Death Valley National Park - March 29-31, 2013

 John and Christine at 282 feet below sea level

View of Death Valley from Dante's Peak

For Easter weekend, I drove from San Francisco to Death Valley to visit with my sister Cathy's family while they were out west for their spring break.  While Death Valley is the largest national park in the lower 48 states, we were able to get around pretty easily from 282 feet below sea level at Badwater to several thousand feet above sea level to take in the views.  Furnace Creek Inn was an oasis in the desert where we gathered for dinner at the end of each day.  Once the sun went down, the sky sparkled with more stars than one can imagine. 

Hanoi, Vietnam - March 19-22, 2013

 Old Quarter

 Temple of Literature at night

 Hanoi Opera House

Turtle Lake

Hanoi is a fascinating city, rich in history and bustling today.  The population is very young and motor scooters are everywhere.  The trick is to cross the streets at a slow, steady pace.  Sudden changes could result in disaster.  During my brief visit to Hanoi, I was able to walk through the Old Quarter and around Turtle Lake, both near to the Hotel Metropole where I stayed.  A special dinner was held one night at the Temple of Literature and I attended a chamber orchestra performance at the Opera House celebrating the 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Italy and Vietnam.

Panama Canal - January 2-5, 2013

 Crossing the Miraflores Lock

 Entering a lock at dusk

 Working through a lock past Gatun Lake

 Watching the locks open

After lunch on January 2nd, the National Geographic Sea Lion left the waters of Costa Rica and began the 180 nautical mile trek to the Gulf of Panama.  The next morning, we visited Bona & Otoque islands by zodiac before disembarking at Tabloga to visit the summer home of the ship's Hotel Manager Erasmo.  It was quite a sight to see all 60 passengers trekking through the small town and piling into a seaside cottage for a quick visit! 

At 3 pm, we began the process of entering the Panama Canal.  For the next six hours, we crossed through the first three sets of locks starting with Miraflores Lock, and anchored in Gatun Lake for the night.  The next morning, we had the privilege of visiting Barro Colorado Island, one of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute stations, where we were led on hikes guided by the researchers studying there.  After lunch, we continued our crossing of the Panama Canal through two more sets of locks before reaching the Caribbean Sea.  We anchored just inside the sea wall for the night which made for a calm night on the ship, and then disembarked the next morning to take a bus back over to Panama City for the flight home.  Quite the contrast between Colon and the built-up, modern Panama City. 

It was a fantastic trip, highlighted by the sail through the Panama Canal! 

Costa Rica - December 29, 2012 - January 2, 2013

 Two-toed sloth with baby

 White-faced capuchin monkey

 National Geographic Sea Lion

Scarlet macaws

Over year-end, I embarked on another Lindblad Expeditions trip, this time to Costa Rica and through the Panama Canal. We boarded the National Geographic Sea Lion on the west coast near Tarcoles. During the next three days, we sailed south along the coast visiting Manuel Antonio National Park, the Osa Peninsula including San Pedrillo, Corcovado National Park, Casa Orquidea Botanical Gardens in Golfo Dulce and Isla Coiba National Park. During our voyage, we were able to stop at various spots to hike, kayak, swim and generally enjoy the fairly untouched tropical forests. We encountered a variety of wildlife including two-toed and three-toed sloths, white-faced capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, agoutis, iguanas, lizards, scarlet macaws and herons.