Another very hot day, well into the 30s. Steaming south and south east in Panama towards our rendezvous with the canal at 0630 tomorrow morning. Very excited for that. It will take about 10 hours to make the transit which consists of some lakes, a long canal and quite a few locks. Some of the stretches will just have about 2 feet spare on either side of the ship so a bit of a tight fit. I wouldn't like to be up on the bridge for that!!!! Still it is ...

An absolutely fabulous day ashore in Costa Rica. Our group met up at 745 and went ashore together to find Ricky Ricardo Tours waiting for us at the end of the pier with a nice looking mini bus. The weather was hot and sunny but nowhere near as bad as we were expecting. It was in the 30s but not as humid as I expected. There was some breeze. Ricky himself was a jovial chap who spoke perfect English as his mother came from Liverpool. His real name was Whit...

Boiling hot but windy. Quite a stiff wind that last nearly all day. It didn't matter. It didn't make the ship roll and if anything it made the heat more tolerable. It was at least 30C today as we cruised south past Guatemala and San Salvador. We spent the morning by the pool - as usual! Well, I did. Bob gave up by about 1030 and went off to a cookery lecture and various other indoor activities. I had managed to download a shed-full of books at the end...

A boiling hot day and humid at times. Still steaming south just off the coast of Mexico. Around Acapulco at lunch time. Lots more sea creatures today: dolphins and porpoises, all leaping and jumping alongside the ship. A lovely sight. Lay by the pool for a while this morning reading and then had my hair cut. It had got pretty long. Very traumatic using a strange hairdresser. You have to explain everything to them and then watch like a hawk as they cut....

Back at sea again cruising south along the coast of Mexico proper. We have 3 sea days before we reach Puntarenas, Costa Rica on the 7th. It is now officially HOT again. The sun is strong and mucho suncream is required. We're both very brown and we don't even lie out in it all day like some people. Anyway, we did peg out beside the pool this morning, reading and occasionally leaping up to see the pods of dolphins and whales that kept joining our wake. ...