Loves' 2023 World Cruise

December 28,29 Our ship docked at Colon on the Caribbean side of Panama, and the first day we took a train about 50 miles to Panama City on the Pacific side.   The train essentially runs parallel to the canal through the jungles of Panama.   Along the way our guide gave us a good lesson on the construction of both the railway and the canal as well as the history of the country of Panama.   We returned to the ship by bus. The second day our ship departed Colon, traversed the canal and entered the Pacific Ocean.    The Panama Canal is deemed to be one of the 8 Engineering Wonders of the World.   We had in our minds that the canal was essentially a ditch connecting the two oceans.   But in reality, it goes over a rise of 85 feet.   Initially the challenge was to go over an elevation of some 250 feet in rugged, jungle pest-infested terrain.  Through a massive effort using dynamite and hauling away the rock and soil, a channel was cut reducing the maximum elevation to 85 ft.   Three locks o

 CARTANEGA, COLOMBIA.    Tuesday, December 27, 2022 We spent the day in and around Cartagena, the most northern port in Colombia with a population around 1 million. It was a warm day–guess we finally outran the US blizzard. Industry and tourism are the primary economic engines of the city. We toured the National Colombia Aviary, home to some 1,700 birds (I think we saw them all, but we won’t bore you with all the pictures we took). The most exciting event was Vera being attacked by a parrot that landed on her hat and pecked at a buckle on the band. He just wouldn’t leave her alone until Vera forcefully shook him off while the guide was moaning No! No! We’re now off to Panama.                                                                                The parrot attack                                                                                Flamingos galore