Pirates of the Caribbean or "Your History Lesson for Today"

Every vacation could be labeled "Time Flies When You're Having Fun!" It seems like just yesterday we were planning our trip. Actually, Lance booked our hotels, tours and cruise just two days before we left for Panama.

When we arrived it was dark, the power was off and we really had no idea where we were. In the morning we went up to the roof of the hotel to see the view, and what a view it was!

We didn't have time to use the swimming pool.


View of Old Town Panama City, the first port city on the Pacific Ocean.


Ships lining up to go through the Panama Canal.


Downtown Panama City, it's incredible the amount of construction going on.

Ahhh, this is the life.

On the Pacific Ocean

Lance going for a swim in the Pacific. We were the only people on the beautiful beach that went on for miles.

From Panama City we traveled to the Caribbean side of the country. The buses are almost as colorful as the countryside.

But sometimes it's just too much to stay awake.

Rush hour traffic on the way to Puerto Lindo, a little village on the Caribbean where we stayed for a couple of days.

Four miles from our pension in Puerto Lindo is Isla Grande. We decided to walk to it until a bus came by. No bus came by until fifteen minutes after we arrived. When we returned to our pension we again decided to walk until a bus came by, and again we ended up walking the whole way. Great exercise but not so comfortable wearing sandles!

Our alarm clock in Puerto Lindo. We couldn't figure out how to turn it off.

The locals still make canoes carved out of logs.

The bus that was eventually going to take us to our cruise ship in Colon after our stay in Puerto Lindo.

On our way to Colon we passed through Portobelo. Today it has a population of only 4,000, but it used to be one of the most important cities in all of the Americas. It was named by Christopher Columbus on his fourth and finally trip to the Americas in 1502. Ninety-four years later, Sir Francis Drake, the friend, advisor, vice-admiral to Queen Elizabeth I, as well as a "merciless plunderer of Spanish New World shipping and harbours", died of dysentery and was buried in a lead coffin just off the coast of Portobelo. (Did all ships carry a lead coffin in case the captain died at sea?)

From 1597 until 1739, all the gold, silver and other treasures the Spanish looted from Peru were shipped up to Panama City on the Pacific, transported overland to the fort at Portobelo on the Caribbean, and then shipped on to Spain. In return the British Navy and pirates continually attacked the Spanish ships and stole the treasures for themselves. Hundreds of both Spanish and British ship sank in battles and storms. Every so ofter gold and silver coins still wash up on the shores. We didn't have time to look for any :(

The Church of San Felipe is home of the "Black Christ," a statue that is said to have protected Portobelo since 1658.

Vultures rest on the church in the hot afternoon.

On Sunday, we finally boarded the ship. If you look carefully you can see Lance standing on our balcony almost right in the middle of the picture.

Okay, now you can see him better.

Lance resting so he'll have the strength to make it to the 168 hour buffet.

Glenn smiling at the thought of all that food, sunshine, sand and water! (and history!)

Monday morning, pulling into Cartagena, Colombia - it's the fifth largest city in Colombia with 1,240,000 inhabitants.

Cartagena was established in 1533. The gigantic fort, Catillo San Felipe de Barajas, used to be the largest fort in the Americas. It was built to protect the gold, silver, emeralds, etc from the plundering pirates and thieves.

Lance and Glenn in a fort watchtower.

The Palace of the Inquisition which operated in Cartagena from 1610 until 1811. It cost $11.00 to tour the building full of torture chambers so we just took a picture for free from outside.

A statue of Christopher Columbus with an Indian slave woman at his feet in the plaza of the colonial walled city.

Much of the colonial city, including the prison, are now shops.

Of the 1,240,000 people in Cartagena, 1,239,999 tried to sell us something...

...have their picture taken with us...

...or give us a massage on the beach.

On Tuesday we arrived in St. Martha, Colombia -

Lance with the incredible Caribbean waters.

Glenn with a statue of Rodrigo de Bastidas, the founder of St. Marta. The plaque says, "The most humanitarian of the Conquistadors and the most generous of friends." Hmmm, I'd never thought of humanitarian and Conquistador in the same sentance.

The body of Simón Bolívar (the George Washington of what are now Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela and Panama) was buried in this church for 8 years, 7 months, and 9 days, when it was reburied in his native city of Caracas, Venezuela.

Lance still enjoying the Caribbean waters.

Back on the ship, Lance getting ready for another dinner.

On Wednesday we arrived in Aruba! The island was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci in 1499, just seven years after Columbus made his first voyage to the New World.

At the Aruba Temple, right on the beach.

We took a bus to the end of the hotel row then walked and swam back to the ship. It took eight spectacularly incredible hours of sand and water time.

A blow-hole on the beach.

Glenn probably should have covered his head with sand!

The view of Orenjestad, the capital of Aruba, from our stateroom.

On Thursday we arrived in Curacao, one of my favorite islands to explore.

Curacao is a small, desert island with almost no agriculture. Everyday people from Venezuela load their boats with fruits and vegetibles to sell on the island. The boats are docked right behind their fruit stands.

Lance with the floating bridge and Willenstad, the capital, in the background. He thought it would be easier to manage short hair - but it can't be pulled back in a ponytail on a windy day!

There is a whole row of old, abandoned mansions lining the coast. We decided to buy this one and turn it into a Bed and Breakfast.

Of course we'll have to have some sand hauled in.

There's even a handy tourist office right across the street. It already comes with two maniquin tourists.

Friday - Bonaire, the last of the Netherland Antilles. It was also discovered in 1499. By 1515, the Spanish decided the island was worthless and deported all the native inhabitant to work in the copper mines in what is now the Dominican Republic.

On a catamaran to snorkle around Klein Bonaire. There were so many fish in the water there was hardly enough room for us! We've never seen such crystle clear water.

Our ship, the Enchantment, on the right. To the left is the Octopus, a priviate yacht (the 8th biggest in the world - 414 feet long) owned by Paul Allen, one of the founders of MicroSoft. It holds a full size basketball court, two helicopters, two mini submarines and a 63 foot boat. Allen also owns the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks. What do expect from the 12th richest man in the world?

Lance and the clear blue waters of Bonaire.

Saturday was an at sea day as we returned to Panama. We spent most of the day sunning on the deck, bouncing on the bungy-trampoline, and of course, eating.

And now we've been home already for four days. Lance is starting to plan our next trip.