On Our Way to Miami

May 6, 2008

A Man, a Plan, a Canal, Panama!

Today we crossed from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic via one of civilization's engineering marvels. We arrived at the first lock, called Mira Flores, at sunup this morning. The canal cuts right through a mountain, and we can see the bisected mountain on either side of our ship. As we approach the first lock, it doesn't look like the Explorer will fit – but we have several feet of clearance on each side.

There are two lock stations side by side, so two ships, heading in the same or opposite directions, can proceed through the locks at the same time. There are train tracks running on either side of the lock, with a train engine that connects to the ship to guide us through the narrow portion. After the water level is adjusted, a gate opens and we move slowly into a lake, which serves as a reservoir for the lock.

It is hot, even early in the morning, and Panama looks like a jungle from here. (The Pan American Highway doesn't go through southern Panama, as the jungle is too dense.) Although we are within spitting distance of land, we will not be getting off the ship at all today. The kids and their bikinis are lying out on every inch of deck space, to watch our progress while simultaneously working on their tans. In honor of our crossing, the food service staff moved lunch outdoors and gave us barbequed ribs, hamburgers and ice cream on the pool deck so we could stay out all day.

We cleared the third set of locks, dropping us gently back down 31 feet to sea level at 6:40 in the evening, and resumed speed on our way to Miami. It won't be long now!

May 8, 2008

Well, we are all packed, and the luggage has been removed to the gangway down on Deck 2, where it will be offloaded first thing tomorrow morning. We've received instructions on how to best get 1000 people through US Customs in an orderly fashion. The kids have been repeatedly warned about drug-sniffing dogs. UPS will be waiting for us when we dock (Jim has 6 boxes of books and school supplies in addition to our four suitcases and two PCs). The faculty and staff are the first to disembark – yippee!

Many moons ago, we were told that our ship (actually the identical sister to the Explorer) was used to film a move, and last night we finally got to see it. It's a very bad movie, about Cuba Gooding Jr. getting on a gay cruise ship by mistake, and I DO NOT recommend this film for its artistic merit, but if you want to see what each deck of the ship looks like, put it on your Netflix list. It's called "Boat Trip." (Even the title is bad!)

The Captain got on the intercom this afternoon as we passed Cuba, and let us know that he was letting out the throttle and taking the ship up to full speed. We usually cruise at about 19 or 20 knots, but he put the pedal to the metal and got us up to 26.4. Wow!

Tonight, Convocation was held for the forty graduating seniors, who chose to spend their last college semester at sea. In lieu of caps and gowns, the graduates donned orange life vests and Vietnamese straw hats – fitting tribute for the world travelers they have become!