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The Panama Canal
by Celia Talbot

I’ll skip over the process of getting to Gatwick and flight to Barbados. It was a long time since I had been on an Airbus but the crowded conditions might have been worse. I was, however, so exhausted that I was asleep when Oriana slipped her moorings and departed from Barbados.

So I awoke on the first morning in Grenada and started the voyage with a full day tour of the island. I was very fortunate to be in a Mini-Bus with a tour guide named Bernard, a well-built handsome Caribbean man in his forties or thereabouts. He was a happy, charming guy, both intelligent and well-informed with a fund of anecdotes. He made the history of the island come alive for us and peppered his commentary with snatches of calypsos for which he had a sonorous voice.

It was the first time I had seen nutmegs growing so prolifically. I’m still trying to discover what else they are used for in addition to sprinkling on egg custards. There was a profusion of other spices, cloves, basil and also mangoes, bread fruit and other fruits many of which I had only previously seen on market stalls.

We had lunch in one of the travel agents picture places on the edge of the bluest of Caribbean seas and then back to Oriana by tender. I then unpacked and organised my comfortable cabin. I took pictures of the ship and Vimal, my cabin steward who mothered me and spoiled me with chocolates and cookies counter-indicated by my diabetes, and then I went down to dinner to make the acquaintance of my dinner table companions some of whom soon became good friends.

On Sunday I awoke as we berthed at Bonaire. I swam in the pool, attended a coffee morning and investigated the Cyba room before going ashore after lunch. Bonaire is only 24 miles long and the tour less interesting. The island rises very steeply out of the sea so is good for diving, watersports etc. Our guide, a septuagenarian lady who had moved from Tampa in Florida clearly loved the place though I’m still wondering what could have inspired her to make such a transition. The area I found most interesting was the large area of salt basins in which the liquid appeared in different shades of pink and lavender. This was part of a large desalinisation programme. I made comparisons with going down the salt mine in Salzburg.

On return to Oriana I visited the cabaret and then hit the hay quite early.

Monday was a day at sea, very lazy, very, very hot. Decisions turned on sun or shade, in or out of the pool, what to wear, in which restaurant to have lunch, how not to put on even more weight. My hopes of getting beautified were dashed - all services full, I should have booked earlier. The sun definitely called to mind. Noel Coward's words about mad dogs and Englishmen so, even though the band was playing calypsos by the pool, my limit was soon reached.

The passage through the Panama Canal is, of course, one of the highlights of the trip. It was necessary to be up at 5 am, but trying to get pictures was hazardous. Passengers were ten deep in front of me on the Crow’s Nest so standing on a wobbly chair made me very aware of the vibration and I had to resort to my sea bands. We were several hours transiting the Gatun Locks and Lake and then the narrow channel of the Culebra cut. By dinnertime we were through the Miraflores locks and I had a part dinner before taking the coach tour round Balboa and Panama City. Unfortunately, I had switched the camera on in the bag so a flat battery meant I missed images of the dramatic skylines. There was a fair bit of walking on rough cobblestones so care was needed. The ruins of the old Cathedral dated back to 1540 and it had been built with the tower to act as a lookout over the sea. I was aware of my ignorance of the history of most other countries.

Having been through Suez in the 50s, I knew about Ferdinand de Lesseps but did not realise that later he spent 20 years on the Panama project before it was realised that a staircase of locks was required to complete the massive undertaking. On this trip we travelled through typically Spanish areas, quite a lot of them very poor. Catholicism is still very much the majority religion so they have a young and rapidly increasing population.

Our next stop was in Ecuador and - there was so much to do on board I was beginning to feel quite tired. The trip to Quito involved a plane ride, then coaches and a long day ashore.

The flight was over the Andes – one or two volcanic peaks were visible. The coach came with a handsome coffee-coloured young man with very good English. It is at an altitude of 9000 ft and I felt a bit drunk for part of the time so just had to give in to anno domini and clutch the handrails and accept the helping hands.

In Quito the Central Plaza was dominated there by spiritual powers on one side (Cathedral) and military Government building opposite. The amount of gold in the Cathedral always seems to me obscene in the light of the surrounding poverty. The Government guards had brilliant royal blue uniforms with scimitars at the ready, scabbards by their sides and gleaming spurs on their heels ready to kick off. They seemed shorter than our guards, probably because they don’t wear bearskins.

We arrived at La Cuidad del Mitad de Mundo. Here there is a monument which indicates very clearly the four quarters of the earth from Latitude 0. It really seems an epic moment to straddle the Equator line with one foot in the Northern and one in the Southern hemisphere. The temperature was about 84 degrees - I thought it would get hotter as we sailed South, but it did not vary much. Our guide commented on the fact that, at the Equinox, they have no shadows - a piece of basic knowledge which one suddenly discovers. One ascends the viewing tower by lift and comes down by a staircase which takes one through a museum of vignettes of all the local tribal and other cultures and activities.

Quito is in Pichincho province and very near to a volcanic peak which showers them with lava from time to time. We dined at Pavarotti’s Restaurant to a trio serenading us with harp, panpipes etc to local music. Then back to the airport and ship, and I was glad to be on terra not so firma to sleep off the effects of the altitude and thanked my lucky stars I did not book to go to Macchu Picchu which is much higher.

A couple of days at sea gave time for deck activities. I love to see the sea when it sparkles like the night-sky with millions of little twinklies.

We were in Lima (Peru) for two days. The first outing was disappointing as we were dropped at the Indian Market for two hours - my shopping was all done in half an hour. The next day was better. We visited the Cathedral (too garish for my liking) then the City Hall, then the Parque d’Amor with Champagne Gardens - the place for lovers, wedding parties etc. I filmed hang gliding, waterskiing and lots of interesting murals and statues.

Oriana’s next call was to St Martin. Here there was a memorable sea cruise to the Ballestos Islands. It was a fast launch - not the most comfortable trip I've ever experienced. However, the rock formations were incredible with cathedral-like arches, spires, steeples, skyscrapers and every possible shape. There were countless cormorants, gulls, pelicans and other sea-birds. There were also a number of penguins, seals and sealions. One island was the sealion maternity hospital with many, many pups and sealions of every size. The rocks all had a pebble-dash of limpets, mussels and other shellfish whose names I did not discover.

Now thoughts of home began to penetrate and the problems of re-packing which I hate, paying bills etc. etc.

The last call and outing was at Valparaiso. I regretted my choice as we covered the same road the next day on the way to the Airport.

This trip had far too much time on the coach as we were shown lovely spots and interesting sites but were told, “Sorry, we are not allowed to park here,” or “I dare not risk it, there are too many pickpockets about.” We did, however, see a little of the Chile landscape, more of the Andes mountains and we had a super lunch in a lovely site.

I told my grandsons that we were well-packaged. We had a bar code for getting on and off the ship. A round white label for Airport or other destination, an oblong coloured one for which coach we need to keep with and then a tiny square one to show which menu we have chosen for lunch or other food, so the coach driver can phone ahead - a lot of the waiting staff did not speak English.

So we spent the last night on board then a punishing 24-hour journey home. Coach to Santiago - Airbus (again very crowded) to Cuba where we had a stop for re-fuelling and then another 10 hour flight to Gatwick. Forget the saying about travelling hopefully. It was utter bliss to arrive. I told my fellow passengers, “I now know why the Pope kisses the ground whenever he gets off a plane.” HOME AGAIN.

P.S. I've now been to the Arctic, the Antarctic and the middle of the world. Where else is there?

First published in VISA issue 56A (June 2004)