A lot to talk about in this blog post.  

2 days ago we transitioned through the Panama Canal. We started early in the morning and finished around dinner time. Papa loved the trains which pulled our ship through the 6 locks.  We had 6 trains (which they call mules), 3 on each side to pull the ship through the lock and keep the ship from hitting the side.  We had 2ft clearance on each side so not much room for error.  It cost our ship $543K in charges to go through the Panama canal, no wonder these cruises are so expensive.  Transition through the locks has always been memorable and the canal is a true engineering marvel. One of the highlights was Panama rolls served on the bow of the ship. 

2 nights ago was the Orange Bowl where Notre Dame beat Penn State. Nana was working hard to make sure the game was available on the ship. She was successful and then planned a big party in our room. She talked 2 of our neighbors to open the door between our decks and we had a party that spanned 3 rooms. We both wore our ND shirts each day on the cruise and found many ND fans of which several came to our party. We also had our table mates as well as other people we met. With the win, it was a great night. 

Yesterday was a sea day and Nana napped and I worked on train computer programs for the Eperthener and Nunes trains. 

We finished out our day watching Ohio State win at our table mates room. 

Today we docked in Manta Ecuador.  We took an excursion to Montecristi and visited sites in Manta. Montecristi offers a mix of history, culture, and craftsmanship. It’s an excellent destination for anyone interested in Ecuadorian heritage, especially the artistry behind the world-famous Panama hats.  While these hats were made famous by President Roosevelt at the Panama Canal, they are actualy started and made here in Montecristi.  Panama hats, which are crafted from the toquilla straw. are hand made and vary a lot in quality.  An high end can take 2 years to make (1 person working on the hat) and cost over $200,000. We saw artisans at work and learned about the intricate weaving process. The finest Montecristi hats are incredibly lightweight and durable, often considered collector’s items.  Nana had already bought a hat on our last visit a year ago but, decided she wanted a different one and Papa bought one too. 

We also stopped at a weaving factory that made bags for the coffee beans. A lot of work to produce a bag, made from Agave leaves. (Yes, those same leaves is where Tequila comes from.

Another stop was at the ivory nut factory. The nuts actually grow on tree and are harvested, dried, and have the shell taken off.  Buttons used to be made from these nuts as they are very hard a durable. With the advent of different materials, they now make jewelry and animals out the nuts. Of course Nana had to negotiate and bought some of their work. 

On the way back to pier our bus broke down.  It was overheating and we had to stop by the side of the road.  We still had not stopped at a museum but half the bus elected to go back to the ship with the other half going to the museum.  A new bus picked us up but it took about 30 minutes for it to get there.  Nana and I decided to back to the ship.  After getting back and boarding the ship, the captain came on a said he needed to reposition the ship off the pier because it was too dangerous boarding.  The ramp was very steep and with the swell, the ramp kept moving back and forth.  So they stopped boarding for 2 hours while they moved the ship to the harbor and started tender service.  We are so happy we came back early.

The next 2 days are sea days as we head to Peru.  There Nana and I are heading to Machu Picchu on an overland trip.  We will be gone 3 days and 2 nights.  This will be the first time we have taken an overland trip on a cruise.  We are excited as Machu Picchu has been on our bucket list to visit.