Jan 10: Panama Canal

The evening at THE Biltmore was great.  Big affair with dinner and entertainment.  When we arrived at the reception, there were so many people around that we thought they'd invited the neighbors.  Turns out, all those people were going around the world.  Out of a possible 490 passengers, there are something between 300 and 320 people who are going the distance.  We were shocked!  And we couldn't believe how many times we were asked if it was our first world cruise.  Apparently, this is a normal winter for some.

So far, we've stopped at George Town, Cayman Islands and Cartagena, Columbia.  We don't have a lot of interest in Caribbean islands (if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all) and we definitely have no interest in drug capitals.  So we stayed on the ship.

As we write this, we've passed through the Gatun locks on the Atlantic side and are in the middle of Gatun Lake.  Late this afternoon, we'll pass through the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks the exit to the Pacific.  

Next stop is Golfito, Costa Rica.