Panama Canal

 Today was our Panama Canal partial transit. We had wanted to do the full transit (Pacific to Atlantic) but it wasn’t offered on the dates we were in Panama City. The tour started at 3:30 am with a transfer to the docks at the Amador Causeway, then we boarded the Pacific Queen and set out for the Panama Canal. It was raining lightly and Panama City could be seen through the haze in the distance. The entrance to the canal is crowded with ships waiting to get in, and there is a bridge along with a shipping port with lights towers and cranes. The entrance is also surrounded by lush green hills and there were no end of pelicans and frigate birds flying around us. The juxtaposition was striking.

Panama City through the haze

The Pacific Queen

The first set of locks (Miraflores) came up pretty quickly. We took on a pilot (captains of ships going through the Panama Canal relinquish control to pilots who guide the ships through)then watched as a gas tanker, the Nord Vulcan was meticulously guided into the locks by tugboats and mules (small trains that run on tracks parallel to the ship and guide it with cables). The process was slow and meticulous but fascinating. In the end, there couldn’t have been much more than a foot on either side between the ship and the canal wall. Once the ship was secure our ship along with on of the tugboats entered the locks and the enormous lock doors closed behind us. There was a churning in the water, we started rising up, and 10 minutes later we were 28 feet higher. We moved into the next set of locks, repeated the process then headed off to the next set of locks (Pedro Miguel).

Entering the locks

The mule aligning the ship

Water entering the docks

Leaving the docks

Locks closing

Canal traffic jam

What a thrill. The Panama Canal is truly a wonder of the world, and to experience it firsthand was for me anyway, a bucket list item. I think madeleine appreciated it, but let’s just say she was glad we only did the partial transit. Her favorite part of the day was pelicans and the gelato we got afterward.

The rest of the day was pretty low key. We had a snack at our hotel’s garden then hung out on the roof. The sun even popped out for a bit (and it got extremely hot). I have to say I’m not usually into hotels, I like cheap clean and quiet, but this one was pretty cool.

Early morning chat

Madeleine’s favorite chair

Wait, that’s a real bird?

Coolest tree in a cafe ever

Rooftop views to die for

Up early again tomorrow for our light to David, then we pick up a car and drive to Boquete.

Michael

Finca Lerida

Boquete

Rain Delay

The day started off with rain, lots of rain, so instead of walking tours of the ruins of the old city and a visit to the outdoor metropolitain bio park as we had originally intended, we decided to start the day off with a visit to the Panama Canal. So we had a quick breakfast at the hotel then an Uber out to the Panama Canal Miraflores locks visitor center. We didn’t get to see a ship go through (no worries, we’re going through the same locks ourselves tomorrow), but we did get to see one of the chambers fill up with water, pretty impressive. We also got a really good primer on the Panama canal’s history and how it all works. There was a 45 minute movie that really gave a good idea about what it’s all about. I think Madeleine especially got a lot out of it. It really is an incredible piece of engineering. 14 thousand vessels use the Panama cal each year, (1 million since it opened), and it accounts for 5% of all global trade. Fun fact, the canal charges its tolls based on tonnage, so the smallest toll ever charged was 36 cents to Richard Hamilton for swimming the length of the canal.

Miraflores locks -Panama Canal

After the locks we headed back to the hotel to freshen up. By this time the rain had stopped (I guess that’s the deal with the rainy season here, you rarely loose a whole day) so we headed out to explore Casco Viejo, the neighborhood we’re staying in. Casco viejo is the old part of Panama City dating back to 1673. It was established after the pirate Captain Morgan (of rum fame) sacked the original city. It’s a weird mix of renovated old colonial and turn of the century buildings housing cafes shops and boutique hotels next to dilapidated abandoned architectural treasures with trees growing out of them, all with the skyline of the new town’s shiny skyscrapers as a backdrop. The gentrification process is definitely mid stream. Lots of charm though, and lots to see. Definitely worth the walk. The highlight may have been Granclement for gelato. Dulce de Leche gelato… I think Madeleine is a fan.

Dilapidated treasures

Architectural gems

Gelato!

We finished out the night with dinner at the Mercado de Mariscos, basically a fish market surrounded by a bunch of casual outdoor fish restaurants. Ceviche is one of my favourite things in the whole world, and apparently it’s a thing here. Living as far as we do from the sea,I don’t get to have it often, so I was pretty excited. The ceviche was amazing, but the highlight was Madeleine’s dish. She ordered the sea bass in a coconut sauce. It came out whole, something she had never seen before. Her face when it came out was priceless. That only lasted a second though. She tore into it and devoured the whole thing. Had someone given me a fish with the eyes still on at her age there is no way I would have done anything other that’s push it away and beg for McDonald’s.

Dinner looking back at you

Mmmmm

Tomorrow we do our partial transit of the canal. Going through those locks and cruising the canal is going to be pretty special. The van picks us up at 5am…

Michael 

Hotel las Clementinas

Casco Viejo

Good Morning from Casco Viejo

 We made it. Flight was a little uncomfortable (I feel like seat space / legroom is shrinking every time I get on a plane). Landed at 7:00 last night, sailed through customs and immigration, then a short taxi ride to town. Hard to get a great sense of Panama City from a taxi at night and in the rain, but what I saw looked pretty cool. Lots of shiny skyscrapers and tons of street level activity. First impressions were of a vibrant city. 

Panama at night(not my pic)

 checked in to the hotel. What a hotel. Built in the 1930s by “the first woman in Panama to wear pants” (that’s what the website says, I swear). It was a pawn shop during the boom years of the canal, then later a refuge for artists intellectuals and free spirits. It was abandoned and fell into disrepair before being restored in 2010. It is amazing, we have a suite with 3 balconies. High ceilings, massive doors and windows, original architectural details, rooftop patio, garden courtyard, you really feel like you’re living in a different time. 

Las Clementinas Hotel

We took a short walk around town. Casco Viejo seems pretty cool. Lots of high end restaurants and boutique hotels, but also plenty of ramshackle rundown buildings too. From our balcony I can see as many rusted tin roofs as I can terracotta ones, and there seems to be a bit of a local vibe, so maybe tourism hasn’t entirely taken over. it was raining though (I guess the rainy season is a real thing), so we headed back to the hotel for a quick bite. Then off to bed. We’ll explore more today.

Goodnight

Lots planned for today, a nature preserve, old Panama, Explore Casco Viejo, and the fish market for ceviche (sounds like that’s a thing here). Unfortunately all those things involve walking outdoors, and it is pouring rain. If only there had been some way of knowing the rainy season in Panama would be so rainy…

Good morning from Panama 

Michael

Las Clementinas hotel

Casco Viejo Panama 

Last day

 Saturday was our last full day in Iceland, our flight out was Sunday morning. On tap: the Blue Lagoon and getting to know Reykjavik a bit better. Our plan was to drop off the rental van first thing in the morning (no reason to keep it as we were staying at a hotel) then take the rental company's shuttle service to the Blue Lagoon, spend a few hours there, then take a bus back to Reykjavik for some sightseeing and dinner. 

We got the day started pretty early. The tickets we purchased (months ago) for the Blue Lagoon were for a 9 am arrival and it is about 45 minutes away from Reykjavik. We had to sort out the camper van return before that, so we were on the road by 7am. We were all a little sad to say goodbye to our camper. We had a great adventure with her, and won't soon forget it. The Blue Lagoon is less than 15 minutes away from the rental office and they were nice enough to give us a ride there with their airport shuttle. 

Our Hotel - yup, that's 64 degrees North

(fro reference the arctic circle is at 66 degrees)

The blue Lagoon is pretty special.  As I understand it, there is a geothermal power plant a mile or so away (you can see it as you arrive) that draws heated water from the earth to make power. The effluent is shipped  to the Blue Lagoon to provide it with hot water for their pool. So basically it is a big pond full of industrial runoff. Of course it is not that at all. Imagine a powder blue pond, waist deep, surrounded by volcanic rock. The water is a super relaxing 38-39 degrees Celsius (about the temperature of a nice hot bath) and steamy vapors rise form the water's surface. The day we went it was overcast and chilly with a light drizzle adding to the overall surreal atmosphere. Saunas, swim up bars, cascading waterfalls, spa treatments, and a quiet grotto / cave, it was all there, and the cold air allowed you to stand up from time to time to remind your body how nice it was to be warm and relaxed. Remember, we were coming of a ten mile hike the day before, so the our bodies basically melted into the water. There were other amenities, it is a top notch spa and the facilities were great, but we were pretty happy just floating around and relaxing. A facial treatment was included with our visit and we did give it a try. The lagoon's waters are rich in silicates, and the treatment we got was basically a handful of silica mud (which was sold for a small fortune at the gift shop) which we smeared over our faces. Not sure if it did anything for me, but we all had a laugh putting it on and taking it off. If one were cynical, one could look at the Blue Lagoon as a giant tourist trap. Yes, there were loads of tourists, and yes, it was quite pricey and more fancy than I'm used to. However, there is a reason there are so many people that visit, the place reallyfantastic.

 

 

The Blue Lagoon

Treatments

We took a bus back into town, changed at the hotel then headed into town for some sightseeing. First we stopped at Reykjavik's famous Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, a small hot dog stand in the center of town. I guess Bill Clinton had a hot dog there while attending some summit or other and said it was the best hot dog he had ever had. The place has had a lineup ever since. The hot dogs (pylsur) in Iceland are made from lamb instead of beef or pork and are pretty good (we had had some earlier in the week). It was a bit of a wait, but the hot dogs were tasty (they dress them with crispy onions and a very sweet mustard, different but good). 

Waiting for Pylsur (hot dogs)

Next stop, the Northern Lights Museum. This was Madeleine's idea. She was really interested in the northern lights, and given that it's too bright to see them in the summer, this would be as close as we got. I have to say I wasn't expecting much from the museum, but I was pleasantly surprised. There was lots of great information all really well presented. I actually learned a lot. Did you know that the northern lights look much better in photos than with the naked eye? 

 We ended the day with a stroll around town. Reykjavik's central area is relatively small, so we were able to see a lot in the short amount of time we had. We posted Madeleine's postcards (I won't even tell you how much that cost), went to the waterfront to see the ducks, walked up the rainbow street and visited the Hallgrimskirkja church. It would have been nice to have a bit more time to stroll around. Reykjavik is a nice little town that I would have liked to get to know a bit better. Oh well, next time. We treated ourselves to dinner at a restaurant that night. I hadn't really gotten much of a taste of Icelandic cuisine, so I thought I would try something local. The menu had a "Taste of Iceland" option. Perfect, exactly what I was after. Reading on however, problems quickly became evident. The four course meal consisted of smoked puffin, horse tenderloin, minke whale and lightly cured arctic char. Pretty sure Madeleine would never speak to me again if I ate horse (or puffin for that matter) and I'm not sure I would feel all that great about eating whale, so I settled on a plate of just the char. It was fantastic. 

Very expensive postcards

Rainbow street

Hallgrimskirkja church

Ducks at the waterfront

Pretty little town

 

The next morning we were up early for our flight home. Nothing too exciting. Wake up, pack, bus to the airport, security customs etc, 5 hour flight, land, 32 hour drive home. A long day. It was good to be home though. What a trip. 

our hotel room

Waiting for the bus to the airport

Homeward bound

 

Michael

Montpelier VT

 

Litli - Hrutur: Expectations and Weather

 Friday was volcano day. I've always wanted to see an active volcano with a real lava flow, and this was our chance. We had met two couples on the trip who had been, and both confirmed that a trip to the volcano while somewhat arduous (5 mile hike there and another 5 miles back) was indeed as incredible as it sounded. I don't know, there is just something elemental about the raw power of liquid rock spewing from the earth. Apparently it makes the sound of breaking glass as it cools. Neat.

Watch out

The day started early. The drive from Reykjavik was about an hour each way, then I figured at least 5 hours of hiking and an hour at the volcano, so maybe about 8 hours to get this done. We splashed out for a hotel for our last two nights in Iceland, so I wanted to leave a little time at the end of the day to check in and maybe see a bit of Reykjavik. We got on the road around 6am. It was pretty cold and overcast, but the forecast called for only a small chance of light rain in the early morning, so we weren't too worried. We got to the parking area around 7am just to find out that the trails weren't open until 8. No big deal, it gave us some time to pack our bag with sandwiches we made the night before and all the rain gear we hoped we wouldn't need and we all had a bit of breakfast and another cup of coffee. 

On Our Way

When 8am came around, we set off on our hike in high spirits. I was a little apprehensive because we had never done a hike so long, but the hike was pretty flat and we're all in relatively good shape, so I felt like it wouldn't be a big deal. It was a beautiful hike. We almost never hike flat trails (usually the things worth seeing require a bit of a climb - especially in New England) so this was a nice change. Also, it was nice to see Iceland up close. We had been driving by land like this for a week now and had enjoyed it's beauty from afar. Close up it was pretty special too. Mosses, grasses and wonderful tiny wild flowers covered the volcanic rocks in a lush blanket. the ocean was on our right, lovely hills on our left and a flat plain stretching out before us with a steaming volcano in the distance. With the wind blowing the morning mist into an eerie fog, it was a pretty incredible walk. 

A Pretty Great Walk

About 45 minutes into the hike it started to rain. just a sprinkle at first. The kind of misty rain you're sure will blow over in a few minutes. The sun even peaked through the clouds a couple of times, taunting us with it's promise of warmth. The rain did not blow over though. The wind picked up and the rain got more and more steady. By the time we were halfway to the volcano, we were soaked to the bone and freezing and the rain showed no sign of abating. No choice but to forge on though, we were not going to miss out on the volcano. I have to say that Madeleine was a champ. Through the cold and wet, she never complained once, she just put one foot in front of the other, until we got to our destination - the Litli - Hrutur volcano. Which of course was dead.

Rain Rain Go Away

Litli - Hrutur Volcano

 

Yup, dead. It had stopped erupting the night before. The lava field that just hours prior had been a molten inferno spewing lava from beneath the earth's surface was now just a steaming wall of jet black rock. We were deflated. Our disappointment was compounded by the fact that we had to hike 5 miles in the rain back to our van. Oh well, what can you do. We took in the cooling lava field which was really quite impressive. (a wall of steaming black rock with a recently active volcano in the background is not something you see everyday) then started our hike back. The rain mercifully let up, and as the morning wore on, we saw more and more hikers heading towards the volcano. Apparently, people have been descending on Iceland from all over to see this volcano. We didn't have the heart to tell them it was dead. 

Lava Field

The long walk home

Anyway, we got back to the camper and I made some cheesy scrambled eggs to warm everyone up. we changed into dry clothes and set off for Reykjavik and our hotel. We loved our camper, but it would be nice to have a bed to stretch out into and be able to take a shower without walking through a campsite to some dodgy outbuilding. We also got a chance to do a little exploring around Reykjavik's downtown (our hotel was pretty centrally located).

Hello Reykjavik

So what to say about our volcano experience? Weather and expectations. If it wasn't for weather and expectations, it would have been an amazing experience. If you had told me I could have an amazing hike through beautiful countryside with my family, and at the end of it we would see a steaming lava field, literally the newest part of planet earth, I would have been thrilled. However, the misery of being cold and wet, and the disappointment of not seeing an active lava flow tempered our enjoyment. Still, it's an experience I won't soon forget.

 

Worth it? Absolutely.

Michael

Montpelier VT