ZECO TRAVEL TALK

Our 2008 Rain Forests and Reefs expedition to Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama recently returned and we are excited to share with you some video footage of our transit through the Panama Canal onboard Le Levant. As you can see from the entry below, it was a truly memorable day. For more information on this trip’s daily adventures, see the Report From The Field.

Saturday, January 26
Our Panama Canal Transit

Sort the travel destinations of the world by any criteria you wish, but a transit of the Panama Canal will always remain on the list of things a world traveler must do in his or her lifetime. The canal represents an epic feat of engineering that changed the course of human events. When it opened in 1914, it was called the Eighth Wonder of the World. The narrow isthmus, so alluring, so suggestive of an easy connection between oceans, has drawn adventurers, dreamers, and builders for centuries. They came in droves and most squandered their lives and their countries’ resources in vain attempts to bridge that short gap. Along with everything else it represents, today’s great “Path Between the Seas” is a monument to their sacrifices.

The schedule we secured was ideal for a coveted daylight transit. We had picked up our pilot and our special canal interpreter, Patricia Holmes, the night before. Before 0600 Le Levant had weighed anchor and moved into the queue for Gatun Locks.

The massive iron doors, weighing 800 tons each, closed behind us, and there was no turning back. Small electric trains, called mules, helped stabilize the ship as we rose to the level of Gatun Lake, 87 feet above the sea. We crossed the Continental Divide through the narrow Gaillard Cut, which had proved the most fearsome portion of the Canal to build. We cruised under the soaring Bridge of the Americas and into Miraflores Locks. They lowered us gently to the level of Pacific tidewater, into which we sailed at 1630. We dropped anchor in the Bahia de Panama in company with many other, mostly much bigger, ships. The towers of Panama City gleamed surrealistically in the distance.

In the evening we all enjoyed a cocktail party hosted by Zegrahm and Stanford where we raised a toast to our great accomplishment: a passage through a continent from one ocean to another.

Yesterday we woke up to sunshine and blue skies off Belize’s Half Moon Caye, but because of windy conditions and waves that would make snorkeling and diving difficult, we decided to reposition Le Levant to the other side of the island. It was well worth it as it was calm and those who wanted to go ashore could. Half Moon Caye is beautiful with white sand beaches and green palm trees…your typical paradise island! Everyone got to see dozens of frigates and red-footed boobies—this island is a National Monument and the only place in the region where they nest.

The snorkelers’ report of the day was also wonderful… They saw schools of parrotfish and barracuda, a giant sea cucumber, and a wide variety of colorful fish. A diving contingent went off to follow in Jacques Cousteau’s flippers at the famous Blue Hole… It was a great day, and so nice to be out in the sunshine. We had a leisurely evening back on board and then Captain’s Welcome Cocktails and Dinner. The food was excellent as was the service and everyone was impressed with the pastry chef – uh oh, we’re all in trouble! Honduras here we come!

Hue, Vietnam & Cambodia

We had a great day in Hue today. The morning was busy with photo stops of rice fields, farmers, water buffalo and lotus flowers. We arrived in Hue and visited the local market—you name it, they have it! However, the highlight of the day was definitely the citadel! It’s just an amazing place, much bigger than I expected. Everyone enjoyed it. Lunch was fabulous! The weather held so we were able to go out on the dragon boats and have a very local meal. The boats had ready made pjs, robes, silk tops, and pants laid out for us on when we boarded and it was a shopping frenzy. It’s safe to say we have all greatly contributed to the local economy. So fun!

Nha Trang, Vietnam & Cambodia

We’ve had a great weekend. Yesterday was a highlight for many. We had a full morning tour through Nha Trang and then 19 people went snorkeling which was surprisingly good! We saw lots of coral, many colorful but little fish. Thomas did an excellent job in the water interpreting and spotting every thing he could. Those that did the city tour enjoyed themselves also. Phu did a phenomenal job arranging for the school kids to be at the kindergarten on a Sunday! The passengers and the kids had a great time. In the afternoon we heard from Steve Esposito then we went out for an expedition landing. Most did the village walk and then all ended up at the beach resort where the water was almost too warm!

Croatia, Crossroads of Empires: Crete to Venice

Today was another beautiful day on the Med—or I should say Adriatic Sea. We entered the ‘fjords’ of Kotor at 0700 this morning and took on the pilot. He and the Captain navigated us through the Kotor Gulf, skirting the little islands and passing small hillside village towns. We arrived in darling Kotor around 9 and immediately disembarked for our walking tour—a few passengers commented that it’s like a Hollywood set, it’s so perfect! Kevin and I took the hikers 1,617 steps up to the fortress that overlooks the town and the bay. There were great views of the ship and lots of people were ashore…In the late afternoon we set sail for Dubrovnik and arrived at sunset. It was gorgeous… Everyone was on the top deck and eager to go ashore. Le Levant’s tenders shuttled people back and forth all evening; many of us took the opportunity to enjoy the evening, walking around the old city’s beautiful medieval streets.

Albania, Crossroads of Empires: Crete to Venice

After a relaxing early afternoon on board, we “surprised” the passengers with a stop at Porto Polermo! It was incredible. We pulled alongside this teeny tiny dock which felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. The hotel department disembarked first thing and ran to Ali Pasha’s Castle, an old abandoned castle right on the water. We were the only ones there. When we walked to the entrance of the castle it was illuminated with kerosene lanterns! It was beautiful and quite romantic. On the rooftop terrace, the Le Levant hotel staff set up a bar and served champagne and appetizers! It was such a special treat!

Lebanon, Crossroads of Empires: Jordan to Crete

I’ll cut right to the chase about Lebanon. It was FABULOUS!! It was one of the best days we have had so far, a definite highlight! Baalback exceeded everyone’s expectations. We had lots of time to explore the site, and used every minute. We then had an excellent lunch with traditional Mediterranean cuisine: hummus, tabouleh, shish ka bobs, fresh pita bread, local beer and wine… all while overlooking the gorgeous, not to mention massive, site.

In the city center of Beirut we walked through the fairly modern downtown and drove along the green line and along the corniche, observing the war damage from the late 80s and early 90s. We didn’t witness much of the ‘new damage’ from last year, but the few things we did see, bridges bombed out, the detoured roads we had to travel on because the main highway was so badly damaged… all were a chilling reminder of the world we do live in. Still, we all felt very safe and the local people were so nice, kind, and welcoming. We all wished we had had more time….it was not the city we expected and we didn’t have the feeling of insecurity that we thought we would have either. It really was a wonderful day. Our ship sailed at 2300, so we had the opportunity to see Beirut by night.

Bahrain, Sands of Time

We had a busy, but excellent, day in Bahrain today. We had a packed morning with a visit to the Grand Mosque, the Bahrain Fort and the most popular of the morning…the National Museum. In the afternoon, our “photo stop” at the burial mounds turned into a fascinating visit to an excavation site. Jim pulled this off at the last minute and it was a huge success. We were able to witness the archaeological dig and the work in progress at these mounds. Following this we visited the camel farm… great for photos! They nuzzled right up to cameras, went for hats… anything they could get their lips on!