not Again, More Monkeys, and TSA at Houston

    A scenic beach view with clear blue water, kayaks on the sand, and people enjoying various activities. Palm trees frame the foreground, with mountains in the distance.

    March 24th, 2026

    I’ve been really pleased with the way things have gone on this trip so far, in terms of my health. I’ve been monitoring my BPM, taking my blood pressure daily, and trying my best not to stress out about anything. I did fine on the one hike early on that went up a five or six story circular staircase, and going up and down the stairs on the ship. Well, today did not start out too well. I started out OK, but then read an article about the 4 hours wait time to get through TSA at IAH. I’ve only got 2 hours between flights, and need to go through customs and TSA security again. I sent e-mail to the Lindblad travel agency, asking about switching to a flight the next day, and will probably go ahead with that. This morning I was scheduled to head over to a tropical island to hang on a beach and go kayaking. I was looking forward to that. I was sort of ready when I heard the call to board the Zodiacs to head to shore. Crap – I had to throw everything together in a hurry. I wound up at the end of the line, out of breath. And then the heart issue hit – dizzy, racing heart, palpitations. Double crap. I leaned against the wall, tried to relax, but much like the last time, it was not stopping. I was right next to my cabin, so I ducked in and sat down. What to do. I called for the ships doctor. She got there in a few minutes, checked my pulse which was going down, told me I definitely should not be snorkeling, and stayed with me for a bit. She said I should just relax, and go to the beach anyway. My BPM had creeped down below 100, and since I had already greased up with sunscreen, I figured what else could go wrong? Don’t answer that please.

    I made the right choice. The beach was beautiful, just a 5 minute Zodiac ride, and with lots of chairs in the shade. If nothing else, I figured I could just take a snooze. But, after resting for 20 minutes, I wandered over to an empty kayak, and pushed off for a slow paddle around the bay. 

    A scenic view of a calm beach with palm trees and clear water, taken from a kayak. Several people are kayaking in the background with boats and a sandy shore visible.

    There was not really that much to see – the water was clear, but other than some really small fish, there was nothing worth sticking the GoPro underwater. I paddled across the bay where a bunch of other folks were hanging out – there were a couple of crocodiles sunning on a rock – none of us were interested in getting a closer look. They can swim much faster than any of us could paddle. And in my current condition, I would have been slowest kayak. Chomp.

    After 30 minutes or so, I had enough sun, and figured it would be best to just rest. Something I’m not very good at. 

    This island, Coiba used to be a notorious prison, especially during the Noriega days – anyone sentenced here basically disappeared. After things settled down in Panama years later, they made this into a protected national park, which is part of a very large marine ecological zone. These islands are linked with the Galapagos and other Pacific Islands, for quite a few fish and mammals – Hammerhead sharks, Whale Sharks and Humpback Whales migrate through here. So, this beach also had a small, somewhat primitive museum / visitor center, and access to the islands is very limited and controlled. Not that I was planning to do any hiking on jungle trails, wearing kayak shoes. There are lots of birds, and mammals on the islands including Howler and Capuchin monkeys. One Capuchin decided to check out the beach, and made for a good photo op – I wish I had brought one of the Sony’s, but the Pixel 10 worked fine.

    A white-faced capuchin monkey climbing a green palm leaf against a clear blue sky.
    A monkey walking on a wooden railing, looking upwards with a curious expression, surrounded by greenery.
    A monkey climbing a palm tree, with green palm fronds in the background.
    A white-faced monkey standing on a wooden surface, surrounded by green foliage.

    There was also a large monitor lizard hanging around the museum, just asking for a selfie or two, and a friendly vulture stood in line waiting for the shower. 

    Close-up of a textured lizard head resting among green grass.
    A black vulture standing on green grass, showcasing its distinctive dark feathers and gray head.

    Eventually, a Zodiac came to ferry us back to the ship, where I planned to just hang out and relax the rest of the day. The next few days will be all about hiking, and learning a bit about local culture. Hopefully, my heart will behave itself for the remainder of the trip.

    One more photo – a moth settle outside one of the dining room windows. Made for an interesting composition.

    A white moth resting on a glass surface, with a blurred view of blue water and green hills in the background under a clear blue sky.

    Peace

  • Odds & Ends – Catching up on some busy days.

    A beverage dispenser filled with water and slices of citrus fruits, including grapefruit, lemon, lime, and orange. A sign nearby reads 'Not Today Scurvy.'
    No reason for showing this…

    March 23, 2026

    This is the first day since I arrived in Panama, where I have some free time to go through hundreds of photos, do backups, and write about some of the other places and activities I’ve experienced in the past few days. This is typical of the National Geographic tours – they keep you so busy that you never get a chance to rest unless you have a sea day. Well, today is one of those days. We spent the morning wandering around a village on a small island in the Gulf of Panama, and now we’re are heading north along the Panama coast for the rest of the day. Nap time! 

    Here’s what I’ve skipped over, that worth discussing:

    1 – Second extension day – visit to an old Spanish Fort

    2 – The new canal channel

    3 – Evening pass through the locks (in driving rain)

    4 – Some other random photo’s

    I’ll keep it short (that’s always hard for me), and focus more on the photos. 

    Castillo de San Lorenzo

    On the last day of the extension tour, we motored across the Isthmus to the Northern, Caribbean side. That’s one weird thing about Panama – the Pacific is on the South and the Caribbean on the North. Your tend to forget that the canal section is a skinny chunk of land running East-West. At any rate, the itinerary was to first visit this national park, visiting the old Spanish Fort and doing a short hike to look for beasties, then after lunch, visit a lock on the newest of the canal channels. Then finally, head over to the docks in Colon and board the ship. I’ve already posted about our special cemetery excursion.

    I’ve always had this thing for fortifications since I was a kid – we used to vacation in Lake George NY, and I looked forward to visiting the old forts from the Revolutionary War (and French-Indian War). So this was a highlight of sorts for me, and it met my expectations. This site has been around since the 1500’s and has been destroyed and rebuilt a few times. It has a rich history as a military installation, and even as a prison. The main portion of the last iteration of the fort has been restored and is well maintained, and other structure are in the process of being restored. There’s a nice museum indoors which explains the history of the location, and of course, a bunch of rusted cannons on the walls. And the view of the mouth of the Chagrin River is great….but you do have to watch out for crocodiles if you go near the water. If you are into history, this is definitely worth a stop.

    https://ppysl.org/sanlorenzo/index.html

    Warning sign indicating the presence of crocodiles, with instructions not to approach, enter the water, or feed them, surrounded by greenery.
    A vintage cannon positioned on a grassy area, facing a stone wall with greenery and trees in the background. This canon likely came from Captain Morgan, the famous privateer who captured the fort.
    View of a river through an archway with brick and stone walls, surrounded by greenery and a blue sky with clouds.
    Ruins of an old stone structure with exposed brick walls and wooden beams under a clear blue sky.
    View of a historical fort with stone walls, a grassy area, and clear blue skies with scattered clouds.
    A row of historical cannons on a stone wall against a backdrop of blue sky and lush green hills.
    A view of the land-side dry moat surrounding the fort
    A view of the open area approaching the entrance to Fort Lorenzo

    Agua Clara Canal Locks & Visitor Center

    The third and latest canal channel was completed a few years ago, and a visitor center was built for the locks which manage the transit between the Caribbean and Gatun Lake. This center is much smaller than the Miraflores center, no IMAX, and the viewing area is up on a rise, looking down at the locks – no close access at all, but still worth viewing since this is where the largest ships have to transit through the canal. The container ships are absolutely huge. A major difference is that tug boats are used to move the ship, not electric mules. The gates are different as well – they slide across. It’s quite an interesting “dance” to see the tugs positioning these enormous ships into the lock chamber. Worth checking out if you are interested in the canal.

    A large container ship labeled 'LNGPOWERED' navigates through a canal, assisted by a small tugboat, with port facilities visible in the background.
    A view of the lock gates, sliding across to close the lock after the ship entered the chamber. These gates are different than the ones on the original locks of the Panama Canal.
    A large container ship, labeled CMA CGM, navigates through a canal with colorful shipping containers stacked on its deck, under a cloudy sky.

    A Different View

    After boarding the Quest on Friday afternoon, we got a late start on entering the canal since: 1) My group was late getting through the cemetery 2) The pilots were late getting to the ship. So,  we wound up heading through the Eastern locks at night, which we were told is the best time to view the process, under the lights. For us, we had an added attraction – an incredibly heavy rainstorm. I knew there was a reason for packing a raincoat. Of course I forget the covers for my cameras, but I did have the waterproof case for my phone. I was all set. 

    There are three chambers on the locks, which get the ship up to lake level. This was the older channel, so the ship was hooked up to the electric mules to pull us through. Most of the passengers were packed on the bow, wearing rain coats, and one of the naturalists gave an endless blow-by-blow description of the process. It was like a big party. In the rain, without party food. And I can’t drink anyway.

    It takes a while to get through each lock, even though filling the chamber is pretty quick. There were boats in the front locks, so you have to wait until those are out before they can reset everything. I made it through one iteration. As they say, once you’ve seen one lock, you’ve seen them all. Maybe nobody says that. I was just kind of locked out, and ready for some shut-eye.

    Here’s a bunch of photo’s. I’ve added captions on each to explain what’s going on. Once I get home, I’ll add a video.

    View from a boat at night in a lock chamber, illuminated by artificial lights amid heavy rain.
    View of a canal lock at night, with illuminated buildings and boats on either side, reflecting in the water.

    Entering the lock in the rain.

    A view of a lock chamber at night, featuring a sloped concrete surface leading up to the electric “mule” and illuminated by bright lights.
    A nighttime view of a large gray locomotive positioned on a lock with various markings and measurements visible on the sides.
    Inside a lock with dark walls marked '15' and '16', water visible below, and mooring lines in view.

    The “mule” engine, and gate at the end of the lock

    A group of people on a boat in a lock at night, with the lock gates partially open and illuminated by overhead lights.
    Crowd on the bow, watching the show after the rain stopped.

    Odds & Ends

    Sometime last night, we went from Gatun Lake heading north through the canal, and passed through the narrowest portion of the passage – only one ship can pass through at a time. Once again, it was raining, but the lights were kind of cool, so I shot a few picture and videos for the fun of it.

    A view from the deck of a boat at night, showing a calm body of water reflecting colorful lights from nearby hills and a pier, with several people standing on the boat looking out.
    A nighttime view of a calm river or lake, illuminated by distant lights on the shoreline and reflecting colors on the water's surface.
    Nighttime view of a river reflecting various colored lights from nearby structures and traffic signals.

    This morning, we anchored at a small island in Panama Bay, Taboga – it has a cute village with a lot of shops, a very nice beach, and is a likely a hot spot on the weekends since there is a ferry from Panama Beach. It reminded me a lot of Capitola, along Monterey Bay in California. I also shot a few post-sunrise photos from the ship.

    A distant rock formation silhouetted against a gradient sunset sky with hues of orange and yellow, above calm ocean waters.
    A panoramic view of a calm sea during sunset, featuring a distant island with a mountainous silhouette and scattered clouds in the sky.
    Colorful 'TABOGA' sign by the waterfront in Taboga, Panama, with mountains and buildings in the background.
    Colorful wall mural of fish and marine life on a blue house exterior, featuring decorative elements like seashells and stars.
    A large fish sculpture stands at the edge of a waterfront, overlooking a calm blue sea and a small island in the background. A wooden pier is visible with several boats moored nearby, under a clear sky.
    A colorful rooster standing on the ground with green plants and soil in the background.

    I’ll probably add more photo’s later on…like we just ran out to the bow to watch dolphins jumping along our bow wake. We even had humpback whales breaching today. Having fun for sure.

    Peace