Our adventures continue! We sailed off in the evening and headed to the Panama Canal. There had been severe rains in the area and the canal had been closed for only the third time in history and we were concerned about whether we would be allowed to lock through.
However the highlight of the trip, at least so far, happened before even arriving at the Canal. When we first boarded Jude attempted to book an evening at the Chef’s Table. This was to be a tour of the kitchen and a special meal. Unfortunately we were put on a waiting list. However upon our return to the ship from the broken taxi ride trip we had a message that there were spots available for that evening’s Chef’s Table. WOW, what a meal. I have never had anything like it before.
It started out by a group of 10 of us meeting at the restaurant. We were met by the head Maitre‘d. He had us all but on white coats and we paraded through the main dining room and into the kitchen. Part of me was wondering if it was going to be worth the extra amount of money we had to pay for this little adventure until they brought out the Champagne! Okay, now I was ready for what was going to happen. With drink in hand we were taken into the kitchen and met with the Executive Sous Chef. He began to tell us about his kitchen operations and the first of four different hors’ dovers began to arrive. As we stood there and the Champagne flowed, we ate the following:
Tuna Tartar with Wasabe and Pickled Ginger in Nori Sheets
Braised Escargots in Vol-Au-Vent
Bistro Mini Quiche Provencale
Roasted New Potatoes with Sour Cream and Cariar
After this 20 minute experience we were escorted to our table with flowers and amazing decorations. As I was finishing the Champagne, the wine for the next course was being poured around the table, a very nice white wine. We were then served:
Southern Italian Portobello Mushroom Risotto with Homemade Basil Oil
Next was time to clean our pallet and we were served, in a martini glass:
Lemon Sorbet and Mango Slaw covered with a shot of Grey Goose
I was getting full, but I hung in there and prepared myself for the next and main course:
Roasted Veal Shank and Aged Beef Tenderloin (Flambéed of course!) and Carved Table side with the Chef’s Portobello Mushroom Sauce, Béarnaise Sauce and Green Pepper Corn Sauce, Vegetables with Chateau Potatoes
Oops, I forgot to mention the wonderful red wine we had served with that. But next came the dessert courses to include a dessert wine:
Potted Stilton with Port Wine and Walnuts, Biscotti
Chocolate Dame Mousse Soft Strawberries Center Florentine Tuille
Coffee Executive Sous Chef Brent’s Home Made Biscotti and Ammaretti
And by now it is 10:30 and we decide to head to the bar. Slowly Dee and Jude head back to the rooms but Greg and I hang in there and have a couple of Cognacs. Well, more than a couple and I was to pay the price!
What a meal and what an event. I cannot wait to post some of these pictures!
All this time we are sailing on toward the Panama Canal. At 0630 we were lined up on our approach to the lock and I wake up feeling less than perfect after all the drinks that went down so well the previous evening. Having locked through many locks, this one was still special given the fact that it was the Panama Canal, an amazing engineering project at the time it was completed (1913). Being a cruise ship we were given priority passage over the other vessels. No, not because Panama is so kind to the tourists but the fact that the ship must pay close to $300,000 to transit. We went right in.
The entire locking process took a couple of hours. After the completion of going into 3 locks and a rise of 81 feet we went into the lake and the ship anchored until it was time to lock back down. If we would have wanted a complete transit we would have needed to take the 15 day cruise that ended in Los Angeles. By 3PM we were back underway. Our port of call to Colon was cancelled due to rough seas and the ability to get this 1000 foot boat into the harbor opening. Off to Costa Rica. Did I mention that it was a bit rough out?
As the afternoon progressed my hangover never got any better. I went to take a nap and the life boat outside our room was being repaired. So much for a nap.
As dinner time approached I was aware that an old friend of mine was beginning to visit me. Now I have sailed for over 25 years and every now and then I get sea sick. Yes, the old bug came back last night. Between the hangover and the seas state I was only holding my own. We all went down to dinner and ordered. I got as far as one bite and decided discretion was the better part of valor and went for the only cure I know for what ailed me. I went to our stateroom laid down and closed my eyes. I slept for about 12 hours last night! Well at least I feel better today.
We leave here, Limon, Costa Rica, at about happy hour time frame and will be in Jamaica in about 32 hours. We will have a day on shore there, our last. While there Jude and I will be doing a zip line adventure. Well we shall see how this height fearing boy will do on that little adventure!! Until later, bye! Rob
11 December 2010
09 December 2010
Land Ho
Well the first thing that I now realize that I forgot in the last post was that we are traveling with Greg and Dee Russo. They have been friends of ours since I first got in the National Guard back in ’72. One of the most interesting things about this cruise is that we are some of the youngest people on board!!!!
Yesterday we were in Aruba. Not a long stop, only half a day, but that did not keep the girls from shopping. We walked around the port city and Greg and burned out on the t-shirt shops rather early in the process. Tally at the end of the day, some new shirts and a beach wrap of some short for Jude.
If you can imagine, Greg and I have become rather friendly with one set of bar tenders here on board. I guess when you close the bar down two nights in a row they have a tendency to remember you! This ship, the Coral Princess, spends the summers up in Alaska. It is one of the ships that Jude and I load passengers onto. Given that fact, we discovered there are still a few bottles of good Alaskan beer on board. That means that we have found their stash of Alaskan Amber and Alaskan Summer. Here we are down off the coast of Colombia and are drinking good old Alaskan beer. Who’d a thunk it!
Today we were in Cartagena, Colombia. The ship arrived about 9 am. The four of us negotiated a taxi to cart the four of us around to see the sights of the city and the shopping areas. Twenty bucks a head for a four hour guided ride. Okay, maybe we could have done better but that seemed to be the going rate. The traffic is everything one would expect in a city like this. It was about a 20 minute ride to our first stop, the old Spanish fort. We wandered around there for a while. Boy was I glad that I have been getting more exercise this past year because it seems like it was all uphill. Of course, forts are built on the high ground!
From there we jammed ourselves back in the taxi. We were just about at our next destination when the taxi broke, stalled, stopped running right in the middle of traffic. The hood went up and the next thing we know there are 2,3,4, now 5 people looking under the hood. We sit in the car, sweating more and more every minute. Next thing we know the driver gets back in and the other guys start to push start the taxi. It doesn’t work, but at least we are a little further out of the way. Greg says let’s give him another 5 minutes or we will find another taxi. Well it does not take that long. They give up on that taxi and just take someone else’s cab. Our driver and us get in the new taxi and head to the shopping market. We are there for about an hour. When we are done, our driver has gotten his car back and it is running again.
Everybody gets in the car and on to the old city. We park and now our driver gets out and starts to give us a guided tour. Sort of the typical things one would expect, the 200 year old churches, the old plazas, and of course his nephew’s jewelry store! Greg and I stayed outside. He did better than me because Dee did not buy anything, but I did not fare as well. However, Jude did get a very nice Christmas gift for herself. So in many ways, it gets me off the hook, and I know she likes it! I have no idea what else she has bought, I can’t keep track. Me, let’s see, two t-shirts on the ship, one “Hawaiian” type shirt yesterday in Aruba, one Cartagena t-shirt for $5, and a Panama hat. I think I look rather stylish in it. Pictures to follow when I have a real internet connection rather than the slow one here on board the ship.
Tomorrow is the Panama Canal! That should be interesting, although the locking procedure is VERY familiar to us after our trip down the rivers two years ago!! That’s all for now. Rob
Yesterday we were in Aruba. Not a long stop, only half a day, but that did not keep the girls from shopping. We walked around the port city and Greg and burned out on the t-shirt shops rather early in the process. Tally at the end of the day, some new shirts and a beach wrap of some short for Jude.
If you can imagine, Greg and I have become rather friendly with one set of bar tenders here on board. I guess when you close the bar down two nights in a row they have a tendency to remember you! This ship, the Coral Princess, spends the summers up in Alaska. It is one of the ships that Jude and I load passengers onto. Given that fact, we discovered there are still a few bottles of good Alaskan beer on board. That means that we have found their stash of Alaskan Amber and Alaskan Summer. Here we are down off the coast of Colombia and are drinking good old Alaskan beer. Who’d a thunk it!
Today we were in Cartagena, Colombia. The ship arrived about 9 am. The four of us negotiated a taxi to cart the four of us around to see the sights of the city and the shopping areas. Twenty bucks a head for a four hour guided ride. Okay, maybe we could have done better but that seemed to be the going rate. The traffic is everything one would expect in a city like this. It was about a 20 minute ride to our first stop, the old Spanish fort. We wandered around there for a while. Boy was I glad that I have been getting more exercise this past year because it seems like it was all uphill. Of course, forts are built on the high ground!
From there we jammed ourselves back in the taxi. We were just about at our next destination when the taxi broke, stalled, stopped running right in the middle of traffic. The hood went up and the next thing we know there are 2,3,4, now 5 people looking under the hood. We sit in the car, sweating more and more every minute. Next thing we know the driver gets back in and the other guys start to push start the taxi. It doesn’t work, but at least we are a little further out of the way. Greg says let’s give him another 5 minutes or we will find another taxi. Well it does not take that long. They give up on that taxi and just take someone else’s cab. Our driver and us get in the new taxi and head to the shopping market. We are there for about an hour. When we are done, our driver has gotten his car back and it is running again.
Everybody gets in the car and on to the old city. We park and now our driver gets out and starts to give us a guided tour. Sort of the typical things one would expect, the 200 year old churches, the old plazas, and of course his nephew’s jewelry store! Greg and I stayed outside. He did better than me because Dee did not buy anything, but I did not fare as well. However, Jude did get a very nice Christmas gift for herself. So in many ways, it gets me off the hook, and I know she likes it! I have no idea what else she has bought, I can’t keep track. Me, let’s see, two t-shirts on the ship, one “Hawaiian” type shirt yesterday in Aruba, one Cartagena t-shirt for $5, and a Panama hat. I think I look rather stylish in it. Pictures to follow when I have a real internet connection rather than the slow one here on board the ship.
Tomorrow is the Panama Canal! That should be interesting, although the locking procedure is VERY familiar to us after our trip down the rivers two years ago!! That’s all for now. Rob
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