The World’s Longest Freedom Review: Part 10featured
I’ve decided to go ahead with the Tumblr idea. I’m still setting it up, but I’ll be live blogging pics and short tidbits from my phone when I’m in NYC and then on the ride home after the cruise. It’ll be at http://www.sunglassesandumbrelladrinks.tumblr.com if anyone is on Tumblr and wants to follow it or bookmark it 🙂 I’ve already put up some of my favorite pics that I’ve processed (I have some super cool apps on my iPhone that really do some amazing things to pictures!).
So February 18th. Mom came in to wake me up around 7:00 am and I quietly got ready and watched a little CNN while we docked in Colon, Panama. They played my Ke$ha song on the way to a break. Always a nice way to start my day 😉 The boat feed of CNN HLN does the weather in lieu of commercials, but after the Bahamas fiasco last year (where CNN weather promised me sun and partly cloudy skies and I was promptly greeted by a flipping monsoon), I don’t put much thought into CNN weather. Luckily, a quick peek out my window showed some promise of sun for our day out in Panama.
Mom and I were booked on the San Lorenzo Fort and Gatun Locks tour through the boat and we had to meet in the Victoriana Lounge at 9:00 am, so in the interest of time, we grabbed breakfast up on the Lido deck. And the food? Ehhh. Not so good. I found if you stuck to the staples (fruit, bagels and baked goods, etc), things were generally fine but the hot food items (eggs, meats, etc) didn’t taste good and often times had texture issues (the eggs were “soggy,” if that makes sense, the bacon was limp…things like that). Regardless, given how we got kind of stuck in the jungle for three hours longer than we thought we would yesterday, Mom and I made sure to have a good breakfast. From the Lido restaurant, we also got our first views of Colon, which was much more lively than I expected it to be. Bright colors…lots of buildings…in some odd way, it reminded me a little bit of Cabo San Lucas. I don’t know. Something about it…
Mom and I checked in one more time with Stephanie (she and grandma were going to spend the morning together on the boat) and then we headed to the Victoriana. I’m glad we headed there early because our tour actually left early. I think because the tour ended up splitting us into groups of around 10 or so, they just started sending us down early. Anyways, we were escorted to the gangway and then sent onto a van (which was immaculately clean…you know I’m always looking for these kinds of things) with our tour guide, Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos was a phenomenal guide. He was young- around my age- and just so knowledgeable about everything and so enthusiastic about his country. He gave us the history of the country and the Panama Canal on our way to the locks (our first stop on the tour) and he’d always be on the lookout for interesting plants and animals outside to tell us about.
The first thing I noticed about Colon was that it was very different from Limon in that it was very industrialized. Lots of shops. Lots of people. Lots of cars. There was even a McDonalds. And it was very busy. There were people everywhere. People going to work. People going to school. It was very real, and that’s something I appreciated because I have an odd fascination with observing people living their every day lives while I’m on vacation. I like seeing how people carry on in their lives, especially in other countries. As I see them do the same kinds of things I do, it reminds me that while we’re thousands of miles apart in different countries, we aren’t so different after all.
Our first stop on the tour was at the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal. Juan Carlos gave us a thorough overview of the history of the locks, how they work and what we’d be doing while we were there. I was really excited for this part of the tour because there’s such a rich history with the Panama Canal…what it did…what it meant. I really wish we had the time to do the full Panama Canal tour, but that was eight hours long and we didn’t want to leave Stephanie and grandma for that long, but it’s definitely something that’s on my list.
There are three sets of locks that make up the Panama Canal- the Miraflores locks, the Pedro Miguel Locks and the Gatun Locks. The locks at Miraflores and Pedro Miguel lift ships traveling from the pacific side and at the Gatun locks, the ship is lowered. The process of navigating the locks takes HOURS because this process of lifting and lowering (the water level is adjusted by the locks and the ship is literally lifted and lowered by the shifting water levels). As luck would have it, there was a ship passing through the Gatun Locks while we visited, so we made our way up about 30 or so stairs to the deck to observe its passage. It was a cargo ship and it took about an hour to make the passage through the locks. It was quite a thing to behold. The locks that were opening and closing sixty years ago are the ones doing the same operation today. The history geek in me thought it was the coolest thing ever.
After the ship had passed, Juan Carlos took us back downstairs and gave us about 15 minutes to visit the gift shop (I picked up a book…which was in spanish because they were sold out of the ones written in english. But whatever…I speak enough spanish to be able to read it) and explore some of the replica trains they had down at the base of the hill (the trains pull the ship and keep it aligned as it passes through the locks and they have a small exhibit of the different trains through the years, which is kind of fun to explore).
We had to rush back on the bus because Juan Carlos wanted us to get out of there before the gates open again. See, the part of the road that crosses the Gatun Lake (which passes 53 million gallons of water into the sea every time a ship passes through the canal) closes when the locks open. The locks were scheduled to open again and he didn’t want us to get stuck in traffic when we could spend that time at the fort. Luckily, we made it out just in time.
Juan Carlos had a list of animals he thought we might see on the drive to the San Lorenzo Fort and every time he spotted one, he’d have the driver stop the van and he’d point it out and if it was safe, he’d encourage us to go outside and look. The first time we stopped was because Juan Carlos spotted a sloth up in a tree. He ran out of the van to grab a plant to show us. Apparently, this is the plant the sloths feed on and it has the same effects as marijuana.
We made another stop a bit further down the road so anyone who needed to use the restroom could since there were no facilities at the fort (though I’m hard pressed to call this a restroom since it seemed like an outhouse).
Not long after we entered San Lorenzo, Juan Carlos spotted some kind of monkey in a tree and encouraged us to get out of the van and look at it. It was a rural country road, but there was no one around so I felt very safe getting out with the rest of the group to grab some pictures. Mom stayed in the van, though. I thought it was a beautiful area. We have areas kind of like that near my house (heavily forested areas), but more and more houses are popping up in them and it was so nice to see the untouched beauty of this area. (Side note: these pictures of the monkey are zoomed and cropped…the monkey was not as near to us as it seems).
The drive was a bit on the long side, but Juan Carlos kept us entertained with stories about the country and its rich history and the history of Fort San Lorenzo. The fort was built in the late 16th century when the King of Spain wanted a fort built overlooking the Chagres River. The fort wasn’t built to withstand the sometimes extreme weather conditions and had to be rebuilt. In the late 1600s, the fort was seized by Henry Morgan (also known as THE Captain Morgan…the one on the rum bottles ;)). There were more than 350 people stationed at Fort San Lorenzo and all but 30 died in the battle. Needless to say, there’s a very rich history surrounding this area and the ruins that are there today are the ones that were left there when the fort was repaired and eventually abandoned in 1761. Stephanie makes fun of me being a history geek all the time, but there’s a special feeling you get when you visit something so historical…something with such a rich history. A place where you can touch something and realize that that site…that brick…has been standing there for hundreds of years…that it’s been a part of so much history. The feeling…that sense…it’s intangible.
When we got to Fort San Lorenzo, it wasn’t what I expected. It really was a small area and it was just absolutely gorgeous. It really took my breath away. The ruins overlook the Chagres River and there’s such a serenity there…a sense of calm amidst the jagged remains of the fort. Juan Carlos was starting a short guided tour but I kind of strayed from the group just because I really prefer my pictures not to have strangers in them because they distract and kind of marr the pictures a little. Mom didn’t want me running off. Why? If you read the first World’s Longest Miracle Review, you’ll remember that I climbed on top of a cannon perched on top of a cliff in St. Kitts to take a picture and was accidentally filmed by the excursion crew and Mom saw my “adventure” when she was watching TV in her stateroom the next day (and you’ll remember that she was NOT pleased to see me engaging in what she thought was risky activity). Anyways, there were cannons at the fort and she didn’t want me mounting them. And they weren’t even perched on cliffs! Way to ruin my fun, Mom. Anyways…for your viewing pleasure, a not-so-short pictorial review of Fort San Lorenzo. I was really pleased with how some of these came out. I think they really captured the sense of being there.
I noticed something that troubled me as we got back onto the van. There was a boy who was about 10-years-old. I guess he really wanted to sit up front with the driver, but Juan Carlos was sitting there. The next best thing must have been the first row of seats, but those had been taken by a super nice young couple. At the fort, his parents rushed him onto the van, put him in the front row of seats (where the couple’s belongings were…belongings he sat on with no regard for them) and then they went and sat in the back of the van. When the couple returned and wanted to sit in their seats, the boy looked at his parents, and the mother said “You tell them NO.” And that, friends, is why this generation of children is referred to as the entitlement generation. The parents were rude and they were teaching their child the same behavior. He showed no manners to these people…he didn’t care. Stephanie calls them special snowflakes.
Anyways. As we loaded back onto the van, Juan Carlos gave us water bottles and banana nut muffins. It was very hot out and the cool water and soft muffin were the perfect remedy for the heat.
It was a long drive back to the port…around 45 minutes. Juan Carlos kept pointing out various things he found or things he’d find interesting (a town they’d filmed a movie in or an animal out the window). He told us that he actually lived a few hours away from the port and on days where the ships come in, he and the other tour guides actually board a bus from their city at, like, 3:00 am, so they can be in port before the ship comes in. The fact that he’d been up so early and he can still be so enthusiastic and wonderful was just a testament to how seriously he takes his job as a tour guide and how passionate he is for what he does.
Juan Carlos bid us safe travels as we got out of the van. I think Mom slipped him a $20 because she enjoyed the tour so much. We saw a little shopping at the port but we really weren’t interested in tee shirts and the sorts so we just got back on the boat to meet up with Stephanie and grandma. They had left us a note that they were out at the adults-only pool, so I changed into my pool gear and Mom and I grabbed a quick lunch on the Lido deck before joining them at the pool. It was SUPER hot and the pool was crowded. And as always, there’s one person who has to ruin the fun for everyone so even though it was hot and the pool was crowded, there was this one woman who decided it was the perfect time to do her aquaerobics in the pool, taking up more room than she needed and splashing everyone in her path. Maybe it was the many bodies in the pool, the hot sun or just inadequate temperature controls, but the pool water was very warm.
We didn’t stay long at the pool since Stephanie and I both had to shower and do our hair before the past guest party. Stephanie tells me we are no longer allowed to bring a power cord onboard. How in the world are we supposed to both straighten our hair at the same time now? This is going to take some creativity on our upcoming cruise.
Anyways. The past guest party. I wish they’d really just allow past guests and not guests of past guests because these parties are now insanely overcrowded. It took forever to find seats. It took even longer to get drinks and hors doerves (they were passing around salmon croquettes, chicken salad on toast, tomato and mozzarella on pumpernickel and some sort of tomato pate on a cracker). We didn’t stay too long and took round two of drinks to go. We’d normally enjoy them out on the promenade, but I guess the wind had really picked up once we set sail and the outdoor areas were shut off.
Mom took grandma back to the room as Stephanie sat along the Promenade deck and then we all met up at our dinner table. Dinner tonight was fantastic. It was filet mignon night and I think I’ve been pretty vocal about how disappointed I am in the incredibly shrinking filet Carnival has been trying to pass off the past few years, but tonight, I was pleasantly surprised.
Mom started with the fruit cocktail and was presented with a boat of fresh, cubed fruits that were very ripe and very sweet. She also started with the Vine Ripe Beefsteak Tomatoes and Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella (marinated with basil leaves and virgin olive oil) and thought the portion was so huge but the salad was very fresh and had a nice contrast of flavors with the mild mozzarella, the sweet tomatoes and the heavy chiffonade of basil.
Fruit Cocktail
Vine Ripe Beefsteak Tomatoes and Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella
Stephanie also had the tomato/mozzarella salad and loved it, and she also ordered the Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup, which she thought was really fantastic and perfectly seasoned.
Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup
I started with the Asparagus Vichyssoise (chilled asparagus and potato soup garnished with asparagus tips). I love this soup, but it really isn’t for anything. For one, it’s served cold. Secondly, it’s almost always bland and in need of a heavy dash of salt and thirdly, the texture isn’t for everyone (it’s almost grainy from the chilled potato). But I love it. I also had the starter portion of the Penne Tossed in a Tomato Cream with Vodka. The portion keeps shrinking, but since it’s a starter and I always start with two, I don’t mind. I never finish it anyways. As always, this was really delicious but just SO rich. I can never manage more than a few bites.
Asparagus Vichyssoise
Penne Tossed in a Tomato Cream with Vodka
For her entree, Stephanie went with the Oven Roasted Tom Turkey (sage and onion stuffing, pumpkin scallion hash). If you were to ask Stephanie what her favorite thing to eat on a cruise is, this meal would win hands down every time. I believe we missed it when it was served on Lido for lunch during the week (it might have been the day we were in Costa Rica) so Stephanie was anticipating this meal even more and it didn’t disappoint. I told Stephanie if she loved it so much, she should just go ahead and order two, but she said it’s super filling and she’d never have room for a second dish. The plate had a nice serving of both dark and white meat and it’s served with traditional sides. It’s like a taste of Thanksgiving (well, a normal Thanksgiving for normal people. I hate turkey so I’ll have a…no lie…2×2 inch square of turkey to be celebratory). I wish I could order just a plate of the sides since they always look so yummy.
Oven Roasted Tom Turkey
Mom and I both ordered the Duet of Petite Filet Mignon and Short Rib Confit (oven roasted potatoes, red burgundy wine sauce) and since I’ve been disappointed in this dish the past two cruises, I also ordered the Veal Parmigiana (sauteed cutlet of Wisconsin milk-fed veal, baked with plum tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese). Both Mom and I were very pleasantly surprised with the filet. The cut was much better than it had been on the two previous cruises (though it’s still no where near as good as it used to be) and though it’s still smaller, at least with this one, I was sure it was a filet. I didn’t touch the short ribs, but Mom really enjoyed hers. I was full from the filet that I only ended up taking a bite or two of the veal and it was very heavy. Good, but heavy. Very hearty. And a very ample portion, too. It was hugeee.
Duet of Petite Filet Mignon and Short Rib Confit
Veal Parmigiana
By this point, the boat was really rocking pretty badly. This was probably amongst the worst I’d ever experienced on any cruise (though nothing will ever be as bad as the seas when we were on the Caribbean Princess a few years ago. I never get sea sick and the seas were so bad that I literally couldn’t get out of bed one day because I was so dizzy) and Stephanie really couldn’t take it so she skipped dessert and went back to the room to lay down for a bit.
Mom and I split the Chocolate, Raspberry and Vanilla Cream Cake (with almond sponge, raspberry coulis and raspberry sorbet) for dessert and it was very good and much lighter than it looks and sounds. The layers of cake were rather light, as was the cream and the coulis added a nice zing to the dish. I also had a cheese plate with my coffee.
Chocolate, Raspberry and Vanilla Cream Cake
They were cleaning up a “protein spill” by the elevators as we were leaving the dining room (aka someone got seasick on the floor…thankfully I didn’t see it or I might have lost my proteins) and there was broken glass littering the hallway on the way back to the room (I guess glass can break on carpet…so no more walking barefoot in the hallways for me…even if my heels are slowly killing my feet), so the seas were much rougher than I thought they were. I really, honestly can’t usually tell when the seas are bad. I don’t know why. I like to joke that Mom left me in the rocker for too long as a baby, but while I can feel the actual motion moving me around, I don’t really *feel* it. Usually, me feeling it manifests itself into me falling asleep.
Anyways, Mom went to get grandma ready for dinner and I went to check on Stephanie, who was feeling much better and was watching some TV. She even left the towel animal intact on her bed so I could take a picture of it when I returned from dinner.
Up was playing at the Seaside Theater, so Stephanie and I went up with Mom and grandma to the Lido deck and then we split up, with Mom and grandma heading to the restaurant and Stephanie and I heading to main pool area. It was pretty crowded, even with the heavy rocking and the thick breeze.
We stayed for about an hour or so of the movie and then headed back to the room to rest up for the deck party in a few hours. We watched Grey’s Anatomy and some of 13 Going on 30 and then we got changed for the deck party.
Maybe it was the rocking or just the overall lacksidasical nature of the entertainment staff, but the deck party was pretty empty and very boring. The main source of entertainment? The scantily clad kids trying to grind up on Funship Freddy while trying to impress some jackass boys who kept trying launch loogies into the hot tub. And then the rain started, hard and fast. But as soon as the deck cleared out? The rain stopped. Regardless, I was done with the deck party. We went inside to check out the buffet, which was pretty empty as well (and you know the seas are bad when there’s no line at the midnight Mexican buffet). Stephanie and I grabbed some dessert and sat around for a bit before heading back to the room.
We watched TV for a bit, settling for the news, I think, since nothing else was really on before falling asleep. We had our last two days at sea ahead of us and still so much we wanted to do.
Today’s Lido lunch menus
Today’s Lido dinner menu
Mexican Buffet Offerings
