Written November 1, 2023, offshore in the Pacific Ocean.

Yesterday, October 31st, we made our passage through the Panama Canal. Before I discuss that remarkable experience I must visit October 30th.

As we approached Colon, Panama, there was a remarkable increase in ship traffic. Many vessels were anchored waiting their turn to enter and transit the canal.

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We were advised that shore excursions were cancelled due to widespread protests. Viking Star would dock for 6 hours solely to refuel and provision. However, at dock port security informed the Captain that passengers would be permitted to disembark if they remained within the secure port zone. Christine and I took the opportunity to “stretch our legs” and wander through the duty free shopping area.

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Later that evening Dr. Ian MacLachlan gave his third lecture on the Canal, this time focusing upon the Neo-Panamax. (Last night we shared table and a delightful dinner with Ian and his wife Diane.)

The Neo-Panamax is a significant expansion to the Canal that opened in 2016.

Exclusas de Agua Clara, Gatún, Canal de Panamá, Wikipedia

It features new locks that have a capacity for much larger vessels and has doubled the capacity of the Canal.

Vessels sized to fit within the original locks are deemed “Panamax” vessels, while those larger ones that fit the new lock system are “Neo-Panamax” ships.

Here are some facts that compare the old and new lock systems together with how our ship “measures up”. Viking Star is 748 feet long, 95 feet wide, and has a draft of 21 feet. She is easily accommodated within the confines of the original locks which are capable of handling vessels up to 965 feet long, 106 feet wide, and drafts up to 39.5 feet deep.

The Neo-Panamax locks allow passage of ships 1,201 feet long, 168 feet wide, and 50 feet deep. While the numbers may not seem that significant, the VOLUME of a Neo-Panamax ship is much greater, more than double the capacity. The significant constraint not yet addressed is the Bridge of the Americas which limits the height of vessels to no more than 205 feet.

From Wikipedia

As an aside, the toll for Neo-Panamax vessels to transit the Canal can exceed 1 million dollars. Our toll for Viking Star was approximately $50,000 dollars. The cheapest toll ever was charged was to Richard Halliburton in 1928, 36 cents. The adventurer swam the 48 mile length of the Canal. It was still required that he be accompanied by a pilot boat!

Since we fit within the original locks, that was our transit.

I awoke at 4:45 a.m. on the morning of October 31st and was on-deck in the pre-dawn by 5 a.m.. I was not alone.

My camera has a setting which allows me to take pictures without a flash in extremely low light conditions.

Looking aft at the Atlantic Bridge

It really came in handy. Other passengers trying to use their cell phones and less capable cameras were audibly frustrated.

At this point in my narrative I will mostly rely upon captioning the pictures for details:

We approached the Gatun Locks that through three chambers would lift us 85 feet to the level of Gatun Lake.

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The arrow directs us to the right or left chambers.
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Daylight broke as we waited to enter the locks.

One of the six “Mules” that would keep us centered as we proceeded through the locks.
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After over 100 years the Canal operators still find that rowboats are the most efficient way to transfer lines to and from the vessels.

We were assisted on our 36 mile passage across Gatun Lake by an onboard Pilot and accompanied by a tugboat, in case anything went wrong.

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Passage through Gatun Lake was through a well marked channel. This was shared by ships in both directions.

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The markers seen on shore to the right of this ship are aids to navigation. By keeping them lined up the pilot is assured of being in the channel.

Dredging is critical to the continued operation of the Canal. Silt and hillside erosion are an ongoing problem.

The dredging operations base for the canal.
Dredging underway.
This is the 375 foot tall “Herman the German”. A huge floating crane taken from Germany at the end of WW2. During the War it was used to lift submarines. Today it aids in the maintenance of the massive lock gates and can lift nearly 800,000 pounds.

The Panama Canal is number one on The American Society of Civil Engineers list of The Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Among the greatest challenges faced in building the canal were conquering malaria and yellow fever, creating Gatun Lake (at that time the largest dam and man-made lake in the world), and digging through the continental divide (known as the “Culebra Cut”).

The Centennial Bridge is seen here through the Culebra Cut..
One side of the Culebra Cut.

60 million pounds of dynamite were used by 6,000 workers and a vast array of equipment to open the cut!

Past the Cut and the Centennial Bridge we reached the Miraflores Locks. Again configured in three descending chambers, these lowered us 85 feet to the level of the Pacific Ocean.

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Finally our transit of the Canal was complete with the passing under of the Bridge of the Americas.

As we left the breakwater the skyline of Panama City gleamed white on our right…

…while ships on the Pacific side waited for their turn to cross to the Atlantic.

I spent 11 hours on deck watching our transit unfold. Over 16,000 vessels make the crossing each year.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. Earlier in the voyage I heard a surprised voice call our names, “Mr. Pete, Ms. Christine!!” It was Sasa from South Africa, who is an officer in Guest Services. We developed a close friendship with her on our earlier voyage around Cape Horn in 2019. She has been following our travels through my posts ever since, and was visibly relieved to see me in “in the flesh” and in good health.

Written October 30, 2023 in the Caribbean nearing Colon, Panama.

Yesterday we arrived for the day in Cartagena, Columbia. Columbia (pop. 50 million) is a prosperous nation, 25th in size among countries and roughly equally between the size of California and Alaska. It is the third largest economy in Latin America (after Brazil and Mexico) and features one of the finest heath care systems in the world.

The local currency is the Colombian Peso, 4,200 to the dollar. It is a bit of a shock to see the price of gas, but converted it’s about $3.50 a gallon US.

Geographically, it is remarkably diverse. Near the equator, it still has mountain peaks with permanent snow caps (Mounts Cristobal Colon and Simon Bolivar are each 18,800 feet high), yet broad expanses of the country are Amazon tropical rainforests. It has shores on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Finally, its flora and fauna are the most bio-diverse per square mile in the world.

Cartagena is Columbia’s 5th largest city, with a population of about one million. It was founded by Spain in 1533, but indigenous peoples have inhabited the area for at least 6,000 years. It is a major seaport and once the site of a significant slave trade.

A container ship docking.
Containers being loaded and unloaded.
The tug that accompanied us to our berth.

Its historic center, where I spent most of my day, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprised of the colonial era fortification encircled by a 7 mile long defensive wall.

Image from Wikipedia

We arrived in port in the late morning. 90 degrees Fahrenheit and over 90% humidity, the “feels like” temperature was over 100. I left the air conditioning of the ship to go on deck to take pictures.

The first shot was fine, but within a minute condensation fogged my lens both outside and inside the camera. It took 15 minutes for the camera to “warm up”.

On my tour we visited an area of artisan shops.

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Walking through the old city our guide, Ender, provided both historical local knowledge, seasoned with humor.

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Here is a door knocker that actually has historical significance. The Iguana marks the door of a family of political importance. The lion denoted military association. (See the above image)

We visited Iglesia de San Pedro Claver, built between 1580 and 1654, (Church of St. Peter Claver) where his earthly remains are seen through glass at the main altar.

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St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit, is deemed the patron saint of enslaved peoples. He dedicated his life to opposing the slave trade while ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of slaves.

The Convento de Santo Domingo (1630) featured a small non-climate controlled museum. It is a wonder that the works of art, many hundreds of years old do not rot.

This Dominican convent was also a center for local prosecution of the Spanish Inquisition.

Cartagena is mere feet above sea level. As predicted ocean levels rise due to global warming I wonder it this will someday become Atlantis (one of many) of the New World.

The square in the heart of the old city.

Christine and I usually take shore excursions together. Today was the rare exception. While I wandered the old city she visited an emerald school where young people are trained in the art of emerald gemology and jewelry making. As part of Christine’s experience she made herself emerald jewelry, a ring, bracelet, necklace, and earrings. The stones are emerald, rough, uncut, and unpolished.

We left port after dark. My vantage atop the ship provided the opportunity for some beautiful pictures.

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Peace Everyone. Pete

Written October 28, 2023, in the Gulf of Mexico.

This post presents three bits of news that you may find of interest.

Colon, Panama.

Today the Captain made an announcement that current events in Colon, the major port on the Atlantic side of the canal, will limit our shore leave to refueling and provisioning Viking Star.

Protests that began in August have grown in intensity. The streets of Colon, Panama City (the capital), and other population centers, are gridlocked and the United States Embassy has issued a warning to US citizens to avoid the protests.

The unrest focuses upon issues of corruption, the environment, and continued copper mining operations that represent 4% of the country’s gross domestic product.

We could ignore the Captain and US Embassy and venture out, but prudence dictates otherwise.

“Panama Canal 101, continued.”

We attended the second shipboard lecture about the Panama Canal yesterday. Highlights included:

Vessels such as Viking Star are tendered through the locks by 6 “mules”. These are in the nature of electric cog-rail engines, 2 on each side of the bow and 1 on each side of the stern.

From Wikipedia

Their sole task is to keep the vessel centered. In the case of our ship there is only 7 feet of “play” on each side. Larger vessels measure that in inches. All forward motion is provided by the ship.

Three bridges cross the canal. The Atlantic Bridge, completed in 2019, is over 9,000 feet long and has a vertical clearance for ship traffic of 246 feet.

From Wikipedia

The Centennial Bridge was completed in 2004. It is located on the Pacific side, is 3,451 feet long and gives ships 260 feet of vertical clearance.

From Wikipedia

Finally, the Bridge of the Americas was completed in 1962 and is 5,425 feet long. This bridge is problematic as it provides only 201 feet of vertical clearance at high tide.

From Wikipedia

The largest cruise ships will fit the length and breadth of the locks, but with over 20 decks they cannot clear under this bridge.

After the three locks on the Atlantic side and before the three locks on the Pacific side the Panama Canal is 85 feet above sea level. It is fed by freshwater from the impoundment of Lake Gatun. That huge man-made freshwater lake is critical to the operation of the canal. It supplies hydroelectric power to run the locks, pumps, “mules“, and the general electric needs of the entire area. More importantly, without that continuous supply of freshwater the upper level of the canal and the locks would dry up. It takes 52,000,000 gallons of freshwater to facilitate the passage of each ship through the canal from ocean to ocean. Since 2015 Panama has experienced unusual drought conditions, especially so in 2023. Ship traffic has been reduced accordingly.

Our Granddaughter, Paisley.

We received a telephone call today (we have cell service aboard) from our daughter, Alexis. Today, our 14-year-old freshman granddaughter, Paisley Cook, competed in the Missouri State High School cross-country regional tournament.

She is the only female runner in her school, Academie Lafayette, and was pitted against girls up to and including seniors in high school. She placed 13th, medaled, and beat her previous best time by over a minute and a half! She has now qualified to compete at the State Tournament.

My mother passed away in March 2020, age 94. Reflexively, I wanted to reach out and share the news with her. She was intensely proud of all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. This is precisely the sort of news she lived to hear in her final years.

Picture taken 6 years ago. Paisley is to the immediate left of Mom.

Mom, if you are reading this over my shoulder you know how proud we are of Paisley and how much I miss you.

Peace Everyone. Pete

Written October 27, 2023, At Sea in the Gulf of Mexico.

Strictly speaking this will actually be a tour of “Viking Jupiter” as originally published by me in November of 2022. However that “sister ship” is the twin of this one and the ships’ routines are virtually identical. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I am reprising my earlier effort:

November 17, 2022. At sea off the west coast of Africa.

At 3 o’clock in the morning it was my good fortune to find enough bandwidth to upload the images that I had taken of various areas of our cruise ship, Viking Jupiter.

This is a vessel in the “small ship” class. At 745 feet in length and with a beam of 94.5 feet the Viking Jupiter can host up to 930 guests.

An identical “sister ship”.

I recently read that Royal Caribbean is preparing to launch a ship that is capable of hosting over 7500 guests. Including crew that would be a complement of over 10,000 people making it the world’s largest passenger vessel ever afloat. Thank you, but that’s an experience that I will let others enjoy.

Key features of the Viking ocean “experience“ are the things that are missing: no children, no dress-up nights, no picture nights, no casinos, and no “nickel and diming“. What we have found is a thoughtful adult experience. I have previously shared images of a daily calendar. There is a wealth of relaxation and recreational activities but also enrichment opportunities that include a variety of lectures and presentations on topics relevant to the cruise.

Mornings begin with wake up in our well appointed state room. All rooms aboard Viking Jupiter include a balcony. There are no interior staterooms.

Depending on The ship’s direction and whether your accommodation is port or starboard, morning may feature sunrise, or evening may feature sunset.

At the topside center of the ship there is a main swimming pool. The glass roof above it can be opened or closed depending on weather conditions.

At the rear of the ship is another swim area with hot tub that features an “infinity pool“ which presents the illusion of floating off the end of the ship.

Surrounding both of those two swim areas are couches, recliners, and tables where one can eat or simply take a break to relax with a good book or a drink.

A third swimming option is presented in the ship’s spa. The spa includes hot tubs, a large circulating pool, sauna, steam room, ice room, and other amenities.

Other relaxation areas include The Explorers Lounge which provides a forward view of the ship,

the Wintergarden where afternoon tea and entertainment may be enjoyed,

various windowed halls, some of which include Nordic themed displays,

an amphitheater for entertainment, lectures, and group presentations,

and of course no cruise ship would be complete without plenty of areas to enjoy adult beverages.

There are three restaurants available for elegant dining, two of which require reservations. “Elegant casual“ is the dress code, suit coats are not required.

A central grand staircase features a video rotation of art. It leads down to a venue where live classical music plays in the afternoon and evening.

My morning experience typically begins in the well-equipped gym.

There is also a top deck recreation area and a quarter mile open deck walking track around the vessel. When seas are a bit “up“ it makes for an interesting alternating uphill/downhill experience made all the more challenging by a stiff breeze.

I have found that I enjoy the “at sea” days just as much as the “in port” days. This current sailing is scheduled for 22 days. Our prior two were of 15 and 21 days duration. We have discussed future cruises, even speculated that an around the world cruise would be a fitting celebration for 50 years of marriage. Whether or not those thoughts become “next things” remains to be seen.

For now (2022) we are enjoying this experience and… Peace Everyone. Pete

Back to 2023: We are still enjoying the experience and I still bid you Peace. Pete

A panel taken from the Bayeux Tapestry, images of which are displayed in all the ship staircases.

Written October 26, 2023, at Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Our course to date.

We previously visited Cozumel in February, 2022. We stayed in a tiny remote “resort” that depended upon a generator for electricity, typically on only 4 hours each evening. It was charming with a “Robinson Crusoe” vibe. Then we were able to dig deep into the island culture.

Traveling on a cruise ship is entirely different. Instead of becoming part of the local color, one “samples” it. It is kind of like dining at a smorgasbord. Many varied “dishes” (ports-of-call) from which to assemble your meal (journey).

Our preference has typically been to dive into the culture and meet the “locals”. Nevertheless, the cruise version of travel has its place. This is especially so for those wishing to be pampered, or who are up in years, physically challenged, or who have a desire to visit an array of places that would otherwise make for an impractical journey.

This may again be us as we have a desire to someday “sample” the South Pacific and perhaps Southeast Asia. At this point trying to see multiple countries for longer individual stays would not be practical, it would stretch (or break!) our budget, not to mention that we certainly are getting up in years. I recently flirted with physical challenges from which I have thankfully recovered, “one day at a time”.

Today we visited the mercantile district of Cozumel (island pop. 60,000) which is the heart of this island’s tourism and drives the local economy.

Members of our group in the tourist district.
The clock tower is the center of the harbor plaza.

The tourist shops abound. You can feel an invisible hand trying to suck the dollars out of your wallet. We did in fact indulge in the purchase of a silver necklace and an obsidian carving.

A modern monument in the Mayan tradition.

Our delightful tour guide, Patricia, gave excellent local knowledge and arranged for us to see black coral which grows only on local reefs.

This is the second largest reef complex in the world after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Black coral grows at a rate of about an inch a century. It is protected, but four divers are licensed by the government to harvest pieces that have broken off in accidents, storms, and hurricanes. This coral makes excellent jewelry and its rarity commands a steep price.

We also enjoyed an energetic exhibition depicting Mayan and Aztec ritual dances in a small arena setting.

The arena was otherwise dedicated to local pro wrestling matches, known as Lucha libre (“free fight”) where the contestants wear colorful masks (available for purchase as souvenirs, but we passed).

The waters in the vicinity of our ship were frequented by a variety of tour boats, speed boats, dive boats, catamarans, and even transparent boats through which passengers could view the reefs.

Before dinner I attended the first of four daily lectures on the history, design, technology, and politics of the Panama Canal by Ian MacLachlan, PhD. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Lethbridge, currently a visiting professor at Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School. Fascinating!

Did you know (I did not) the following:

The tide range on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal is 2 feet, but on the Pacific side it is over 21 feet.

The impoundment of fresh water from the Chagres River created Gatun Lake which is part of the canal and feeds the canal 85 feet above sea level. Gatun Lake is the largest artificial lake in the world.

Between 1881 and 1899 France made the first effort to dig the canal, a venture that went bankrupt but not before over 20,000 workers died in the effort.

In 1855 a “trans-continental” railroad was built across the Isthmus of Panama. It was 47 miles long and cost over 5,000 lives. This was 14 years before the golden spike was driven in Utah which marked the joining of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, and nearly 60 years before the canal was finally opened.

The United States’ successful project to build the canal took 8 years, concluding in 1914. It cost another 5,000 lives.

These are just a few of the many challenges and marvels I learned about today.

Here on Cozumel there is a wonderful site of Mayan ruins. We did not visit them this time as we spent most of a day there in 2020. However, for those of you who wish to see those pictures and “dig deep” into that history here is a link to my 2020 post:

The Mayan Ruins at San Gervasio.

Tomorrow and Saturday we are at sea, bound for our next stop, Columbia.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. Tonight the Viking Star should be named the “Barbar Ann” : “…You got me rockin’ and a rollin’ rockin’ and a reelin’ Barbar Ann.”