I woke up early and when I got out to the deck, ready for the day, I took some pictures of what I could see from the new berth since TSS had moved yesterday afternoon to Rodman Terminal, which had once been a busy US Naval port during the Canal Zone days. Here’s what I saw.
A dock across from us, visible through my porthole, where other ships docked throughout our stay and nice scenery beyond; at the other end, cranes across the bay 6901, 6903
6901
6903
A dock on the other side, reaching to the main terminal area on one end 6902
Another dock across from us and the Bridge of the Americas in the background. 6905
View from where we get off TSS, going to the right and the guard shack, then left to the taxi stand and a little store. 6904
As I was looking down, I saw TSS crew on the new gangway (provided by the port) affixing the Welcome sign to it. Not a job I’d care to do, given the angle of the gangway 6910
Then it was time to get down to business. After breakfast I donned my loaded fishing vest that carried everything I’d need without having to carry a purse then headed for the Coral Dining Room to meet with the other who were going on the Pirates of the Caribbean shore excursion. I had talked to those I knew of who were going and we were pretty hyped about all it promised. Here is a description of it
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The Pirates of the Caribbean
Code: PAN003
Date(s): 03/Oct/2007
Departure Time: 9:00 A.M.
Duration: 9 hours
Cost: 100 USD
Trace the lives of some of history’s most mischievous characters on this tour that traverses the Panama Canal, castles, forts, churches, several UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the lush rainforest. Visit the Spanish bastion built to fortify and protect the river entrance to Las Cruces Trail, the legendary route used to transport gold across the isthmus. Hear the tales of pirates, politicians, and ordinary people who have tried to sneak gold through this route. In San Lorenzo National Park, you will spot monkeys, sloth, coatimundi, toucans and other wildlife as you proceed towards the colonial outpost of Portobelo.
Included: All transportation, English-speaking guide, entrance fees, any necessary equipment, lunch in Portobelo.
= = = = =
A group of 11 of us eagerly started out the day, which fortunately did not include riding in a lifeboat because were docked right at Rodman Terminal, so we just walked down that very steep gangway that was totally flat with little metal ridges every 18 inches or so, then walked along the dock past a guard shack, through a gate and over to a parking area where another white van, another tour guide and another driver awaited us. Before we left the ship, though, the ship’s tour excursion planner asked me to please buy her three postcards in Portobelo since she couldn’t go on the tour herself and I agreed.
We got on the van and took off. I got a quick shot of one of the buildings in the terminal area that was from Canal Zone days.
Former military building 6911
Then we went over Bridge of the Americas and I got a quick, blurry shot of TSS in the port.
TSS from Bridge of the Americas 6912
After going over the bridge and hearing a little spiel about it, we went through the town of Balboa where I tried to take a shot of a rather pretty church. When the tour guide saw me doing that he said, “That’s a protestant church.”
Part of the Protestant church and rather a lot of the road 6914
A while later, he pointed out that we were passing one of the biggest and newest malls in the country, Albook Mall.
Albrook Mall from the other side of a divided highway 6917
At one point, the guide began to enthusiastically tell us what we would be seeing that day, including San Lorenzo National Park, Fort San Lorenzo and (wait for it!) the Gatun Locks! It sounded nothing like the tour we had signed up for. When I asked about Portobelo and the forts, castles and cathedrals, he just looked askance and said, “We never go to Portobelo.” When we told him were to supposed to have lunch in Portobelo, he said, “We have lunch right here,” and rummaged in a cooler and a cardboard box on the front passenger seat. Proudly he held up (wait for it!) a loaf of bread, one medium package of chips, one package of crackers and a couple packets of deli lunch meat and cheese. He said, “We have water and juice.” We looked at him in disbelief, thinking, “I paid $100 for a sandwich lunch?”
Infamous blue cooler with drinks, a few cold cuts and cheeses, and cardboard box on right, with (yes!) bread for sandwiches(!), package of chips, package of crackers (our promised to-be-provided snack!) 6920
We came to a toll booth at the entrance to a freeway going in the direction of Colon and Portobelo, which eventually divides, with one spur going into Colon and the other to Portobelo. The landscaping was nice and the scenery beyond was spectacular.
Taken from inside the bus; toll booth landscaping and scenery beyond 6921
When we pressed him about the disparity between what we had been promised and what he was going to deliver, he agreed to call his boss and see if the itinerary could be “changed” to include going there. It is clear across the country (not far, really, it’s the narrowest place in the Americas, but a distance from the Gatun Locks, which are closer to Colon. He continued with his spiel and then got a phone call and announced that we would absolutely not be going to Portobelo! He added, “But we’re going to have fun!” I requested being taken back to the ship because we had paid for a trip that was going to Portobelo and one of the teaching staff aboard seconded it, but he and the driver paid no attention to us. Obviously the tour so far was nothing like what was promised! Every once in a while he’d tell us something or answer a question asked by a member of the group. He pointed out a tree on the other side of the road that had large white fruit and said the tree was good for making furniture because it was very hard. I took a picture of it, not realizing I’d be actually meeting one later in the day.
The tree with large white fruit 6925
As the tour guide talked about things I’d mostly heard about either during the canal crossing or during the tours I’d had the day before, I realized that since I was sitting next to the window, I could rest my left arm on the window ledge and prop my camera on it, lens against the window, and take pictures of whatever was going past. I took quite a few and some of them actually turned out.
A colorful , very small building 6939
A tiny fruit stand in front of a home 6940
Colorful homes high on a hill 6943
High clouds and beautiful scenery 6948
Then we came to a place where a dam on the Panama Canal was visible from just off the road, so the guide gave us a photo op so the van pulled over and we piled out to take pictures of it (no dam was mentioned on the itinerary; where were the forts, castles and cathedrals?).
The dam (and pumping station?) 9651
The tourist police were stationed at the lookout in a small rock structure. Several were there when we arrived but soon two took off in a little police car.
Rock structure; we walked in through doorway on left; policeman is in window, keeping an eye on us looking at the dam 6955
Two police officers take off in their car 6952
View across road at the manmade lake formed by the dam 6953
Sign at dam site 6957
When we got back on the bus, someone asked the guide a question about the pirates (that we were supposed to be hearing about). In response, he rummaged in his duffle bag and pulled out a book which he held up. “This is the best book about pirates. It was written by one.” I don’t think he said another word about pirates during the entire trip.
"Best book” being held by a tour member with cover showing 6960
Back in the bus, we took off and I again put my camera into position against the window and took pictures.
Stand made of branches, blue house in background 6963
At one point, the bus pulled off the road and stopped while the guide made some cell phone calls. I think they had to do with our constant complaints about not being given what we had paid for. While we were stopped by a small store that apparently sold tires, I saw and took a picture of a lovely gate.
Stylish Gate 6965
Typical bus stop along roadside; I saw dozens that day, some very colorful 6973
When we reached a more populous area, the bus pulled off the road into the parking lot of a mall that had a grocery store. The guide let us get off for a pit stop. We all got off to stretch our legs and I was among those who went into the store. I found a few newspapers that I bought for the LRC and visited the clean restrooms that were accessed by putting 25 cents into a turnstile which then let you go through and into the restroom. Back in the bus a few minutes later, we headed for the Gatun Locks.
Eventually we arrived at the Gatun Locks, which we had to cross to reach San Lorenzo National Park. It was interesting to see the buildings and grounds from ground level after having seen everything from up high on TSS when we passed through the locks at the beginning of the canal.
One building 6974
The building with words on the lawn; I’d tried taking a photo of it from TSS but had been at the wrong angle 6976
The bus drove along the road beside the above building, passing the medical building on the way, little realizing it would later play a part in our tour, then turned around and stopped. We were waiting for a ship to leave the lock we were going to travel over. After quite a wait, it took off again, jumping into line ahead of quite a number of waiting trucks and cars. The water was fast pouring out of the lock and the bridge had swung into place over it and the bus trundled onto it. It was definitely interesting to be INSIDE the lock and I took as many photos as I could during the short time we were on the bridge.
The medical building (note pink ribbon – the country was apparently having a breast cancer campaign; we saw those ribbons on buildings everywhere) 6977
Closed gates over lock; note that we are over the remaining water 6979
Water rushing through the pipes in sides of canal 6981
We pass by the gates; see dividing point in first two, gate edge/side of canal 6982, 6983, 6984
6982
6983
6984
Once past the bridge over the lock, we continued on the road for a while and then entered the San Lorenzo Forest where, the guide promised, he and the driver would keep their eyes open for various animals for us to view. Suddenly he called out, “There’s a monkey!” The bus stopped and all the students and the guide poured off the bus to view the monkey – at the top of a very high tree. The guide took out a telescope and tripod and set it up for the monkey enthusiasts to see the monkey, which was so high up it couldn’t be distinguished readily by the naked eye. I was so disgusted by the whole situation that I refused to get off the bus, but since I was sitting directly across from the open door and spotted some cool looking plants, I took a few pictures from where I sat.
The green blade leaves had a beautiful white rib running down their centers; the whispy-looking tufts are Asian grass, brought to Panama by the Afroantilleans who worked on the canal 6991
There were some tiny yellow flowers near the blade leaves so I took a shot of them, too. 6992
I thought it was such a stretch to be spending time doing that instead of traveling on to see if any closeup animals were around. Finally everyone got on the bus and we started off, only to stop again several yards down the road because someone caught sight of a sloth high in a tree and as readily visible as the monkey (i.e., not visible). We went through the same routine as with the monkey but this time I decided to get off the bus. I aimed my camera in the general area where the sloth allegedly was and fired off a few shots on the off chance that if a sloth were there, it would show up in a photo. Here are two shots; the second one has been “balanced” by me using the laptop’s elementary MS photo editor. Do you see a sloth?
Photo as it was originally 6995
Balanced photo 6997
Disappointed not to have actually seen a sloth, I turned my attention to the nearby flowers and took a close-up of them.
Photo of something I could see. 6999
uveh with the flowers 7001
Then several things hit the fan at once. During the monkey-viewing time, one of the young professors on the trip, a tiny female, mentioned to me that she felt like her throat was closing up and was afraid she was having an allergic reaction to something. I suggested she ask the guide if he had a first aid kit. He didn’t – the van wasn’t equipped with one! Fortunately, one of the other TSSers had a Benadryl tables or capsule and gave it to her. Meanwhile, the guide got us all back on the bus, announced that there was a medical situation and we were turning around to return to the Gatun Locks medical center. So back we went and once again crossed the bridge over the lock and got a view of the other side of the lock.
View One 7002
View Two 7003
View Three 7004
View Four 7005
View Five 7007
Unfortunately, when we got to the canal medical center, the personnel had just left to take another emergency case to the hospital, so the bus continued on through the canal property to the fire station so the paramedics there could evaluate the suffering professor. I took a few pictures since I had nothing else to do.
Buildings originally built for US Army during the Canal Zone days 7011
Panama Canal Authority vehicle parked outside a building near the fire station 7013
Tree near above building 7015
View of water near fire station, after we stopped there 7018
Tree between above building and fire station 7019
Tree on fire station grounds 7023
While the “infirma” (one who was ill) and an interpreter went into the fire station, I spotted a very tall tree with interesting looking large white fruit. Curious, I got off the bus to ask a fireman who was standing outside what kind of tree it was. He told me it was a coaba tree and that the fruit was not edible but the wood was used to make furniture because it was very strong and termites couldn’t eat it. Then he showed me one of the fruit that had fallen off the tree and dried. He set it up against a wire fence so I could photograph it.
Coaba tree 7026
Two views of dried coaba fruit 7027, 7028
After I’d taken the pictures and was walking back to the bus, he came out of the fire station, where he had gone while I was taking the pictures, and told me that another name for the coaba was mahogany! It is not native to Panama but had been brought to the West Indies by people from there who had come to work on the canal.
Then the infirma and the interpreter came out of the fire station and our nightmare began. It was a battle of wills between the medic, who had found no immediate danger but wanted the infirma to go to the hospital for a more complete check, the infirma, who refused to go to a hospital and insisted on being taken back to the ship to be examined by the ship’s doctor, TSS as represented by a high level administrator, and the head of TSS’s Port Programs. The poor guide, a young male, was caught in the middle because he had to do what his boss told him and the infirma was demanding her right to be taken back to the ship. The others onboard agreed, some reluctantly, that we were willing to go back to the ship. After all, not only weren’t we getting the tour we had paid for but also we felt the infirma should be returned to the ship if that was her choice.
It was about 1:30 pm at that time. The only thing everyone agreed on was going back to the grocery store we had stopped at before and buying a prescription tablet (the pharmacies in Panama sell tablets singly) for the infirma. While there, most of us made a pit stop and the guide set up makings for sandwiches on the seats at the front of the bus and we took turns making sandwiches. We had eaten about half the bag of chips while waiting at the fire station. No one touched the package of crackers. The juice was in cartons and had to be poured into cups so I don’t think anyone bothered with them. Rather different from the lunch in Portobelo we had paid for!
Once the tablet was purchased and everyone was back on the bus, we headed off, allegedly going back to Panama City. It was then that a series of phone calls began. The guide calling his boss, the interpreter calling TSS Admin, those people calling back, other TSSers getting involved and and the infirma talking to everyone in turn and steadfastly refusing to go to a hospital. finally the head TSS Admin said the infirma could return to the ship. That caused another flurry of calls, eventually settling between the guide’s boss and the head of TSS Port Programs. With every set of calls, the bus made a change of direction but we were never told where we were going. Eventually we ended up traversing nearly the entire route between Colon and Panama City four times as well as a few partial times. Every time we thought we were heading back to PC, we learned we were going somewhere else.
At one point after TSS Admin had said the infirma could return to the ship and we were actually headed back to PC, the bus pulled into a MacDonald’s parking lot and the guide announced that we were going to wait there for an ambulance to pick up the infirma and take her to a hospital. As you can imagine, the infirma threw a major fit and yet another flurry of phone calls hit the airwaves. Eventually we got back on the road headed for PC and then the guide got another call and the bus turned around and headed back to Colon. The guide announced that the head of Port Programs had decreed that the infirma HAD to go to a hospital and it HAD to be in Colon, not in PC. Why and how that person was allowed to override the decision of the head TSS Admin I do not know to this day.
We went all the way into Colon and stopped at the hospital, which was not in the best part of town. The building didn’t look promising even from the front but we drove to the back where there was a single door. The guide, the infirma and the interpreter got off the bus to go inside but the door was locked. Phone calls were made and finally the door opened and the three went inside. The rest of us were just sitting on the bus, dumbfounded. It was 2:30 and outside, a school was being let out of session. Middle school age students in school uniforms were pouring onto the littered streets. After a while the guide got back on the bus, opened the cooler and took out a bottle of water then grabbed the package of crackers and got back off the bus, without saying one thing to any of us. After a while he got back on the bus and announced that the infirma would be staying to be checked and the interpreter would stay with her. Before they had left the bus, I’d given the interpreter all the money I had, $20, in case they had to stay in Colon and needed transport back to PC. It seemed like a good thing I had.
On the way out of town I managed to get a few shots. One was of one of a series of walls were completely covered with beautiful pictures of beautiful birds. The light was beginning to fade so the colors didn’t come out too well, but the photo is still interesting.
Bird wall 7040
Structure in a grassy park (shot on an angle, obviously) 7049
The bus took off again and we thought we were finally heading back to PC.
Front end of a typical colorful Panamanian bus, seen on what we thought was the road back to PC 7050
Back end of a different bus 7051
After a while, the guide enthusiastically announced, “I’ve received permission to take you to Portobelo. We’re on our way there now!” Something close to a riot took place on the bus. I asked how long it would take to get there and how long to get from there back to PC. He said about an hour to Portobelo and about two hours back to PC. Since it was then 3:00 and we were originally supposed to return to TSS at 6:00, it would mean driving to Portobelo and then immediately taking the road back to PC. See nothing, do nothing. The guide said no, we could do things there and get back to TSS later. We were on the verge of violence at this point. It took another group of phone calls and threats by some people on the bus who had appointments back at TSS at 6:15 and 6:30 before the tour company finally relented and agreed that we could go back to the ship.
We actually – finally - got back on the road to PC but hadn’t been on it long before the bus pulled off the road yet again. We thought we were in for a hijacking to Portobelo but actually the bus needed gas from all the running around it had been doing. While we waited for a fill up, I took pictures through the windshield of a beautiful coconut palm on the adjoining property
Coconut palm 7053
A little market we passed on the way back to Panama City 7083
Former YMCA in Balboa, near our port; now it has an artisan’s shop, an Internet Café, and other amenities 7084
Not much was said by anyone on the way back and when we arrived at the ship, we piled off and went straight aboard. After nine hours on the road, captive in that bus, we couldn’t wait to be out of sight of it.
We went straight to the Shore Excursion person and registered our complaints then washed up and went to dinner – with real food, not sandwiches and a handful of chips. Later I went sent two emails to the Shore Ex person, first canceling the two Shore Excursions I’d signed up for in Ecuador and the second a pithy statement about what had happened and requesting a “full and prompt refund” of the money. I know I was not the only one who made the same request.
The Port Programs personnel went into negotiations with the tour operator and before a week was up, we all received emails announcing that a full refund had been made. That is the only positive thing about the entire tour. On a positive note, the infirma and interpreter were at the hospital in Colon for about an hour; fifteen minutes of checking and observing the infirma and 45 minutes of filling out insurance papers with the aid of TSS’s port agent, who then arranged transportation back to PC for them. By the time I’d finished dinner, the two had returned to the ship. The next day when the interpreter returned my $20 I got the full explanation of the time at the hospital.
As part of my written evaluation of the tour, I wrote my own description of the tour. Compare it to the one that was advertised, quoted at the beginning of this posting.
Held Hostage by Modern Pirates of the Caribbean!
A new perspective on the past! History meets Century 21! Unique intercultural experience! Don't miss this one!
Date(s): 03/Oct/2007
Departure Time: 9:00 A.M.
Duration: 9 hours
Cost: 100 USD
Meet and interact with modern pirates of the Caribbean, Panamanian tour operators! Be held captive by them in a tour bus for nine hours while purportedly heading for Portobelo! Briefly view one monkey and one sloth high in trees before the bus travels on! Frequent changes in destination will result from one hostage’s medical emergency! The many changes take place as unexplained detours and will be announced only after the bus changes direction but alleged destinations will never be reached! The road between Panama City and Colon will be traversed four times and the bridge over the Gatun Locks twice! All pleas to return to the ship will be disregarded! No amount of intercultural communication will avail you! Negotiations for your release will take place with officials at the highest levels and necessitate several additional changes of destination, but you will never reach Portobelo! Ransom demanded for your release and return to the ship will be payment of $100!
Included: Nine hours of transportation; English-speaking pirates; bread and water for lunch; two pit stops; no first aid kit or first aid-trained personnel available.
