TLCOhio

From the Chicago Tribune in late December, they had this headline: "Panama's new canal: A plus for the Midwest, but also a triumph of human yearning" with these some of these interesting highlights: "In June, the banner could read: 'New and improved!'. Panama unveiled a $5 billion-plus new set of locks and channels to handle larger ships alongside the original canal. The new locks are longer — 1,400 feet — and wider — 180 feet — than the original 1,000-foot-long by 110-foot-wide canal, which opened more than a century ago. The new locks are also deeper, by 18 feet. Over the years, the canal — among the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, grew less wonderful. It couldn't accommodate the mammoth container vessels that move goods from food to clothing to cars between distant ports." The writers cited this from the Los Angeles Times travel writer Christopher Reynolds, Sept. 18, 1994: "The Atlantic begins here, the Pacific over there, and between them lie 51 miles of deep ditch, aged machinery, steamy jungle, epic engineering, malarial history and murky politics. Every 45 minutes or so, another big boat floats past in the humidity, bearing oil or bananas or lumber or tourists through a 110-foot-wide passage of concrete and steel. This is the jewel that so many cruise-lovers are so eager to wear in their crowns." Here are a few other info item that I view to be of value in preparing in early March for our first visit and trip through the Canal : "After a nine-year construction project, the canal can handle ships toting up to 14,000 containers, a vast improvement from the previous capacity of 5,000. The canal transformed Panama into a banking, trading and airline mecca and became one of the most lucrative and valuable tracts of real estate on Earth. That's why shipping still drives global commerce and global competition and is intense. Suez Canal officials finished work in 2015 on a new $4 billion parallel lane to accommodate two-way traffic on much of its 120 miles through Egypt. Chinese billionaire Wang Jing planned to build a canal three times as long and twice as deep in southern Nicaragua. But so far there are no visible signs of progress on this project." Below are three graphics from the media profile in this Midwest newspaper. All of this background helps me better understand more on the Panama Canal, old and new, as to how it operated, its importance, etc. Full Chicago Tribune story at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-panama-canal-expansion-chicago-trade-midwest-edit-1229-jm-20161228-story.html THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at: http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696 Now at 46,918 views for these postings. Here are three graphics from the Chicago Tribune website and related to their profile of the new Panama Canal.:

From our third day of cruising in our journey to the Amazon River, there is so, so much wonderful to share in Granada. And, the pictures? So many exciting visuals to share. If you are not liking these visuals from yesterday, we'll be happy to refund your money, double! What was not to like about Granada? Hopefully, my pictures will prove it! Grenada was where we did a ship tour called "Around The Isle of Spice" (GND-A1) that was seven hours and departed a little early at 8:00 am. When we landed at their capital of St. Georges, there were 19 of us from the Silver Cloud doing a circling of the "Isle of Spice". Fortunately, I had the front seat, next to the driver who was expert with these curving, hilly roads. It was somewhat of a long journey with lots of bus riding, but it gave us an excellent sampling of the splendid beauty, vistas and historic estates here on this island. Our excursion explores the Dougaldston Estate, Gouyave Nutmeg Factory, 'Carib Leap', the 18th-century River Antoine Rum Distillery and Grand Etang, a volcanic lake. From Frommers, they summarize well on this charming island: "The southernmost nation of the Windward Islands, Grenada (Gre-nay-dah) is one of the lushest islands in the Caribbean. With its gentle climate and extravagantly fertile volcanic soil, it's one of the largest producers of spices in the Western Hemisphere. There's a lot of very appealing local color on Grenada, particularly since the political troubles of the 1980s seem, at least for the moment, to have ended. There are beautiful white-sand beaches, and the populace (a mixture of English expatriates and islanders of African descent) is friendly. Once a British Crown Colony but now independent. Grenada's capital, St. George's, is one of the most charming towns in the Caribbean." From the Cruise Critic website, they offer this sampling of its history/background: "To the uninitiated, the Southern Caribbean island of Grenada is better known for its political history -- U.S. troops intervened in a coup during President Reagan's administration, at the time a controversial volley in the Cold War -- than it is for being a vacation paradise. But, for the tourists pouring in through the island's increasing cruise business (on a recent day, five ships were docked at the capital of St. George's) to explore its numerous beaches or hike its mountainous rain forests, such associations belong in the past. So, too, does Hurricane Ivan, which damaged 90 percent of Grenada's buildings, destroyed 85 percent of its nutmeg trees and left more than half the population homeless in September 2004. While you'll still see some lingering effects as you tour around the island -- churches without roofs, homes still being rebuilt -- St. George's is as colorful and charming as ever, and most restaurants, tourist attractions and hotels are back in business -- in many cases refurbished and looking even better than they did before." Many more pictures and background are detailed below from my live/blog. Happy to share more and/or answer any added questions. Don't be shy!! THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at: http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696 Now at 29,083 views for these postings. Here is a sampling for some of the initial sites as we traveled north from the port/capital. Notice the lush, green views? Second is a sample of the shore fishing action as people from the village there pull in the nets. Next, our excellent guide, Bertrand Antoine, who had the perfect island voice/style, plus lots of details, personality and sharing skills, took us to an old estate. He gave us background for the various spices and items from this island. Below you can see certain of the examples as he share more for how these are produced, processed. He passed around samples so that we could smell and feel these unique items. He also told us about the flag for Grenada, its color and design, etc.:

From the Daily Mail travel section in London two days ago, they have this headline: "Happy Birthday, Barbados! The island is set to celebrate her 50th anniversary of independence". Here are some of their story highlights: "Next year marks Barbados’ 50th anniversary of her independence from the British Crown. Following the establishment of the first English settlement at Holetown in 1627, Barbados remained a British colony for more than 300 years. Its independence on November 30, 1966 was marked by the raising of the Barbados national flag. Ever since, November 30 has been a national holiday." Interesting history and background!! We super enjoyed visiting Barbados for two full days in connection with our Amazon River-Caribbean "adventure" earlier this year as detailed and connected on the live/blog noted below. In this story, they also note: "Next year’s celebrations will be running throughout November, and will include sports competitions, fairs, community events and religious services. On Independence Day itself a grand parade is held, usually at the Garrison Savannah, site of the original independence ceremony in 1966. One of the highlights will be the decorative lighting of Parliament Buildings, Independence Square, the Independence Arch and businesses throughout the capital Bridgetown, using blue and gold, the national colours." Sounds like lots of fun and excitement. We really enjoyed our time in Barbados, experiencing its people, the history, character, its natural settings, etc. Below are some of my visual highlights and details. More to come and be shared here. Full story at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-3246379/Happy-Birthday-Barbados-island-set-celebrate-50th-anniversary-independence-join-in.html THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at: http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696 Now at 28,972 views for these postings. When we arrived Saturday in Barbados, this was the scenic beach and sunset view near our hotel. Look good? Liked being the Caribbean for the first time!!: Before boarding the ship, we did a three-hour private tour with a Barbados cab driver. He took us all over this historic and scenic island, including to the top where the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea come together. Is this dramatic and scenic? Does my wife’s smile say it all?: For our Sunday departure, Barbados was busy with five ships in port, including three very large ships. Below shows the rainbow, the Celebrity 2,850 passenger docked next our much smaller ship, etc. It's fun doing these sail-away to start new adventures!: During our Sunday tour of Barbados, here are two examples of the shopping options available. Nothing hit my eye or wallet that really needed to be purchased. Got to save money for more shore excursions!!:

On aother board, I posted some of my earlier Venice pictures and I got lots of nice comments. I thought I would share some of those visuals here and invite other comments on what you loved most in Venice. What was the "magic" for you? I first visited Venice, twice, in December of 1970, seeing a city without the summer mobs. In some ways, it was then even more of the "real thing" as you were better experiencing it as to how residents live, work and walk around there. We were back in May 1999 and hope to be there again in June 2011 as a cruise stop. This is the website for the official Venice tourism office: http://www.turismovenezia.it/venezia/eng/default.asp?lingua=en THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio For lots of interesting details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. Don’t be shy and feel free to ask any questions of interest. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923 Nothing says Venice better than Piazza San Marco, the "living room" of this great city. Unlike most cities in Europe, this square has people prevailing over the sounds of cars, trucks and motor scooters. The Piazza has it all, the Basilica of San Marco at its eastern end, the Campanile Tower, other historic buildings and the walkway to where Marco Polo boarded ships to discover China and the East. Plus, in the evenings, there are the "battle of the bands" with music playing and people enjoying this area without the middle of the day tourist mobs.: This picture shows San Giorgio Maggiore, a 16th century Benedictine church built between 1566 and 1610. The gondolas are docked in the foreground in the main part of Venice. There were eight to ten thousand gondolas during the 17th and 18th century with only about four hundred in active service today.: This Venice picture gives a sample of different roof designs/decorations, the church dome and the famed Campanile. This bell tower of St Mark's Basilica is 323 feet tall and is a plain brick square shaft, 39 feet wide on each side. This tower reached its present form in 1514, but was reconstructed in 1912 after the 1902 collapse.: Along a canal, this is Da Raffaelle where we had an outdoor table right next to the waterway. Wonderful food and spectacular setting. It is located at Ponte delle Ostreghe 2347. It is west of San Marco Square and south of La Fenice Opera House.: Here is a sampling of more great architecture details in Venice on the historic building and stone columns. In the background is Santa Maria della Salute. There are over one million timber piles supporting the vast weight of this Baroque church's large dome.:

From visiting Athens for three days in 2006 prior to starting our first cruise, there is much to enjoy here. It is a large city of about four million people. Much of the city is urban, newer growth, so-so and average. BUT, the stars in Athens are superstars!!! Below are some picture examples. I rate the top three as the Parthenon and Acropolis Hill, the Plaka and the National Archilogical Museum. Parthenon construction began in 447BC and was completed in 432BC on the spectacular Athenian Acropolis hill. We had a wonderful retired teacher as our guide there and she gave us great, interesting details on how it was constructed. It is rated as the most important surviving building of Classical Greece. As you can see from the pictures, we had a great, beautiful sunny day there! Wonderfully nice place to see this history and all that is nearby in Athens. We stayed at the nice and highly-rated AVA Hotel that was right nearby in the heart of the highly-enjoyable Plaka. This dining and shopping area is totally full of charm and interest, plus being handy to the Acropolis and other historic areas. The National Archaeological Museum is not right nearby, but it is well worth the trip by subway to get there. It is the most important archaeological museum of Greece and has a very important international collection of antiquities. Its artifacts cover a period of more than 5,000 years, from late Neolithic Age to Roman Greece. You can follow that timeline history and better understand how the Romans "borrowed" the great designs of the Greeks to "share" with the world. You can do much of Athens well in a day or two. On one of our three days there (besides resting up from the long trans-Atlantic flight), we did a day-trip to the Peloponnesian Peninsula seeing Corinith, Nafplio, the Mycenae fortress-town of that Aegean civilization and Epidaurus with its great outdoor theatre with perfect sound. Happy to post more pictures and/or answer questions. It is worth the added time in Athens and nearby. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Outdoor theatre adjoining the Parthenon: On Acropolis hill: One sample from famed National Archaeological Museum: At night in Plaka: