TRAVEL TALES:Fascinating cruise through the Panama Canal

As our cruise ship Regal Princess nudged into Miraflores lock at the mouth of the Panama Canal, a pair of massive steel gates made in Pittsburgh 100 years ago closed behind it, a similar pair ahead opened, and water surged in to raise us to the next level.

Held steady by cables hitched to the ship from electric locomotives on either side, we stair-stepped through a succession of locks up to Gatun Lake, which comprises half the length of the entire waterway. This lake, replenished by tropical rainfall, supplies water via gravity for the locks and hydro-power for the gates and locomotives.

The Panama Canal was the magnet for a 20-day, 6,000-mile round-trip cruise my wife Tita and I made from Los Angeles in April. Instantly famous when completed in 1914, it cut through the isthmus connecting Central and South America and shortened global trade routes, with that between New York and San Francisco reduced by half.

A marvel of imagination and perseverance, its construction cost thousands of lives due to accidents as workers cut through rain forest and blasted through rock, and to yellow fever and malaria.

At the Atlantic end of Gatun Lake, our ship turned and retraced its route, docking overnight in Puerto Amador. This is the port for Panama City, a booming building site with a skyline resembling Manhattan’s. In a residential quarter, the region’s de facto dictator Manuel Noriega’s villa still stands, neglected, his nameplate on the wall.

The old city, destroyed by earthquakes, is also worth visiting for the cathedral with its solid gold altar, the glamorous National Theater and the wonderful Panama Canal Museum.

There were other cruise enticements beside the canal. Departing in the evening, we watched the coastline of Orange County on the left and Catalina Island on the right recede before continuing south to Baja California, Central America and Panama.

During sunny days at sea we saw dolphins, flying fish and giant turtles, and were escorted by frigate birds with 8-foot wingspans.

We have lasting memories of the lovely fishing harbor of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; spectacular cliff divers in Acapulco; the white beaches of Huatulco, Mexico; crocodiles basking in Costa Rica; the former capital of Nicaragua, Leon, seen from the roof of its cathedral; the gentrified city of Antigua, Guatemala; the flea market in Zihuatenejo, Mexico; and an ATV ride amid sugar-cane fields, dusty desert tracks, and rocky, dried river beds in the Sierra Madre, 40 miles inland from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Many cruise lines have a similar itinerary. Is it for you?

It’s a delight to board a ship in San Pedro in the afternoon at whatever time you wish, with no air travel, no transfers, more luggage than you would haul onto an airplane, and no jet lag on return.

Since, however, this convenience holds particular appeal for people who are mobility-challenged or too large to fit in an airplane seat, such may not be your style.

But if a rich variety of fascinating places and experiences trumps on-board ambience, you will be amply rewarded.