Views from My Hotel Window

John Scalzi frequently posts photos of the view from his various hotel windows, and it’s one of my favorite categories of his blog. Travel is often about the highlights of a given place, but hotel windows do not always look out on the best a city has to offer. It’s like the difference between watching a high-end runway fashion show, and people-watching at the local mall. You see all kinds of things.

My recent trip involves a different kind of “hotel” and features views with a mix of the local mall-type spots, tourist spots, and the best of nature. We were on a cruise through the Panama Canal. My hotel window is the view from our balcony. We didn’t have internet on the ship, so you’re getting all of it at once – a selection of the best. I’ll come back in another post with more photos of the trip.

Starting at the beginning: Leaving Ft. Lauderdale.

Below is a day at sea – I think we’re in the Caribbean by now. A few whitecaps show things were a little bouncy, which usually means good sleeping for me.

The next two photos are the port in Aruba, which is kind of touristy AND local mall-ish. Of course, ports are working places for the movement of cargo and people. Aesthetics is not the primary purpose.

Below are a couple pictures showing our approach to Cartegana, Columbia. The city and bay are stunning as you come in.

This is a picture of Lake Gatun, at the top of the Panama Canal. I have LOTS of pictures of the canal, but not many from our stateroom. We spent most of the day out on deck watching our passage through the locks. It was beyond fascinating. Lake Gatun is the middle passage – after the first locks have raised the ship, we sail across the lake to the locks that will lower the ship down to the Pacific. The city in the distance is Panama City.

A sunset picture. We were lucky to be on the port side of the ship and were facing west as we sailed up the coast of Central America. The sunsets were spectacular.

I missed getting pictures of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We sailed into Costa Rica before I was awake and it was dark, anyway. The captain canceled our stop in Nicaragua due to rough seas at the port.

Our next port was Cabo San Lucas. I took this as we approached – a picture of the famous Arch Rock. You might have to expand the photo to see the arch.

 And finally, our return home. Another working port, but a great view on a foggy morning. Time to get the jackets back out!