May 2024 Edition

By: Stu Cooper / Happy Adventures
There is an old saying, and I’ve said it a million
(well not quite a million) times - Life is
what happens while you’re making plans.
And it has happened
to all of us, even me.
Case in point. In August of 2019 we
planned a big Vegas Voyagers interfaith tour
to Israel. I was planning on being one of the
tour leaders and was really looking forward to this trip.
Israel is one of my most favorite places in the world to
visit. Unfortunately, the “fates” had other ideas. I needed
emergency mitral valve open heart repair surgery three months earlier
in June and it took me a bit longer than three months to recover from
that surgery.
And medical setbacks or family obligations can pop up at any time
for any one of us. A grandchild’s wedding is announced or a graduation
ceremony is scheduled and that Hawaiian Island cruise or European
River cruise is now in jeopardy. What is one to do?
I always tell folks not to panic. If you know of conflicts well-enough
in advance, just cancel the trip you planned.
38 May 2024
Life is What Happens…
The Panama Canal
By: Dianne & Burt Davis / Our Vacation
The Panama Canal is an engineering marvel.
We sailed through it in early 2024 on the Viking
Star’s Panama Canal & Pacific Coast Cruise. As we journeyed from L.A.
to Ft. Lauderdale, on board lecturers gave us background and prepared
us for what we would see and experience.
History: In 1534, King Charles V of
Spain, at the urging of his Conquistadors
ordered a survey for a canal to connect the
Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. He realized
that a canal would eliminate the need for
treasure ships from Peru to travel around
the tip of South America to reach Spain.
Besides distance issues, sailing around
the tip is dangerous due to the rough seas.
Building a canal across the Isthmus
of Panama was hazardous. The area is
mountainous with thick jungles and disease-carrying mosquitoes. The
soil varies in quality and is unstable. The French were not aware of
these problems when they began construction in 1881 and failed after
ten years of efforts.
In 1903, the United States purchased the rights to build a canal from
the French. Unfortunately, Panama was part of Columbia then and
Columbia’s senate rejected the United States’ plan.
But a group of Panamanian patriots, with American assistance,
revolted and declared independence from Columbia. The new
Penalties for most trips don’t start to apply until three months before
the trip. We always highly recommend purchasing trip cancellation
insurance.
If you are cancelling within three months
of travel, and it is for a medical reason, this
insurance will usually reimburse you for all
costs incurred.
We have seen Vegas Voyagers having to
cancel or postpone their trips with us. Be
assured we are here to help you navigate
through a cancellation or rebooking process.
We can always help you “plan” that next
new trip. We just hope that another “Life is
what happens” event doesn’t come along.
*HOLD THE DATES: Our next VEGAS VOYAGER meetings are
scheduled for Monday, June 17th, 10:00 am Sun City Summerlin,
Desert Vista Community Center AND Tuesday, June 18th at 10:00
am at Sun City McDonald Ranch Community Center
We will be discussing our bus to the boat cruises: (1) seven night
Coastal California in November, (2) ten night Mexican Riviera in
January, and (3) 16 night Tony Arias Hawaiian Island cruise in
February. Please RSVP at: fairtravel@aol.com.
Panamanian government signed a treaty for the U.S. to build and
manage the canal in perpetuity.
The United States began construction in 1904 and completed it in
1914. The disease problem was solved by killing most mosquitoes with
insecticide. The U. S. managed the Canal until 1999 when it was turned
over to Panama.
Engineering: Ships traversing the
Canal have to be raised from sea level
and lowered back to cross Panama’s
hilly terrain. This is accomplished with a
series of locks designed to transport ships
through the canal.
Ocean water is corrosive, so fresh water
from Gatun Lake must be used to fill the
locks. Since Panama has virtually eight
months of heavy rain, it was felt that there
would always be enough fresh water.
Unfortunately, several recent years of drought has reduced the
availability of fresh water from Gatun Lake. Therefore the Canal has
restricted passage of large cruise ships.
While we do not consider ourselves experts on The Panama Canal,
we learned a great deal and had a good trip.
Burt and his wife, Vegas Voice columnist Dianne Davis, love
to travel the world and share what they learned along the way.
Once again our Vegas Voice thanks for sharing their worldwide
adventures.