Guatemala

This was a LONG day.  We docked at Puerto Quetzal and boarded a bus to Lake Atitlan.  We had made a last minute change in plans, giving up the included trip to Antigua, a UNESCO world heritage site, and opting for touring the highlands and taking a boat to visit a Mayan village in the quest for textiles at a women's co-op.

Along the three hour drive to our destination we were stalled in an accident-related traffic jam.  Although we were out in the middle of nowhere, or so it seemed; as soon as traffic stalled vendors of all types appeared along the road to sell refreshments to stranded travelers. Surprisingly, vendors appeared on site before ambulance and police.

Our destination is a lake formed in the crater of an extinct volcano.  Along the way, we passed an active volcano emitting smoke.

Driving through sugar cane fields, banana groves, pineapple fields, acres of rubber trees and, as we reached a higher elevation, rows and rows of coffee plants.

Fun facts I didn't know:

• A banana plant only produces one giant cluster of bananas in eight months, whereupon the plant is cut back and grows again from the cut-back base.  The banana cluster is bagged on the tree in, in this case-blue plastic, to protect the skin from damage until it's harvested.  
•  Arabica coffee is the best.  The plants are grown in the shade of other vegetation or are covered with mesh screen.
• Latex comes from the rubber tree.  The tree is tapped, much like a maple tree is tapped for syrup.  Workers are paid about $11 per day to tap and maintain 600 trees.

As we climbed higher we drove through Mayan villages. Villages that are side by side may speak different languages.  Children and adults alike smiled and waved as we navigated the narrow mountain road.

At Panajachel on Lake Atitlán we dined on a porch overlooking the volcanic lake.  A boat ride to the other side of the lake followed.  As we boarded the boat, indigenous women boarded along with us and made a show of hiding from the captain and crew.  Upon discovery, our group encouraged the captain to let them stay.  "As long as they don't bother you."  They proceeded to lay out their wares and didn't leave us alone until we arrived at San Antonio Palopó.  I think this was all a bit of theater to amuse us tourists.

Approaching San Antonio Palopó, we spotted the ladies of the village doing their laundry.

Notice that they all wear the same clothes.  Each village has its own color and pattern, like seaside Irish villages have their own cable knit patterns.

I quickly made my way to the women's co-op on the hill and made some purchases.

 With some time to spare, we ducked into this place for a beer.  Hotel Nuestro Sueno is on Trip Advisor,

The owner, an expat from LA in grubby white t-shirt, shorts and suspenders, told us he built this place in the late 80's when he couldn't tolerate his LA commute any longer.

We retraced our steps down the winding mountain roads and arrived back at the ship 2 1/2 hours later.  Gravity was with us, although we had to stop midway so that our driver could help a second bus whose tires were overheating on the way down.

Passing by the vendors that line the path back to the bus, I spot lots of the same items I saw at the women's co-op.  Oh well. 

Bobopedia on Nicaragua

The poorest country in Central America and second poorest after Haiti, if you include the Caribbean.

Recent history of Nicaragua-

The Somoza family ruled until 1979 when the Sandinistas overthrew the dynasty.  The Sandinistas took their name from Sandin, who was executed by the national police and became a symbol of the revolution against the Somoza dynasty.

The Sandinistas were lead by Daniel Ortega who aligned with Cuba and Russia while steering the country toward socialism.  Opposition rebels known as Contras formed and sought support from the United States.  The Contras committed atrocities in an effort to destabilize the regime.  Because of the human rights violations the US Congress cut off aid to the Contras, despite Regan's objections.  The Regan administration circumvented the sanctions by selling missiles to Iran and diverting the proceeds to the Contras.  Remember Ollie North and the Iran Contra scandal. 

The eventual outcome was Ollie got a radio show and Nicaragua eventually became a dysfunctional democracy.

Nicaragua

Don't bother going to Nicaragua.  We docked at Corinto and drove to Leon.

Most of the local guides to date have provided a narrative that included facts about the government, education, wages, etc.  Also, previous guides were very proud of their countries.  Both Costa and Panama have high levels of literacy, the fact of which they are very proud.  Both Costa Rica and Panama provide healthcare, education, and a safety net for the poor and elderly.  Nicaragua's social system seems non-existent, or haphazard at best.  The most I can say is that the roads were pretty good (compared to Guatemala, as we learned later.)

This is all there was to see in Leon and it took us two hours to get there.  Our local guides, in general, have been very good and informative.  This fellow didn't give us much information plus he lost a couple of passengers and didn't realize it until halfway back to the ship.  I'm not sure how the story ended.

Christmas at sea

Sailing between the Panama Canal and the west side of Costa Rica, we had various activities available:  yoga, Christmas service, lecture on the history of holiday decorations, Christmas trivia, the movie"It's a Wonderful Life," tango lessons, etc.  I didn't do any of these and instead walked four miles around the deck and spent the rest of the day wrestling with this blog.  WiFi speed continues to be a big problem.

We've met a couple from Nova Scotia who invited us to join them at The Chefs Table restaurant.  That's one of the two specialty restaurants on board.  Its menu changes every few days and doesn't offer any choices.  It usually highlights the regional cuisine and pairs each course with an appropriate wine.  The Christmas theme was "Erling's Scandinavian Bistro."

Following dinner we went to the theater for a Christmas extravaganza which included selections from some of the performers that had appeared earlier in the week plus special appearances by some of the talented staff.  Check out the finale (I haven't been able to get the video to load. I'll keep trying.  Check back later.)  It seems like staff members are selected for the primary qualifications of their given positions as well as for their other talents.  The very competent, energetic and charismatic cruise director also happens to have opera training. 

Limon, Colón and the Panama Canal

Both Limon, Costa Rica and Colón, Panama are commercial ports, not surprising because of the proximity to the Panama Canal.  Traveling out of Limon through streets filled with garbage and a picturesque jumble of wires and multi-colored satellite dishes, 

we headed to Tortuguero Canals and some sloth scouting.

The next day we bused from Colón to Panama City, basically following the route that we'd travel the next day through the Panama Canal.  We had been here in 2011 when, on a Holland America cruise, we traveled some of the same ground.

2011

Our guide took us to the colonial city of Panama, juxtaposed against the modern city of Panama in the background, considered to be the Dubai of the Caribbean.  The colonial city is undergoing a resurgence with squatters being chased out of the old buildings, making way for renovation and conversion into private homes, condos, restaurants and nightclubs.

The next day was spent transiting the Panama Canal.

In 2011 we had only gone through the Gatun Lock into Gatun Lake, where we turned around and sailed back the way we came.  This time we continued on through the Pedro Miguel Locks and the Miraflores Locks and into the Pacific Ocean.  The entire trip took from around 7:30 AM, when the pilots boarded, to around 4 PM, when they disembarked.  We were told that, although the pilots were boarding as they're required to do, they would not be taking control of the ship during the transit.  We caught them sleeping in the control room.

Pilots Boarding

From the bow

Looking over at the expansion canal, where the really BIG ships go

Pilots dosing