"The Big Ditch" ......Sight Seeing at the canal

                            Catching the Bus for Panama

Sunday, Jan 30 was a special day for us . We planned to meet our son Jon and his wife, Joanne, as well as her parents, Maureen and Bob at the Mira Flores Locks. We were up bright and early, 6 a.m., to catch the bus for the city. I had no idea how cool it is at that time of day. It almost makes me want to get up every day at 6, ha ha!
We made excellent time as the bus made fewer stops early in the day and Sunday traffic was much less too. The trip took 1 hr. 20 min. compared to the previous Wednesday, when the journey took 1 hr 50 min.

Unfortunately, those we were meeting signed up for a tour they were told would bring them directly to the locks but instead drove them around Panama City for a while. Because of the delay in their arrival, we only got to visit for 1 hour over lunch, so we were sorely disappointed in the outcome of our plan. The restaurant is perfectly situated to observe the ships in transit,(the food was very good) but beware that there are no ships passing at noon. A book I read said the best time was early afternoon. Luckily, we arrived in time so that our party could to see the last one of the morning.

 Bob and I visited the museum, which was very interesting and spread over three floors. We also saw several monster cargo ships pass through the locks, quite an amazing sight. Bob found it very similar to the Welland Canal and Locks he has visited in Canada. The real stories for me are the engineering feats and the incredible ingenuity and sacrifice that made these locks possible. Thousands fell ill and died of fever in the course of construction, which we can not imagine happening today. Panama's modern population mix is the result of the diverse cultures of those who came to work on the canal, survived, stayed and intermarried with the indigenous peoples and earlier immigrants. The people we have met are very friendly and kind and will go out of their way to help you. Well, there was one exception I can think of and she is a real piece of work...but I'm not bitter, ha ha.

We didn't get in to see the film presentation but I'm sure that we will go back with future visitors to Panama. This was the first time we used our "jubilado" visa card to get a discount on admission, which was only $1.50 ea.  rather than the normal $8.00, and I can live with that. We have to get into the habit of using it to save money.

Jon and Joanne had a goodie bag for us with Montreal steak spice and other Victorian epicure items I had ordered that can't be shipped directly here. Should make my cooking a little tastier. The same day, Sunday, J. and J. sailed off to Costa Rica and Grand Caymen with Joanne's parents to finish their cruise, then back to the swirling snow we hear is blowing all over North America. We don't miss the snow.......but do miss them.

Hasta luego,