Monday 4th April - Panama Canal locks and lock ins.

Today was not a good day. It started OK, we were up early and went to breakfast, which I was happy to eat, except I'd gone off the hash browns cos they tasted too greasy.

The morning wore on. I stayed up on the top deck watching the process as we went through the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel Locks, which are the first and second sets of locks on Panama Canal. These lead into Gatun Lake, which is where we spent our time on the tour yesterday, and I spent an hour or so watching the shore for wildlife, I got to see an osprey perched high in one the trees, but sadly, no crocodiles.

I began to feel a little iffy, and decided I didn't want lunch and went to lie down in the cabin. Later in the afternoon, it was obvious that I wasn't right, suffering cramps, nausea and regular visits to the bathroom. Peter was out enjoying the sight of the canal, so I waited until he came back before we called the doctor. And then it was lockdown!

As is always the case when someone on board gets some sort of Gastro Intestinal bug - because they are so contagious, passengers or crew are asked to stay in their room until the risk of infecting any one else has passed. This is 24 hours from the last symptom (or visit to the bathroom). Despite having the constitution of an Ox, and being perfectly well, Peter had to stay in the cabin with me.

Most passengers know the rules, but it's suspected there are many that don't let the doctor know that they've been ill. They don't want to be shut in when they've paid for an expensive holiday and sometimes this is the reason why Norovirus or GI infections spread, despite the very best efforts of the crew.

Anyway, me and Peter now have to remain in the cabin until at least tomorrow evening - good job he brought loads of films and TV programs with him to watch on the laptop.

Tomorrow the ship arrives in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. We were supposed to go on the aerial tram tour which I was really looking forward to - but now we won't. I'm quite sorry about that.

Sunday 3rd April - Flamenco Island, Panama - Gatun Lake

Our tour isn't until this afternoon, and we decided to take it easy this morning - just pottering around the ship until then. The ship is not berthed, we are anchored out a mile or so from Flamenco Island, which is joined by a man made isthmus to Panama city. Quite a fantastic skyline - and we spent the morning enjoying the view and watching pelicans and flocks of cormorants go by.

At 12.45, we were stood at the doors in the side of the ship waiting to board the tenders. Within 30 minutes we'd crossed the bay on the tenders, and had boarded little buses that were to take us to Gatun Lake, which is actually a reservoir and part of the Panama Canal. Our tour guide was a loud and very knowledgeable lady by the name of Michelle and we had an excellent time.

First we all climbed into little boats which roared across the lake to what was left of the hills before the Gatun Valley was flooded. They are now little islands of course. And the boat driver knew exactly where to look to find the things that would interest the tourists.

Tarmarind Monkeys:

White Faced Capuchins

Howler Monkeys:

Iguana's:

We even got to see a crocodile and turtles but I haven't got photo's of those.

We were then taken to the fantastic Gamboa Resort hotel complex overlooking the lake. There are few little exhibition areas in the grounds and we got to wander around an orchid farm:

A butterfly farm - (Peter got the best picture though):

And a frog pen:

These frogs are very poisonous......... But not today apparently, because the poison comes from the insects they eat when they are in the wild. In captivity, their diet is much less dangerous.

A flowering tree outside proved to be a honey pot for humming birds - all different types. I tried, but I couldn't get a photograph. 

We were then taken to the hotel to use the loos and get a glass of fruit punch. The views from the hotel were just absolutely stunning, somewhere I would love to spend a couple of weeks for a holiday methinks......... when we win the lottery.

Then it was back on the bus, and back on the ship. A really good day finished off with a steak dinner in the veranda restaurant. You can't go wrong can you?

Tomorrow the ship will be making its way up the Panama Canal. People are looking forward to seeing the locks, but I'm looking forward to training my binoculars on the shore to see if I can spot any more crocodiles, or perhaps a toucan, or an osprey...... you never know.

Friday and Saturday - a couple of sea days on the Voyager

So. What to write...........

Well, the sunburn has been slowly healing. We both glow in the dark and we are so red it's scary. It's worrying how badly we burnt in the short time we were exposed. Lessons learnt! As our skin has been healing, we've been prickling and itching like fury. It's been driving us mad, but we've been practising mind over matter, knowing it'll all sort itself out soon enough.

I seem to have got water in my ear during the swim too. This now means that I feel like I've got a blanket over my head, and everything on my right side is muffled. However, if it were a competition, Peter is still more deaf.

I've been to a few lectures. I always enjoy listening to Louise Bonner. She's very interested in the wildlife and ecology of our surroundings, and I love learning about all these things. I've also sat in on Neil Bonner's lecture. I thought I ought to, since we've known them both for a few years now, and I've never heard what he has to say. He was funny and entertaining. And finally I listened to Peter Mawby, the nature and bird man. Well, I would wouldn't I? As a result, I can't wait to travel down the Panama Canal, and I'm dead excited about Costa Rica too.

Up until we left Manta, the ship had been on a sort of hygiene clampdown. This was due to a stomach bug picked up by the passengers on the previous cruise. There are a certain number of days that the ship has to continue with this process after the last case D&V is notified. So, by the time we'd reached Manta, The Voyager had finished the alloted time with no more cases and yesterday everything went back to normal. This meant we could help ourselves to food at the buffet, there were tablecloths, salt and pepper, milk and sugar on the tables, all the usual stuff. Which felt nice.

Then today it changed back again. O Oh! From what I can make out, a few people became ill after a trip into Manta - all of them together apparently. So we're back to bare tables and having to ask the waiters to pour milk in our tea. A little frustrating but very necessary sadly.

Something that's been amusing us and all the other passengers are three women from Canada, who seem to have brought a whole suitcase of props with them. This morning they turned up at breakfast with caps with rotor blades on the top. They've also worn Canadian maple leave sunglasses, Egyptian pharaoh headresses and sailors caps. In fact they have something different every morning and every night. We think their luggage allowance hasn't been the same as ours.

And of course, there have been Peter's classes. The first one was chaos at the start, which is nothing new, but this time it was due to not enough painting kits for the passengers that attended - just 7 kits for 27 attendees. Not a good arrangement. Peter went off to find someone that would agree that would could share the kits (luckily, Peter had spare brushes with him as usual) - but there was a equator crossing ceremony on the pool deck, so the ships entertainment team were all busy.

We did get it all sorted out in the end, and once we'd worked out the arrangements on the first day, it was easy to repeat on the second class, so all smiles in the end. Peter has also been trying out some new subject material, and today the passengers painted the beach at Manta (the one we got cooked at). They actually did really well, and it was lovely to see.

We've also spent a little time on deck hiding in the shade. We've seen a few dolphins, and the approach to Panama city was quite gorgeous. No pictures because the light was quite poor, but not to worry, there will be loads tomorrow. We will be escorting again - it's a boat trip around the lake. I'm told there should be wildlife, we'll just have to wait and see.