Bric-a-Brac

Origin:
1830–40;  < French, Middle French: literally, at random, without rhyme or reason; gradational compound from elements of obscure origin.
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In the course of the cruise I gather some random bits if information that I though might be of passing interest.
The Norwegian Jewel:  
This ship entered service in August, 2005. She was constructed at Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg Germany and outfitted in Amsterdam. She christened on November 3, 2005 at an official ceremony at the Port of Miami. Her godmother is Melania Trump, spouse of Donald Trump. I wonder how much that piece of self promotion cost him!). She went a rull refurbishment in 2010
In an episode of “The Apprentice” Donald Trump required the contestants to create a 30-second commercial of the ship,
Vital Statistics:

Tonnage:
93,502 GT
Length: 965 ft (294.13 m)

          Beam: 106 ft (32.31 m)

Draft: 27 ft (8.23 m)

Decks: 15

Installed power:
4 × MAN-B&W 12V48/60B diesels
combined 72000 kW

Speed: 25 knots

Capacity: 2,376 passengers

Crew: 1,100.

The lock basins of the Panama Canal have the following dimensions:

Width           110 feet    (33.5 m)

Useable Length       1000 Feet  (304.8 m)
That leaves a side to side clearance of 2 , yes two, feet,
It bow and stern the clearance is 12.5 ft. That is stopping a 93 thousand ton ship in a dime!
Our voyage from LA to Miami  consumed just over one million  US Dollars worth of fuel!. In Cartagena , Colombia we topped up the tanks with 1200 TONS of fuel. Gallons don’t even come into the picture but if they did it this ship would move about 6 feet (2 m) on one US gallon.

The end post will have some “useful” things we learned on our fist cruise and a couple of do’s and don’t’s.

Two “sea days” on the way to Miami

It is surprising just how far it is from the exit of the canal to Miami. It take two full days and nights at almost full speed for the ship to make its deadline with the Miami Pilot at 4-30 am..
We were able to take a look at the bridge where the real seamen; like the ship it is gigantic and looks more like a space shuttle launce center than part of a ship.



The right picture is the center area of the bridge the lone officer is the “officer of the watch”, keeping a look out as the ship steers itself. The left picture is one of the several monitor areas from which the engines are controlled, navigation is performed and monitoring of all safety aspect of the ship are controlled. Just out of the picture is a wheel about the size of that in a toy car which is only used when all the magical electronics and the multiple back ups fail!.
We we able to see repeater monitors of the information that the watch office has infront of him.

This is a clean version of the main radar – about 24” diameter. Below is this information and GPS input superimposed on the standard navigation chart of the area.
                                               
The last monitor show an enormous  amount of data at the top center is an electonic version of the compass.

 If you click on this iamge you may be able to find the distance to the Balboa Sea bout – the entrance to the canal it is in the bottom left area 237.1 nautical miles..
After all this geeky stuff we found time to visit the excellent Tepanyaki restaurant.

                                                

We we inundated with excellent sea food; Lobster, scallops, jumbo shrimp and calamari all cooked perfectly  in a spectacular showy way in front of us.
 
                                               

After three plates full MJ had coffee served and called it a day!
As a contrast here is a rather sad looking MJ awaiting her breakfast under a painting of “Catherine the Great” of Russia – a hero of her’s – in one of the formal restaurants decorated in the style of the late Tzarist period.

I will post a few more post to wrap up this adventure mainly covering the pro’s and con’s of our first experience with cruising and some ideas of what worked and didn’t for us.
If you like pictures I will be posting many more to MJ’s new “Flicker” page which I will link to in the next post.

Check back in a couple of days for new stuff. We are home now so the restrictions of the expensive onboard internet connection do not apply!

Cartagena -Last port of call

Cartagena in Colombia was already a busy sea port 500 years ago; a stop over point for Spanish galeons loaded with gold and other booty from the Americas; It came as a shock in the very early hours of today to see the present skyline of Cartagena.

Oil refining and other less salubrious business has generated significant wealth in this area. The present population is over 1,24 million.

A view from the grounds of  convent from the mid 1500 hundreds gives some idea of the present extent of the one time small but important port town

The interior of the convent, now more museum than religious center, still has its old character.

Unfortunately MJ was detained outside the convent for a short time as a suspected "drogista". A donation to the convent soon had her released.

One of the old industries of the city. thanks to still productive mines. is the working of emeralds, needless to say many street vendors have great looking emeralds at barging prices. It helps to know that an emerald ALWAYS has internal flaws and that the darker the stone the more valuable it is. Remember your milage may vary.

The center of the old city  has been declared a World heritage Site by UNESCO, which ensures that great care in restoration is taken and modern construction is not allowed. Just bear in mind this is Central America where there is a firm belief in the idea that rules are meant to be bent as needed.

The main cathedral square  still has a pleasant and quite air.

It currently has a public art exhibition of steel sculptures reflecting the trades of the city.

Close to the church is the statue of St Peter Claver a Jesuit sanctified 200 years ago for his work saving the lives of slaves.

After a whirlwind tour by taxi of this interesting city we returned to our ship that was preparing for departure again.

Tomorrow we will be at sea and the next day too passing by Jamaica and squeezing between Haiti and Cuba before picking up the pilot for Miami.at 4.30 am on the 12th.

Canal Transit Part II

 At the entrance to the canal is the Bridge of the Americas, the first bridge to be built across the canal in 1913, it joins North America to South America; Every ship that has transited the canal has passed under this bridge.

Now matter what you have read about the canal the massiveness of the gates and the change in water levels still come as a surprise

The "lift" at each lock basin varies between 31 feet at the Miraflores Locks to 27 at the Gatun Locks. Each lock consist of two or three basins so the actual hight that the ship is lifted or lowered is 2 or three time this figure..

The water levels and gates are controlled form three story white building with red tiled roof. Each building contains a physical model of the lock the replicates the water levels as the basins fill and empty. Technology from 1913 still doing a sterling job.

Notice the mule sandwiched between the control building and the ships side and once again the minute gap between the ship and the basin wall.

Below you can see the "Island Princess" exiting the final basin of the Gatun or northern most locks under its own power. The "mules" or locomotives that guide the ship through the basins can also be seen on the left.

Along side of every lock group  construction work is underway to build a new parallel series of locks that  will accommodate ships significantly larger than the 1000+ foot monsters that transit today. It is planned for opening in 2014.

From initial contact with the canal area until the discharge of the pilots atkes about 12 hours. The ship is limited to between 7 and knots (6 3/4 - 9 1/4 mph) to reduce bank erosion.

At the end of its transit just a few minutes before our ship the Island Princess exits the lock system and heads for the high seas.

The transit was a fascinating experience no ammout of reading or research can prepare one for this working monument to the ingenuity and skill of man.

The Transit

The Panama Canal is one of the greatest feats of human endeavour, a worthy companion to the Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal and the great cathedrals of Europe.

There is a mass of information about the cannal available online, doccumentary films and your library so I shal not go into that here rather just try to show some of our own experiences.

In the pre-dawn we entered the two dimensional funnel area which constitutes the entrance to the canal. It is the holding area for ships awaiting their thurn to transit.

There are often more than 50 ships anchored in this area. We were assigned the number N19P signifying that we were the 19th ship going northward since midnight that day. It was 5am; that will give you some idea how busy the canal is. as there had been at least that number coming southwards during the same time period. Ships alternate between directions in groups.

Before enteding the immediate area of the locks two canal company pilots board the ship. The will instruct the helmsman for the full transit

One of the canal's most famous features are the locks.From the south the first runs of the ladder the Miraflores group.

We were accompanied by our sister ship the "Norwegian Pearl" the first time that two ships from the same company have transited together. The "Island Princess" went though alongside us and is seen in the pictures.

As the ship cautiously enters the lock basin itself it is taken hold  of by electric locomotives that run the length of the locks and steady the massive ships in their placement between the wall and lock gates.

These ships are rated "panamax""; the largest vessels that are allowed to transit the canal. They truelly fill the basin leaving only a couple of feet each side!

The next post will have more pictures and notes..

Cannal Approach and Food

We are scheduled for a full transit of the Panama Cannal tomorow. Each ship of the 146,000 that transit each year is allocated a time to be standung by to enter the locks so exact time is of the essence. Miss your time slot and you may literaly have to wait days for a new one! Missing the time is not an option for a cruise ship so we will be at sea all today passing along the coast of Panama so that we can be in place on time tomorow. All being well we shall pick up the pilot at 0500, enter the first  lock at 0630 and finally exit the last lock at Gatun by 4-30pm.

I was able to talk to the food and beverage director today as I was interested how you provision a ship that is serving at least 15,000 meals day. He gave me a few example to the supplies they took on board in Los Angeles.

5,000 lbs Butter
24,000 lbs Beef
3,000  lbs Cereal
5,200  lbs Cheeses
1,800  lbs Coffee
13,000 lbs Fish
14,000  lbs Flour
7,600  doz Fresh Eggs
60,000 lbs Fress Fruits
2,400  lbs Ice Cream
2000   lbs Lobster
3,600  gals Milk
17,000 lbs Potatos
24,000 lbs Poultry
10,000  lbs Rice
 5.200  bs Seafood
 8,000 lbs Sugar
250 varieties      Wine
 4,000 lbs Veal
64.000 lbs Vegetables
9.000 cups Yoghurt

I have no idea how many shopping baskets that would fill be you can work that out at your leasure.
Apparently lmost all cruise shups use the same supplier -- now that is a contract worth having.

Costa Rica

Once part of the great Central American country was peacefully allowed to separate and become independant in the early 1900.s. It is the most progressive and democratic countries of the region. The have no military but do have universal health care
with a life expectancy of  79 years and very low child mortality. Education upto the bachelors level is free for all,

It has a national policy of eco-sustainable development codifying the protection of the environment and wildlife into its laws. Eco-torism has become a major industry.

We we able to make a mini exploration of the lowland rainforrest area close to the port -- Puerto Quetzal -- which included a river boat ride along a crocodile rich stretch. These crocodiles are able to live in both fresh and salt water.

The  heavily wooded bank of the river held a wide variety of birds many blending in with the foliage unto we were so close that the suddenly flew off as if out of nowhere.

This beatifully colored Bear Troated Tiger Herron ( so called because it call sounds like a puma which for some reason the local call a tiger!)   sta still fro a second to allow me to make this picture before it took of for a quieter tree

The white herron is a less skiteris bird and just ignored our passing.

Every where the were clumps of tropical flower in typically bright clours an often complex formations.

It is easy to understand why people from all over the world visit just to enjoy the extensive national parks and rain forest reserves on the sammll but very civilized country.

Antigua ,Gutemala

Guatemala is a country with a a checkered history right back to the fourth trip of Columbus to the Americas in the earlyh 1500's. It was not until 450 years later that it could be called a democracy when the ruling miltary dictatorship was overturned.

Distipite significant progress since then the country is one of the poorest in Central America, almost every family has some members working abroad. Many of those called "Mexicanas" in the US are really Gutemalans. If they can find work they are not choosey about what you call them.

A short vsisit ashore did not allow us to visit Tikal one of the best preserved Mayan sites anywhere but we we able to make a short visist the city Antigua. The word "antigua" in Spanish means old. It was originally the Spanish colonial capital of all of Central America however it was realized after a very short period and a sever earthquake that the area surounded by active volcanos was not suitable. The partially destroyed city was abandoned and a new capital buit at what is now Gautemal City.

During the early morning uphill drive to Antigua we were fotunate to caputure a minor erruption from one of the three vocanos

Shooting through a bus window at 50 mph on a bumpy road was quite a chalenge.

The City of Antigua is now designated a "World Heritage  Site". as such it receives significant financial help from UNESCO if it undertakes to maintain it's ancient buildings and exclude modern structures form the area. Any restoration musr follow the original design and use only the same materials and techniques. Over head powerelines, TV antennas etc. must be removed and no modern advertsing may be visisble.

Most of the antique buildings date from the middle decades of the 16th century.

As Always the Cathedral of a colonial Spanish town was cenral to the city. It has recieved significant restortion.

Mondern artisans are still very active in the city as this religious sturte shows

Many of the buildings seem to have been crushed internally as the roof colapsed leaving the very study walls standingThis one of the numerous churches and convents is a good example.

Every narrow street in the center of the historic districs has examples of the period and the destructive power of the earthquake that lead to the abandonment of the city.

p4,p5

Guatemala is dotted with major groups of Maya achetectural sites. Many hidden in dense jungle only now being discovered by satelte imaging. You often hear people saying "What happened to the Maya" , those who survived the brutality of the Spanish Conquistadores lived to populate this area. Their features just like those of thier ancient scuptures are seen today.

Unfortunately the exstensive literature was burned by Jesuit Missionaries in their religiuos zeal.

Chiapas

About 40 miles from the southern most border of Mexico with Guatemala is the commercial port of Puerto Chiapas named after the stae in which it is located.. Our early morning arrival allowed for my to take a light breakfast on the aft deck (breakfast is served untill 10-30am in 16 locations of the ship so several vsists are possible if your first breakfast does not carry you over till lunch!

The port itself has made an attempt to provide some shore facities for passengers like a couple of restaurants and a shopping area it is not really "Mexico". Mj had decided to stay on board as a week of doing nothing had worn her out, I took a local bus inland to the closest real town -- Tapachula.

Tapachula is the center of an acricultural area; it is a bustling little place which has only been grazed by tourism making it worth the bus ride to vsisit. The organised excursion from the ship do stop here

As the town is close to the growing areas and the sea an abundance of fresh food stuffs are available at very low prices. There are so few toruist here that the price does is not hiked as soon as they see you comming..

At 5.00 PM  we set sail for the Guatemalan port Puerto Quetzal close to the ancient capital city of Antigua and a ring of Active volcanos

Puerto Chiapas Mexico

About 40 miles from the southern most border of Mexico with Guatemala is the commercial port of Puerto Chiapas named after the stae in which it is located.. Our erly morning departure allowed for my to take a light breakfast on the aft deck (breakfast is served untill 10-30am in 16 locations of the ship so several vsists are possible if the light breakfast does not carry you over till lunch!

The port itself has made an attempt to provide some shore facities for tpassengers like a couple of restaurants and a shopping area it is non really Mexico. Mj had decided to stay on board as a week of doing nothing had worn  her out, I took a local bus inland to the closest real town -- Tapachula.

Tapachula is the center of an acricultural area; it is a bustling little place which has only been grazed by tourism making it worth the bus ride to vsisit. The organised excursion from the ship do stop here

As the town is close to the growing areas and the sea an abundance of fresh food stuffs are available at very low prices. There are so few toruist here that the price does is not hiked as soon as theye see you comming especially just a block away from the main square.

A short ride inland is worth the time and effort. The cost is minimal