AT SEA

2 days out from Ponta Delgada & it was a cards & quoits afternoon.

Cliff & I played Euchre with Mick & Jenny - Yes finally - Mick & I beat Cliff & Jenny.

Then it was Wales-v-Australia in quoits with our welsh friends Richard & Marilyn, Sandy & Pat & Aussie friends Julie & Steve. A good finish to the game - a tie.

Then suddenly "Houston, we have a problem" 

The Captain made an announcement - some of us may have noticed black smoke & that we were no longer moving. We had lost an engine & they were working very hard to get it back on line.

All power & air conditioning was lost throughout the ship - but it didn't worry us as we were on deck having fun. Finally they restored the engine & we were off again.

We sat around enjoying a beautiful sunset

ANTIGUA - CARIBBEAN

We docked in Antigua just after the Holland America ship 'Maasdam' docked - with 2 cruise ships in port there would be plenty of business for the island. 

Once again we were swamped by taxi drivers & tour guides all offering to take us around the island. We decided to go with "Ninja" as he seemed less pushy than the others. So with 6 of us on the tour, off we went to explore the island. Ninja was a very happy person - he honked, waved & shouted hello to lots of passing cars & people walking down the street, he stopped at a local fruit stall so we could taste the locally grown mini bananas - the flavour was delicious.

The town of Antigua was authentic - although the casino didn't look like it would entice many gamblers from the ship.

It is a poor island with the main industry being tourism - they also make their own rum.  The town itself & the houses in the suburbs are run down & garbage in the streets doesn't seem to be a problem for them. This cruise has been an eye opener - it truly makes us appreciate our way of life in Australia.

The views changed dramatically with the lifestyles of the rich (& maybe the famous) with yachts, launches, resorts & beautiful beaches.

A local police station with sheep wandering up to the front door.

We passed some beautiful resorts. 

Turners beach was pretty with colourful markets right on the beach.

A great view from the bar

Cliff enjoying a local rum with Mike from our tour group (when you purchase a drink they do not measure the alcohol, they stop when it reaches the top.

the beautiful warm blue water of the Caribbean sea.

When we got back to town we had lunch at Hemmingways cafe - food & drinks were expensive.

It was a half day holiday as it was the first day of the cricket test match, West Indies -v- England. 

Most of the shops had closed but the markets & bars were still open. Cliff bought himself a very handsome hat!

We made it back to the ship with only 15 minutes before cut off time - we had a great afternoon sampling the local rum & meeting lots of friendly people.

Staff dancing around the pool at the Sail away party - Farewell Antigua.

5 days at sea with next port of call "Ponta  Delgada" then Southampton - where has the time gone 

CURACAO - CARIBBEAN

Our first close up view of Curacao was not what you would think for a Caribbean island - Oil refineries!

Their main industry is oil & they have some of the largest oil refineries in the western hemisphere.

Check out the fuel chimneys far behind the town.

As we docked the view of the town changed to bright coloured buildings, markets & the old fort.

 - it looked very inviting.

The temperature was a lovely 27degrees but when the clouds came over the trade winds were cool. We wondered how the town survives hurricanes, but this island lies outside the hurricane belt. 

When the sun came out from behind the clouds, it was so bright I could hardly keep my eyes open for photos - I have been trying to find sunglasses for such a long time - I thought surely this will be the place to finally find a pair to fit my face.

We crossed the Queen Emma bridge which is a floating pontoon bridge - This bridge stretches across St Anna Bay, linking the Punda & Otrabanda districts. It swings open many times each day to allow ships in & out of the harbour - most of the ships we saw were oil tankers.

This island is the largest of the Dutch islands in the Caribbean. The buildings are beautiful 17th century gabled houses, brightly coloured & very pretty. The story is, an early Governor of Curacao developed an allergy to white buildings - they gave him migraines, so the houses were repainted in every colour but white. - Believe it or not!

We decided to wander around Willemstad to soak up the atmosphere. But I was on a mission - The first shop I went into was a very large sunglasses shop - Cliff thought "here we go again, another hour & no glasses" well I was only gone 5 mins - childrens Ray-bans,  only $59 US - Mission accomplished - No more squinting for photographs

bright colourful statues of well endowed women.

Cliff wanted to try out a local bar - didn't look very inviting to me so I kept wandering.

We ran into Jenny & Mick -  Is it lunchtime yet mmmm close enough:-) - we walked to the harbour & found a little restaurant right on the water with views of our ship. 

Jenny & I just had to try the blue margaritas

Oh know - hope this tanker doesn't run into our ship!

After a great lunch, good company, it was time to hit the streets again.

Now this looks like a fun kids playground.

The oldest Protestant church on the island built in 1742

A colourful cow seat to rest our weary feet

We found another great place to sit with views of ships entering the bay.

The ships pass so close to the shore that the Plaza Hotel, built into the fortress that originally defended the city, is insured against marine collision!

Now Jenny, leave that ship alone.

Farewell Curacao - We'll be back on our return cruise onboard the Sea Princess.

PANAMA CANAL

When we woke early the morning of our Panama Canal crossing, we thought we were looking at the lights of a very large town, but as it became lighter, we realised there were many, many ships waiting for their turn to pass through the canal.

The city of Panama was enormous & looked as if it is very modern. 

We passed under the Bridge of the Americas (a little Harbour Bridge - memories of home)

The Captain informed us the charge for our ship to pass through the canal was 250,000 pounds!! 

At moment only ships carrying a maximum of 5,000 containers can pass through the canal.

We saw the construction of a new lock system which, once completed next year will be able to handle the panamax size ships which carry up to 12,000 containers

We were guided into position by tug boats

SOME BRIEF HISTORY - The canal was started in 1881 by the French who had to give up in 1889 due to the terrible conditions, they lost 22,000 men, mainly from malaria & yellow fever. 

In 1904 the Americans took over & only lost approx 5,000 workers - the reason for this were improved living conditions for the workers & also almost eradicating the mosquitos.They completed the Canal in August 1914. 

once in the lock, mechanical mules guide the ship through to the next section & there is very little room for error.

The locks act like a water staircase which raise or lower the ships depending on the way they are coming through the canal. Each lock measures 305 mtrs long & 33.5 mtrs wide & can contain up to 55 million litres of water.

after the locks, we passed under the Centennial bridge & then into Gatun Lake to make our way to the final locks which take you to the Caribbean Sea & then the Atlantic Ocean.

Some of the passing traffic being helped along by a tug.

A toast to our Panama crossing

Day at sea tomorrow - then off to Curacao (pronounced cure-a-sao)