I’ve been having a simple breakfast in my cabin most mornings to a) cut down on calories and b) to be lazy. When we got to Panama, I was quite surprised to find that my little milk cartons have been changed to the "Shenandoah’s Pride" label. Shades of home! We’ll see how long that lasts.

I’ve also been meaning to tell you about Joco, my cabin steward. He’s from Indonesia and has worked on ships for quite a long time. He is most efficient and has a sense of humor as evidenced by the nightly turn-down service. While I am at dinner, he turns down the bed, arranges things like the next day’s schedule and other little announcements, and makes a animal from towels to greet me when I return to the cabin...usually with chocolates for eyes. So far in this first week I’ve been met by a bunny, a lobster, a ray, a cephalopod (probably squid), a frog, a dragonfly and a puppy. Tonight after dinner I returned to my cabin to find a large snake on my bed...if the photo comes out, I’ll post it tomorrow. It’s truly spectacular! I’m waiting to see how long he can go without repeating himself.

So, in less than 36 hours I have made the trip ocean to ocean 3 times: once by ship, once by train, and once by bus. All 3 were different and interesting. The train (I was in a very nice dome car with an excellent view) ran right alongside the Canal. The bus took a different route back, and in fact, we got special permission for the bus to drive across the upper dam on the Chagras River (which is the source for the 52 million gallons of water PER SHIP that goes through the Canal). Wow!