Windstar Cruise & the Panama Canal:
We timed the Costa Rica section of the five month adventure, to end in time for the Windstar Cruise through the Panama Canal.
Windstar is a lovely sail/motor boat. Although the sails are unfurled as we set sail, the boat actually uses motor power almost exclusively.
One evening we took zodiacs around the ship as the sun was setting on the sails.
Although we had a number of stops, I am only writing about our Panama Canal crossing part of the cruise. But before I get to the crossing, I will tell you the saga of Jerry and his hand.
When we were at Lapa Rios the prior week, at the end of a 3-hour hike, Jerry climbed back into the jeep, on the rickety stairs, and lost his balance. He grabbed the side of the jeep and cut the back of his hand on a nail (that shouldn’t have been there). It was a deep gash, but in typical fashion, he announced that it was nothing and we could just put a band-aid on it. Yeah, right! The resort general manager told him differently. She drove us 25 minutes into town to the emergency clinic. Jerry got 12 stitches by a doctor who is used to fixing farmers’ cuts. This was her 4th stitch up that day. She told us to be back in 8 days to take out the stitches. But in 8 days we would be on the Windstar at sea.
When we were in Finca Rosa, (see post 31), we wanted to check with a doctor if he can remove the stitches (it was 6 days). The hotel had a doctor on call but he was out of the country. They suggested seeing the doctor in the local pharmacy.. The pharmacist that the stitches were not ready to come out. So what were we to do?
We called the cruise line in to ask if the ship’s doctors could remove the stitches. They said, no, that he is there only for emergencies, not for pre-existing conditions. Our next plan was to find a doctor in Golfito, where we would be docked on Monday, to take out the stitches. It would be 9 days by then, 1 day later than recommended. But we were lucky and had a better solution presented to us.
We met Mary and Sam in Finca Rosa and when we discovered we were on the ship together, we ate dinner with them. We mentioned that we had to find a doctor at the next port, to take out the stitches. Turns out that Sam is a pediatrician. He said, let me look at it after dinner and I will take care of it. That’s when it got fun. Word got around that we were looking for:
- a place to do take out the stitches
- and needed sharp little scissors.
One couple brought us a small pair that they had but they were dull, the office didn’t have small scissors, then I remembered that there were little sharp scissors on my Swiss Army knife. I ran to get it. Sam said he needed a shot glass of vodka to sterilize the scissors. So someone else went to get it from the bar (bar tender got in the act and didn’t charge for this). Sam began to operate, while a veterinary pathologist acted as second (he was just keeping us company). Another passenger was an OBGYN doctor and he watched as well. Sam said the wound was healing well, clipped the stitches and then used our tape to bind the cut. We had bought antiseptic in San Jose and Sam and the veterinarian laughed and said it was great stuff but they don’t sell it in the States.
This freed us from finding a doctor but more importantly we had a trustworthy opinion that the cut was healing well. You can imagine that we got lots of questions from the passengers. We were in a zodiac with a nurse and she said, hell, she could take out stitches. It turns out that there were about a dozen medical professionals on this boat!!
Now for the main event: The Panama Canal crossing – Awesome
A bit of history:
In the late 1800s the French, who had built the Suez Canal, wanted to repeat their feat and began to build a canal. They did not understand that while the Suez was built in flat, dry land, Panama is mountainous. In addition, the climate is humid, rainy, and full of yellow fever. Here they would have had to dig very deeply to get through the mountain range. An enormous number of people died from yellow fever during the French experiment.
The U.S. took over and used the lock system so that less of the mountain had to be dug out. Also, doctors had just discovered that mosquitoes caused yellow fever and they took steps to clear out all stagnant waters, and improve sanitary conditions. The Panama canal was finished in 1914. In 2013, we crossed the original canal. Today, there is a new canal to accommodate the newer even bigger ships.
We entered from the Pacific, had to go up in stages, cross the lake and then go down to the Caribbean in stages.
It took from 6am to 1:30 pm to do this. At that time, there were 40 ships going through a day.
The containers were built to be able to fit into the locks with about 2 feet to spare. There was a container ship before us and it was amazing to see the tight fit.
The Process: Pacific to lake. Ship 1 enters through lock #1. The back doors close. The water level is raised to the level of the next lock. The front doors open and the ship exits and goes into the second lock. The back door closes and the water level in lock #2 goes up. In the meantime, the water in lock #1 go back down so that the next ship can enter. The reverse is true when going down to the Caribbean side.
The ship was guided through the lock by means of 4 train cars. Two on each side in front and two each side in back. Rowboats came out and threw ropes to the boats to tie the trains to the boats. (This is different now in the new canal.)
The week on the Windstar was wonderful. It was the first of many Windstar cruises.
Panama City
Our Panama City tour, included “Panama La Vieja”, the city built by the Spanish explorers in 1519.
It is in ruins today, but much has been preserved including 115 steps up to the top of a tower. The view from the top was great.
The tour also stopped at the Colonial city. It had fallen on hard times but was in the midst of restoration. In 2013, about 40% of the buildings were restored completely. I returned to Panama City in 2025 and much more of the city has been restored. It is a very charming city.
Gamboa Resort, Panama
After the small, intimate eco-resorts in Costa Rica, Gamboa’s size was a shock. Although it is in the rain forest, it had no sense of intimacy. But it was lovely.
The resort offers lots of hikes and activities, and has an awesome pool area and very comfortable rooms. It is possible to see Gatun Lake (canal lake) from the grounds of the resort. This picture is taken from the dining room.
We took a couple of great hikes. and saw lots of wild life such as a cute anteater. The guide said that they are nocturnal and rarely come out during the day. The anteaters (right) use their tails similarly to monkeys.
We also saw White Faced and Howler monkeys, the blue Morph butterfly and lots of birds including a toucan.
But the most exciting was a 3-toed sloth with a baby on her stomach. The sloth was only about 20 feet above us consequently we could see it really well. As we watched, it started to move and I took some videos. Watching the sloth move was like watching a ballet.
Coral Lodge
Our final adventure in Panama was Coral Lodge near the San Blas islands. It is on a bit of sand in the middle of nowhere. There are seven bungalows on stilts in the water for guests, a boat dock, and a main house where we had dinner and relaxed. The water was warm and calm but we were warned of jellyfish, and skipped the swimming.
Coral Lodge was our down time stop before returning home for 2 weeks to catch up on taxes and bills. Part III of the Central America adventure will include Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.
Final Comments:
- The cruise allowed us a breather after the vigorous hiking and traveling in Costa Rica
- The eco lodge in Panama was not as intimate as those in Costa Rica, but the wildlife viewing was still fantastic. Watching the sloths was so much fun.
- Each experience was wonderful and unique including staying in a cabin on the water at Coral Lodge.
Nili's Adventure 