On April 11th, Barbara and I embarked Holland America's ms Oosterdam in Ft. Lauderdale, FL to fulfill our dream of cruising the Panama Canal. We were thrilled to be accompanied by our dear friends of over 25 years, Bruce and Donna, who were on their first cruise.

We found the Caribbean, Panama, and Central America to be very dry and arid, as their rainy season was just a few weeks away. I have tried to chronicle a few of the highlights of our journey, concentrating on the passage of the Panama Canal itself.