Ricky, So sorry to see all the concrete and plastic involved in this BBQ event. Hope there was enough tasty meat to make it worth it. There seemed to be enough denim clad buns to keep the event interesting though. Excellent pictures of the canal and the small ships traversing it. I too wonder how larger commercial traffic gets through. Thanks for the pics!

In 2011 my wife and I went on a month-long semester-at-sea voyage that stopped for two days in Panama and three days in Costa Rica both on the Atlantic side. Some of the trips we took in those countries were arranged by the ship's field office, some we arranged ourselves, and one trip was a part of the class my wife was teaching on the ship -- a field trip to the locks of the Panama Canal. Our ship was docked in Colon, Panama but we were warned not to go any further into the city then the one block area around the cruise port. One day we took a trip to visit an "Embera Indian Village" which was colorful and fun, but it felt a little staged. The next day we took the "field trip to the locks of the Panama Canal" for my wife's class, and took a side trip to the city of Portobello about 30 miles "south" of Colon. In Costa Rica we were docked in the city of Limon, which seemed much friendlier and inviting than Colon. The first day I had arranged a trip through a local company named "WIllie's Costa Rica Tours", he picked us up, drove us to Cahuita about 30 km south, where we were taken out to reefs off the shore of Cahuita National Park for two snorkeling stops, after which we landed on the point of the national park, and hiked along the beach back to the town of Cahuita, with the owner of the tour company along as a guide, pointing out various plants and animals along the way. He also bought us to a restaurant named "Restaurante Le Fe Bumbata" right in Cahuita which didn't look like much, but was one of the best meals of our month-long trip. The next day we went on a horseback riding trip that was arranged by the ship, which was near Cahuita, but further inland in the rain forest. It was fun especially since my wife is an avid rider, but easy enough that a novice like me still had a good time. On the way back to the ship, we separated from our group and got off the minibus at a Sloth Sanctuary. We planned to take a public bus back to the ship, but ended up catching a ride from a local. The third day we took a ship-arranged trip along the Canals of Tortuguero just north of Limon. It a short nature cruise along the intercoastal waterways along that part of Costa Rica. After that we went to a popular beach in Limon named Playa Bonito. Several groups went to the Puerto Viejo area which sounds like it is a relaxing beach-y spot. Since those were groups of college students they talked about staying in a cheap "hotel" where you just get a hammock in a large open, thatched roof structure on the beach, or the great prices on the drinks in the bars, so I don't know how useful my second-hand info would be. I've included links above to the relevant entries in the blog I was writing during our voyage on the ship, which contains more specifics, and many pictures. I'd say the Cahuita snorkel trip/hike and the visit to the Panama Canal were the best/most memorable, with the horseback riding trip being a close third. However what made the Panama Canal visit memorable was that we got to walk across the top of a lock to tour the control house for the Gatun Locks, which just about no one gets to do. Sorry for rambling on, I hope my information is helpful. This post was edited by bob_cville on Mon, Sep 1, 14 at 22:49

A view of one of our 'mules' that will pull and guide us through. Two on each side, keeping their cables taut in an attempt to keep the ship from banging the sides. In the other set of locks is a ship carrying autos. You can see (sorta) that there are only inches on either side of the ship. Ours, carrying less than 700 passengers has several feet on each side. Also, we were only have as long at the other ship.A better view of that other ship.Ouch! Try as they might, ships still bump into the sides. On the other end, we hit and bounced and bounced again.

Thanks for your travelogue, it'[s one thing to read description from a travel agency and from somebody who is a traveler. I really enjoyed it and look forward to your fall cruise. In the meantime, please visit here once in a while, we get lonely here.