February 20, 2025

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Exactly 15 years ago today in 2010 I was on the final day at sea of an 8-day Carnival Freedom cruise to and from Central America. It was my 9TH Carnival cruise (out of 16), and my 14TH cruise overall (out of 24).

This cruise ship (Carnival Freedom) was special to me in that I sailed it from Rome Italy (Civitavecchia) – through the Mediterranean – and across the Atlantic over to Miami Florida for its inaugural homecoming cruise in late-October / early-November 2007. In other words – I was on the cruise that brought it to the U.S.A. for the first time ever. It was – and still is – my favorite (and longest) cruise ever.

This specific cruise (exactly 15 years ago) was special to me in that it included two brand new nations / ports-of-call for me – Limón Costa Rica, and Colón Panama.

Upon arrival in Colón a group of us (who booked the same shore excursion) boarded a coach bus, and we took the 55-mile trek from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the Transisthmian Highway (Pan-American Highway). At one point during the trek southeastward we reached a security checkpoint where we came to a complete stop and allowed armed military police on-board to visually check us to make sure that we were legitimate tourists. They allowed us to continue on our way to Panama City. Once in the big city we got off the coach bus and we boarded a large boat. We enjoyed a breathtaking view of the skyline of Panama City as we entered the Panama Canal. We sailed about half of the Canal, and then we picked up our coach bus for the rest of the trek back to our cruise ship in Colón.

It was a fun day on the Panama Canal, and I’ll remember it forever – despite no photos. (It was shortly before me owning my first smart phone.) Maybe someday I’ll be able to sail the entire Panama Canal on a cruise ship that’s repositioning from one home port to another.

16 years ago – I drove / relocated my parents and their cat Pumpkin over 1,050 miles from Fleming Island (Clay County) Florida to Allen (Collin County) Texas. I’ll look back at that – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.