Passing by Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica/Carlos Pueblo

Passing by Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica/Carlos Pueblo

On the seven day, we stopped at Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, a

container port of this nation on the Pacific Coast. The Cruise arranged

shuttle buses to transfer passengers to a city 28 kilometers away, Puntarenas,

on the other side of the Gulf of Nicoya. I didn’t take any of the land excursions

offered by the ship; therefore, I didn’t have any of the beautiful scenery view

of this beautiful nation. On the mountain roads, I didn’t see any agriculture

produce at all and I wondered if fishing was the main job opportunities for

the residents.

I walked along the city beach in adjacent to the downtown. It was early in the

morning and we were the only ship at the port. The city was not busy at all.

I saw young people jogging on the beach obviously were tourists passing by.

There are many hotels and motels on the beach front streets and I believe

that are for the car driving tourists. Costa Rica is in the Center America and I

believe is the pass way to the South America or vice versa. The residential area

and the business area are mixed and I see some tall mango trees bearing green

fruits which reminds me my childhood time at Huwei, Taiwan. We did have a lot

of mango trees at that time before the population boom of 70’s.

I followed many passengers to take the shuttle bus to return to the ship early.

It’s because that I don’t do shopping any longer. Once I am getting in age, my

need is diminished. Other than regular living expanse, cruise is my main expenditure.

I don’t buy jewelry, sweat shirts, and gifts at all.

Ship programs at the port day are less than at the sea day, yet there is still some

activities on board, i.e. visiting restaurants and sitting at the atrium to see people.  

Usually, I would chat with some of my adopted daughters at the restaurants

especially one ice cream store called CoCo, a paid restaurant one inside and one

outside. This is the first time for me to take the Bliss and I am still learning the location

of the facility.

The ship took off in the early evening and night programs resumed. The entire ship

became alive again. Imagine that it is a small U.S. township people stay in a huge

vessel with more than 30 restaurants, bars, and a full function casino.

船停哥斯大黎加卡爾德拉港/莊峻華

船停哥斯大黎加卡爾德拉港/莊峻華

船出巴拿馬運河，沿太平洋海岸北上，船行一日海上，極樂號是艘新

豪華巨大郵輪，船上節目豐富，我提到新學橋牌課，日本圍棋，還有

拜訪船上愛女們，十分緊湊，倒是船停哥斯大黎加卡爾德拉港一日，

顯得寂寞清靜，德港離市區尚有一段，所以郵輪安排巴士接駁，市中

心在海港海灣之另一端，哥國介於大西洋和太平洋間，以風景和治安

馳名，郵輪安排路地遊，我僅按習慣逛逛市街，美麗海灘，並非吸引

我者。

因為是清晨，市區尚未繁忙，海灘就在市中心，僅少許人散步，也有

晨跑者，這是中美洲大陸，通往南北美洲，有些旅行者，穿梭其間，

街道上客棧林立，也有在海灘上，架設營帳者，我來回徘徊海灘，順

便觀賞市區建築，這是商業住宅共存小鎮，引我注目者為庭院中之巨

大芒果樹，再過一兩週，已可採食，和虎尾故鄉一類之土芒果，帶來

多少美憶。我已幾十年不購物，因此對商店，非常陌生，這些觀光區

，到處都是商店和珠寶店，顯然有生意，否則如何歷久而不衰？

當地人見我特別，與我西語交談，不過是簡單幾句，我都可以應付，

也覺得親切，幾週初級班西語，溫習有效，因為開始天熱，我就搭上

巴士回船，船上就像一繁忙小鎮，設備飲食，均是一流，而且許多有

趣節目。

我非農業專門，甚難想像德港附近居民之謀生事業？我不見農牧，也

不知是否為捕魚？或是依賴觀光旅遊，許多哥國人移民美國，蓋美國

繁榮，許多就業機會。

Coming back from Alaska fjords 2019/Carlos Pueblo

Coming back from Alaska fjords 2019/Carlos Pueblo

Early Tuesday morning, I came back from a two weeks cruise from Alaska

with joy and happiness. It’s my 5^th time of this route along the inner Alaska

Coastal line from Vancouver, Canada to Seward, Alaska and back and repeated

visits of several ports such Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Seward, and the Icy

Straight Point. The Jewel sails through Glacial Bay National Park with several

ancient glaciers on view.

It’s a back to back program that makes the two weeks very compact in time.

It reminds me some of my fond memory of my childhood time in the central

mountain area of Taiwan. In a small township where my father worked at a

small sugar factory during the summer time, a Chinese refugee artist came to

stay at the factory’s visitors’ house to paint the Snow Mountain not far away.

I have adored such talent in my life time even though I am not good at it and

now like him to stay away from the summer heat of somewhere, I took many

photos on two cameras on my way through the most beautiful scenery of

Alaska fjords with snow cap mountains and glaciers in the summer.

I’ll write about my routine while passing by those familiar ports of Alaska, I

hike upstream on Ketchikan Creek to the fish hatchery and the small park

where the colorful Rhododendrons blooming. I took city bus to visit the

Mandenhall Glacier at Juneau and the Last Chance Gold Mine museum

outside the city, etc. At Skagway, I hike on both Lower and Upper Dewey

Lake. I counted bald eagles between the port and town center of the Icy

Straight Point. I watched King salmon dishing at Seward water front beach.

It has been very enjoyable trip with nice weather.

The Jewel is my first 4 cruises ship which has covered New England/Canada

from NYC, Alaska from Seattle, two Western Caribbean from New Orleans

and Houston while I still have had a very fond memory. I chatted with an

old timer about the Star Piano Bar on Deck 13 before today’s Moderno’s

Restaurant, she knows what I am talking about and she even describes the

old Swedish Captain’s retirement and where about. I have four dinners with

my adopted daughters on board transferred from the Dawn and had good

time. I also ran into several frequent cruise passengers whom I met on the

other ships.

     

   

阿拉斯加郵輪旅行歸來2019/莊峻華

阿拉斯加郵輪旅行歸來2019/莊峻華

昨日凌晨，從阿拉斯加郵輪輪旅行回家，這次兩週旅行，搭船從

加拿大溫哥華港出發，沿阿州海岸抵蘇握港，再從蘇握港沿原途

南下，回溫哥華，經過幾處阿州海港和冰洲，此航程我原有多次

經驗，風景依舊美麗迷人，其中在溫哥華市，兩次參觀美麗之伊

莉莎白女皇玫瑰花園，排攝千餘相片留念。

我曾在溫哥華上船過，因此從機場到碼頭，幾稱熟練，稍問路即

可，炎夏離開休士頓，到阿州旅行，像是避署，船行阿州內海峭

壁，眺望山頂積雪，令憶得童年，埔里糖廠招待所，有中國難民

畫家，在曬木薯渣場前，寫生雪山情景，未料我之晚年，搭巨輪

遊覽阿州冰天雪地，甚覺幸福矣。

經過幾海港，我都下船逛街和爬山，像凱其坎鎮，我就溯凱溪上

抵漁殖場小公園，石楠花正怒放，美不勝收。在珠諾市，我幾次

拜望俄羅斯屋之老女店東，一次搭車到郊外，參觀曼甸活冰洲，

一次徒山路到最後廢金礦。在史凱衛鎮，兩次登山，一次到上杜

威湖，一次到下杜威湖，每次都是精疲力竭，在蘇握港參觀釣鮭

魚，在胡娜小鎮數凸鷹，非常有趣。船長帶我們參觀四日古巨大

冰洲，非常狀觀，首日，有國家公園職員整站，上船講解，回程

則由節目部經理代勞，我將一一稍後詳述。

這次，有黎明號餐廳部熟識，調來珠寶號服務，也有些舊識前來

招呼，非常親切，我約是認四十位愛女，因為是一週航程，我購

買來回船票，我的鉑金加級，有許多節目，非常忙碌緊湊，一轉

眼，派對迅速結束，留下許多美憶，如今，我之遊記，已經落後

三次旅行，巴拿馬運河行，英國行，和此行阿拉斯加，我回加後

，將逐一記述。

上午，我將前後院草坪整理一下，然後觀看台灣政治節目，兩週

不見，香港有巨變，台灣政壇忙於明年，總統初選，美國也開幕

，我看股市無甚變化，我又恢復平靜之老年生活。

The Phenomena of the cruise passes the Canal/Carlos Pueblo

The Phenomena of the cruise passes the Canal/Carlos Pueblo

There are two basic theorem applied to the phenomena of the huge

cruise passes the Canal, the density and the tunnel effect. European

engineers have successfully practiced such physical principle into good

uses, ship building and the old canal transportation technique. Density

is the weight divided by the volume and water is 1 means 1 mg/ml

while the cruise density is less than 1; therefore, the 162,000 tons can

be afloat. There are 6 locks on the Panama Canals to adjust the water

levels of the waterway from one lock to another 26 feet high is the

requirement. The entering and disposing of water to the man made lake

adjacent to the waterway is also based on another theorem, the gravity;

therefore, the water change involves no power at all.

Once the ship enters the first lock, everybody is anxious to watch. The Bliss

is a new ship designed for the scenery route of Alaska and is on the way to

that destination via the passage of the Canal. The ship is sit on the chamber,

the pond in between two locks, and the water is filled in to raise the water

level to 26 feet, on the measurement label. After the water level on both

chambers are in the same levels, the 2^nd lock is opened automatically and the

huge ship is guided and towed by a powerful tug boat to pass the chamber and

the lock. On the U.K. 2000 miles canals and rivers system, the barge operators

are required to take turn to open the lock manually. It takes 10 hours to pass

6 locks on the Panama Canal while about 45 minutes to an hour to pass a

single lock in England. It is good to mention that the newly crown Japanese

Emperor has some experience of such phenomena when studying the English

water transportation for two years.

There is an original canal for ships with a little bit less weight side by side with

this newly addition of 48 miles. I walked around the observation lounge on

Deck 15 with sparkly windows around, a design for the glacier viewing in Alaska.

We started at 7 a.m. from the Caribbean Sea and reached to the Pacific side around

the sunset. We saw two or three huge containers mooring on the strait preparing

to enter the Canal. I could identify some of their names, Yang Ming and Evergreen,

famous Taiwanese cargo ships.

After the Canal passage, I went to have my 4 weeks land trip to the U.K. where the

weather was still very chilly and dam. A lady at the information center heard my

experience of the Panama Canal recommended me to visit local canals and I did

many times in England with additional taste of the unique waterway passage.

船入巴拿馬運河水閘/莊峻華

船入巴拿馬運河水閘/莊峻華

極樂號下午三時，就從哥倫比亞卡塔西那港出發，前往巴拿馬運河之

加勒比海入口，準備渡過這48哩之運河，到太平洋彼岸，船入巴拿馬

六水閘，六蓄水池，大西洋和太平洋各三，船在蓄水池，調整到海平面

高26呎，旁有人工湖，利用連通器原理，水閘之開閉，調整水位，此

巨輪由一小拖船，拖畢全程，一共耗十小時，我因此經驗好奇不已，在

一週後旅行英國，參觀四週，英格蘭運河網。

我在英國伯明罕市城中運河行軍，遇到一對夫婦，駕駛運河船，緩慢一

水閘過關，一水閘約需45分鐘，我在河岸步徑觀看，並且好奇發問，該

船已有30餘年，可乘七人，他們準備開回倫敦，時間甚長，非常有趣，

我問到攝政王皇家公園之運河，她說當地有甚巨規模之船屋社區，後來我

到倫敦十日，幾乎每天拜訪該區，坎登鎮，行軍到國王交叉站附近之隧道

口。我問先生，他們輪流掌舵，和開閉水閘，運河在其他國家之狀況，他

說法國有，不知德國。法國人開鑿蘇彝世運河，美國買下法國公司，巴拿

馬運河權利，完成巴拿馬運河，已經一百餘年，仍有巨大貢獻。美國東部

也有運河，非常有趣，我讀過這類書籍，也親身拜訪過，美國運河，和英

國運河命運相似，據曰，運河船仍能穿過美國大陸，就是舊運河和河川網

水路系統，但需自備武裝自衛，英國公安稍好。

極樂號開放新潁觀賞設備，此新型郵輪，專門為室內觀賞阿拉斯加冰洲用

，遊客們據點，內外觀賞過運河，右側就是原始運河，稍小船隻使用，運

河兩岸，已經有新興城市，運河已屬巴拿馬國，運河管理，據曰為中國公

司，蓋當年擴充新道，中國資本介入。

船終於在日落前，出運河水閘，進入太平洋，有舊招商局之陽明號，和長

榮貨櫃巨輪，停泊外海，準備開入水閘，渡過運河，到加勒比海，巴拿馬

運河，可以節省一萬四千哩路。

Visiting Marsden, England/Carlos Pueblo

Visiting Marsden, England/Carlos Pueblo

Marsden is a small village south of the Manchester, England with a

population of about 3,000 residents. The gentleman who was on the

Marple’s canal for volunteer work recommended me to visit the long

Standedge Tunnels of 3.224 miles and a taste of canal barge. Again, I

had visited this lovely village twice and ran into raining on both days.

It was a spring celebration of the Cuckoo Festival, for some legend

that the birds did come to visit this area in the spring.

There is no body working on the small train station of three platforms

due to the size and needs. I saw an abandon mill not far away from the

station. The village is located in a basin surround by hills with falling

stone green hills with white sheep roaming around. Cherry blossoms were

still on branches with new green leaves coming out and I knew that I was

about a week late to arrive. However, there was a big Kwan San flower cherry

still at full bloom on a church yard. People were preparing the festival inside

the church for the program on the next day. I saw a pair of old men to practice

piano and guitar. Outside, there was a lady walking with her dog and chatted

with me about the village. She used to work with the abandoned mill for the

wool garment products. At the peak time, the mill had employed more than

1,600 workers. She also recommended me visit the tunnel and the museum.

She strongly recommended me come back on the next day for the festival,

the Cuckoo Festival.

There was volunteers on the canal to operate the barge, the canal boat, to

carry the interested from the train station to the entrance of the tunnel and

there was a larger size barge to carry visitors inside the tunnel. On the side of

moorings, there were stores and eatery to be provided for the service. I visited

the museum and saw the original tools of the construction of canals back then

some two hundred plus year ago. I was very impressed for the English

determination and dedication to meet the great industrial revolution. I also

marched along the canal on the opposite direction of the tunnel from the

train station.

I did go back for the festival on the next day. It rained even harder and I started

with the church, then another parts of village center. A special rescue team of

the Peak Forest showed their equipment in front of the second church. There were

several singing and dancing groups spread at village corner and city library. I saw

a dog playing a fish on a freezing creek caught on many bystanders.