Puntarenus, Costa Rica
Our stop in Costa Rica was on the Gulf of Nicoya at a little seaport named Puntarenas. That means "sandy point" which is exactly what Puntarenas is. The town is about 4 blocks wide and about 20 blocks long. The cruise ship pier is right downtown. We found a taxi driver on the pier and took a tour that lasted about four hours. Much of that area of Costa Rico looks poor by our standards, but in Central America, it is downright prosperous. The driver told us that they have no army, so they can spend the money on schools. He also said (partly in Spanish) "I thank God for my country." The climate in Costa Rica is warm, they have good soil, and water. It's easy to grow food there. "Fruit is free," we were told. "Nobody in Costa Rica goes hungry." We saw a large church building made of iron. It was actually boiler plate riveted together like an early 20th century ship. The inside was beautiful, and I got some good pictures.

We saw parks, butterfly farms, and factories. The scenery was much like the Smoky Mountains. We saw the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, but it extends across to the Caribbean. I think I'd like to see that side someday.

Monday was another at-sea day. More food, more music, more entertainment. This was the first day that we saw any serious white caps. The sea looked rough, but the Infinity is big and stabilized so that it rode smoothly. When we were just 7 degrees north of the equator, we saw a little rain.

Panama
The Panama Canal is the only place in the Americas where you can sail across the continental divide. We arrived at the Gulf of Panama (Pacific) end of the canal at daybreak on Tuesday. A number of cargo ships were waiting to pass through, but passenger ships have priority, so we went to the head of the line. We passed slowly under the Bridge of the Americas, which is the Pan American highway that connects the continents. Then we went through the Miraflores locks, a set of two that raised the ship to the level of the Miraflores Lake. It's a small lake and we could see the next lock, the Pedro Miguel lock, as soon as we started out on the lake. The Pedro Miguel lock raised us to 80+ feet above sea level, the elevation of the Culebra Cut. Our direction of travel was roughly northwest because of the curve of the isthmus.

We ate lunch in the main dining room while sailing through the Culebra Cut (a.k.a. Gaillard Cut). We had an excellent view because the stern has a picture window that is two decks high and almost as wide as the ship. After lunch we went up on top as the ship sailed out into Gatun Lake. Several large cargo ships passed us only a few feet away.

Gatun Lake was at one time the largest man made lake in the world. It furnishes water to operate the locks as well as providing a channel for ships to pass through to the next set of locks. For more information, read "The Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough, a history of the canal.

The full transit of the canal took all day. Thunderstorms were predicted, but we only got a brief sprinkle. We could see towering thunderheads in all directions, but they missed us.

Sailing across Gatun Lake is the best way possible to see a jungle. The surrounding vegetation is so thick, only a monkey could cross it without a machette. We saw lighthouses at every turn as we wound our way through groups of vegetation-choked islands.

Arriving at the Gatun locks, we had a brief wait before passing through, then sailed into the dusk as the sun set off the port bow. When it got dark, we docked at Chistobal for a brief shopping tour.

Expect the Caribbean part of the trip in a few days.
Howard