Colon, Panama

Spent the morning visiting some Embera indigenous people who live along Gatun Lake near the Panama Canal.  It is a small community of 11 families who live in wooden huts with thatched roofs (which take 3-5 months to build), no electricity, and no modern conveniences. The people wear very little clothing and paint their skin with ink from the jagua plant.  The ink wears off in about 7 days.

We were treated to music and dancing, lunch of fried tilapia and plantains, and were able to purchase some of the woven baskets and carved wood figures that the people make.  They were so friendly and the kids were adorable.

 After returning from the excursion, we took a tour of the ship's bridge.  Very high tech and impressive! Rick got to sit in the captain's chair, photo to follow.

We will transit the Panama Canal tomorrow.  It was built in 1914 by the U.S. as a way to transport military goods.  Was not used routinely for commercial transport until the 1980s.  The Panama Canal was given to the country of Panama in 2000 and today brings in $1.5 billion in annual revenue. It will cost about $275,000 for the Viking Sun to pass through the PC.  We will enter the canal at 6:30 am, go part way through, then enter the last part about 4:30 pm.  Photos to follow in the next post.

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

In Costa Rica at the Caribbean port of Limon. Took a morning canal boat ride in Tortuguero National Park. Saw some adorable sloths (1 baby, 1 adult), toucans, spider and howler monkeys and various lizards.  Our guide said we were lucky to see so many animals in a short amount of time.

Costa Rica has beautiful rain forests and mountain vistas. Many of the people speak English, as 300,000 ex-pat Americans live here.  Education is free and mandatory until age 17. Literacy rate close to 95% according to our guide, Angel.  Healthcare is paid for with a 9% tax on all working people.  There is no army in Costa Rica.

We will be on the western coast in a few days after going through the Panama Canal.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Toured the Dunn River Falls and Coyaba Botanical Garden.  Found out that Jamaica has 14 parishes and 2.8 million people. They were emancipated from England in 1962. The national bird is the red billed streamertail, the national tree is the Blue Mahoe, and their favorite beer is Red Stripe.

Cienfuegos, Cuba

Cienfuegos is a port city on the central Caribbean side of the island. It is called the "Pearl of the South." Our ship was anchored here. It was founded 200 years ago by people of French descent coming from Louisiana. It is near the agricultural areas of the island. During our tour of the city, we visited a cigar factory (no photos allowed), the central plaza, shops on the promenade, and a beautiful Moorish palace at the end of the peninsula.

It was fascinating to see how cigars are hand rolled from tobacco leaves.  Most of the employees at the factory were middle aged women who must produce 120 cigars per day. The Teatro Tomas Terry on the central plaza (top photo) was built in 1889 by a wealthy sugar baron.  It has 3 levels of seating, no air conditioning, and hosts concerts and plays.  Lots of craft stalls are set up on the promenade near the central square (middle photo).  Our last stop was to the Palacio de Valle (bottom photo), a beautiful Moorish-style building that is now used as a restaurant, but was originally a private home.  A pretty town with a long divided boulevard where many businesses are located.

Havana, Cuba

Havana is a city of contrasts.  There are some beautiful hotels and churches, but many of the buildings are crumbling or in need of significant repair. Many cars are American classics from the ''40s and '50s which are kept running with parts from China.  Most Cubans use taxis, bicycles or horse-drawn carts to get around. Cuba has a 99.7% literacy rate and 85% of the people own their homes.  The "hot" things to shop for are rum, cigars and coffee.  In 2016, 4 million people visited Cuba, with half of them being from the US. Education and healthcare are free to everyone.  The government provides ration cards to all families, which allows them to buy 15 days of food staples for a very low price.

There are 2 types of currency: Cuban pesos (which the natives use, ~85 pesos = 1 US$) and CUC, convertible pesos, (which tourists can purchase, 1 CUC ~ 1 US$).  No U.S. credit cards can be used on the island; it is a cash economy.  Everything is government subsidized, so salaries are very low compared to what professionals earn in the U.S.

During our 1.5 days in Havana, we had dinner at a government-run restaurant (chicken, rice, beans), went to the Tropicana night club to see a cabaret show, spent one night at the Melia Havana (beautiful hotel), toured Old Havana and had lunch at a paladar, a privately-owned restaurant (lamb and rice with ceviche appetizer).  The highlight was the Tropicana show, which takes place in an outdoor theatre.  High energy singing and dancing from 10:00-11:45 pm, with colorful (and scimpy) costumes.  the Cuban people are friendly and eager to learn about America life.  It was a delightful visit with near perfect weather (82, low humidity, sunny).

The World Cruise adventure begins!

Viking Sun in port of Miami

Our penthouse veranda room.

Sun deck

Atrium

Left the port of Miami at 6 pm December 15, on our way to Cuba.  Will spend 1.5 days in Havana and 1 day in Cienfuegos. Ship is beautiful!

Flights booked and Visa applications completed!

Viking has booked our flights for the cruise.  We will fly from Dayton to Miami on December 14 and board the ship on December 15, 2017. Returning home from London on May 7, 2018. All flights are first class or business class seats, included in the cost of the cruise.

Thankfully, Viking is working with Generations Visa in Washington DC to secure our visas to Australia, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, India and Egypt. We have each completed the applications and sent them off to Gen Visa for processing, along with 10 passport-style photos.  Had to get new passports because our old ones didn't have enough blank visa pages for the trip.