Smile when you say 'Damn Yankee!'

I left my office at 5:00 am this morning, and climbed up onto the dark bridge deck to see a wide string of lights before us, stretching across much of the northern horizon. We were heading due north: the Big Dipper accompanied the city lights; the Southern Cross was just off our stern. I was unsettled, however, by what appeared to be a mountain right in front of us! If it hadn't been 80 degrees, I would have been thinking iceberg...

Fortunately, the hill that I saw was just an island that we passed by a couple hours later. As we approached the harbor just south of Panama City, we discovered that the "city lights" we'd seen from 12 miles distant were actually ship-borne lights of a small flotilla of cargo ships, tankers, and all sorts of strange looking vessels. Present company included, of course :)

The most impressive moment of the morning was when the city began to appear in the distance. As twilight turned to day, we could suddenly see a huge assortment of tall buildings along the horizon. I had no idea that Panama City had such an impressive skyline.

We dropped anchor at 7 a.m., and spent the rest of the day waiting for our turn to traverse the Canal. We should head for the locks at about 6:30 tomorrow morning. Until then, please enjoy today's photographs. Click on the picture below to see more!

Skyline of Panama City

Father Time's on my back...

... at my heels... behind every door...

I turned 36 today... my first birthday at sea. I have to sing the praises of the JR's staff & crew: they went out of their way to make me feel special all day long.

The galley staff surprised me with a birthday cake (only two candles, bless their hearts), and everyone who was having lunch at the time sang Happy Birthday. Ginny was kind enough to take a photo, and took another in my "decorated" office.

Of course, everyone who celebrates a birthday out here receives the same treatment: I'm not a special case by any means. But as a first-timer, it's easy to feel like an outsider amongst crewmates who've sailed together for years. I'm grateful that Mike and the other techs have made me feel right at home - not just today, but for the entire leg. This is a great group of people with which to live and work. With folks like these, I can do two months out here standing on my head. :)

Mike & Mike in the Office