As thought, Manta was something of a non event. We have been there before, and did the only reasonable excursion then, which is a ride to the nearby town of Montechristi in open sided buses. A band sits on the roof, playing as one goes. Montechristi is the principal producer of Panama hats. They do not come from Panama!
We took ourselves of to the local craft market, just to get off the ship for a spell. It was very hot, at 35C, with high humidity. We did a little to support the local economy, and then returned to the snactuary which is air-conditioned. For enertainment, being such sad people, along with many others we watched the unloading of the next door ship. Apparently it was a mother ship to the huge fishing fleet based in Manta, and had been at sea for five months. The antics of the dockworkers was the source of our amusement.
Next stop was Balboa. This is the port at the Pacific end of the Panama Canal. For us it was a tender port, as the only berths are for conatiner ships.. A huge number of container ships transit the canal, but only those up to 100,000 tons. Bigger ones, and much smaller ones, off load in Balboa, and the containers make the transit by train.
Our trip ashore was to the viewing platform by the Miraflores Lock, to see the workings and the history, and then to the old Spanish Colonal part of Panama City, via the old American base from the days of the Canal Zone. The Americans finally left in 1999, on 31st December. The Panamanians have put the redundant facilities to very good use. The housing stock was sold off, and is now a sought after neighbourhood. The barrac, and office blocks have been turned over to either commercial or educational purposes. There are two universities on the site, along with six private schools which were persuaded to move out of the city centre. Their old schools are now state schools, a win win situation all round.
We had just over an hour at the visitor centre, which was not really enough time, but was adequate, and it gave us a good understanding of how things work. There was quite a lot on background to the building of the canal, and what goes into its daily operations.
The old part of the city was fascinating. Many of the buildings are in a poor state of repair, and many others are undergoing refurbishment. The Panama City authorities have given every building owner seven years from 2009 to sort out the property. If they do not, then the building will be confiscated without redress!! This ruling seems to be having the desired effect. The finished articles have commercial opportunities at street level, and residential above. These are sought after, as they are quite large, and in a good area of the city, near the sea. The owners, so we were told, usually keep the top flat for themselves.
It was another very hot, humid day. Even our guide was please to get into the air-conditioned sanctuary of the bus. She was very interesting, as she is a Mexican, married to a Panamanian, and who learnt her english as a child at school in Southampton, when her father was working at the hospital there! Her only complaint now is that she does not really get enough opportunities to practise it. Some of her words came out a little strangely, and needed a bit of work. One of the hardest for us to get to grips with was 'noons', until we worked out she meant 'nuns'.
Overall, it was a very good outing, and we were sorry it came to an end . However, we were pleased to get back to the ship, as the humidity was hitting 85% and the temperature well over 30C. Very hot and sticky.
Next is the Panama Canal itself. We are due to up anchor at around 6am, and enter the canal at about 7.45. However, knowing this Captain, it is very possible that we will be early. Let us wait and see!