An amazing opportunity aboard the Viking Mars to travel through the marvel of engineering that is the Panama Canal on a cruise with my parents over the Christmas / New Years holiday.
This trip had long been a bucket list item for my mom. Even better was the chance to see this with family over the holidays. Due to global climate change, cruises through the Panama Canal are getting rarer. The engineering miracle of the Canal depends on copious rainfall keeping Lake Gatun filled. After over a century, droughts and low water levels required a reduction in the number of ships transiting – and higher costs for the rest. Passenger ships may be less willing to pay the increasing fees in the future.
I am glad we had this chance, in more ways than one.
Tulum, Mexico
Departing from Fort Lauderdale, our first stop was Cozumel / Playa del Carmen area. Joining thousands of our friends, we visited the Mayan ruins at Tulum. It is one of the few Mayan sites on the coast and, not surprisingly, exceptionally popular with cruise and tour groups.
The site was very accessible. The increased construction will make it even more so. The real challenge was navigating the throngs of would-be influencers, each trying to capture their own Instagram-ready video. As they stood for minutes – recording and re-recording to ensure the perfect smile and turn of the head – I started filming them and talking over their audio.
I don’t think it changed anything, but I felt marginally better.
This trip, it was impractical for us to get to Chichen Itza, so Tulum was worth the visit. To try and maintain the site, they limit the number of visitors at a time. But that is still a lot of people at the ruins and a lot of people waiting to get in. Most of them trying to get the perfect social media image.
Cartagena, Colombia
We were only in Cartagena for a few hours. Regardless, I braved the knot of local traffic to get to the Old City and a street food tour found on AirBnB (of all places). The most hair-raising part was wondering if I would make it back to the ship on time.
The taxi and Uber drivers were great. They wound me out of the port and through openings in city walls that have not been enlarged since the 16th century. I thought the tour was great. Good to spend some time outdoors and on my feet wandering the Old City. Fortunately the tour guide wore a shirt detailing everything we would eat, otherwise I would never remember.
Panama Canal
To prepare for this phase of the trip, we listened to McCollough’s The Path Between the Seas, a detailed retelling of the attempts to build some navigable channel between the Caribbean and Pacific. It is a story of hubris, financial nonsense, and ingenious problem solving. On board the ship, we also had the benefit of a lecture series on the various attempts to build the canal across the Isthmus and how the series of locks was ultimately the best solution. While some technology has been upgraded over time, the underlying engineering principles remain the same. Although no longer reliant on animal labor, the mechanical vehicles that pull ships into place are still called “mules”.
What amazes me is that – over 100 years on – the canal defines shipping. Most significantly, how big can a ship be. In particular, there exists a category of ship called Panamax, representing the largest vessels capable of fitting within the locks. As it was, our little ship was still a pretty close fit.
Reading McCullough turned us onto the history of the Panama Canal Railway, which predates the Canal as a way to move people and cargo across the Isthmus. We took the opportunity to take it on its 50-mile route from Colon to Panama City (with a bus ride back). The route largely follows the Canal itself and was a comfortable way to preview what we’d be seeing the next day by ship.
Side notes: Our transit began before sunrise on Christmas Eve. Due to the holiday, we exchanged Christmas Carols with the crews of some of the ships we passed and visitors at the locks.
Costa Rica
After celebrating Christmas we stopped briefly in Costa Rica. Because it was a short visit, we took the opportunity to hike in the rain forest and check out the local flora and fauna – especially the hummingbirds.
Still, we got to add Costa Rica to our countdown list.
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Last stop was Cabo San Lucas. Our whale-watching drought ended in dramatic fashion. As everyone’s attention was drawn to the dolphin off the starboard side, we were unprepared for the humpback whale right behind it. The boat received a little love tap. No phones went overboard.
In the evening, we boarded another boat to catch the sunset over the Pacific. Although the weather was not cooperative, we saw a few more whales. The stingrays leaping out of the water were a greater surprise. We did not get a good explanation why they did this, except possibly for fun. That’s reason enough.
As we boarded the ship, all the decorations were out for New Years Eve. A bittersweet celebration of the beginning of a new year and the end of a superb cruise.
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