Monday, July 28, 2008

Holland America Cruise to Panama Canal

Imagine your cruise thru the Panama Canal – traveling from the Pacific to the Caribbean in about 9 hours. Surprisingly, there are only three sets of locks along the way. The rest of the journey is traveling along rivers, across lakes and through rainforest.

The locks are fascinating. There is a mule, an electric locomotive, on either side of the lock. With tow cables attached to the ship, the mules pull the ship forward into position in the lock. For the biggest ships passing through, the clearance on each side can be less than two feet!

Holland America Cruise Lines has many options for sailing through the Panama Canal. Take a short trip of 14 days, as long as 36 or somewhere in between. West coast departure ports include Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Diego. East coast departures are through Fort Lauderdale

Along the way spend time at Mexican and Caribbean beaches, explore the old walled city of Cartagena, discover the natural diversity of Costa Rica, visit Mayan ruins in Guatemala and meet present day Mayans. Interested in how coffee is grown? Take a tour to a plantation. Whichever tours you choose, the shore excursions open up another world of cultures.

POSTED BY dan h AT 12:00:00 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Activities on a Cruise Ship

What a dream – could I really learn to cook some of the food that was served last night? I don’t know if I can duplicate it, but if it’s even close – ooh-la-la!

There’s this place on Holland America’s ships called the Culinary Arts Center. When I first walked in I thought it was a TV studio. They have seating for demonstrations and shows. The stage area looks like a full blown commercial kitchen, with monitors for close up shots of food prep and lots of equipment for classes.

Last night I had a lovely turkey breast recipe that was just so succulent…and the herbs and spices were done just right. Oh to serve that up at home! I’m surprised to find it’s one of the items there’re covering today. Who would have thought I’d find recreational cooking classes in the Caribbean or should I say on the Caribbean.

The chefs are wonderful and well organized. We quickly cover the basics and get into the real meat of the class. What fun and then I realize someone else cleans up!

POSTED BY audrey b AT 12:00:00 AM 0 comments

Friday, July 18, 2008

Wobbly Legs

Here I am walking off the ship onto home soil. It feels solid compared to the gentle occasional rock from the ship for the past 7 days. Subconsciously I am mimicking everyone else walking off with luggage. Our gait is the same and we are all rocking in a synchronized wave. Looking around I see others that had far too good a time the previous night. Seeing the entire cruise ship’s occupants have that same appearance is quite amusing.

Glancing back at the ship, the huge size momentarily disorients me. It was home for seven days and while there I definitely got some excellent exercise walking from one end to the other. Now standing in its shadow I feel its residual power in my muscles.

Now it’s off in a taxi back to our hotel, across the bridge and I look back, seeing the boat getting smaller and smaller. Its mass got less and less apparent, and my muscles’ memory as well as my own slowly fading.

POSTED BY audrey b AT 12:00:00 AM 0 comments