Cruising Nana

Our transit of the Panama Canal started early this morning. At 5:00 a.m. we entered the beginning of the canal on the Caribbean Sea on the Atlantic side at Colon, Panama. We were among, by my estimation, over 80 ships waiting for their turn in the canal. Each day 32-34 ships are allowed to transit the canal. Reservations are made far in advance and the fees are expensive. Our ship paid over $35,000 last year to guarantee our date and time today. Without a reservation, a ship waits its turn. The canal is 51 miles long and it takes the full day to cross to the Pacific Ocean. On the Atlantic side, ships enter the Gatun Locks and rise from sea level up to the level of Gatun Lake, a man-made lake which covers about 35 miles of the canal. The ships traverse the canal and then are lowered back to sea level on the Pacific side  through the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks. The elevation change at Gatun Locks is about 100 feet from entry and on the Pacific side the Pedro Miguel and Miraflo...

After a major health scare in November 2022, I was faced with the stark reality that life can be over in a moment. All those years of working hard and saving our money would be wasted if we didn't start enjoying the time that we had left. So Dan and I made the decision that we were going to do more cruising and see the world. Ironically, my health scare came right after our 4-day cruise to the Bahamas on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas with my sisters Lyn and Betsy and their husbands Bob and Bill. After my recovery we took a cruise on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego via the Panama Canal in April 2023. We were hooked on cruising and signed up for a South American cruise for November-December 2023 and a transatlantic cruise to Europe and the Baltic Sea for May-June 2024. While on our summer 2023 trip to see the kids and grandkids in SC, DE and MD, we fit in a five day cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda. Each trip I would keep a journal o...

Aruba-One Happy Island Our first port was Oranjestad, Aruba on November 18th. It was the first sunny day we had since it has been rainy and cloudy since Wednesday.  We were in Aruba last April, so we decided not to do an excursion but rather to walk around the downtown area.  Oranjestad has a lot of Dutch influences, from currency, street names, type of government, and architecture to sculpture recognizing Dutch notables. We walked to Queen Wilhelmina Park and passed some interesting architecture as well as the Aruba Parliament on our way. In Queen Wilhelmina Park we saw a statue in memory of Anne Frank,  as well as a statue of Queen Wilhelmina.  After visiting the park we headed back to the ship and stopped at a dockside bar called Lucy's for a cold local beer.  Lucy's bills itself as a retired surfer's bar and they challenge patrons to try th...

     It hasn't rained in Florida for weeks but the day that we were to leave on our S. America cruise a tropical low front came ashore and caused heavy rains and wind throughout the southern part of the state. After a tough 2+ hour drive across Alligator Alley in heavy rain, we arrived at Port Everglades, and were on Holland America's Oosterdam by 2:00 p.m. We immediately felt the relaxation that comes with getting on a cruise ship. We explored the ship and were pleasantly surprised to find our favorite bartender from our April cruise, Ronald, on this ship. Holland America has started including libraries in their ships, so we stopped by there and picked up some shipboard reading. This saves us from having to pack books and take up much needed suitcase space and weight! We were also happy with our signature suite. The room is spacious, has a nice verandah, lots of closet space and a large bathroom. This will be our home for the next 30 days.     ...

      We leave for South America on Wednesday 11/15 so we are in our final preparation stage.  Planning for a 31 day cruise that includes two very different ecosystems and climates is a challenge. Our packing lists have been a real asset in helping us figure out what to take. We need warm weather clothes for the northern part of the trip but as we head south the temperatures will drop. It's late spring in South America so temperatures in Aruba, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Uruguay will be between 70 and 80 but once we get to the the Strait of Magellan, the Chilean fjords and the Falkland Islands, the temperatures will be in the 50s. We've been told it can be windy and rainy as well. And by the time we get to Buenos Aires on 12/15 temperatures will be back near 80. So layers are the name of the game. We're only taking two suitcases, a backpack and a beach bag so we'll see how it goes!  We've learned that people don't really care if you wear the same outfit mo...