Travelling Photographer

Panama Canal Cruise Day # 11-14 – At sea and Manzanillo, Mexico – May 24-27, 2022

Manzanillo is principally a working port. Sailing into the harbor the town looked like a colorful stretch of the Italian coastline. Getting off the ship and strolling the Malecon it became apparent that this city was in significant decline – many of those colorful houses we saw from the sea were dilapidated with windows boarded and some floors uninhabitable. On the positive side the Malecon was lined with modern sculptures depicting the signs of the zodiac. The highlight of the port was a dominating sculpture of a sailfish – the town claims it is the sail fishing capital of the world.

June 7, 2022 2

Panama Canal Cruise Day # 9-10 – At sea and Costa Rica – May 22-23, 2022

We arrived in Puntarenas, which is a working port with a not incredibly attractive central downtown. We signed up for a skybridge tour through the rainforest in Park National Carara. The park is in the transitional zone between the humid and dry forests which run from the mountains to the marshes and the sea. It was an hour plus drive to the park and along the way we stopped at the Rio Tackles Bridge to see the famed grey American crocodiles which can grow up to twenty feet. We saw a few but not the monsters. (We had better luck when we were here several years ago.) Our hike in the park was along a slippery trail and over 3 swinging bridges which would be rejected by a blind OSHA inspector. In the afternoon we visited Pura Vida Botanical Gardens and walked the trails with a knowledgeable guide explaining the flowers and fauna as well as protecting us from “army ants” a jumping and more virulent version of red fire ants.

June 3, 2022 2

Panama Canal Cruise Day # 7-8 – at sea and Panama Canal transit – May 20-21, 2022

Another check-off on the old bucket list – our main purpose for this trip. We entered the canal at Colon on the Caribbean side – travelled northwest to southeast traversing the Gatun Locks (three locks that raise the ship about eighty feet) to the level of Gatun Lake and the man-made Culebra Cut which lets the ship sale across the isthmus then on to the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks which drops the ship into the Pacific near Panamá City. The 50 + mile trip took about 6 hours. From a historical sense the canal was first thought about by the Spanish in the 16^th century – in 1880 the French started to build an all-water route but failed because of losses of financial backing and tropical diseases. In 1903 the United States restarted the construction and completed the process in 1914. The US handed the canal and the canal zone over to the Republic of Panama in 1999. Panamá started the construction of an expanded Canal in 2007 and completed it in 2016 to handle the new and bigger containerships and LNG ships.

June 2, 2022 0

Panama Canal Cruise Day # 5-6 – at sea and Qranjestad, Aruba – May 18-19, 2022

Having been in Aruba previously we opted to skip the tours offered for a stroll around Ornjestad then back to the ship for sunning and a swim in the 84-degree pool.

June 2, 2022 0

Panama Canal Cruise Day # 1 – 4 — Fort Lauderdale Florida to Grand Turk – May 14 – 17, 2022

Boarding was slow and then our departure was delayed because the Cunard Line Queen Elizabeth had engine trouble. We departed 13 hours late at 7am on Sunday 5/15. The captain was able to speed our crossing to Grand Turk the capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands and we arrived on schedule @ 8:00 am on Tuesday May 17^th. We enjoyed the two days at sea, getting familiar with the ship and the many seminars, entertainment venues as well as the bars and restaurants. We stayed in the Princess Grill Suites and really enjoyed the upgraded amenities – private dining and lounges.

We were excited to get to Grand Turk and its capital Cockburn Town having signed up for a Hummer tour of the small island (11 miles by 1.5 miles). Fooled again, we drove H3’s and the island’s speed limit of 25 mph – no riding on the beaches. The well-informed, friendly & humorous guide pleased us.

June 2, 2022 2

Panama Canal Cruise – Pre-Sail Day — Fort Lauderdale Florida – May 13, 2022

This adventure really began on the 13^th when Plantation Bay friends drove us to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale so we could make our morning boarding time on Saturday. This bucket list adventure will take 18 days and we will disembark in San Francisco, but the trip will not end there but start another phase. More on that later. We will be well into the trip when the postings start to appear and will be sent in groups because internet service on the sea and in some ports will be spotty or non-existent. So, we are off exploring Fort Lauderdale.

The last time I was in the city was too many years ago – in college. All I remember back then was the ocean, canals, and the friends I travelled with. The main street in the town center is Las Olas Blvd, lined with all the shopping and dining establishments you could want. We walked it choosing our lunch and dinner options. The city is also noted for its Riverwalk which is lined with artwork and many bridges that lets boat traffic move to the harbor, ocean, or intracoastal waterway. Boat traffic has the right of way and auto traffic is stopped every 15 minutes or so to let the watercraft proceed. Along the walk we decided to take a 3-block detour to visit the Museum of Discovery and Science, an interactive museum which would keep any curious kid (or adult) fascinated for a full day. In our case since we only had two hours we opted for two IMAX movies – a documentary on the climbing of Mt. Everest and a 3D exploration of Ireland. After dinner we headed back to our hotel for needed shut eye.

June 1, 2022 10

April 2022 – pre-Easter trip to Callaway Gardens

On our way to visit family in North Carolina we stopped at Callaway Gardens to see the gardens in their spring bloom. We toured the gardens on bike covering the 10-mile Discovery Bike Trail and walked several of the parks’ nine nature trails. This was our third visit to the gardens, and we enjoyed this season as well as the fall and winter visits. (https://www.callawaygardens.com/the-gardens/)

April 28, 2022 6

Recent Photos — February and March 2022

This is a short compendium of some photos taken in February and March at several Florida sites. Looking forward to more adventures in April and May including a trip to Callaway Gardens and a cruise through the Panama Canal to SFO. Please follow the links to better enjoy what is available at each location.

Bulow Creek State Park: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/bulow-creek-state-park

Ponce Lighthouse: https://www.ponceinlet.org/

St. Augustine Lighthouse: https://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/

Betty Steflik Memorial Preserve: https://floridahikes.com/betty-steflik-preserve

Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive: https://www.sjrwmd.com/lands/recreation/lake-apopka/

The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art: https://www.morsemuseum.org/

April 12, 2022 9

January 2022 Hikes in Bulow Creek State Park

We took two half days to hike the linear 13.6-mile Bulow Woods Trail. The trail connects the south edge of Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park with the parking area at the Fairchild Oak in Bulow Creek State Park. The highlight of Bulow Creek is one of the largest remaining stands of southern live oak forest along Florida’s east coast.

The reigning tree is the Fairchild Oak, one of the largest live oak trees in the South. For more than 400 years it has been a silent witness to human activities along Bulow Creek, including the destruction of the neighboring Bulow Plantation (detailed in a post several years ago) during the Second Seminole War in 1836. Bulow Creek protects nearly 5,600 acres, more than 1,500 of which are submerged lands which makes the trail swampy in spots.

Boardman Pond is a highlight along the trail as a habitat for several bird species.

Prior to starting our hike, we stopped to see the remains of the Dummett Mill Ruins one of eleven known plantation sites located in the park. Most produced rice, cotton, sugar cane and indigo – Dummett specialized in rum.