Panama Canal Transit

Good Afternoon Friends! 

I know it's been a while since I've updated my blog of travels, but I'm going to do my best this time to keep things updated. The good news is that the internet on the ship is considerably faster than it used to be so hopefully this will not be as much of a challenge as it was before...

This contract I'm off on a Grand Voyage around South America and Antarctica! Our first stop was Costa Rica and I was excited to get off the ship except there was a little bit of a delay for crew immigration and I decided it was a better use of time to have a gym/spa day than to wait around trying to get off. So the first pictures I have from this trip is from Crossing the Panama Canal! I have already transited the canal from Pacific to Atlantic Ocean on the Veendam (1st Contract) and this time I get to go through the locks from the other direction. This time crossing the canal is really special because it is the 100th anniversary from when the locks were built in 1914. 

I took photos all day long and I'll start with my favourite photo from the day. Lisa and I, and the rest of the entertainment team, were at the back pool socializing and taking pics as we went through the last locks. The sun was setting behind us and the Frigate birds were swooping and diving and flying all around us. I managed to snap this picture of a female Frigate bird with the sun in the background. One of those times when photographic magic happens :)  

Early in the morning I held a Techspert Time on the back deck to help guests take photos while we were going through the locks. I took this pic of the container ship behind us being lined up to go in to the lock. You can see the doors opening and the tugboats pushing it into place. 

These little train-cars, called mules (because back in the day it was actual donkey-mules doing the pulling), keep the ship in place while the water fills or empties out of the lock. You can see the cable from the mule to our ship. The driver of the mule was really friendly and waved at me when he saw I was taking a photo.

Going through the last locks the Cruise Ship, Azamara Quest, was beside us and I managed to get this picture showing how the mules are hooked up. 

The Show Host, Matt, took a time capture with his camera from the bridge of our ship. He set up his camera to take a picture every minute or so and then put them all together really fast so it looks like a movie. He showed it to me yesterday and I'll get a copy from him, basically our entire day of transiting the canal down to 3 mins or so!! it looks so unbelievably cool I am really hoping to be able to post it on here. The perspective of us rising and falling in the locks is really captured when you watch a sped up version of our transit.


Ok, I'll start working on the next batch of images! (obviously I have a million and one from this post alone, but I can't share them all unfortunately) Ciao!! 

Warnemunde, Germany

Warnemunde, Germany is a small town filled with tall ships and little German shops along the water. It was gorgeous and sunny again today so I grabbed my camera with my 85mm lens and wandered off to find interesting things to take photos of. My new inspiration lately is taking 'detail' photos of the ports we go to. There are so many typical touristy shots of the cathedrals, canals and local shops that I've decided to try to take up close shots around towns. Here are a few that I took in Warnemunde!



 

Across the main bridge to cross the canal into town there is a chain with locks attached. The idea is to write the name of you and your love on the lock, lock it to the chain, and throw the key into the canal or river below. Read all about Love Locks on wiki.

 

Love Locks - Warnemunde, Germany

As I wandered around town trying to find the post office, I stumbled upon this little fountain with a procession of tiny statues. Each figure is only about 8 inches tall. The sign and description were all in German, so needless to say I was not able to understand what the symbolism behind it were.

 

 

 

Entrance to the Harbour - Port Light House, Warnemunde, Germany

 

 

As I was practicing getting used to focusing with my manual 85mm lens I happened to take this shot of a seagull about to take flight.

Seagull - Warnemunde, Germany

 

 

Starboard Light House - Warnemunde, Germany

 

Detail of Rope - Warnemunde, Germany

 

 

Warnemunde Boat - Warnemunde, Germany

 

 

This was a really quaint town and I'm excited to go back there in a few weeks time and find more pictures!

 

Stay tuned for Tallinn, Estonia!

 

 



Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

It was a beautiful sunny day and I got off the ship in the evening to walk towards the harbour and find someplace to have a bite to eat. We passed the Little Mermaid on the way... One of the biggest tourist attractions of Copenhagen. She's a really small life-size statue sitting on a rock near the shore. 

 

 

The Little Mermaid - Copenhagen, Denmark

 

We continued walking... There were a number of interesting statues all over Copenhagen, hidden in strange nooks and crannies.

 

 

 

This is where the Royal Family lives. We were walking through and the square was almost empty outside the palace. They also had guards patrolling the grounds wearing ridiculous large fur hats.

Finally after about 40 mins of walking we reached our destination. A canal with sailboats lining it and plenty of restaurants in the sun.

 

 

We spent a long time just enjoying the food, sun and company. Eventually the sun began to set and we walked back to the ship. :)



 

Hope you enjoyed these photos! I have one more that I am working on of the Little Mermaid. I'll post that when I have it edited. We are going to be sailing about the United Kingdom for the next two weeks. I'm excited to return to Ireland! My Next post will be about Warnemunde Germany! Stay Tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Panama Canal

We started entering the Panama Canal Locks at 8:30am and I was able to see the ship enter the first one. We had to go up first into the canal and then to exit the canal we went back down. We actually went through three different locks. One at 8:30, one about 10:30-11:00, and the last one about 2:00pm.

Entering the Panama Canal Locks 

Panama Canal Locks

I was able to see the first one and then after that I was indoors teaching classes from 10:30-2:30pm. So I ended up missing most of the canal. But I left my curtains open in the Workshop and every once in a while I would see something nice outside and pause class to take a look. The guests didn't mind - they also wanted to look outside!!

San Blas Islands, Panama 

After the Panama Canal we sailed to the San Blas Islands which were REALLY TINY - tendering took a long time so I didn't get off the ship. But I did spend some time in the sun on the top deck. It was a beautiful and such an amazing experience to transverse the Panama Canal!