Indiana Gazette from Indiana, Pennsylvania • 41

a a a a a a a a The Indiana, PA Gazette LEISURE Sunday, October 17, 1993 Under the stars Night passage through Panama Canal awash in beauty CHERYL BLACKERBY Cox News Service PANAMA CANAL ZONE, Panama Night descended over Gatun Lake. Steam clung to cool surface, blurring the line between air and water. We were in the middle of the Panama Canal, a 50-mile-long American-built channel hacked out of stagnant swamps and Panamanian jungle by 75,000 laborers. They worked a decade, from 1904 to 1914, so that we could sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific without having to go around South America. From the darkened bridge of the Ocean Breeze cruise ship, I could see line of were so bright on the Japanese freighter next freighters behind us.

The orange yellow lights to us, I could make out two men on the deck arguing, one man pointing his finger in the face of the other one, who was also vigorously pointing a contest of jabbing index fingers. Stars were clearly visible straight above, and ahead of us floodlights lighted three pairs of locks brighter than a freeway. The concrete water chambers, each 1,000 feet long like three giant steps separated us from the Caribbean Sea. From the lookout deck outside the bridge, OceanBreeze Capt. Dimitrios Mylonas and one of the two American pilots from the Panama Canal Commission, who had boarded the ship to guide us through the canal, monitored the ship's approach to the first lock.

The only sound was the deep, southern-accented voice of the pilot, Rick Skousgard, a Virginian who had been a merchant marine and a tugboat captain before working on the Panama Canal. "Steady as she goes," he said, not taking his eyes off the bow and the lock ahead. The ship's beam (its width) was 78 feet, and the lock was 110 feet wide 16 feet to spare on each side of the ship, which was something like trying to put a Cadillac in a parking space for a compact car. "Steady as she goes," Capt. Mylonas immediately relayed to the helmsman, who gripped the brass wheel.

"Easy, Mehaffey, easy," the pilot spoke into a hand-held radio to captain of the Mehaffey, a tugboat that this nudging the bow of the ship toward the lock. The ship eased forward. Six electric locomotives, called mules, which ran on tracks along both sides of the locks, were connected to the OceanBreeze to help guide and position the ship. An hour and 10 minutes later, the ship had passed from Gatun Lake through the three locks and was in the Caribbean. The pilots sprawled in chairs on the and smoked Marlboros while waiting for the pilot boat that would take them to the Panamanian city on the Atlantic end of the canal.

A Panama Canal Commission car: would take them back to Balboa on the other. end of the canal. The 50-mile drive would take hours. The 50-mile trip for a ship going through the canal's six pairs of locks from the Atlantic to the Pacific would take eight hours at best. The excitement of a nighttime passage through the locks was not lost on the passengers.

The open decks of the ship one of the great attributes of an older ship such as the OceanBreeze were crowded with people, children and adults, who leaned against the railing for better views. For many of them, this moment was the reason they had taken the cruise. It didn't matter that the OceanBreeze hadn't gone all the way to the Pacific, and had turned around in Gatun Lake. Just to see the ship go through the first three locks in daytime and again in the evening was entertainment enough. Newest Las Vegas resort opens Oct.

27 LAS VEGAS -Pirates will invade the city of Las Vegas when Treasure Island, The Adventure Resort, opens its doors next week. The newest property of Mirage Resorts Inc. will transport guests back to the days of the pirates, complete with a unique, hourly sea battle between the Treasure Island pirates and British naval officers aboard full-scale ships and featuring 30 stuntmen and actors. Las Vegas is currently undergoing $2 billion in construction along the famed Las Vegas "strip." Treasure Island illustrates the current evolution of Las Vegas into a multi-dimensional resort destination where entertainement resorts are the rule, rather than the exception. The 36-story Treasure Island resort, opening Oct.

27, is located adjacent to The Mirage on the Las Vegas "Strip." Featuring 2,900 guest rooms, including 212 suites, Treasure Island is designed to service the growing number of middleincome consumers choosing Las Vegas as vacation destination. The standard room rate will be approximately $65 per night. Historically, showrooms, restaurants and gambling provided the entertainment in Las Vegas. Today, like The Mirage with its Royal White Tigers, Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and erupting volcano are Kennedy International Airport, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Reported thefts of luggage through July totaled 1,569, an increase of 43 percent over the same period last year, said John Kampfe, a Port Authority spokesman.

Thefts are also up at Newark, 52.3 percent, but the figures are much lower: 332 through July this year. Kampfe said the Port Authority police were studying where the thefts took place and whether they were random or tended to occur in particular areas. Undercover officers have been put in place, and uniformed patrols have been shifted. Rental luggage carts that are pulled by a passenger were involved in 469 of this year's thefts, Kampfe said; bags can be taken off without the victim's being aware, and sometimes bags fall off unnoticed. Carts are not available at Newark.

The cart franchise-holder, the Smarte Cart company of White Bear Lake, is putting redesigned carts into service at Kennedy as part of its new three-year contract with the Port Authority and the airlines. Instead of being pulled with one hand, these are designed to be pushed with two hands. All 1,000 carts at the American Airlines terminal have already been replaced, said Tamara Phippen of Smarte Cart, and the 5,000 carts in the rest of the airport will be replaced by Thanksgiving. The new carts still have three wheels for easy steering, but they are lighter, weighing 33 pounds instead of 51. Kampfe said passengers should never entrust their luggage to any- TRAVEL BRIEFS N.Y.

Times News Service Luggage theft Luggage thefts are up sharply at These passengers were not alone there the Pacific Ocean. are more than 250 cruise ship transits a year, The laborers who built the canal, most of scheduled because cruisers want to see the whom were West Indians more than 43,000 canal. The OceanBreeze paid the Panama at the height of the work in 1913 worked side Canal Commission a $40,000 toll for this trip, by side using steam shovels and dredges to cut money spent if gauged by the passengers' through the jungles and hills. enthusiasm. The greatest obstacle to building the canal The slogan of the canal during the building wasn't the mountainous terrain, but disease.

of it was "The Land Divided, the World The Isthmus of Panama was one of the most United," which has proved to be no overstate- disease-ridden areas in the world. ment. It had been a dream since Col. William C. Gorgas, an American physiVasco Nunez de Balboa, the first European to cian who had wiped out yellow fever in discover the Pacific Ocean, saw the possibility Havana, Cuba, began a campaign of clearing of a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific brush and draining swamps to kill the types of oceans.

mosquitoes that carried malaria and yellow The finished canal shortened a ship's voyage fever. By 1906, he had wiped out yellow fever between New York City and San Francisco. and eliminated the rats that carried bubonic from 13,000 miles, which was the distance plague. around South America, to less than 5,200 The canal was ultimately much: more than a miles. 50-mile ditch: It united two sides of the globe The concept was complex encompassing and prompted research that gained control of the complicated series of locks, and the diseases that had killed entire populations.

163-square-mile Gatun Lake, held back by an I had looked forward to seeing the canal but earth dam, the Gatun Dam, one of the largest hadn't expected to be awed by it. The daytime in the world. passage had been lovely as we sailed past An American civilian commission, appoint- jungles and lush hills intermittently veiled by ed by President Theodore Roosevelt, decided gray curtains of rain and spotlighted by a to buiid a canal with locks, and not a sea-level searing tropical sun. channel, for two reasons: It would be cheaper But the nighttime passage, with the brightly and faster to build and would control the lighted freighters and locks, was another thing floodwaters of the Chagres River. entirely.

From the Atlantic end of the canal, ships OceanBreeze Staff Capt. Kostas Dossios had enter the three Gatun Locks, which lift the told me I should see it. He had been through ship 85 feet to Gatun Lake. the canal hundreds of times, on freighters and Once a ship is in a lock, massive steel gates cruise ships, and his enthusiasm at yet close and canal workers open valves to flood another canal crossing was surprising. the lock with water from Gatun Lake.

It takes He pointed out the lights outlining Gatun only about 10 minutes to raise a ship to the Dam to the left of us and the lights of the locks level of the next lock. and locomotives clearly visible ahead. Gazing After sailing through a 22-mile channel at the locks, he said, "It is beautiful, isn't it?" through the lake, ships enter the 8-mile long A strange word for a man-made concrete Gaillard Cut, and then sail through the Pedro and steel waterway. But he was, of course, Miguel and Miraflores locks and, finally, into right. becoming entertainment themselves.

Along with the city's other new properties, Treasure Island will take the trend even further. All of Treasure Island's public areas maintain the theme of a pirate village built of the booty and plunder the pirates have captured through the years. "We want guests to feel as if they take a step back in time and are standing along side Long John Silver and young Jim Hawkins to experience the captivating environment and excitement of pirate life," said Steve Wynn, chairman of the board of Mirage Resorts Inc. The signature of the resort is Buccaneer Bay, a spectacular facade at the front of the property where the 90-foot long pirate ship Hispaniola is docked unloading a cache of ill-gotten goods. Hoursely, the British frigate Royal Brittania sails around Skull Point to confront the pirate ship.

A full-scale battle ensues as cannon and musket fire are exchanged and stunt men are thrown from their ships into the water. The pirates, appearing to be losing the battle, make one last ditched effort to fire their cannon at the British. The short hits dead center and the Royal Brittania sinks. (After all, this is Las Vegas the pirates always win. one not in a skycap uniform and should keep it in sight at all times.

Sonesta reopens When Hurricane Andrew surged through south Florida last fall, Key Biscayne, Miami's island neighbor, was among the hardest hit communities. Its three hotels, which drew around 200,000 visitors a year, sustained substantial damage, and were closed. On Oct. 1, Key Biscayne's 300- room Sonesta Beach Resort reopened after $10 million renovation. The hotel, whose grounds and interior had been devastated by the storm now has sliding glass doors and balcony railings built to withstand winds up to 200 miles an hour.

The grounds have been replanted with salt-tolerant, wind-resistant native trees and shrubs. For now, the Sonesta is the only hotel to reopen, although the 56- room Silver Sands motel is tentatively scheduled to reopen for the winter season. The Sheraton Royal Biscayne, which sustained some of the heaviest damage, is to be razed. Aztec restoration Almost from the moment they arrived in 1519, the Conquistadors set about dismantling the ancient city of Tenochtitlan and building upon its ruins what was to become the modern Mexico City. Little remains from that time, but the city has just completed a $2 million restoration of one of the last direct links to the Aztecs: the floating gardens of Xochimilco.

In the far south of the city, just off the main ring road called the Periferico, Xochimilco (pronounced soche-MIL-co) is a remnant of the five great lakes that filled the Valley of Mexico when the Spaniards first ISLAND Li Treasure Island opens Oct. 27 in Las Vegas. It has now been refurbished as a casino designed to accommodate 5,000 people, including 1,500 players. Unlike casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the one in Montreal, managed by the provincial government under Loto-Quebec, the agency that has been offering daily and weekly lottery games since 1970, is not operating around the clock, a spokesman said, but is open every day from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.

Among games being played at 65 tables are roulette, blackjack and baccarat. There are also 1,200 slot machines. Craps, however, will be absent, the spokesman said, because dice games are forbidden by law in Canada. Information: (514) 392-2746 or (800) 665-2274. A second casino is contemplated in either La Malbaie or Pointe au Pic in the Charlevoix area about 80 miles northeast of Quebec.

Judaica collection The Judaica collection of Congregation Emanu-El will be on view from Oct. 20 to Nov. 21 at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan, on Fifth Avenue at 65th Street. Established on the Lower East Side in 1845, the Emanu-El congregation is the oldest Reform congregation in New York City. Seventy-six objects will be on display in two large cases, one devoted to objects used in the temple, the other to those used at home.

Most of the temple's collection was donated by members of its congregation. Artifacts include a 17th-century Venetian silver Sabbath lamp, a circumcision knife from the early 18th century, Torah crowns, prayer books, wine cups and spice containers. Admission to the exhibition, which will be open daily, is free. E-5 First class evolving By ADAM BRYANT N.Y. Times News Service A first-class airline ticket typically costs three to five times more than an excursion coach fare.

If that strikes you as quite a premium, you're not alone. A growing number of passengers have been voting with their credit cards and passing up the carriers' traditional first-class offerings, which generally com-. prise. 10 percent of a plane's; cabin. As a ever eager to accommodate business travelers and more well-heeled leisure pas-: sengers, some airlines have in-' troduced changes in service, which include replacing.

first class with a so-called busies ness class that provides a raft of amenities that approach, but do not equal, traditional first-class service. At the same time, because many travelers still: want first class, other airlines are upgrading their first-class service, hoping to capture fliers willing to pay up for pampering. The result: travelers have more options to consider when facing the dizzying task of decid-: ing which class to fly on which airline. At one end of the spectrum; many airlines have devised a compromise intended to strike an affordable balance of price perks for business travelers. Scandinavian Airlines and Finnair dropped first class for ness class a few years ago, more recently Continental lines did the same.

A big rival in the transatlantic; market is Virgin Atlantic Airways, which has offered a business class called Upper Class instead of first class since Virgin started flying in 1984. Next month, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will drop its first-class service for business class, resulting in only two classes of service. Some airlines, on the other hand, are trumpeting their firstclass service louder than ever with growing lists of amenities. Japan Airlines now offers passengers in its premium classes a noise-canceling feature on their headsets to. block out.

engine' noise. United has upgraded its firstclass menu to include Dom Perignon Champagne and beluga caviar with Absolut vodka. Its business. travelers are served sevruga caviar canapes. Generally, these changes are.

all geared toward attracting international passengers employers, because of the length: of the flights, are willing to pay, for some level of comfort beyond economy class. And it is travelers who buy up to 85 percent of all first class tickets, according to some airlines' research. The domestic market is hardly. being ignored, however, particularly on coast-to-coast flights. Continental decided last month to replace first-class service with its Businessfirst class on transcontinental flights.

Some other start-up airlines. including MGM Grand and Ultrair, have tried unsuccessfully to market their luxurious cabins on domestic flights at a discount from -class prices. Overall, these changes to first and business class were prompted largely because of record losses posted by airlines in recent years, causing many carriers to consider how best to use their front cabins. Although airline executives decline to discuss it publicly, there is broad agreement that first class is no longer fulfilling its mission of providing a service with a generous profit margin. Much of the problem stems from the fact that with the sluggish economy, managers of travel budgets at large corporations are more reluctant to pay for traditional first-class service for their executives.

"There is very little demand for first class, and we think it has everything to do with the economy, said Odette Fodor, a spokeswoman for KLM. Passengers who use frequentflier mileage to upgrade their tickets and move into a first-class seat have also eroded profits in the front cabin, as have travelers who get around the system. Some airlines offer ways to give frequent travelers free upgrades to first class if there are any such seats available when the plane departs. So some people make several fictitious reservations in first class to better the chances that seats will remain unsold. "First class has become dysfunctional," said one airline industry executive.

The many changes taking place are transforming an aspect of airline travel that has seen many innovations and experiments through the decades. arrived. In 1989, the city expropriated about 2,000 surrounding acres to halt development, cleaned up the water and sewage that flowed through the area, and dredged miles of canals between raised beds where farmers still grow corn, squash and many varieties of flowers. Had the city not acted, Xochimilco could have disappeared. Instead, local residents and visitors can spend an enjoyable afternoon at the new Xochimilco Ecological Park.

Admission to the Xochimilco Ecological Park costs around $3.25. Children under 14 enter free and adults over 60 get in for 5 pesos, or around $1.60. The park, a 30-minute drive from downtown Mexico City (cab fare is about $10), has a newly constructed visitors' center filled with exhibits explaining the area's history. There is also a recreated (arming area, called a chinampa, where corn stalks grow 12 feet high and pumpkin gourds are the size of basketballs. The most traditional way to see Xochimilco is by flat-bottomed pleasure boats, called trajineras, that cost $1.60 an hour a person.

Brightly painted and decorated with wreaths, the boats are powered by a tender who gently poles along, gondola style. The tenders may or may not sing, but in the older section of Xochimilco, floating bands on other trajineras will play for a few pesos. Gambling in Quebec Casino gambling has arrived in Quebec. The first of two casinos in the province opened this month in Montreal in the Palais de la Civilisation, built for Expo '67 on Ile Ste.Helene in the St. Lawrence River.

Previously the building, which served as the French pavilion during the international exposition, housed visiting art exhibitions. Information: Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, 1 East 65th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021, telephone (212) 744-1400. Amazon exploration Only four hours by jet from Miami, Quito is becoming an increasingly popular off point for Americans interested in exploring the Amazon jungle. Over the last five years, nature tourism in the Ecuadorean Amazon has doubled, approaching 30,000 visitors this year.

But visitors should know that Ecuador informally limits access to its Amazon region to participants in package tours purchased here or abroad. Other South American countries Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela- offer unrestricted tourism in the region. One of South America's last staterun airlines, Transportes Aereos Militares Ecuatorianos, or TAME, exercises a virtual monopoly on all scheduled commercial flights into Coca and Lago Agrio in Ecuador's Amazon region. Travel agencies generally will not sell TAME tickets because the airline, run by Ecuador's Air Force, does not accept individual reservations. And sometimes, even when group reservations are made, the airline does not honor them.

Foreigners should buy a package tours and let a local agent run interference. Nature lodge operators either charter their own airplanes or bribe TAME personnel to guarantee seats for their clients. The only alternative is the chaos of a waiting list line at the national terminal of Quito airport. Over the last two years, Argentina privatized Aerolineas Argentinas, Brazil privatized Vasp, Peru privaAeroperu and Venezuela privatized Viasa..