Willemstad, Curacao, 12°7′N

Oranjestad, Aruba 12.519°N

Our first clue should have been the empty pier. Though our ship loomed high along the dock, no pedestrians milled about. The ship's decks were full of passengers waving to Dean and I, the only two people sauntering to the ship. I glanced at my watch. Five minutes to four o'clock. We had time. The ship wasn't leaving until 4:30.
Ahead, sailors were waiting to cast off the lines, while others were already pulling up the ramp that lead to the gangway. Holy crap. I glanced at my watch again. Was it running slow? Dean was lagging behind, walking tenderly on a blistered toe.
Then I saw the ship's officer, leaning out a window, flailing his arm with some urgency, signalling us to 'get a move on.'
As soon as we stepped onto the gangplank, the last knot was untied and the captain announced that the last stragglers had finally graced the ship with their presence and we were leaving immediately. In the time it took the elevator to drop us off on the Lido deck to join the other passengers, the ship's thrusters already had us off the dock and on our way.
Turns out, a weather system was heading in our direction and the captain wanted to get in front of it, so he wasted no time leaving the harbour once all passengers were aboard.

The Panama Canal - The Big Ditch

Early morning, nearing the canal, Panama City skyline in background

Early morning haze in Panama

A tight squeeze - the view from our stateroom window. 

Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica 9° 54' 48" N



Since I last wrote, we've been zip-lining in Costa Rica, transited the Panama Canal, toured the Island of Curacao, and swam in Aruba. With the Internet issues, I'm not able to upload regularly to the blog – my apologies – but here's some photos!

At the port terminal in Costa Rica

Equipment for zip-line adventure

Suiting up. We booked our zip-line privately with a Kiwi couple we met on ship, Katehrine and Mark.  Those who booked through the ship had upwards of 50 people on the same tour. Our small group of four made for fantastic personlized service

latest fashion trends in Costa Rica

A sloth high in the canopy



American crocodile on the Targoles River in Costa Rica. We stopped at a bridge where the crocodiels have learned tourists will throw food over.



At a roadside vendor

Selling cashews in tubes. 3 tubes for $2 US

Church in Puntarenas

Down and out in Puntarenas.  Poverty is rampant.

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala 13°55'14”

Because of the poor connection to the internet on the ship, I am giving you the low-down in shorthand, keeping my fingers crossed that we will be able to upload.

Strong winds, heavy rain made landing at Puerto Quetzal a challenge. With some skillful manoeuvring and a lucky break in the weather, we were able to dock. Leaving port proved a bit more difficult, but winds died down enough to make a run for it.

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  Travelled with 10 other ship's passengers in a privately rented van (with driver and tour guide).
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  Ride to Antigua, a UNESCO world heritage site about 1 hour 30 minutes, narrow passage in some spots because crews were still clearing away debris from week-old mud slides.
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  Pouring rain, but kept dry under my trusty $1.99 Canadian Tire poncho
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  Touristy spots – textiles factory, jade factory, monastery converted to five star hotel, town square.
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  High speed Internet in Antigua cost $1.00 US for half an hour, a stark contrast to the $12.00 for the same amount of “slow-speed” time on the ship.
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  Lunch at restaurant in Antigua with genuine Guatemalan cuisine cost $23 for 2.
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  City of Antigua – cobblestone streets, many buildings in the process of restoration. I would definitely come back again.

Sea Day – Dinner with Gwen and Jim

I've lost count of the days now, but the mat in the elevator tells me it is Tuesday.

Gruelling competition in Women's Olympics continues to wear me down. I remain in the bottom 25 percentile and I am concerned that my poor performance is dragging down the Canadian average.

Unfortunately, I am equally embarrassed by our shameful showing in the progressive trivia contest today. I blame it on the humidity, which is sucking the life out of my brain cells.

I hold out some hope for redemption with the shipbuilding contest. We have managed to collect various recyclables for our project. Clandestine meetings with other team members scheduled for later this week.

It's formal night, so we dressed to the nines. Caralyn, a co-worker, lent me a gorgeous chocolate brown cocktail dress to wear. Dean and I had a wonderful dinner with Gwen and Jim Holt of Vernon. Gwen has been following the blog.

We've discovered that there are plenty of folks from the Thompson Okanagan aboard and even a couple from Armstrong, though we haven't determined who they are yet.

Acapulco