Colon, Panama. First of all, the name 'Colon' was not given to describe the place by comparing it to part of the human anatomy, although it could have been. Instead, it is the local version of 'Columbus', after Christopher, of course. I'm out on deck enjoying the breeze and gradually catching up on this diary of our travels. We are heading for Manzanillo in Mexico so I'm only a little behind. Colon is an old town that was originally built on a swampy island w...

Panama Canal We were underway in the wee small hours so had already passed through the Gatun lock before we woke. The rest of the day was spent out on Deck 7 rushing from one side of the ship to the other to get the best view of what was happening. The locks were interesting as our ship is almost the maximum width although not quite the maximum length that can transit the canal. The maximum size is called the Panamax so the Dawn Princess...