Hi Everyone!
On January 3rd, 2009, we made our last preparations for our Trip of a Lifetime. The luggage had already been shipped, arrangements for mail pickup and snow removal had been made, power strips were shut down, water had been turned off and pipes drained, and our overnight luggage was packed and ready to go.
All that remained was to drop off our beloved 14-year old Jack Russell terrier, Higgins, with his Aunt Margherite in Reno for the 4-1/2 month duration of our trip. He was in seventh heaven because she has horses, a mule, cats, chickens and ducks, two dogs, no stairs and a fenced in yard where he could run free! We knew he was in good hands!!
On January 3rd, 2009, we made our last preparations for our Trip of a Lifetime. The luggage had already been shipped, arrangements for mail pickup and snow removal had been made, power strips were shut down, water had been turned off and pipes drained, and our overnight luggage was packed and ready to go.
All that remained was to drop off our beloved 14-year old Jack Russell terrier, Higgins, with his Aunt Margherite in Reno for the 4-1/2 month duration of our trip. He was in seventh heaven because she has horses, a mule, cats, chickens and ducks, two dogs, no stairs and a fenced in yard where he could run free! We knew he was in good hands!!Our wakeup call at the Peppermill was at 4:00 a.m.! Arrived at Delta by 5:30 a.m. -- forgot hats at the check-in counter and had to go back through security to get them! Ran all the way, but made it! Very frustrating trip due to takeoff delays, missed connections, change of equipment -- but we travelled First and Business Class, so that helped. Delivered from the airport in Fort Lauderdale to the Hilton in our personal stretch limo -- our first! Lights out (at last) at 11:45 p.m.! VERY long day ...
Check in at the terminal the next morning went very smoothly and we were soon examining our home for the next 128 days (stateroom 6162 on the port side) -- compact but comfortable with a lovely verandah where we could enjoy breakfast and/or cocktails while sailing from exciting port of call to port of call.This promises to be a vacation to remember ....
Arriving in style at the Pier in our private stretch limo!
Our Home for the next 4 months -- compact but comfortable …Internet access on board is not the best!! It depends on the weather and how many people are using it so we take our chances … We haven’t had our class yet on how to post information, so I’m experimenting and hopefully this will work. I’ll try posting updates every few days.
Our first week has just flown by! The ride has been very smooth so far, and the weather is perfect. We quickly adapted to breakfast delivered to our room, beds being made for us, no cooking or dishes to do, ice and lime appearing magically at 5 p.m., and gourmet dinner selections every night … Our dinner companions are delightful. We also bumped into an Incline couple -- small world! -- Karin and Earl Romach; some of you may know them, but they’re not staying for the entire cruise, and are leaving the ship in L.A.
Preparing for the unexpected “lesser cruise” …PANAMA CANAL:
We arrived at the first lock of the Panama Canal at 6:00 a.m. It's been fascinating going though them. I didn't realize that the canal joins the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through a series of cuts through the land as well as using a natural lake to cross the almost 50 miles to the other side.
There are three sets of locks each with 2 lanes, to raise the ships from sea level up 26 meters to the level of Gatun Lake where they navigate around many islands to the next set of locks, which then lowers ships back down to sea level. "Mules" are like railroad engines and attach lines to the bow and stern of each ship to help guide it through the locks, pulling them up to the next level when necessary. Each lockage uses 197 million liters of fresh water from Gatun Lake -- Panama has an abundance of rain and water so this isn't a problem. It will take 8 hours to complete the entire transit through the canal. The vegetation is very lush and it's humid, but not too hot. We're cruising the lake as I write, and it's somewhat reminiscent of the Yangze River scenery -- a narrow, winding river with some hills and cliffs and heavy foliage, mostly deciduous, with a few palm trees. There’s very good lecturers that give us information about the coming ports which is great.
The "mules" at work
Moving into the next higher lock
Leaving the first set of Panama Canal locks to enter Lake GatunWe saw dolphins playing in the wake this morning off of the coast of Costa Rica. The show was better than Sea World! And we’re on the lookout for large turtles who lay their eggs on the beaches here.
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