The locks of the Panama Canal

Tomorrow morning we board the JOIDES Resolution, JR for short, for passage through the Panama Canal then onto Curacao a few days later.  I had never really thought about how locks worked before....they are all gravity-fed.  The French built the Suez Canal (1869) by cutting a passage at sea level between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.  They later tried same technique in Panama and failed at that Sisyphean task.  It was the ingeneous use of locks that allowed the Americans to succeed, at a now Herculean task, where the French had earlier failed (with an estimated 22,000 deaths and a near ruined national economy).

(click to enlarge)

 By damming the Chagras River a huge lake, Gatun Lake, was formed that provides a continuous source of water (thanks to the surrounding rain forest) to first raise massive ships to 85 feet above sea level and half a day later drop them back down to sea level.  Tomorrow I'll post pictures of JR going through the locks, lakes, and the infamous Galliard Cut (also known as the Culebra Cut).  You can also follow the progress of ships through the locks live on the Pancanal.com webcam.

Friday morning update:  The JR will actually go through the locks tomorrow, not today.  Today will be spent taking on fuel for ballast that will allow the boat, at low tide tomorrow morning, to fit under the Bridge of the Americas.

Las Cruces Trail, The Treasure Trail

Wild carob, chocolate gold...

Today my dad and I hiked 12 km along Las Cruces Trail, built by the Spaniards using native slave labor around 1585.  It was the new "improved" highway, paved by river stones and replacing an earlier trail, over which Inca gold and silver was transferred from the Pacific to the Atlantic enriching Spain and, ultimately, all of Europe.  We walked in the footsteps of conquistadors, Sir Francis Drake, Henry Morgan the pirate, the gold rush 49ers, Ulysses S. Grant and, quite literally, in the hoof holes left by the thousands of mules that trekked across the stones over the centuries hauling Inca treasure to waiting Spanish galleons and later California gold to waiting clipper ships. 

 

Las Croces, the crosses laid in the path....

cute little capuchin monkey

The trail remained in constant use until the construction of a railway by the French canal builders in the late 1850's.  Rough, wet, slippery, and humid (99%?) with the sound of howler monkeys in the canopy and thousands of special little creatures and plants along the trail (including poison dart frogs and tarantulas), we saw no one else the entire hike.  Our naturalist guide Ivan, from Ancon Expeditions, was super!

water filling in the holes worn by a thousand donkey hooves....

 mysterious rock....have no idea how it got here....need a geologist...oh, wait, I am a geologist....

forest gold...

Panama City, new and old

 

 

Have arrived in Panama to board a vessel that will transit the canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic.  Panama City is a modern wonder...a boomtown with far more skyscrapers than Boston, with dozens more rising upwards, topped with cranes.

But, on a promontory between the new city and the canal is Casco Viejo, a 17th century historical district built up by the French in the late 19th century during their first, failed attempt to build a canal through the Isthmus.  In a twist of fate that William Morris and the Anti-scrape would be delighted with, conscientious developers decided to rehab, restore, and renovate the dilapidated district rather than bulldoze it.  Almost immediately, artists, cafe, craftspeople, and tourists began arriving.  The process is ongoing with old, impoverished buildings, many no more than ruined shells, being beautifully restored in this UNESCO world heritage site.  Now its world heritage status is threatened by specter of a huge highway encircling the district, cutting its famous seawall, built in the 1600s to protect Panama from pirates, off from the sea.  You can read more about the local effort to stop this short-sighted plan here:
"Whether you are a Panamanian or not you are entitled to a voice on the treatment of World Heritage Sites, so speak up!"

 It all looks very French, oui?

 a work in progress

 

The old jails now housing art galleries and cafes.

Greetings from the Big Apple

Where to begin?  With an apology to all those who have been asking after me!  I am alive although you would never know it to judge by the activity on this blog.  Since late January I have been deeply involved in two large science projects and, in whatever spare time was left, was readying my house to put it on the market.  It is now for sale and at the first open house many people apparently commented on the beautiful wallpaper -- Yay William Morris!  In June I am moving to Manhattan and am currently renovating an apartment on upper west side.  I think things are still going to be pretty busy over next 8 weeks as I get ready to move, pack up household, sell house, etc, but please keep checking in!  Lots of great travels coming up including transit through the Panama Canal in June, followed by visit to Amsterdam.  Back to Urbino, Italy, then Switzerland and Ireland in July.  And later in year I'll be spending a few months in India.  So lots of fodder for posts on art, craft, architecture, and neat stuff coming up!

Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody, Infinity Music Hall

What a combo!  A stunning renovation of an 1883 theater in northwest Connecticut, Infinity Music Hall, provides an incredible, intimate (300 people), and acoustically brilliant concert space within which to hear Al Di Meola, possibly the best jazz guitarist ever, play his new music "Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody".  This followed a sumptious bistro meal served in the arty downstairs restaurant.  Love the horizontal bead-board everywhere.  I look forward to my next visit!

 (all pics from internet...didn't have my camera)

Go Al!

"The maestro is back and he is killing! Al D throws down beautiful nylon-string parts and blazing electric lines on this tango-riffic collection. The playing is spectacular throughout but tones, particularly on 'Paramour's Lullaby' and 'Full Frontal' are so cool they almost steal the show. Bravo!" – Guitar Player

Exuma Junkanoo

Junkanoo is a Bahamian street parade that traditionally occurs before dawn on Boxing Day, December 26th.  The tradition dates back to the 16th or 17th century when slaves were given one day off after  Xmas to celebrate with their families.  Usually the junkanoo begins before dawn but this year it was held after sunset, I think in an effort to lure larger tourist crowds.  It seemed to have worked as the ratio of tourists to locals was much higher than in years past and the streetside bars were doing a ripping business.  However, it didn't have the same magic as the pre-dawn junkanoo with the drums being warmed over makeshift fires before the parade and everyone lining the streets rubbing the sleep out of their eyes wondering why the hell they got up this early---until the fun starts that is.  The marchers often spend months working on their costumes and floats and in Nassau, where the largest junkanoo is held, competition is intense for various best-in-show categories.  The size of the smaller Exuma junkanoo waxes and wanes with the economy....happily larger this year than last.  Like many nations heavily dependent on tourism, the recent economic meltdown hit Exuma hard.

Capt. Robert's Conch Salad

Ingredients (serves 12):

4-5 freshly caught conch
a few red or green peppers
an onion
a few tomatoes
a few cucumbers
a few pepperoncini

a few oranges
a few limes

Step 1.  harvest the conch meat using the back of a hammer to whack a hole in just the right spot on the shell.  Insert long thin knife and cut muscle away from shell such that you can pull conch out of front door.

Step 2.  clean the guts off such that white meat remains (optionally eating a certain clear gooey part rumored locally to make you more virile).  Dice into small pieces with small machete (for most authentic experience) or any strong knife.

Step 3.   Fill a large bowl half full with seawater and put diced conch and diced veggies into bowl as you continue with chopping of peppers, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes.

Step 4.  When all veggies chopped, drain out seawater then squeeze in juice from a few oranges and limes.  Add chopped pepperoncini.

 Step 5.  Toss and serve immediately with a cup of Goombay Smash!

Trips in the Exuma Cays with Capt. Robert can be be booked through his web site Robert's Island Adventures.   Mention Maureen of the stromatolites  :-).

Building material recycling and historical imponderables

 The Basilica Cistern in/under Istanbul was built by Emperor Justinian in the sixth century.  Three hundred and thirty six marble columns, many recycled from former building sites, hold up the ceiling of an underground cistern capable of holding 80,000 cubic meters of water.  You might also remember this place from the James Bond movie "From Russia with Love".

Two columns are held up by massive Medusa heads.  Where did they come from?  And why not right-side up?  From wikipedia: "it is widely thought that they were placed sideways and upside down only to be the proper size to support their columns."  But this makes no sense for the upside-down one which presumably would be exactly same height if flipped 180°.  A wonderful historical mystery.....

Blue Mosque tile fantasy

If Queen Victoria had asked William de Morgan to redo the interior of St. Paul's Cathedral, no expense (or tile) spared, it might have ended up looking like the Sultan Ahmed Mosque.  More familiarly known as the "Blue Mosque" after the more than 20,000 hand-made ceramic tiles that line its interior, it was built in Istanbul between 1609 and 1616.

Many of the tiles came from the town of Avanos in Cappadocia.  We visited one of the oldest ceramics businesses in town and got the soup to nuts tour, starting with the clay cave.
 

The final products.....stunning but not cheap, this plate would set you back hundreds of dollars.  I wish I had bought a few tiles at the time, if only to use as trivets...c'est la vie.