Travel Log: Panama Canal

Today is April 4, 2024 and it feels like a good time to catch everyone up on our current journey. If you’ve been following along you’ll know that we started this cruise assignment headed for Antarctica. There were several trips back and forth around South America, with our most recently update an epic Nazca Lines excursion. Since then we’ve continued north. We stayed aboard the ship during our brief stop in Ecuador because of civil unrest there, so we don’t get to add Ecuador to the blog map. The highlights of our current voyage have been the port in Panama, the trip through the Panama Canal, and a beach day in Aruba. Now we’re back on the Atlantic side and headed towards Florida.

These travel log entries are intended to communicate our whereabouts and some of what’s going on with us during our adventures. If you read our post about being a cruise ship RN you’ll remember that Dragon is working every day on these voyages. For whatever reason this particular voyage has been extremely busy and challenging in the clinic. On top of that, we’ve both gotten sick on this voyage. We are very fortunate to be having amazing experiences on the regular. It seems appropriate to bring some reality to the discussion as well. No need to dwell any further on that though. Let’s recap the current voyage in Travel Log: Panama Canal.

Fuerte Amador, Panama

Fuerte Amador is the cruise ship port on an island outside of Panama City at the southern entrance to the Panama Canal. After being unable to explore Ecuador we were ready for a port day. The shuttle bus from the cruise terminal dropped us off near shopping and dining. It didn’t take us long to find the perfect spot. Praia Amador had a covered outdoor patio with a swimming pool in the middle of the restaurant! To our delight the place was mostly empty. We enjoyed excellent food, tasty beverages, and took a relaxing dip in the pool. It may not sound like much, but it was amazing. Dragon and her teammates totally needed the chill time off the ship. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to provide the perfect escape. Fuerte Amador was a simple outing that turned out to be just the thing everyone needed.

We’ve seen a lot of recommendations in recent years for Panama as a great location for expats. We only experienced a sliver of Panama for one day. That didn’t prepare us to deliver an opinion beyond telling you what a great day we had. Here is a link to Tourism Panama if you would like to find out more.

Panama Canal

Probably the main reason for porting at Fuerte Amador is to ensure the ship’s spot in line for the Panama Canal. Ship traffic through the canal is governed by a tightly controlled schedule, especially for a ship the size of the Oosterdam. When a ship is late to its pre-scheduled window it has to wait for another opportunity, sometimes all day. So the cruise ship ports at Fuerte Amador the day before and starts the journey through the canal in the early morning hours.

Sailing through the Panama Canal is totally a bucket list item. Conceptually it is really cool. The canal is an engineering marvel and there is a nerdy satisfaction in standing on the deck watching the ship creep into the locks before they fill or drain to change the elevation of the ship, allowing it to carry on. Having acknowledged that it is really cool and we are stoked to have done it, there is more to the story. It takes 10-12 hours to cruise through the canal. The countryside is beautiful and the canal is a true masterpiece of human innovation. We’d be lying if we didn’t admit that it is actually somewhat anti-climactic. After the first few locks the thrill is pretty much over. Cruising out the northern end under the Atlantic bridge is a nice finale to the trip across the Panama Canal.

One interesting thing we learned on our journey from the Pacific to the Atlantic is that they are apparently different elevations. How is it possible that sea level is different depending on where you are? I can’t wrap my head around this and really want you all to be as confused as I am. Here are a couple fun sites to help you on your new quest: an article from Science Direct and an FAQ from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level. You’re welcome.

Oranjestad, Aruba

Beach day! Ironically, although we’ve been travelling around South America throughout their summer this is only the second time we’ve been swimming at a beach. Eagle Beach in Aruba was the perfect place for our second beach day. We bought some too small, too expensive cocktails at Coco-Loco Aruba before heading down to the water. Frankly, we were pretty desperate targets for overpriced drinks. We want you to know that your $12 margarita is coming to you in an oversized paper dixie cup. The white sand and turquois water were spectacular though. Despite the lame drinks, the beach was a perfect break that everyone needed. After the beach we walked around Oranjestad and had a very satisfying lunch at Anker Fish Co. before returning to the ship. Aruba is beautiful.

Quick story from Oranjestad. We wanted sushi. Two sushi places were closed for lunch and only opened for dinner. We made our way to Hanasaki Sushi Bar which was open for lunch. After walking for a bit we found Hanasaki, with their signage clearly stating ‘sushi’. The menu indicated there was no sushi however. Gasp! When we enquired about the sushi menu they told us they only do sushi “some days”. Which days? That isn’t clear, just “some days”. They are taking this island time concept to a new level. We left Hanasaki and made our way to Anker Fish Co., which was really good! Anker Fish Co. gets a thumbs up for their service, atmosphere, cocktails, and food. Fake sushi restaurant? No, just no.

Next Stop

That gets us back to the present where we are cruising across the Caribbean Sea towards Ft. Lauderdale. It turns out that border paranoia is far reaching and all encompassing. In an episode of the truly bizarre, U.S. Customs will not allow any crew ashore in Florida. That includes Americans, so Dragon is stuck on the ship. Tomorrow we arrive in our own country and I’m the only one allowed to set foot in the United States. After that we have a six day Atlantic crossing until we get to the Azores. Travel log: Panama Canal has been good and bad. The canal and ports were awesome, but the job has been a grind for Dragon and by extension for Dog. Another trip to the beach would have been great before the crossing, but alas…

Although they would probably be banned in Florida, I leave you with the words from The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”