Thurs 27th. Puerto Quetzal, Guatamala. A fabulous market of about 50 stalls is at the other end of the gang plank and we take a cursory look before paying for a cab to take us into town with two friends. This expedition does not take long as we wind through a shanty town and reach the "jewel" of a beach. Grey black sands covered with polystyrene and other rubbish, the skeleton of a rusty mangled pier and miles of umbrellas where people are selling food and drinks. A mother and daughter want us to buy shell souvenirs and they look as if they need the money. It is very poor but the market at the port is cheerful with brilliant colours and lovely goods on sale. It has taken the stall owners a day or more to travel to the port and hours to set up the stalls.

Fri 28th. At sea so off to painting after lunch, lectures and entertainment in the evening. We share the dinner table with our friends Phil and Carol King and their friends John and Margaret who have traveled all over on their motor bikes including north of the Arctic Circle and Route 66. There is always plenty of laughter at dinner.

Sat 29th. Puntarenus in Costa Rica. We moor opposite a much bigger cruise liner on this hot steamy morning. There are twice as many passengers on the "Princess" ship and it is entertaining to look down on people as they move to tour buses from both ships, as well, container loads of food are being transferred to the ships. We spend an hour wandering around a small market near the entrance to the port and many of the items for sale have been made by the stall owners; hand printed t shirts, hand painted pottery, paintings, silver goods, shell jewellery, cigars, many carved goods and textiles. Plenty of opportunity to buy food and drinks too but judging by the shape of passengers, there is no need for more. Many people are sweeping pavements and there is a genuine pride here. It is the weekend and many families are on the beach which does not look very appealing with dark sand and logs floating in the shallows but there is plenty of laughter.

There is no army in Costa Rica but a large police force which is responsible for the domestic issues as well as keeping watch for drugs moving through land and sea links between South America and North America. It feels safe as we walk through the town.

In the afternoon we take a gentle drive into the country which is very dry at this time of the year. Avocados and mangoes are plentiful and there are many spindly teak trees, bougainvillea, cacti and a few gum trees. Modest houses are built on small ridges with deep ravines on either side. Our road finds a reasonably straight path but on either side it looks as if the land has buckled. It is a volcanic area but there does not seem to be much arable land. Tourism and the manufacture of silicone chips are the most important industries followed by agriculture - coffee and fresh vegetables. Produce that does not meet export standards must be sold in the local markets even if only for a few cents. Education and health services are free to everyone until the age of 18. We spend an hour at a village where about 10 young children charm us (four busloads) as they do their native dances and we are invited to support their efforts and purchase from local stalls.

Sun 30th at sea. This morning watched birds floating past on "rafts". They had spotted some floating wooden crates and were getting a free ride. They looked very jaunty. The ship suddenly dropped speed after lunch and changed course to avoid the carcass of a massive whale.

Mon 31st. We pause at the pilot station at Balboa, along with some 50 other ships all waiting to transit the Panama Canal. About 8 am we started moving towards the canal and we had been up on deck for an hour or so waiting to commence. Obviously our ship had booked a definite time as we entered with three sips ahead of us and the other 45 or so still waiting. The fee to transit must be paid in advance and for the Balmoral was $208.000 US.

The canal is 48 miles long and there are three sets of locks comprising two locks side by side which lift ships up to Gatun Lake some 26 metres above sea level. Work on the canal started in 1881 by the same company which had dug the Suez Canal. Unfortunately this was doomed as their equipment whilst suited to sand in Egypt could not handle the solid rock of Panama. When the French company ceased construction about 1890 due to going bust, some 22000 workers had died from Malaria, Yellow Fever and Accidents during their years in charge. Many of the dead were unidentified. The USA took over in the 1900's after the canal had sat idle for many years and completed work in 1914. The first ship passed through the canal on August 15 1914 so its centenary is being celebrated this year. A further 6000 died during the US construction.

During its time the canal has been owned by Columbia, who owned the Panama territory, French and the USA before coming under the control of the Panamanian government in 1999. The canal has seen traffic increase from about 1000 ships when it opened to 14,702 ships in 2008. Altogether by 2008 some 815,000 ships had passed through the canal

Currently a third lock is being built alongside the existing two and is hoped to be complete by end 2015. Currently the lock chambers are 305 metres long and 33.5 metres wide. The new locks will be over 100 metres longer and another 25 metres wider to accommodate the largest ships. A large container ship ahead of us only had about 20cm clearance on each side and in fact collided with the canal side on several occaision, removing chunks of concrete.

Our day was fascinating watching us and other ships go through the locks and just seeing the enormity of the whole project. Gatun Lake, which is at the highest point above sea level is huge and it is a man made freshwater lake having dammed two rivers. The transit took all day and we finally exited at the town of Colon (which I am assured is aptly named) around 6.30 pm.

We missed seeing the crocodile today and the huge dead whale, pods of dolphins and the flying fish on previous days but there have been flocks of pelicans and brown boobies (these had us wondering) playing in the drafts created by the movement of the ship and on land, many vultures.

Now at sea for two days on our way to Willemstad, Curacao