June 27 Cartagena Colombia

Cartagena was the pleasant surprise of the entire trip.  I'm not sure what I expected, but this was just a delightful Old Town.  We just wandered around and enjoyed the sights.  We never did feel unsafe, and there wasn't a large police presence.  It was great.

 Simon Bolivar

June 26  Panama Canal Transit

Not really a stop since we never docked, but it was an impressive show.  From early in the morning until dinnertime we were transiting the canal.

Sunrise in the Pacific as we near the entry

 Cruise director Ray abandoned us during the transit.  Something about getting video of the transit from outside the ship.

 There were lots of these pilot boats zipping about during the day.  Pilots came and went, line handlers came and went.   I think they just like to zoom around in the boats.  And get paid for it.

 Passing underneath the Bridge of the Americas, over which passes the Pan-American Highway.

 Dredging is a never ending job in the canal.

 We were "fortunate" to traverse the canal during the inauguration of the new sets of locks.  This is on the Pacific side.  These lock chambers are significantly larger than the older ones.  

 Our approach to Miraflores locks.

 They use a rowboat to bring the lines to the ship.

 The lines connect to these engines on the rails alongside the lock.  These electric locomotives don't push or pull the ship -- they only ensure the ship stays centered in the lock.

 The doors of the lock

 Double doors at the uphill end

 The toughest part of building the canal, after eliminating yellow fever, was the Culebra Cut.  Tropical rains part of what makes the canal work (they use 52 million gallons of fresh water for every ship that transits the canal) but they also quickly erode the cuts, sending landslides into the channel.  Keeping ahead of that is a continuing job.

 This was the first ship to use the new locks for a complete transit of the canal.  The Cosco Panama is bigger than a Panamax, so had to use the bigger locks.

 Tugboats must be fun to drive around.  This one was going sideways alongside us while we were approaching the Gatun locks.

 Maneuvering into the lock.

 Alongside us in the Gatun locks was this Panamax.  You can count the rows of of containers and compare that to the rows on the Cosco Panama and see the difference in width.  Cosco Panama was also longer.

 Brightly colored chemical tanker going the other way.

 The new locks at Gatun looking back from the Atlantic Ocean.

 CD Ray and videographer returning to the ship.  I haven't seen any video yet, and it looks like they're having just too good a time on that boat.

 At the breakwater we're now in the Atlantic Ocean

June 24  Puntarenas, Costa Rica

We were scheduled for a noon arrival in Costa Rica.  As part of the flurry of ATW events there was an auction held in the morning.  "Worldies" could bid on dinners with crew members, Cruise Director for a day, and several keepsakes.

Standing, L to R: ATW Hostess Tricia, ACD Wil, Destinations Mgr Luke, and GM Victor.  Seated: Entertainment Staff Steve, Erik and Michelle

 Cruise Director Ray was the auctioneer and immensely humorous.  He wheedled, cajoled and amused the crowd into spending $5000 on the auctioned items.  All the money went to the crew fund which buys things for the crew and subsidizes their excursions.

 The Last Lucky Cat available for bid!  With a brand new battery and original box, it went for $80.

 The big item was the ATW quilt, crafted by many volunteers during the 180-day trip. It was raffled off with a total sales of $5500, also for the crew.

We had no excursion planned so we walked off the ship along a pier that was about 500 meters long, before reaching the shore.

 A shipboard friend, Bruce, always carries doggie treats in his pocket when out walking around.  He found a new friend in Costa Rica.

 A beach side structure for entertainment

 Seems like a good idea

 Another Costa Rican befriended 

 We were docked along a long peninsula.  I believe this was the only traffic light for miles.