W & M'S WORLD CRUISE 2012: July 2012

Tuesday 31 July 2012

PHOTOGRAPHS TRANSIT OF PANAMA CANAL

Approaching The Panama Canal Entrance From the Atlantic At 5am

Panama Canal Entrance at Dawn

Full View Of The Panama Canal Entrance Frol the Atlantic Side

Looking Back towards the Atlantic From the Third Lock Showing Following Ships Entering Locks

View of First Lock Atlantic Side

View of Second Lock From Atlantic Side

View of Third And Final Lock Leading to Gatun Lake Atlantic Side

Marilyn Overlooking Gatun Lake And Locks

Lanscape in Gatun Lake

Bridge Over The Celebra Cut The Narrowest Point In the Canal

Following Ship In Canal

Back Up Of Ships in Canal

Marilyn Touching Side Of Lock From Ship

Warwick Touching Side Of Lock From Ship

Lock Gates Cosed On Final Lock Pacific Side

Ship Leaving Final Lock On Pacific Side

Entrance To Pedro Miguel Lock On Pacific Side

Miraflores Locks on Pacific Entrance To Canal

Excavation Work On New Section Of Canal Pacific Side

View of Panama City From Ship

Bridge Of The Americas After Exiting The Canal On The Pacific Side

Pacific Entrance to Panama Canal

TRANSIT PANAMA CANAL

SUNDAY 29^th JULY 2012.

After one and a half days sailing across the western Caribbean in calm seas we reached the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal at about 6am in the morning. It was an extremely hot, humid and cloudy day and about 28 degrees on arrival.

You never cease to marvel in the way the canal was built. Virtually nothing has changed with the canal since 1914 when it was built, other than the change to more modern engine mules which keep the ship centrally in the locks. The canal operates 24 hours a day and about 35 ships go through the canal each day.

The Canal is some 80km long and it takes about 10hours to transit from the Atlantic, firstly through the man made Gatun Lake, then the Calebra Cut where the major excavation work took place in building the canal through to the Pacific adjacent to Panama City. The ships enter the canal from both the Atlantic and Pacific side but are not allowed to pass in the Celebra cut which is the narrowest section of the canal, so ships anchor in Gatun Lake, until ships from the Pacific entrance pass through.

On the Atlantic side there are initially three locks to raise the ship some 87 feet to Gatun Lake and it takes about two hours to go through the locks. Gatun Lake is a quiet and serene place with the water surface like a mirror. It is the biggest man made lake in the world and it took 4 years to fill when the canal was initially built. It has hundreds of small islands throughout and mostly densely unpopulated tropical jungle surrounding the lake. The Celebra Cut is the narrowest section of the canal, which clearly features the enormous amount of engineering and excavation works needed to build the canal. An unbelievable sight. On the Pacific side you are greeted with three more locks, the first called the Pedro Miguel lock which drops you down into another small lake, before entering the final Miraflores Locks to enter the Pacific Ocean, the last of which dropped approx twelve metres. It was another two two hours to pass through the locks.

Currently large excavation works are being carried in increase the size of the canal to take more and larger capacity ships, which is expected to be completed by 2015 and allow the canal to transit up to eighty ships a day. At the moment the Sun Princess is the largest cruise ship to transit the canal, with only 600mm clearance on both sides of the locks.

All in all a magical and memorable experience, which you never get tired of.

Next port of call is Puntarenas in Costa Rica.

Saturday 28 July 2012

PHOTOGRAPHS ARUBA DUTCH ANTILLES

Early Morning Arrival in Aruba

Oranjestad At Sail Away

Oranjestad Capital of Aruba Taken at Early Arrival

Crystal Clear Waters on Oceanfront Outside Oranjestad

Another View of Oranjestad

Main Street of Oranjestad

Colourful Shopping District in Oranjestad

Another View of Oranjestad Taken From Ship

My Car Ford V8 Mustang

Marilyn Under a Shady Tree Out of the Sun

Cactii Fence Along Unpaved Roads

Typical Landscape over the Island

Cactii Which was Abundant All Over The Island

ARUBA DUTCH ANTILLES

FRIDAY 27^Th JULY 2012.

Following one and a half days sailing in calm seas across the Western Caribbean we reached the small Caribbean island of Aruba in the Dutch Antilles. It was a hot and humid but sunny day of about 29 degrees. Aruba is situated about 15 miles off the coast of the South American country of Venezuela.

This island is totally different to the previously visited tropical island of St Thomas in the Virgin Islands. It is very flat and dry and we did a half day trip around the island to get an idea of the lay of the land. It is obviously a very poor island, particularly once you get out of the capital Oranjestad. The countryside is a mixture of scrubby small trees and cactii, and whilst the housing is extremely colourful, the properties are generally unkept and untidy. However it has beautiful white sandy beaches and crystal clear water so typical of the Caribbean. Oranjestad is also a sea of colour which is a feature of the Dutch colonialism. Worth the visit But would not be in a hurry to come back.

We now have another sea day before we transit the Panama Canal through to the Pacific Ocean.

Friday 27 July 2012

PHOTOGRAPHS ST THOMAS VIRGIN ISLANDS

Entrance to St Thomas Harbour From Ship

Sunset Sail Away

Port of St Thomas

Capital of St Thomas Charlotte Amalia

General View of Magens Bay And Beach

Magens Bay & Beach

Marilyn & Warwick Overlooking Magens Bay

Magens Beach

Marilyn In Water at Magens Beach

Warwick in Water at Magens Beach

Our Tour Transport

"Allure Of The Seas" In Port

"Allure of The Seas" Crossing Our Bow on Sail Away

Thursday 26 July 2012

ST THOMAS VIRGIN ISLANDS

WEDNESDAY 25^th JULY 2012.

After three days sailing from New York through the Atlantic, the Bermuda Triangle, the Saggasso Sea and the Caribbean in calm seas we reached St Thomas in the Virgin Islands safe and sound with no mysterious incidents occurring or seaweed blocking our way. It was warm and humid but a beautiful sunny day of about 28 degrees.

During the voyage two people on board became seriously ill and had to winched from the back of the ship to two American Coastguard helicoptors and taken to the island on San Juan for treatment.

St Thomas is as an American Caribbean Island about 14 miles long and 4 miles wide, typically lush and green with beautiful tropical scenery and hilly interior. As it was a fantastic day we decided to do a general tour of the Island which included a 2 hour visit to Magens beach which is well known as one of the best beaches in the Caribbean and also a visit to Blackbeard’s Castle and Amber Museum and shopping in it’s capital of Charlotte Amalia.

The Magen’s beach area certainly lived up to it’s name and reputation. A beautiful white sandy beach, palm trees and crystal clear water. The water was warm and great to swim in and it was two hours of bliss well spent. Blackbeard’s Castle and Amber Museum was a typical tourist complex, but included sampling of the locally made rum which came in eight different flavours plus a tour of two historical homesteads which took you back to the late 1800’S. Well worth the visit.

The capital of Charlotte Amalia is a bussling sea side tourist town, whose main street is principly a street of duty free jewellery and liquor shops, catering for money laden tourists with many of the shops owned or partly owned by the shipping companies.

A strange situation exists on the island with vehicles driving on left as in Aust, but all the vehicles are left hand drive. Apparantly this is a throw back from when the island was previously under British rule.

All in all it was a good day and topped off on the sail away with largest cruise liner in the world, “Allure of The Seas” crossing our bow as we left the port. This ship is some 230,000 tons and dwarfs the Sun Princess which is 77,000 tons. It also takes up to 6,000 passengers. A very big and magnificent ship.

Next port of call is the Dutch Antilles Island of Aruba in two days time.