A few photos of the cruise, as promised.

Happy Christmas to you all. As promised, a few photos of our Panama Cruise. They have come up in reverse sequence. Bottom right shows us entering the locks from the Pacific side and on the left , passing under the new Centennial Bridge as we headed for Lake Gatun.

The top 2 images show the "mule loco" track for assisting with the lines in Gatun Lock as we headed for the Atlantic Ocean and the right hand image shows the "Island Princess" safely tied up in Cartegena, Columbia on the 17th Dec. We transitted the canal on the 15th Dec and the ship is the largest Panamax size vessel that can safely pass through the locks with 18 inches clearance either side. A beam of 106 feet and deadweight of 93,000 tonnes, LOA 985 feet. We also saw the construction work at each end of the canal for the post-Panamax size locks, i.e. beams over greater than 110 feet as ships continue to get bigger and bigger, particularly passenger and container vessels. The lake in between is approx. 150 feet above sea level.

Enjoying a quiet Christmas Day in Quito and tomorrow we start heading south with our backpacks through Ecuador after a great 5 day stay here. Beautiful city, approx. 10,000 feet above sea level. Winter here too so max. daily temps about 18 c , falling to about 10 c at night with alot of rain too!! Still, as we go south , the temps will increase and it will become drier.

The hostels here have been comfortable and cheap and the bus fares are also low cost. We are on a tight budget but confident we can manage! Watch the blog and again, Happy Christmas from us. Jon.

Arrived in Quito, Ecuador on 21 December - it's a great place.

Hi everyone. Just to update you on our progress since the 17th, we left the cruise ship in Fort Lauderdale on the 20th morning as scheduled. It was a most enjoyable 2 weeks and we were humbled by the luxury and total indulgence that we were able to have!! We met some really nice people aswell and our evening dinner table party was always something to look forward to as we all got on so well together. The food etc was wonderful and we both ate too much but will no doubt shed the pounds now that we have arrived in South America with 8 weeks of travelling to do on a tight budget with our backpacks!! I have to say, I put on approx. 3 kilos which I was glad to do as I had lost alot of weight earlier this year. Marilyn is looking great.

Anyway, we stayed overnight in Miami on the 20th at a functional hotel close to the International airport and left on the 21st p.m. LAN flight to Quito. No problems with immigration in the USA and our transit from ship to departure Miami went like clock-work. We arrived here at 9.30 p.m. and immediately checked in to a hostel in the centre of the new town. We spent yesterday getting our bearings and wondering around and the same today where we have been exploring the old town which is steeped in history and full of beautiful buildings, etc. We are over 10,000 feet above sea level and surrounded by mountains. Simply breath-taking. A great way to spend my birthday. We are going to have a quiet Christmas here visiting the local Botanical Gardens and Parks. We have joined a club called the South American Explorers Club which will enable us to get good discounts on trips and accomodation throughout Ecuador, Peru, and Chile as we haven't booked anything other than the trip in Peru (below). They are having a Christmas Eve get-together tomorrow night at a pub nearby, so that should fun. A chance to meet fellow backpackers,we hope.

We plan to start travelling south through Ecuador on the 26th, first stop Baños, approx. 3 hours from here by bus. By all accounts, it is a fabulous place and we will remain there for 3 days and take in a rainforest trip to survey the animal and bird scene. Marilyn is very excited about that , of course. We have to be in Cruzco, Peru by the 19th January where we have booked a 4 day / 3 night tour of Macchu Picchu and the Sacred Valley - that should be awesome!

I will continue to keep you updated of progress and will put some photos of the cruise, particularly Panama Canal, on before we leave Quito. Have a wonderful Christmas and keep warm! Weather at home looks horrendous! It is a pleasant 18 c here and quite chilly at night but no lower than 10 c. It will get hotter as we head south. Bye for now. J.

In Aruba - last port of call before we leave in Port Everglades on 20 Dec.

Hi everyone. Just a quick update before my time runs out on the internet. We have had a great cruise on the "Island Princess" which we joined in Cabo San Lucas on the 7th Dec. We have made port stops at Apaculpo, Puntebras(Costa Rica), Panama City and the highlight, Panama Canal transit on the 15th - fabulous! We called into Cartegena, Colombia, yesterday and are in Aruba today and leave here this evening. We arrive in Fort Lauderdale on the 20th and fly down to Quito, Ecuador on the 21st from Miami. Full update soon with some photos. We are both well and relaxed. Happy Christmas to you all. Jon.

Here we are in Cabo San Lucas,California Sur

Hello again my blogger family. We arrived here in Cabo San Lucas yesterday after our trip from Puerto Vallarta where we set out from a week ago. From Matzalan we took the overnight passenger freight ferry to La Paz, approx. 100 miles north of here. After a smooth crossing, we arrived on the 3oth morning and stayed overnight in La Paz before catching a coach to Todos Santos where we stayed for 2 days in a very pleasant self-catering apartment complete with pool and restaurant. It was good to indulge in a bit of luxury and enjoy the town, made famous by that great US Band, The Eagles, with the classic rock ballad," Hotel California". We popped our heads in there to look around but it was expensive and spoilt by tourism, etc. Still, worth the look. (By the way, we enjoyed Matzalan and had one memorable evening in the seafood restaurant right opposite our beach hotel Hacienda).

Yesterday we left Todos Santos and arrived here at our hotel around 3 p.m. It`s very comfortable and we will be here until Tuesday when we board our ship by tender at the Cabo San Lucas Roads. We went for a reci today to see where we board the tender from, plus a nice lunch nearby and some clothes shopping for the cruise. We feel we should improve on shorts, T shirts and flip-flops image!!? Marilyn bought 2 really nice evening dresses for the 3 dress-up dinner/dances we have to attend. I will have to hire a tuxedo , no doubt!! Quite a contrast for us to take a cruise after our humble existence on the turtle camp for almost three months and then back-packing to come from Quito, Ecuador to Santiago, Chile. Still, a nice way to relax and charge batteries before 21 December when we fly from Miami to Quito. Also, a great way to transit the Panama Canal which is the focal point and highlight of our cruise, as you know. Never for a moment did I ever think, after 16 years at sea in the 60's to 80`s , I would ever indulge in a cruise!!??? Still, I won't be driving this time so we'll enjoy it, I'm sure. Until we board next Tuesday, 7th we are going to enjoy relaxing here in the warmer temperatures of 26 c ! Glad we are away from the big UK freeze. Our thoughts are with you all, plus our friends in America who we have befriended in Mayto.

Take care and I'll report back soon on our cruise progress, assuming they have internet access on board. We both miss the turtles, but have wonderful memories to savour. Bye for now. J.