More dives, adventures and good times in Curacao

One of the many advantages of being with Nolo was that he seemed to know everyone on the island.  The guy to Patt's right is George, the head dolphin trainer at the Dolphin Academy and Therapy Center where people with various handicaps or illnesses go for treatment / therapy.  

Several of the dolphins came up to meet Patt and me — and swam over our hands.

And of course there was a touch pool where Patt actually picked up a porky pine — no a ?

The Sea Aquarium dolphin show with the dolphins not quite ready for prime time in the therapy pool was pretty good too - especially the jumping.

And on a later open water dive, a trainer brought a couple of dolphins out to the area where the group I was with was diving. The dolphins swam all around us, we could touch them, and one, upon swimming by me in play, bumped me going by rather forcefully. It was delightful and not threatening at all.

One of the Ocean Encounters boats had to be sent to dry dock. Nolo had previously pointed out that he financially sponsored a marine-motor repair shop; what with having several large boats that were used frequently. Monica and I went along for the ride.

Guess who else like a a boat ride?

Continuing toward dry dock through a swinging pedestrian bridge that opens for boat traffic. This channel into the main harbor is right in the middle of Willemstad, Curacao.

Then under the Julianna Bridge named for former Queen Julianna of the Netherlands as Curacao was once part of the Netherlands Antilles and still uses the Dutch Guilder as currency. I think there should be a plaque about my first grandchild. 

Along the extreme northeast coast is long stretch of volcanic shore with high winds and strong wave action, not a place where I would be interested in swimming.

The West End is immediately swimmable and dive-able (is that a word?), and worth a post card.

Willemstad is a tourist town not quite on steroids but definitely worth a post card or two.

Meet an Argentinian who can manage an Argentinian grill. Only three kinds of meat, plus three vegetables for those so inclined, including sweet potatoes. We feasted well at Casa de Ambrosi.

And at local eateries. We had great times together and look forward to more together times wherever they are. Curacao with Monica and Nolo is wonderful and highly recommended.

And so we return to Panama and the adventure! continues.

Swimming with the fishes

This was a treat! Patt, Nolo, Monica and I went to Animal Encounters at Ocean Encounters. You swim in a large pool created in a sea channel where animals are contained by netting. Fresh seawater flows through without the animals escaping. On one side are a couple of tanks with sharks and other fish that do not make good swimming partners.  Nolo arranged this and got a photographer to come with us.  So we have photos.  and WOW.

Here I am feeding one of two Lemon sharks. They would swim by and snatch the bait fish out of my finger tips, which were held back inside the tube between the pools. (Not as dumb as I look). The other fish in the tank would also fight for the bait, unless the shark was swimming close by. 

Here Patt with snorkel and mask is sitting on some steps as a sting ray swims over her going toward the bait held by Patt's partner to the right. The underside of the ray is incredibly soft and smooth.

The top side is a bit course and rough. The rays are almost like puppies in that they will swim up and over you often and brush against you with their bottom side frequently, which is quite pleasant.

Nolo and I together.

Big Herbie, an old grouper, with many scars and many sharp teeth swims by. He is quite curious and was a frequent companion in the pool. Looking him in the eye was a bit disquieting, as he appeared to not think you were a good idea.

Herbie, me, Nolo and Monica. Herbie is the one to the left.

And yes, Patt ventured out into the deep, snorkeling with the big fish and here wth

Monica, Nolo and me for a group photo.

 And finally just the two of us and a few fish, of which there were many.

Curacao is nice and Nolo and Monica are wonderful hosts.

Curacao is beautiful island in the tropics. This is where we ate dinner our first night. Living like this could become habit forming in about another six or seven hours.  

Nolo and Monica live across the bay to the right. They are marvelous hosts.

Of course the big deal for me was completing my SCUBA dive course at Ocean Encounters http://oceanencounters.com/en/  @www.oceanencounters.com and beginning underwater diving. Well that has happened. With the help of a great instructor and the attraction of being in a saltwater fish tank with lots of exotic fish, coral and things to see, it was super.

A few times as the instructor and I were on our way down to the bottom, I struggled a bit equalizing pressure with my ears, but on my fourth dive getting to 60 feet depth was fairly easy with only one episode where I had to stop and go up a bit before continuing down. Something about going slow being rewarding is counter to my thought process. However it is beginning to "sink" in.

Just about all the photo documentation we are going to get is here. We swam out past the rock barrier, then along a shelf for a distance with a gently sloping coral reef with tropical fish at depth about 20-30 feet. The shelf dramatically increases the slope of the drop at about 40-50 feet depth to a sharp drop and the variety of sea life and coral change dramatically.

 Final adjustment for goggles and, boy-oh-boy, while diving it seems I clear them almost constantly.

Yeah that first deep dive was a thrill. 

One evening we went for a sunset cruise along the island shore down to Spanish Waters, a large residential golf development in a bay. Nolo packed a full picnic dinner with ample drinks and refreshments. Yes, it was delightful.

and the sunset beautiful too. 

 Patt liked riding in the boat.

Returning to the harbor, the beach entry for dives is to the left between the beach chairs. The dock for Ocean Encounters is just behind the white boats in the back left.

Monica preparing to tie the boat as it enters the slip to the left of the yellow building.

And on more than one occasion I have spent in excess of 90 minutes in this position listening to the breeze in the palms and feeling the sun on me and wondering where the time went when someone spoke my name out of the blue.  Things are getting tough here with Nolo and Monica. You might want to think twice prior to visiting.

through the Canal — THE CANAL

A day or so ago, Patt, Raleigh and I joined a few, well actually a whole bunch, of our friends of similar situation in life. (The observant will notice hair styles and color.) We cruised up the Panama Canal on the Pacific Queen providing multiple opportunities for photography. Here we are following a tug pushing a barge into one of the locks at Miraflores.

Coming the other direction is a Liberian cargo ship in route. It is being lowered in the locks as we are being floated up.
 

The previous locks we have come through as seen from the stern (Eric is that right?) of our vessel.

The Baltic Patriot is pulled past the tourist museum and observation decks at Miraflores as we move forward. Big ships are pulled by little trains called mules, smaller vessels proceed in the locks under their own power but tied together or to tugs as the water rushing in creates a whirlpool effect.

Important side note - this remodeled multi-floored tourist center was the location of a very pleasant party that Patt and I hosted the evening prior to Stephen and Jen's wedding at Gamboa the next day July 9, 2009.

And we are fully underway going north toward the Atlantic and the Pedro Miguel locks.

While watching the ship rise against the wall of the lock, Raleigh enjoyed his lunch time cookie in the mess hall of our cruise ship - we were well fed twice on the trip. I think this lock had something like a 30+ foot change in water level.

As fortune would have it, there was on board another young boy from Argentina with his parents.  The two boys hit it off quite well and enjoyed each other very much. His name according to Raleigh is "Boy" though they talked entirely in Spanish and the child according to his Mom is 3 years old. I hope his birthday is next week as he is going to be big.

The Chesapeake Highway, a Panamanian ship, is a car carrier and its recent stops in order were Shanghai, Jacksonville,  Newark, and Colon. Its current location is in the Pacific, just west of Panama traveling at a rate of 17 knots. The internet is an amazing thing. The tour guide on our ship said typical car carrier cargo ships like this one could carry 5,500 cars. Large carriers that use the new locks can carry 8,800 cars. FYI.

Said ship going through the continental divide and the location known as the Big Dig where the most digging was required. Well duh.

And this ship was so close and impressive I just missed the name in my photos. Not like you haven't seen one of these before, but it was impressive to see come by.

We did not go all the way to Colon. We got off our ship near Gamboa and took a van back to the City.  A long and fun day and enjoyable conversations too with several of our shipmates.

Panama and the times are: well as expected

Not this, not standing still, at least not for long. And please not the outfit. Jen is working on making the grandparents pleased by remembering whose clothing to dress which child in when which grandparent is visiting. Jen is good at that.  

And no, not this either. This pose lasted all of about 36 seconds, about six shots on an iphone and two  of the subjects looking somewhat in the same direction. It was a morning in the park that was fun.

It looked a bit more like this. And the sun was hot - can you say hot. It is the dry season here, and whew, we have weather. An important note and skill our eldest Panamanian grandson has is the ability to do most things using only a hand and a half as one or the other is holding "Bluebear" and a car of some size. This particular car is a hot wheels, but it can be as large as the Bluebear.

Shopping is a big deal. Bluebear of course is with us and making sure only desired objects make it into the cart is part of my responsibility. Pretty good at it too. Not great, but pretty good.

Just a little help at the kitchen sink. The dogs are hopeful I will drop more food as I snack in the background and am entertained by the calm and orderly sink play in the foreground.

As is true for all our grandchildren, Raleigh seriously needs more legos and little cars. It is a sad and tragic situation that he suffers under. Patt and I must talk with Jim and Fa about addressing this situation as soon as possible.

Oh, I forgot to mention, some afternoons we have difficult, truly difficult, times when the situation just seems to overwhelm us and the two of us have to find time to ourselves to unwind. I know it is tough but I try. You can't blame me for not trying.

Patt even got a date night out of this, actually a double date as Stephen and Jen joined us for an evening in Casco Viejo, which by-the-wayh as really changed since S&J moved here in 2007. When we first started coming down here, I was nervous the first time I rode my bike to this square to see who was honored by the statute (I forgot) - now there is a very high end fancy restaurant on the roof of the white building behind it and no broken pavement.