At Sea February 23, 2009

I write this while in the Caribbean Sea on the Seabourn Legend, heading north from Honduras to Belize (British Honduras as I learned it in school) at latitude N 17 degrees 23 minutes, longitude 88 degrees 11 minutes.   Of late the weather has been unseasonably cool and rainy.  The temperature today was about 72 degrees, quite pleasant really but much less than the normal mid 80's.  Our time on the beach yesterday in Ruatan, Honduras was curtailed by rain, and events of today were cancelled for the same reason – very unusual.  We really have no complaints, though, and the experience of traversing the Panama Canal on Wednesday February 18 is unforgettable.    We entered the canal at Panama City on the Pacific side, and within 45 minutes went though the two locks at Mira Flores, rising about 52 feet above sea level – no pumps, using only the force of gravity and movement of river water flowing down from the interior of Panama to the ocean.  After going through a third lock, we traversed Gatun Lake, a large lake created by the damming of the Chagres River, elevated about 84 feet above sea level. We then went through three consecutive locks back to sea level before entering the Caribbean Sea, 48 miles and 8 hours from when we started. I've taken both photos and videos of the passage and will be happy to share it with anyone who has the patience to view it after we return.   I have very limited internet access and can get in on board for $.50/minute but will attempt to provide more dispatches as time allows.