a play in four acts

I love analogies.

If this trip were a play, it would have four acts.

Act 1 was was the delightful ten days I spent with my family over Thanksgiving in Bend, Oregon. Act 2 was the five days I just completed in Fort Lauderdale. Act 4 will be two days in Los Angeles.

But, the core of this play is Act 3 -- the 15 days on board Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Star transiting the Panama Canal. I made a similar trip in 2000 with my cousin, Dennis. The stops are a bit different this time, but it will center on the engineering marvel that has fascinated me since I first heard it of it from Miss Dix in the sixth grade.

We (my friends Sophie, Nancy, and Roy) boarded the ship in Miami yesterday. This is our first sea day, and I am just getting into the routine of being confined to a large ship with thousands of strangers while wending our way toward South and Central America.

I just realized I have not told you exactly where we are going. That is easily fixed. Here is our itinerary.

Day 1 -- Miami, Florida
Day 2-- at sea (we are currently off the northeast coast of Cuba) 
Day 3 -- at sea
Day 4 -- Cartagena, Colombia
Day 5 -- Transit Panama Canal
Day 6 -- at sea
Day 7 -- Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Day 8 -- Corinto, Nicaragua
Day 9 -- Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
Day 10 -- at sea
Day 11 -- Acapulco, Mexico
Day 12 -- at sea
Day 13 -- Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Day 14 -- at sea
Day 15 -- Los Angeles, California

Even though I have visited most of the ports on the list, Nicaragua and Cartagena will be new to me. And, at the end of the cruise, I will be happy to return home. That is why it is a bit ironic that neither Cabo San Lucas nor Acapulco hold any interest for me. Probably because they are not the Mexico I call home.

Even though time is at a premium, I will do my best to keep you posted of this sea adventure.

Or we may just have to wait until the curtain comes down on this play to get the juicy stories.