At Sea. Another short entry - apart from cooking demonstrations and walking we just ate and read a lot. Breaking that down just a bit, we learned how to bake Panama Rolls, effectively fruit custard treats which are regular fare as ships pass through the the canal, followed by a few favourites from Pinnacle and Le Cirque, lobster salad and creme brûlée.
We are as far south as we will go this vacation, at 6.9 degrees north of the equator which makes it awfully hot and humid. Air temperature didn't fall below 29 all day and at times got much higher. This makes walking round deck quite a challenge although we still managed 37 laps before early evening cleaning got in our way. We now have an extremely enthusiastic Oz couple who cheer us on, along with quite a few (relatively) calmer Americans doing the same. In fact today marked a milestone in as far as more people smiled at us than scowled, although there are plenty who still do - this brings out the mischievous in me and I just beam like a mad-man at the grumps, hopefully making them wonder what is so amusing! Of course no Brits speak - we haven't been properly introduced yet.
Our travelling companion birds continued to provide much entertainment especially when they spot a fish and several dive at the same time accompanied by severe squawking. During the late afternoon we watched as they almost all descended at once on a floating carcass - perhaps a dead turtle - and since then most of the birds have not returned, around a dozen are left flying alongside. Do they land on us at night I wonder?
Captain van der Wal announced that we will board three pilots around 0630 and expect to enter the first lock at 0845 so we plan to have an earlier breakfast to ensure that we are ready for the main event of the day. We should emerge into the Atlanic side around 1800 so it will be a long day of watching one of the seven modern-day wonders of the world in operation. Did you know that cruise ships pay $113 per passenger and $93 per empty birth for a transit, so running on less that a high occupancy rate gets very expensive for the other passengers (or the line) - our small ship will be paying around $150,000 for the day's adventure.
After a wonderful dinner including baked chicken and bouillabaisse with a lovely WA merlot, we enjoy a repeat performance of the Stardust Lounge production we enjoyed in December - the singers, dancers and band onboard are all excellent and it's a great show.
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