Panama Canal

Our Panama Canal cruise has finally come to an end - a wonderful 17 day cruise on board Holland America Cruise ship "The Veendam". The ship carried 1200 guests mostly from Canada, Australia and the USA, and 500 crew mostly from the Philippines. The crew themselves are wonderful people and ever so friendly. All very polite and courteous and anything you need, they aim to please.

It's been a long day for us so far - very tiring watching our own ship move!

It was an early morning start - I was up just after 4am, more out of knowing that there might be something happening and might miss it if I didn't get up! Watching the passing ships in the night (literally) for a little while on our balcony and left Kemm to sleep a little longer. About 5am I ventured up on deck to determine how many others were up and about and whether the coffee was ready. Surprisingly there were a number of other people milling around up on the highest outside deck and the coffee machine was definitely working!

We've had 3 days of very calm seas now - if we were a yacht we would be becalmed out in the middle of the Caribbean Ocean.

The weather has improved from the previously cloudy days and as we are now at equator level or thereabouts, things have become very warm and steamy.

It's amazing that travelling with us are a number of small swallows who hop day and night around the decks and in and around our balcony. I'm sure they live off the small crumbs of food around but if the poor little things took flight out into the wide blue yonder there would be no hope for them.

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