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!

 

 



The Little Mermaid

When I saw the swan come into my view finder on my camera I immediately thought of the Greek story of Zeus and Leda (the mother of Helen of Troy). Basically the story goes that Zeus saw Leda bathing in a river or lake or some body of water. He fancied her and he turned himself into a swan to approach her... I don't think I need to finish the story... lol but the end result was Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman (according to the Iliad)

Well that story popped into my head so this is my Artistic Expression of Leda and Zeus.  

The Little Mermaid - Copenhagen, Denmark

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cherbourg, France

I finally got off the ship! I had some time off in Cherbourg and I decided to spend the crisp, sunny day wandering around the streets in search of a quaint cafe to have a cup of coffee. I love the way the streets of small European towns snake their way through the buildings. I always carry a map in my pocket, but I prefer to only use it if necessary. Finding my way around a town without the use of a map is always a fun challenge for me. 







 



The streets of Cherbourg, France

Shipwrecked

 

Walking back to the ship I spotted this cute boat that was in disrepair. Stay tuned for more sites from the Baltic! 

Land Ahoy! St. Malo, France

 

After 7 long days at sea we finally reached the coast of France! I didn't get off the ship this day either :(

 

Fun fact: My dad wrote me an email explaining that my French Ancestors came from this region of France. St. Malo, Cherbourg and Le Havre.

 

This town looked very medieval from what I could see. There is an old tower in the shot below.



 



 

St. Malo, France with a view of the old town

Sailboats in St. Malo Harbour

 

 

Bermuda!



 



The day after my birthday we arrived to the beautiful island of Hamilton, Bermuda. It was a gorgeous sunny day. Unfortunately I had IPM (In Port Manning) that day which meant I had to stay on the ship. A certain number of crew must be on the ship at all times.
I walked around the deck and took a few shots from the ship. I'll be back one day I'm sure ;)

 

Hamilton, Bermuda

Enormous Yachts and Gorgeous Blue Waters

Happy Birthday to Me!



Hello Everyone!

Sorry for the long delay in updating my blog. However, having 9 sea days in the first 10 days on the ship was time consuming to say the least! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up better now that we are doing ports.

 

Two days after embarking in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on the Prinsendam, it was my birthday. Having only been on the ship for two days I didn't know too many people yet. But I still had a fabulous time. It was a formal night so most of us got dressed up to go to dinner. After hanging out in the Ocean Bar and enjoying the live music the Entertainment Team headed to the OB for more celebrating. Here are a few candid shots from the night... before my camera died :(

 





 

with Marcel



Colin, the Drummer

Fellow Canuck and Sax player, Andrew

 

Casey and Betsy

 

 

This was the first night of many more fun times in the OB. I have so many amazing team members here and I'm truly loving the atmosphere here on the Prinsendam. Stay tuned for my next post, Bermuda! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamaica, Mon!

Our next stop after Cartagena, Columbia was Falmouth Jamaica! This was a really special port for Holland America Line because the Veendam was first ship coming to this port for the first time. We made the inaugural port here for all the HAL! Michael and I decided we needed to get off for a few hours to soak up the gorgeous sunshine that we had today.  

The water was So Blue and the sky was completely clear that it made for a really nice photo of the bow. :) 

I took a photo standing beside this sign, but my face looks funny so I posted this one instead. :P I really need to take posing lessons to be able to have some nice photos of myself. Everything turns out Chandler-style haha. 

We wandered around in the port for a while until we decided that the best place to go was Margaritaville!! While walking around I saw a street vendor with a painting of a cruise ship with the word FREEDOM on it. I thought that was fitting!! The freedom of the sea... :) 

MargaritaVille - 5 O'clock Somewhere ;)

We had a fabulous time at Margaritaville, sitting in the sun and talking to our waiter, Joe. He taught us some Jamaican slang - of which I have no idea how to spell. Michael and I both agreed that one of the best things of this job is to be able to talk to the locals and learn a little bit of their culture. 

Cap'n Michael and his Liege  

For some reason I forgot to take a photo of the MOUNTAIN of nachos that were consumed in those two hours we spent at Margaritaville. Need to remember to take more photos!! 

The next post will most likely be on my next ship. I'm currently spending some time at home between contracts. I look forward to updating you from the Prinsendam! 

Cartagena, Columbia and the Jungle!

After crossing the Panama Canal and visiting the San Blas Islands our first stop was Cartagena Columbia. Michael Langley, the Cruise Director, and I made plans to get off the ship and go for a short stroll into town. We had barely made it off the pier when we were immediately greeted with Columbian wildlife. We walked past a little garden area that had what looked like those plastic flamingo lawn ornaments until I realized one of them moved!! I squealed in delight and couldn't believe that they were real. I think Michael was laughing at how excited I was. They really do stand on one leg!!

Columbian Jungle!! Lizards, Monkeys, Toucans, and Flamingos 

 Moving on through the jungle we saw a monkey and parrots in the trees. While we were talking to a couple of guests we both ducked as something almost flew into us. We spun around and there was a Toucan sitting on the handrail behind us! They really do look very odd. I was able to get a decent shot of him (or her?)

Michael (The Cruise Director) and I in the Jungle 

The guests kindly took our photo and we returned the favour. Also in this terminal/jungle area were parrots wandering around on the grounds. We were able to get quite close to a couple of them.

Parrot  

Parrot Tree House 

They even had their own tree houses!! Complete w ladders to climb up into them!

Columbian Fortress in the Old Town of Cartagena

The town turned out to be a taxi ride away and we decided to spilt the fare and see a little bit of the town. Our driver stopped at the old fortress of Cartagena and allowed us to get out and snap a couple pics.

Terrace in the middle of Old Town

When we arrived in the middle of downtown we decided the best thing we could do with our time was to sit in the middle of the square in the sun and have a nice cold drink :)

Michael Langley 

Columbians in Festive Dress 

We did some shopping afterwards and I bought some authentic Columbian Coffee! The girl who sold it to me told me that she drinks this brand herself. So I'm anxious to get home and share it with my dad!
As we were leaving to get back to our taxi driver, we saw some youngsters all dressed up in what looked like native clothing. Very bright and colourful, wish we could have stayed to see what they did. All in all Columbia was a wonderful gem of a place. I would definitely go back to Cartagena. Up next, Jamaica!!