Aruba and the Everglades (Fort Lauderdale)

We had one stop in the Caribbean en-route to NY. This was Aruba which is a small island less than 40 miles off the Venezuelan coast. Although not a bucket list item the idea of diving in a submarine had definite appeal and with some 30 others we headed off in a small boat to find our sub.

It was a great experience albeit a little cramped. The first stop at 30ft was a reef. With depth and the subs windows the colour quickly reduced to shades of blue however there was clearly a lot of life. The reduction in light meant the Blue Chromis stood out amongst its more numerous but differently coloured counterparts.

We then went lower to a small wreck. This was deliberately sunk as an additional attraction to both humans and fish.

As we dived further we were accompanied by an Angel fish.

Eventually we bottomed out at 141 ft and literally touched base with the sea bed.

The 45 minute trip was over too soon. We had to wait on the surface for the shuttle boat to arrive and bounced around in the slight swell. Although the air conditioning and piped music had helped to ensure the trip was a calm experience it was good when the hatch opened and let in some fresh air. (Some of my neighbours....)

Meanwhile the captain awaited his next visitors. As they operate up to 8 trips a day clearly cabin fever is not an issue for him!

This was one port where a good shot of QE was possible.

Two days later we were at Fort Lauderdale and ticking off a further bucket list item – namely an air-boat. These were a little larger than I had in my mind and carried some 30 passengers and were powered by two huge Chevrolet 500 HP engines. Fortunately ear plugs were supplied.

We travelled up the canals at such a speed it felt and sounded more like a drag race than an exploration of the everglades!

We did however get to see a couple of Alligators.

Part two of this tour was a a spell in the botanic gardens where the main draw card were the flamingos. They looked very graceful

Until a couple of them became irritated with one another and a noisy beak banging, squawking and attempted biting competition ensued. We had not expected that. 

Others in the gardens were more relaxed including the iguanas and turtles.

While this shark turtle (which is the largest species of turtle) could well have been dead based on the amount of activity we witnessed.

Some contrast was provided by these two otters who just could not keep still.

A peacock on full display and occasional feather shaking held a few of us humans spellbound. This was just as well as the nearby pea hen showed absolutely no interest. 

Although I had seen similar displays I had not previously noticed the wonderful array of tail feathers and in particular the large number of very downy ones half way down the back. The closer one looks the larger the appreciation of the display. There is also a fair bit of strength and balance involved especially when there is a bit of breeze around.

And that was then end of the shore tours. As we awaited our departure a yacht travelled upstream which necessitated lifting the dual carriageway bridge. Good timing.

And then we were off through the entrance with two police boats working hard to keep all sorts of pleasure craft a suitable distance from QE. It appears Sundays are pretty active occasions here.

And two days later we pulled into NY in the early morning. The views travelling up the Hudson were lovely as we sailed under the Narrows bridge, past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis island to our mooring at Pier 93. The ships movements and darkness prevented suitable shots until a bit of daylight crept in. We moored two piers up from the aircraft carrier Intrepid (see Sept 2014 blog for more on this visit). What was a standout was how big QE was compared to Intrepid – we overhung the pier and looked down on the roof of the space display.

So, I am finalising this blog in JFK airport awaiting our 24 hour trip back to Oz. What a fantastic 32 days. The variety has been huge and the relaxation on QE was wonderful. The bar for the future has been set quite a bit higher!!

The Panama Canal

As the Panama Canal precipitated this trip there is a degree of inevitability that this will be a longish blog.

The geography of the canal is the first eye opener. The strip of land joining Latin and South America runs almost East West rather than North South. Strangely the Atlantic is actually West of the Pacific. (Yes it may be worth getting a map out!!) It is 51 miles long (82kms).

It was started by the French back in 1880. Due to yellow fever (20,000+ deaths) and a hopeless design – they adopted their Suez design which was all one level. OK in the desert but not in the Panama where there was basalt to cut through (in the days of pick and shovel) and significantly different tidal regimes between the coasts which would have created quite a bore! When the French went broke the Americans took over. With larger machines and locks they opened it in 1914. It is a truly magnificent engineering project.

Here is a map of the Canal which I found helpful and shows 4 discrete sections, the southern 3 (Miraflores) locks, the Culebra cut, Gatun Lake and then the 3 Gatun locks down to the Atlantic. The total lift of the locks is 85 ft.

Prior to transiting we had a day in Panama city and went to the Miraflores locks visitor centre.  This gave us a great overview of the canal (literally in the case of this picture). The original locks are to the right (two closer and one further away) and the new wider locks with their ponds (to save water) in the foreground. 

At ground level here is the first lock and in the right background the new (3 year old) wider locks.

What surprised many of us is the size of Panama City. It is in stark contrast to the towns of our earlier Latin American shore visits and more like an Australian Gold Coast with numerous high rise. Interestingly, although clearly canal charges have played their part, the the main income is derived from imports and exports.

As we started our transit early a pre-sunrise get up was required (well for some). The reward was a beautiful sunrise.

Panama city seemed to be a calling point for many birds including thousands of pelicans. They all seem to be migrating with many other birds including Frigates.

As part of the transit we were allowed out on a few of the front decks. A marvelous viewpoint (well at least before others got up!). 

The sun really picked up the spiral of one of Panama’s more noteworthy buildings.

And this is the island at the end of the causeway which formed part of the small boat harbour we used when tendering ashore.

The first structure to greet canal entrants is the Americas bridge.

Where, shortly after, is the berth of “Union” a sailing training ship which is unusual as it has four masts. The evidence for trading was then apparent with container cranes on both banks.

We locked up with a mixed cargo vessel which handled bulk cargo below decks but could also manage some containers on top. It does not look like we are aligned for the right hand lock but

shortly after were not only aligned but ready to take on board lines from a row boat (which you can just see). Apparently other ways of getting a line aboard have been tried but a 2 man row boat has proven to be the most reliable.

We were travelling through the original locks which have mules (which is an interesting term given they have never had animals helping with operations.) The new locks use tugs.

These are small railway engines that help to keep a ship in the middle of the lock by pulling on wire hawsers attached to the ships bollards.

For QE there were two mules on the bow and two aft on each side (a total of eight). They operated under instruction from the pilot with lights flashing and bells ringing to confirm any instruction. In a later lock a ship was coming the other way and the cable arrangements can be seen. Some are slack while others get tightened to keep the ship on line. The mules only help with alignment and a ship moves forward under its own power.

They must be quite elaborate affairs to be able to keep cables tensioned consistently whilst running up and down some quite steep slopes as well as different distances from the lock’s edge. They have a cogged traction system so they do not slip. However, there were some quite jarring halts when one could imagine the whole engine being dragged into the lock.

The cable arrangements were only on one side of the vehicles so the middle islands were also fitted with a turntable to enable them to be turned around.

As we moved up through the third lock the Centennial cable stayed bridge came into shot. Keep driving to the left and you can get all the way to the USA- but probably not get in!

Once under the bridge we entered the Culebra cut. This was a huge earthworks operation and material has been used for filling operations at the ports at each end of the canal. It is a narrow and winding cut with one way traffic. (Apparently Culebra means snake which is clearly appropriate.)

This is the Northern end of the Andes!

Eventually the cut opens up into Gatun lake which in its day was the largest man made lake. (It now ranks No 3.) This enable ships to pause and wait their turn to enter the cut. It contains some 5.2 cubic kilometres which is just as well as each lock ends up releasing 100,000 m3 of water. The whole system only operates thanks to the very high annual rainfall.

Although QE with all her bow thrusters and pods does not often need the assistance of tugs they are in abundance to help other vessels. Some of them clearly enjoy their work. This one played a little ditty on his horn, did a quick 360 and then replayed the ditty before moving off. A tug fly by!

Although the mules help, the fit for QE was quite tight. (She is 106 ft wide and the locks are 110 ft wide - 2 ft either side - plenty of room!). Here you can see the pilot, first officer and captain anxiously looking at how the ship is lining up. The glass floor helped. However, there were a couple of bumps and I could imagine the disappointment of the team of deckhands as they realised there was another painting job coming up to rectify the scrapes of hull on rough lock wall concrete.

Beyond Gatun locks a new elegant cable stayed bridge has been constructed – but not opened apparently as the approach roads have not been completed!

As a result crossing the canal is by a swing bridge at the bottom of the locks and can be seen in the middle foreground. 

It is a one way affair.

It appears to be propped from the bottom to enable it to take traffic loads. An unexpected final example of some clever engineering. 

After some 9 hours we left the canal and entered the Atlantic (some might say Caribbean sea). A fantastic experience which really exceeded my expectations.

Guatemala and Costa Rica

Continuing down the West Coast of North America (now Latin America) our next stop was Guatemala. A small country of 4.5M people dominated by numerous volcanoes some of which are still active.

Our trip into the hinterland was through an area devastated by an eruption last year. This was due to mud flows (as opposed to ash, lava or liquefaction which can be just as devastating). There are many abandoned homes. You cannot now get insurance in these areas so they will be forever ghost towns

However, the road is a supply route and the quickly erected Bailey bridges are being replaced by more substantial bridges.

We had decided on a macadamia farm visit as this is a nut we thought was Australian. It is and was imported many years ago via Hawaii. The farm was focused on being environmentally friendly and had some locally developed equipment. This, which took of the nut’s softer outer shell, was called Mac Giver.

There were a number of products including chocolate covered nuts and oils for facial massages. Life is a struggle……

Back at the harbour the site of QE was enticing given the very hot and humid conditions at sea level. Our cabin is on the corner just above the last life boat – a good sized balcony!

Our next stop was Costa Rica. This small country (about the size of Scotland) with a similar population to Guatemala has had a relatively stable government over the last 50 or more years. With a focus on education and health and no expenditure on defence it has boomed. Tourism has been helped by most having two and many having three languages.

Our shore trip comprised two parts. A river tour 

where we saw quite a bit of wildlife including these small long nosed bats.

Ground level is no place for termites so they build their nests in trees.

There were many small colourful birds that were so fast there was little chance of a good shot but this young heron was very obliging.

On the way back we stopped for the inevitable shopping and a coffee. This young lady was helping her Mum with coffee liqueurs and with a bit of help could describe each flavour in English. The coffee cream was excellent.

The second part of the trip was a ride on a train with two beautiful wooden carriages.

The guardsman come waiter had a certain swagger and clearly enjoyed his job.

The rail track was all over the place so high speed rail this was not. In fact those on bicycles readily overtook us. Never mind speed when you have such colour. 

Our train ride ended at a small centre where we were entertained with three local dances. Very colourful.

And of course some could not be stopped in taking part.