Crossing to the Pacific

Crossing to the Pacific (January 7 to 10, 2016)

January 18, 2016 en route to Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Key West to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

After sailing from Key West in the early evening of 6 January, we cruised for two days on a southwesterly course through the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Strait, and off the coast of Central America. Our destination was Puerto Limon, on the east or banana coast of Coast Rica. Whisper docked on the morning of January 9.

 

Sunset in the Yucatan Channel

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

The Sign Tells All

Puerto Limon was primarily a port for shipping agricultural commodities, bananas and coffee.  As banana plantations diminished, a newer port was built closer to the remaining plantations, causing Puerto Limon to fall on hard times.  To replace the lost plantation trade, eco-tourism was developed.  This gives cruise ship passengers the thrill of being eaten alive by various insects while waiting for   overfilled motorboats to sink in an alligator-invested river.  ("I love the two-legged ones.  They are so soft on the outside and so crunchy on the inside."  Gary Lockwood, “The Far Side.”)

We walked from the pier into town and in ten-minutes had seen most of the major sites -- market, park and church. It was an 80/80 day (temperature >80 deg F and humidity > 80%) with bright, blinding sunshine. Our city tour was short. We visited the market and made a stop in the local, air-conditioned super market. The key words here are "air conditioned." Then, a quick return to the ship! One of our friends did buy a refrigerator magnet, thus supporting the local economy.

Central Market, Puerto Limon

Culture Lives

Crossing the Isthmus of Panama

After our eco-passengers returned from the wilds of the interior of Costa Rica, absolutely gaga over having seen frogs (alright, they were brightly colored and poisonous), Silver Whisper departed Puerto Limon bound for Manta, Ecuador via the Panama Canal. At 6:30 am, January 10 we arrived off Colon, Panama and the Caribbean Pilot Station in Limon Bay.

Crossing Panama from “A” to “B.”

With the pilot on board, we proceeded to the Gatun Locks where three chambers lifted the ship 85 feet into Gatun Lake. Regretfully, we could not see the nearly-completed new Gatun Locks because they follow a different alignment from Limon Bay into Gatun Lake. The new locks will allow Super Panamax ships over 900 feet in length to pass through the canal. We were told that they would be opened to traffic during May of this year, only two years later than planned.

Rising Ships, Gatun Locks

After entering the locks, we were held in place and guided from chamber to chamber by mechanical mules. Mules do not tow the ship, which moves from chamber to chamber under its own power.

Mule at Work – Do Not Disturb!

After filling the third (highest) chamber, the ship passed into Gatun Lake about 9:30 am. This artificial lake provides water for the Gatun Locks and passage for most of the canal transit. Although the locks’ chambers are paired, transit through the locks is always one way. Under normal circumstances, ships enter the Gatun Locks from seaward in the morning and from Gatun Lake in the afternoon. Smaller vessels, such as sailing yachts, generally are assigned passage in groups of two or three later in the day. It is during daylight transit of Lake Gatun and the Gaillard Cut that North and South bound ships pass. Except for special situations, the canal operates only during daylight hours. We entered the Gaillard Cut about 2:00 pm. The cut, although not technically difficult from an engineering standpoint, was the most difficult part of the canal to construct due to the geology of the mountains through which it was dug. The rock formations were unstable and landslides were common. If you are interested in the building of the canal, you might want to read David McCullough’s “The Path Between the Seas.” Even today, it requires active maintenance by dredging and blasting.

Ship Traffic Gatun Lake

Gaillard Cut

Passing out of the Gaillard Cut, we began our descent into the Pacific Ocean.  On the North or Pacific end of the canal, there are two sets of locks, the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores.  We entered the Pedro Miguel lock in the late afternoon and continued northward through the Miraflores.  By early evening, we had finished our transit of the Pacific locks, and after passing Panama City, we entered the Pacific Ocean shortly after sunset.  During our transit of the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks, we saw the new, bigger locks which are built parallel to the older locks.  Construction equipment and work yards were being removed as we passed.

Panamax Container Ship and Car Carrier Entering the Pedro Miguel Locks

New Channel Approaching Pedro Miguel Locks

Before there was a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, there had been mule trains and, by the mid-19th Century, a railroad. In the late 20th Century the railroad fell into disrepair and was nearly abandoned. It was purchased and rebuilt by Kansas City Southern Lines and now carries large numbers of containers across the Isthmus daily. Where the railroad parallels the canal, container trains passed every hour or so.

Container Unit Train Crossing the Isthmus

As the ship cleared the Miraflores Locks, from on deck we could see some of the original administrative buildings of the Panama Canal Authority. These are still in use today. In the distance, we could also just make out the skyline of Panama City.

Panama Canal Administration Building & Panama City Skyline

By 6:00 pm, we had exited the canal and had turned south toward our next destination – Manta, Ecuador. Where the hell is that?

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And So It Begins

January 7, 2016 on board M/V Silver Whisper en route to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.

We departed Honolulu Sunday evening, January 3, and after the usual indignities of check-in and TSA as well as waiting a couple of hours in the Delta lounge at Honolulu International, we boarded a non-stop Delta flight to Atlanta.  (Always arrive several hours early at the airport, because you never know when a flight leaves before its scheduled departure time.)  Eight hours later, we are in Atlanta changing planes for Miami (the city that cocaine built).  Arriving in Miami, we were herded into a black Suburban and taken to the Miami Mandarin Oriental.  When the black Suburban picked us up at the airport, we were not sure if it was a  hotel limo or the TSA wanting to get even for all the snide comments Jerry made about "hopeless security," etc.  

After sleeping all afternoon, we attended that evening a Silversea-hosted banquet for World Cruise guests.  The banquet reminded us of some of the charity events we attended in Honolulu, only with better food - rubber chicken replaced by lobster and filet mignon.  But the round tables were the same.

Welcome Banquet Menu

The morning of January 4, we had breakfast at the hotel and loafed around until 1:30 pm, when we were taken on our first, of many, tourist bus rides to Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale.  Boarding the ship, check-in for the voyage was relatively painless.  The big question of the day was did we have our WHO vaccination card with a current yellow fever inoculation.  Guess yellow fever is rampant on cruise ships these days -- and you thought Norwalk Virus was bad!  Boarding completed, Eloise "organized" the suite by 5:30.  

Then it was time for that most bizarre ritual, the boat drill.  Wearing or carrying our bright orange life vests (some of the fashion police ladies didn't approve of the color), we shuffled to the boat deck.  There we were the victims of a very lengthy and incomprehensible lecture on ship safety, abandoning ship, and related topics.  Given the demographic on this ship (average age probably around 75), and the fact that most of the lecture was garbled by bad speakers and wind, the exercise for us was a waste of time.  However, the Coast Guard inspector on the pier undoubtedly heard every word.   Anybody know how to get walkers in a life boat?

We departed Miami about 6:30 pm bound for Key West, which may be the USA's number one tourist trap.  We docked at the pier on the US Navy base.  At one time, the USN occupied 70% of Key West, but that has been reduced to about 25% since 1980.  Space abandoned by the Navy is now taken up by overweight American tourists, and ultimately, the area will not be submerged by global sea level rise but will sink under their weight.  Actually, Key West makes us feel better about Waikiki, because Key West relieves Waikiki  as the number one tourist trap in the USA.

 Beyond the tourists, if you can see the residential and commercial buildings, the architecture is very appealing, especially the pre-WWII housing on the Naval Base.  Naval officers lived well ashore in those days.


Main attractions are the Truman Summer White House, Audubon House, and Ernest Hemingway's House with the six-toed cats.  Jerry took some exterior shots of the notable attractions, except for the Hemingway house and cats.  Our interest in things Key West dropped rapidly after seeing the crowds.  For the sake of the record, included are images of the Truman Summer White House and the Audubon House.

Truman Summer White House

Audubon House

A sample of the early commercial buildings shows local concern for hurricanes.   Note the heavy walls and buttresses of the old customs house below and the Caribbean influence in the iron fret work on the balcony of a restored commercial building.

Customs House, Key West

Heavy Buttressed Construction, Old Customs Shed, Key West

Iron Balcony Rails and Posts, Restored Commercial Building, Key West

 Excluding the bars, which all swear they were Hemingway's watering hole (of course, in his case it could be true!), the 40 plus t-shirt shops seem to make up Key West's commercial district.  After walking for about two hours around the residential and commercial areas, being rained upon, and overrun by tourists in their masses, we decided to retire to the Whisper for a nap and tea.

As we sat in the lounge having tea, the Silver Whisper sailed at 4:30 pm for Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.  If we ever really had Key West on a Bucket List, it has been checked off.  Maybe Key West is where all those TSA agents go on vacation!

Aloha, Jerry and Eloise

Adelaide -- Welcome to South Australia

February 8, 2013, in port Adelaide, Australia:  Turner from the Tate.

We docked in the Outer Harbor, Port of Adelaide at 8:00am and took the ship's shuttle bus into the city center area (Rundle Mall).  Escaping the shuttle bus, we walked to Victoria Square and the Central Market.

 The Silversea Shuttle Bus, aka School Bus

"I tell you, some people go to school forever.  Look how old this bunch is!"

 Victoria Square, Adelaide's Center Point

From left, clockwise -- Central Post Office, Australian and Aboriginal Flags, and Three Rivers Fountain.

Central Market, Adelaide

A feast for all the senses - eyes, nose and stomach.  Is the stomach a sense?

Leaving the market, we walked along King William Street, admiring the urban architecture of an uncongested city.  Crossing through Rundle Mall, the main shopping district, we met the pigs.

 Street Scenes and Architecture, Adelaide

Adelaide is a city where you would have to work at getting hit by a car.

The Pigs of Rundle Mall

It seems appropriate that statues of pigs should be at the Mall.  (However, only the Aussies would put them there!)

Not wanting to return to the ship quite so early, we walked along North Terrace, where many public buildings and monuments are sited.  Not to mention the Adelaide Casino!   We stopped in the coffee shop of the South Australian Museum to get out of the sun and have a coffee before continuing on to the Art Gallery of South Australia.   Serendipidously, the high point of our day in Adelaide occurred here:  Viewing the "Turner from the Tate" exhibition, which included over 100 of J. M. W. Turner's paintings.  It was the exhibition's opening day.

Museums and Monuments

From top left, clockwise:  South Australian Museum, Migration Museum, Robert Burns Statue, Capt. Charles Sturt Plaque, ANZAC (WWI) South Australian National War Memorial.

The Art Gallery of South Australia

The person in the funny hat looking lost in front of the museum is who (hint E)?

Exhibition Ticket

Well worth every cent of the A$25 entrance fee, and you get this lovely ticket.

J.M.W. Turner - Peace -- Burial at Sea, 1842

One of the paintings in the exhibit.  For more, go to artgallery.sa.gov.au/turner

After about two hours viewing the exhibition, we were "cultured out," and returned to Rundle Mall for a "lunch" consisting of an immense amount (est. 5,000 calories) of delicious gelato.  Then, we waddled  to the Silversea shuttle bus.  Back on board, we had nice naps, disguised as reading our books, played team trivia, and watched the Silver Whisper depart for Albany in Western Australia.

Melbourne -- Australia's Other Big City

February 6, 2013, in port Melbourne, Australia:  A Tram to the Treasury.

Silver Whisper docked at Station Pier, Port Melbourne at 8:00am.  We went ashore about 9:30am and walked about 500 yards to the 109 Tram Stop.  Before boarding the tram, we had to buy a tourist day pass in the Cruise Ship Terminal.  Tram conductors do not accept cash, and the automatic ticket takers only recognize special key cards.

Sunrise Over Port Phillip Bay

This was the view on J's morning walk.

 Melbourne from Port Phillip Bay

Cities always look their best from a distance.

Packed into a very crowded tram, and riding for 20 minutes into downtown Melbourne, we reached our tram stop and stepped down onto the sidewalk.  Our intended destination was the Old Treasury Building Museum.  This museum records and displays the history of Melbourne from its founding until the 20th Century.  Currently, there were nine major exhibits, including Early Melbourne, Ned Kelly, Criminals, Victorian Democracy, Built on Gold and others.  Photography was not allowed in the Museum,  so if you want graphics you will have to go to www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au.  We spent an interesting two hours viewing the exhibits.

Old Treasury Building Museum

The building was used to store the gold from the Victoria gold fields.  (We didn't find any!)

After leaving the museum, we walked around the central portion of the city.   Melbourne is an interesting mixture of 19th, 20th, and 21st Century architecture.

Central Melbourne Buildings along Collins and Flinders Street

Many types of architecture in a relatively small area.  The yellow one is Flinders Street Station.

Collins and Flinders Street in Central Melbourne

The building with the pointy bits is St. Paul's Cathedral.

Exterior and Interior Banking Chamber, Commercial Bank of Australia

From Plaque: "Built in 1891-93 from a design by architects Llyod Taylor and Alfred Dunn, this is one of the finest examples of Victorian Classicism...." 

By the time we finished walking along Flinders and Collins Streets in downtown Melbourne, it was after 12:00pm and was becoming extremely hot.   Deciding that we had seen the "elephant," we walked to the nearest tram stop for our return trip to the ship.   At 10:00pm that night, we sailed for Adelaide, Australia.

February 7, 2013, en route to Adelaide, Australia:  Crossing the Australian Byte.

We sailed west from Melbourne, crossing the Australian Byte.   Weather remained clear and hot.  The sea, however, was anything but glassy, with about a five-foot-long-interval swell.  This is a large enough swell to make many passengers uncomfortable.  But, it is a ship, and we are at sea.

Sydney, Land of Bridges and an Opera House

February 4, 2013, in port Sydney, Australia:  Visiting the Plants.

At 7am, we passed through the Heads and entered Sydney Harbor.  For the next hour, we watched one of the most beautiful cities and its harbor unfold before us.  At 8am, we docked at Wharf 5 in Darlington Harbor.

The Heads -- Entering Sydney Harbor

The head with the lighthouse is a favorite spot for suicides.

Sydney from Sydney Harbor

Would Capt. Phillips believe this?

Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge

Sydney's two most familiar icons.

 Docking at Wharf 5, Darington Harbor

A new cruise terminal was under construction, so we got the tents.  They were airconditioned.

After breakfast, we took the shuttle bus into downtown Sydney, near Circular Quay, and began our self-guided city tour by walking through downtown to the Royal Botanic Garden.

Walking Tour -- Downtown City Street Scenes

From the shuttle bus stop to the Royal Botanic Garden is ALL up hill -- pant, pant.

Sydney Royal Botanic Garden

Tropical Center (central image of collage)

Close-ups, Royal Botanic Garden

Love the bird.  "This is my lawn and you stay off it!"

Inside the Tropical Center, Royal Botanic Garden

It's like going to the rainforest without the mud and rain.

Two hours of walking in the gardens and visiting the Tropical Center was about all the natural history we could stand in one day.  We found the street;  walked past the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the St. Mary's Cathedral; crossed Hyde Park; and continued to the Queen Victoria Building for a coffee.  Finishing our coffee and a treat, we returned to the shuttle bus stop and back to the ship.

Sydney Street Scenes -- Art Gallery of New South Wales, St. Marys Cathedral and Hyde Park

Yes, Hyde Park, and all this time you thought it was in London.

At 6pm, the dreaded lifeboat drill, now required for ALL passengers at every port where the ship embarks new passengers, was held.  This is another example of training for something that will not happen as you have trained for it.  And, putting ~300 overweight, overage, old farts on deck in a crisis will probably kill them before they get in the lifeboats.

Silver Whisper sailed for Melbourne via the Bass Strait at 7pm.  All of us felt quite "secure" after the lifeboat drill.


February 5, 2013, en route Melbourne, Australia:  Through the Bass Strait.

The one-day sail from Sydney to Melbourne was uneventful.  There were some swells, but nothing like the wave sizes that were predicted by "expert" cruisers on the ship.  We had a quiet day and attended a wonderful lecture by Lynne Truss, author of "Eats, Shoots & Leaves:  A Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation."  Lynne's lecture inspired E to select the book for her book club in June, after we return to Kona.

Hobart, Port Arthur and Across the Bass Strait

February 2, 2013, in port Hobart and anchored off Port Arthur, Tasmania Australia:  J and E Go To the Penal Station

Sunrise Over Storm Bay, Tasmania, Australia

The things you see on your morning walk -- providing you can open your eyes.

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

We didn't see much of Hobart; onto the tour bus, which left immediately for Port Arthur.

 St. John's Church, Richmond, Tasmania

First Catholic Church in Tasmania.

(Counter clockwise):  Richmond Bridge, Gaol, Historic Building, Candy Factory

We were very fond of the candy factory.

Between Richmond and Port Arthur, a major wild fire had occured about two-weeks before our visit.  For approximately 30 miles along the roadside, the burned-out landscapes were visible, with some areas still smouldering.

Wild Fire Scenes Along Route A9 from Sorell to Eaglehawk Neck

Some areas were still smouldering, and almost all structures were burned to the ground.

We arrived at Port Arthur Historic Site at about 11:30am and went immediately to lunch.  Always, food first!  The Port Arthur Historic Site contains the physical remains of Australia's history as a British penal colony in the 18th and 19th Centuries.  Established in 1830 as the Port Arthur Penal Station, by the time it closed in 1877, the station contained 32 separate structures, including penitentiaries, staff quarters, and all elements of a town for more than 2,000 persons.

Port Arthur Historic Site, The Penitentiary (1857)

Abandoned and largely collapsed, this structure was the largest on the site.

The separate prison was an experiment in penal correction.  Through isolation, silence and contemplation, convicts were to be reformed.  A prisoner spent 23 hours a day in a solitary cell where he (there were no women) slept, ate, and worked.  He was given one-hour a day alone in an exercise yard.

Interior Views, Separate Prison (1847), Restored 2007

No exterior views; J forgot to take any.

The Separate Prison Chapel

The prisoner could only see the preacher, no inmates.  Maybe that was a reason to reform!

Port Arthur Historic Site

Clockwise from upper left:  The Asylum (1868), The Penitentiary (1846),  Guard Tower (1835), Entrance to The Penitentiary,  Soldiers' Memorial Avenue (1918).

Gravestones, The Isle of the Dead

Between 1833 and 1837, ~1,100 prisioners, military and civil officers, and their familes were buried on the island.  - People were just dying to get to this island!

Government Gardens, Port Arthur Historic Site

Just the spot for a quiet walk with memsahib and the little sahibs.

The Church, Port Arthur Historic Site

The church was built with prison labor, but the holies got to arguing who could do what and to whom; therefore, the church was never consecrated.

The Silver Whisper, The Jetty, and the Tender

Silver Whisper made its way to Carnarvon Bay and anchored to retrieve weary tourists from a day at the Port Arthur Penal Station.  Guess they weren't taking new inmates.

February 3, 2013 en route to Sydney, Australia:  Hobart to Sydney -- Crossing the Bass Strait

The entire day was spent at sea tracing (backwards) the route of the famous Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race.  Luckily, the weather and sea state were kind.  There were neither monstrous waves nor high winds.  Tomorrow morning:  The Heads, The Opera House and The Bridge of Sydney Harbor.