Panama & Curacao

Our next stop was in Colon, Panama. From there we took a tour to see Panama City and our first stop was along a part of the Panama Canal. We were not in an area where there were locks; we had been through the canal years ago, but we did enjoy seeing it from the land and watching a ship go through it.

We learned from our guide on the bus that a second canal was built along side the first from 2007 to 2016 at a cost of $5.7 billion dollars funded by a consortium of 5 nations including the United States. As you may be aware, passage through the canal requires a reservation, a huge fee and often a wait of several days to a week with a reservation.

We moved on and saw some ruins of the original city which was built in 1519. There was glare on the bus window so the picture isn’t great.

It’s everywhere; it’s everywhere!

We drove through the city and we snapped pix along the way. My favorite building is called the Twister.

The building below was designed by Frank Gehry. If seen from the sky it looks like a toucan.

We stopped at the seawall to snap some pictures and then the next stop was for lunch at Bucanero’s and it was surprisingly good.

 

Our last stop was on the edge of the Colonial City which was where the cathedral Santa Maria de la Antigua is located. There were way too many steps for me to negotiate, so John and Tomi went to see it. Looks very beautiful!

We passed a couple of sights on the way.

And back to cocktail hour and sunset!

And then a return visit to the French restaurant. They have a fois gras appetizer that is a thin layer on the plate of fois gras circled by very thin slices of artichoke. Tomi and I love this and order it every time we go there — so far three times!

The next day was another sea day as we traveled back toward the east to Curacao. That day was only memorable because we just messed around on the ship while we waited for the Cowboy game….so excited! And we were able to watch it in the Astern Lounge with a gigantic tv screen. John and Bryan got there at 5:00 p.m. for a 5:30 start (Atlantic time). First row was already taken with some rabid Green Bay fans in front of us. Unfortunately, I got to watch them high five WAY too many times. What a brutally disappointing game!!!!! It was a painful three hours. We left for dinner with about five minutes left and the Cowboys scored two touchdowns — probably the best minutes of the game!

It’s hard to tell size but the screen is at the back of a big stage.

And then we arrived in Curacao. Our excursion was canceled so we just explored the city on our own. There is not a lot to say, but there was shopping galore, street art, sculptures and a small shower in the morning (during which we escaped into a gelateria). Below are views from our suite.

And then the lovers’ locks that we had seen in Paris-the so-called Punda Hearts.

The bridge above is another picture of the Queen Emma Bridge, also known as the “swinging old lady”- it swings horizontally and resides parallel to the dock when a ship needs to pass.

The bridge below is the Queen Juliana Bridge – a four-lane road arch bridge crossing the St. Anna Bay in Willemstad, the capital of Curacao (reaching a height of 56.4 m (185 ft.) It is the highest bridge in the entire Caribbean. The length of the bridge is 500 m (1,400 ft.). Amazingly, it was built 50 years ago.

And then we were back on board the ship!

And dinner, John deciding to photograph his carpaccio….

The excursion that was canceled was to visit the Cathedral of Thorns in the evening. I am enclosing a link to it to show you how spectacular it is and how disappointed we were not to see it! https://www.codaworx.com/projects/the-cathedral-of-thorns-curacao/  It would have been a wonderful experience!!!

We enjoyed these three days (except for the football game); hope you have too!

Beth