December 22, 2024

PANAMA CANAL CROSSING - 12/16/24

We crossed from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean today, in roughly 11 hours, via the Panama Canal. We started at roughly 7:45 a.m. and many of us were on deck to witness. We had an expert narrator on board, the whole time, who was very informative, witty and entertaining! The canal is a 50-mile artificial waterway composed of a series of 3 locks on either side of lake Gatun. It is an engineer marvel with a fascinating history. The voyage ended with a gorgeous full moon bathing the canal and making Panama City sparkle.

  • First of 3 bridges we go under

    First of 3 bridges we cross under

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  • Water coming out of first lock from prior ship step up

    Water coming out of lock after ship ahead of us enters 2nd lock.

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  • Us watching - see me to the right of middle along rail

    Residents watching from top deck 9 - see me - just past middle on right!

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  • View of 3 ships in locks, 2 ahead of us and one coming the other direction in opposite lane

    View of 3 Ships in locks - 2 ahead of us and 1 coming other way in 2nd lane.

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  • Entering first Lock

    Us entering first lock at 830 a.m.

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  • leaving the last lock

    Us leaving last lock at roughly 9:30 p.m.

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  • Panama city in moonlight

    Gorgeous full moon with Panama City sparkling

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  • Full moon magic!

    Full Moon Magic!

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SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA .....

By Pat Patrick • June 1, 2026
Somewhere in the South China Sea, i n a galaxy far, far away ... was the Odyssey and a bunch of fun loving travelers....who had an idea for a fun cocktail party!

CORON, PHILIPPINES

By Pat Patrick • May 30, 2026
Yesterday we joined in with many of our fellow residents to take in some of the many water spots around Coron . We signed up through Get Your Guide, others used Trip Advisor and they both contracted with Psalms Travel Services in Coron. As I've explained before, figuring out our excursions in each port, is a big time suck for me. We prefer to find local venders without having to go through the big agencies (because you usually can get better service, pricing and customization) but sometimes it is just easier to stick with the big guys, when the excursion is super popular. Psalms turned out to be an excellent operator and I laughed when I saw they had used the below images on their Facebook page today. Didn't realize my pink dry bag stood out so much!

CORON, PHILIPPINES

By Pat Patrick • May 30, 2026
We are currently docked at the port of CORON , in the Palawan archipelago islands, of the Philippines . While the port itself is nothing special, and the surrounding town is hardly thriving, the people here are amazingly friendly, joyful and so happy to be around! You can see from below, they have a ton of hotels and restaurants but mostly it's their water actives that attract a fair number of tourist. Known for their crystal clear water, dramatic limestone cliffs and powdery white sand beaches. June is the start of the rainy season, but so far the weather has been good.