Mary following are two photos that Keith took of the moon.
First one was from early Monday morning before our transit of the Panama Canal and the second one was from Tuesday morning as we were anchored off of Panama City.
As we passed this area, there was lots of cheers.
Last evening we enjoyed dinner in the Crystal Dining Room.
We took this photo in the Crystal Cove before dinner.
We began our meal with salads. Anne Marie had the Heart of Romaine Lettuce with New Potato and Roasted Walnut Salad and Keith enjoyed his standing order salad of Boston Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Mushrooms.
We each had the Broiled Fillet of Fresh Lemon Sole with Fine Herb Cruse. It was accompanied with Asparagus Risotto along with Broccoli, Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes and Champagne Beurre Blanc. We really enjoyed the fish and it was very moist and tasty.
For dessert Keith had mixed berries and Anne Marie had the non-fat butter pecan yogurt and a decaffeinated cappuccino.
The dining room was far less crowded than it has been for several reasons. This included likely due to the fact that many guests were up quite early in the morning, some guests wanted to watch the college football championship game and others had very early tours for Panama City, some of which were leaving at 7:00 AM in the morning.
These were the dinner menus.
We had anchored off of Panama City around 4:00 PM yesterday afternoon as well as all evening. While eating in the dining room even though we sit towards the middle of the dining room we could see the Panama Skyline depending on the movement of the ship. Initially, another ship (we think the Ocean Princess) was anchored fairly close to us and then departed the area around 6:30 PM.
We had a fairly early tour this morning so Keith did an abbreviated workout. Anne Marie skipped her morning workout. We asked for breakfast in our room at 6:00 AM and normally the butlers do not start that early and someone from the night shift would take care of room service, but Rau said he would be happy to deliver our meal that soon. We said not to worry but he insisted on doing this. He has truly been exceptional and this is just another example of who flexible, service oriented and professional he has been.
Today marks our first ever visit to Panama City as well as the Maiden Port of Call for Crystal Cruises.
The tour we selected was called "Panama A Colonial Retrospective.
Knowing that friends Bob and Glo are on the tour, we made arrangements to meet them at the Crystal Cove (located on deck 5 one floor above the tender area of the ship) at 7:45 AM so that we could take the tender over together and sit on the same tour bus.
Since this is not only Crystal's first time to this port but also the first time for most guests most people had booked one of the ships tours.
As part of the tour we departed the ship and made our way into what is known as Old Panama, a historical district dating back to 1519. The town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stands as the oldest European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. It was destroyed by privateer Henry Morgan in 1671, and it is a living museum of colonial ruins.
During the course of the tour we enjoyed wonderful views of the famous Panama Skyline. Prior to this, the only time we had a view of the skyline was when we transited the Panama Canal and we could see the skyline from afar.
As part of the tour we visited the city of El Casco Antiguo, settled in the late 1600’s. The famous walled city is home to many of Panama’s most treasured monuments, among them the vaulted promenade Las Bovedas, and the French Plaza, constructed in homage to France’s role in building the Panama Canal, and those workers who sacrificed their lives to see it through.
We also saw some other areas such as the area where the USA military base was located as well as the housing for the soldiers and officers.
We also saw some other areas such as the area where the USA military base was located as well as the housing for the soldiers and officers.
We concluded the tour tour by visiting another iconic landmark of Panama which is the Miraflores Locks Observation Center. We always see this Lock from the ship along with the viewing area so it was interesting to be inside the observation center. We also viewed a nicely done ten minute movie on the history of the Panama Canal.
Anne Marie with Glo
Bob the Birthday Boy with Neal the Photographer
Low tides at the time of this photo
The New City
Keith making Anne Marie laugh
Bob and Glo
Anne Marie with Glo
Bob the Birthday Boy with Neal the Photographer
Low tides at the time of this photo
The New City
Keith making Anne Marie laugh
Bob and Glo
One of several beautiful cathedrals we passed along the way
A new office building. Has the look of some of the buildings we've seen in places such as Dubai
This is the viewing area that we normally see from the ship.
Once back on the ship, we had lunch.
Keith spent part of the afternoon with Bob. Anne Marie took a nice long walk on the Promenade Deck with Glo.
We were invited to join Bob and Glo this evening along with two other guests to dine at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant to celebrate Bob's birthday.
We came away from our tour of Panama City with a good feeling about the city and its people. Due to a traffic jam we were driven through an area that the tour guide said was a major poor (he called it slums) area. Like most cities around the world there are poor areas and what we saw was not as bad as say poor areas of Chicago or many USA cities.
There is a lot of growth in this city and the economy seems to be quite strong. Clearly there are many successful businesses here. Part of the driver certainly relates to drug money that is laundered here but many legal businesses do seem to flourish here.
It was a pleasure to finally visit this city since we have passed it several times starting in 2007.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY....
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is God's gift, that's why we call it the present." - Joan Rivers
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