Saturday Jan 13, 2024
Hi All! We had a great day in Panama today. We literally drove from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Try doing that in the USA!! Lol
We did an excursion with two other people from another cruise line and we first drove to Panama City on the west coast of Panama (Colon is on the East coast). That city is really beautiful. There’s both an old city with old style architecture, which we walked thru. And a newer city of high rise buildings that we saw from across the water.
After that we drove to the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal. We first watched an IMAX movie describing both the history and the building of the Canal. The French first tried to build it since they built the Suez Canal but didn’t take lots of factors into the difference between Egypt and Panama and 20,000 people died from malaria and Yellow Fever before they gave up. Then President Teddy Roosevelt approved the USA going in and building it and it was finished in 1913.
They said the steel locks were built in Pittsburgh and are the original ones since 1913. 111 years and still working, go Pittsburgh!
As you may have read in the news that due to the low water levels due to low amounts of rain, there are many cargo ships queuing up to get thru the canal. They said in the past that 40 ships a day would go thru but lately it’s down to 20! We got to watch a big boat go thru the locks. It was really cool!
We got back to the ship and went to watch the Browns vs Texans playoff game they were showing on the big screen (due to my suggestion!). What a blowout by the Texans! Then we got cleaned up and went to grab a quick dinner at the Buffett restaurant. No, I’m not telling you how many lobster tails I ate (it’s criminal!).
We then went back to the same lounge to watch the Chiefs vs Dolphins playoff game. In case you didn’t know it, Kathy is a HUGE Dolphins fan! There were a ton of people there watching the game and about three quarters were Chiefs fans. It was a fun rivalry amongst everyone but alas the Dolphins lost. Bummer!
Tomorrow we have a sea day so lots of relaxation is in the cards! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
The Wandering Italian 