The Traveling Widower

Tag: cruising

  • 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

  • Old Town Panama City and the Miraflores Canal Locks

    City skyline featuring modern skyscrapers and distinctive architecture, including a twisted building and triangular rooftops under a cloudy sky. Panama City

    March 20th, 2026

    I figured the trip had to get better once I made it to the hotel, and miraculously, it did. No more stress. Dinner with the group was interesting that evening – the food menu at the restaurant we went to was limited to a few choices of local Panamanian fare – not great (dry fritas and mixed grill of fish and mystery meat), but I was starving by that point. As our group finished dinner, the curtain on a small stage was raised, and there was a dance/music group, that performed a number of dance and musical routines. There were two drummers, one of whom gave an absolutely amazing solo on his single bongo drum – he could probably work a full drum set and play with any rock band. My hands hurt just watching him. The 6 dancers were very good as well.

    A live music performance at El Trapiche restaurant featuring musicians playing traditional instruments, with a sign displaying the restaurant's name and establishment year.

    The schedule for the first day was full from morning through late afternoon. We started out on a tour of the old city, which dates back to the 1600’s. It kind of reminded me of New Orleans, which is not too surprising – Panama has a very complicated history, having been ‘owned’ by France, Spain, Columbia and to some degree, the US. Think back to Manuel Noriega – we bombed the crap out of the city, and eventually convinced Noriega to surrender, after driving him crazy by playing a continuous loop of loud rock music outside the building he was holed up in. Really…I’m not making it up. The playlist can be found with a Google search. I kind of liked what they played. But not everyone likes Black Sabbath or Guns N’ Roses. “I am Ironman” or “Welcome to the Jungle blaring all night and day.

    Back in I the 1600’s,  Panama City was the center for shipping gold from South America to Spain, so it was attacked, invaded and burned multiple times by pirates. Henry Morgan was not very popular here. So the old town was where Spain moved everything to after an earlier version was destroyed, and this one was fortified. At any rate, the relatively small area is packed with very old buildings, some ruined churches, a cathedral, and a lot of restaurants and tourist shops. A nice place to wander around for a few hours until the humidity becomes unbearable, which we experienced by noon. Yuck.

    A group of tourists gathered inside the ruins of a historic structure with brick arches and stone walls, in the Old Town of Panama City
    A narrow cobblestone street lined with colorful colonial buildings and balconies adorned with greenery, under a blue sky with scattered clouds.
    Vertical view of a historic stone wall with decorative architectural features and cloudy sky in the background.
    Colorful hats hanging overhead along a Hat Street, where Panama Hats are sold.
    A historic church with two tall white towers and a detailed stone facade, set against a partly cloudy sky. People are walking in front of the church, and cars are parked nearby.
    A lively outdoor scene featuring dancers in traditional colorful clothing performing in a plaza, surrounded by onlookers and colonial-style buildings.

    One or two last notes on the old city – one street has a bunch of shops which sell Panama Hats – Hat Street.

    Oddly enough, all real Panama Hats are made in Ecuador, where the vegetation used to make the hats is grown. Ecuador has been trying for decades to get the name changed to Ecuador Hats, without any success. Maybe they could at least get the country name added – “Panama Hats From Ecuador”. Sort of like the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

    The old town is located on a small peninsula which juts out into the Pacific, so you get some nice views of the city, most of which which has pretty much been built in the past two decades. The photo below was shot at low-tide….there is a 27 foot difference between low and high, and it changes every 6 hours. People go out in the flats to dig up shell fish, and then have to run back to shore as the tide comes rushing back in. That might be fun to watch.

    A view of the Panama City skyline at low-tide, from the Old Town

    Almost forgot – if you ever travel to Panama, be sure to visit the Biodiversity Museum, which was designed by Frank Gehry. With the exception of the Panama City and Colon, most of Panama is either farmland or jungle, with large tracts still controlled by the indigenous population who are stewards of this land. The overall diversity of life is amazing here. This museum is fantastic, and has exhibits which highlights the animal, plant and insect populations of the country, as well some incredible exhibits on the geology, and prehistoric life (animal and human) of the isthmus. There is even a small aquarium. Worth visiting for sure.

    Fish swimming in a tank at the Biodiversity Museum aquarium

    After rehydrating at lunch (walking in high humidity is draining), we headed out for our VIP tour at the Miraflores Canal. This is one of the tourist stops for the Panama Canal, with a large visitor center which includes  an IMAX theater for viewing a really cool documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman. The standard tourist ticket gets you to a viewing stand, where you can watch ships transit through the lock. We had a VIP tour, with our own guides, and access to edge of the lock. Quite a different experience – you can reach out and touch the ship (if they let you and you’d probably have your arm torn off anyway so don’t do it). We scheduled the tour when a couple of large container ships were transiting the locks. It was amazing to watch as the huge ship pulled in (with two small sailboats crammed in front) and then watch as the lock water level dropped 27 feet in a few minutes. Then the ship was pulled through to the next lock with electric engines (mules) and then lowered another 27 feet to gain entry to the next channel leading to the Pacific. Quite the operation. And best of all, we would be going through the locks in a few days, and get to see the operation from the ship side. Woo hoo!

    A large cargo ship passing through a canal, with visible shipping containers stacked on its deck, under a cloudy sky.
    A large blue cargo ship, Maersk Batan, docked at a harbor with several smaller boats alongside. The scene includes cloudy skies and a port environment with a person standing on the dock.
    View of the Culebra Cut at the Panama Canal, showcasing the Miraflores Locks with a sign indicating 'Canal de Panamá'. Water levels are visible in the lock chamber, with surrounding infrastructure.
    Close-up of a ship's hull partially visible behind a sloped dock, with textured surfaces and industrial details.
    A large ship positioned in a lock chamber with cranes and machinery, surrounded by trees and cloudy skies.
    One of the electric engines which pull ships through the locks on Panama Canal

    I have some great video of the huge container ships moving along the canal, but I’ll have to add those after I return. The Wifi on the ship is not strong enough to support video uploads to WordPress.

    We finished the day off with a noisy dinner in the Old Town, after sitting in traffic on the drive back to the hotel. Traffic in Panama City is awful during rush hour since many of the works live outside of the city. And there are lots of cars, even though they have a subway and inexpensive public transportation. It gets worse when it rains – many of the roads flood. A lot of the buses and cars have snorkels – the water can get pretty high. The dinner was OK – food was great, service inconsistent, noise levels at “Heavy Traffic” on my phone app, but still a good evening and day overall. 

    Not a bad start for the trip after what I’d been through getting there. And I was not arrested for impersonating a National Geographic photographer. Things were looking up. 

    Peace