Saturday - 31 January 2015 - on board Statendam

Today we are at sea --- I'm on deck six by 7:15 am -- there are considerably more walkers at this hour than earlier.  Phil and I meet for breakfast at a table by the pool in Lido.

At 10:00 am - there is a session about the various excursions available in upcoming ports -- I attend out of curiosity and because I am concerned that in some of these  ports we might be better off taking a tour for safety.

At noon Phil and I have lunch in the Pinnacle Grill -- one of the alternate dining venues -- this is courtesy of our travel agent.  We have a lovely time.

Phil at Lunch -- Pinnacle Grille

At 3:00 pm -- Wallis, our Location Guide, gives a talk on the History of the Panama Canal -- it is very good with standing room only.

Some take-away tidbits include:
---the Canal is 50 miles long connecting east and west

---the idea for a Canal in Panama dates back to 1512

---the 47.5 mile long Panama railroad which opened in 1855 crossed the

                        continental divide and was to become the route of the Canal

---by 1889 the French attempt to build the Canal had failed at a cost of $287

                        million and the loss of more than 20,000 lives.
---in May 1904 the US started construction of the Canal under Teddy                                                 Roosevelt as President

---in August 1914 the SS Cristobal was the first transit through the Canal

---the US spent $385 million to build the Canal

---between 12,000 and 15,000 ships transit the Panama Canal each year 

---in 1928 Richard Halliburton swam the Panama Canal -- he paid a toll of

                        36 cents since his weight was 150 pounds.

Pat and Phil -- Formal Night in the Rotterdam Dining Room!

Tonight's attire is formal -- at 7:30 is the Captain's Welcome Party when passengers are introduced to the senior officers -- then it's off to dinner us.   Table 81 is set for two -- not four -- looks like we lucked out.  Our team is terrific --  Eko, our waiter is from Indonesia and Ruel our wine steward is from the Phillipines.

Pretty soon the day is done ---

Thanks for Reading.

Pat