Tahiti – Magical Island of the South Seas

Tahiti

DAY 22 – We arrived at sunrise in Tahiti’s Papeete harbor on this gorgeous French Polynesian island that rose above the turquoise ocean with emerald green mountains and magnificent cascading waterfalls.

Artist Paul Gauguin was fascinated with the brilliant colors of the flowers, trees, and festive clothing of the Tahitian islanders and his paintings became famous 100 years later long after he had died.  Author Herman Melville also was in Tahiti for years and his books on South Pacific islands have added to the intrigue and fame of this island.

We arrived at Tahiti on a balmy Wednesday, January 26th, and we toured the entire circumference of this island discovering botanical wonders, waterfalls hundreds of feet tall, and we fell in love with the warm, welcoming Tahitian people.  One day in Tahiti was just not enough!

Below are a few selected photographs of our visit:

The beaches on the island of Tahiti are black sand, caused by the younger age of this island with volcanic rock forming the color of the sand.

The waterfalls roar out of the high mountains and crash down into pools in the deep jungle-like tropical forest.

There are so many flowers that it is hard to select one photo…this flowering bush was something I’d never seen before…multiply this by the hundreds of other colors and types of flowering plants that are all over Tahiti and let your imagination go crazy!

Costa Rica – Central American Playground

Costa Rica

DAY 4 – Today is Sunday, January 9th, and this next stop on our journey takes us to the port of Puerto Limon, capital city of a province in the very tropical, gorgeous country of Costa Rica.  Puerto Limon is the country’s main industrial Caribbean port with a population slightly over 100,000. 

We are now located only 10 degrees north of the equator and the climate is humid and warm.  Off in the distance seen from the harbor are the volcanic mountains with the country’s famous cloud forests that are home to howler monkeys, sloths, jaguars,  and hundreds of species of gorgeous tropical  birds. 

We were shocked and saddened with the horrific news today of the tragic shootings in Tucson, which included two of our beloved Arizona friends, Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords and Gabe Zimmerman.  Gabe was killed by the gunman, and he is the son of our current Arizona Trail Association’s president, Emily Nottingham.  Gabby Giffords, a popular southern Arizona Congresswoman,  is a fellow equestrian and a friend who is literally hanging on to life today.  We are following this news closely on our cruise ship television stations, and our hearts hurt for all of our friends in Tucson who are suffering through this unbelievably difficult time right now.

Here are some photo highlights of our Costa Rica excursion:

 This Puerto Limon harbor and the cloud forest mountains in Costa Rica were very welcoming.

 Larry strolling through the tropical central park adjacent to the Puerto Limon dock area on the eastern coast of Costa Rica.

  ms Amsterdam cruise guests make their way back to the ship for lunch at the Puerto Limon, Costa Rica cruise ship dock after a great morning walking tour.

Panama Canal – An Engineering Marvel

Panama Canal

DAY 5 – We left Puerto Limon at 4:30 p.m. Sunday to proceed in an easterly direction through the night towards the “Atlantic” (eastern) entrance of the Panama Canal, arriving at 5:00 a.m. Monday morning, January 10th. 

Both Larry and I had visited the Panama Canal before, but we had never experienced actually going through the locks on a ship…and this was a truly exciting and memorable adventure!

The Canal was completed in 1914, and it still operates in much the same way as it did in the very beginning.  The Panama Canal is a masterpiece of engineering and is considered to be the Eighth Wonder of the Modern World.  The designers skillfully utilized gravity, the 200 inches of annual rainfall in Panama, and little 25 horsepower motors to move the huge floating gates that separate each lock from the next.

We entered the first lock at 6:30 a.m. and ended our transit through the final lock 10 hours later, cruising under the Bridge of the Americas entrance into the Pacific Ocean at 4:30 p.m.

Following are a few of the photos we selected (from many!) that will help us remember some of the special highlights of this significant passage from one major ocean to another:

 We were at the bow of our ship most of the day as we traveled through the locks of the Panama  Canal, watching the process in amazement!  We approached the first lock early in the morning from the Atlantic Ocean.  The first lock brought us down to the level of Gatun Lake so we could make our way on to the rest of the locks. 

The lock gates open as our ship is lowered to the level with the water level in the lock in front of our ship. The Canal can handle 12 cruise or large cargo ships per day in each set of locks.  You can see a container ship in the next lock just in front of us.

Large, powerful engines on cog wheel tracks are attached by heavy duty wire cables to our ship.  The engines are called “mules” and they travel alongside our ship the entire way through the Canal, keeping our ship perfectly aligned within the locks, at both the front and back ends, and on the left and right sides.

 The Pacific area of the locks system is named the Miraflores Locks, and visitors to the Panama Canal can view this part of the canal system as ships are moving through the locks.

 Here are Panama Canal visitors taking photos, watching and waving to everyone on our ship as it passes through the Miraflores Locks.   (Larry and I were exactly where these folks are standing when we were visiting Panama in November and December in 2009…I’ll admit that actually going through the locks of the canal on our cruise ship really beat this view!)

Ecuador – Home of the Panama Hat!

Manta, Ecuador

DAY 8 – We crossed the Equator during the night as we continued on our southerly heading toward the country of Ecuador, arriving at 5:00 a.m. Wednesday morning at the port of Manta, on January 12th.  We are marking the beginning of our second week on our cruise today.

We shared our port with large U.S.  Air Force and Naval ships that are helping Ecuador battle against Colombian drug trafficking cartels in a strategic program called Plan Colombia.

Just outside the port city lies the town of Montecristi, now famous and known throughout the world for the original and official handmade Panama hats.  Larry and I could not resist purchasing one after seeing all of the months it takes to make just one hat.

Following are a few of the photos we selected from our excursion to one of the Panama hat hand weaving facilities:

Shredded palm fronds are boiled for 30 minutes to soften them for weaving the Panama hats.

The cooked palm fibers are dried in the sun.  Colors from plants and flowers can be added to the boiling water to create colored Panama hats for ladies.

The hat takes shape as the nimble fingers of the weaver continue to create the hat pattern. The weavers stand and lean on pads as they work. One hat can take 3 months to complete.

Think of the months it has taken to produce this table of completed hats designed for either men or women.

Cayman Islands – Home of Pirates’ Folklore

Cayman Islands

DAY 3 - Our first stop after one day at sea are the delightful, friendly Cayman Islands and the port city of Georgetown on Friday, January 7th. The town is full of historic buildings and 600 banks! The people who live on the island pay no income tax and they received this glorious gift in perpetuity from King George of England when the brave Cayman Islanders saved his young nephew from sure death during a shipwreck near their island in 1708. (And yes, it’s very hard to get citizenship there!)

There are many mansions in Georgetown, and the tourism and large oil companies literally support almost all of the island citizen’s health insurance, education, and more. Truly a great place to live and islanders are only a one hour airline flight away from Miami, Florida.

Here are photo highlights of our Cayman Islands excursion:

 The shoreline of Grand Cayman Island is ringed with gorgeous coral reefs and clear waters that are famed for their great snorkeling and scuba diving worldwide.  

We transferred from our ship to a tender boat that took us to the island’s capital, Georgetown.   Down at the water level on our tender boat, the cruise ship appears like a giant in the sea!

 Excited about my first visit to the Cayman Islands! 

Larry stopped by to check out the female cayman sculpture, complete with toenail polish and braided locks, at one of the white sand beaches.  This crock-like critter is how the islands got their name.

Fort George canons helped to protect these islands from pirates and other islanders’ enemies.

 The history of the Cayman Islands and the British rule is evident throughout Georgetown. 

Life-size pirate figures and people in costume all over Georgetown help carry on the tales of lost treasures from the escapades of Blackbeard and Long John Silver who frequented the Cayman Islands.  And, for those who can afford the real estate in this international off-shore banking capital, the Georgetown mansions offer true luxury living!

And We’re Off to the High Seas!

Hello to family and friends,

We are behind schedule getting our world travel news to you…we had to make adjustments in the blog so our ship’s  satellite Internet system could upload the files to send to you.  We are going to send you the blogs in chronological order starting with Day 1.

Launch Day

DAY 1 - We launched from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at 6:00 p.m. under a glowing sunset on Wednesday, January 5^th, accompanied by a fabulous Bon Voyage Party on the ship’s decks with lots of live band music, complimentary tropical drinks, and 1300 of our new “travel friends!”

There is a touching “Welcome Home” banner hanging on our ship, the Holland America Ms. Amsterdam, as we make our way up the gangplank…and we realized this will truly be our special home away from home for the next four months.

Here are a few photo highlights from our first cruise day:

 This the “Welcome Home” banner that greeted us as we boarded our cruise ship.

 Pulling away from the Ft. Lauderdale dock  – heading out of the harbor into the Atlantic Ocean and starting our World Journey!

 The festive Bon Voyage Cocktail Party on deck with live band music and lots of very happy cruise goers!