Connard Hogan

Our ship began the transit of the Panama Canal system when we entered Gatun Lake early morning. I'd barfed twice during the night (cause undetermined), so started my day late and in a slow, sluggish state. Janet and I went topside at 2:30 PM to watch the progress of our ship's canal transit, and I spotted a huge ship transiting the newer canal adjacent to us.

"Are we turning into wimps?" I wondered. Prim8 liked the idea, however. I concluded that the stretchy bandage worked to reduce my left knee pain, and that hiking uphill might better suit my body.

And, while staying at the lodge, we were treated two "Game Drives" daily, several hours each morning and each evening. And, we started living an African wild-game National Geographic documentary, rather than watching one on TV! Riding in specially adapted jeeps during our six Game Drives, we witnessed a multitude of animals.

During the first day of our journey, Janet and I settled into a somewhat evenly paced routine of over-eating at every meal, over-indulging in drinking, and attending available lectures. Daily lecturers and port talks while at sea provided cultural enrichment on varied topics. (I've introduced interesting tidbits in this blog, which are numbered and sprinkled throughout.)

Janet and I settled into a hectic self-imposed routine of eat, drink and attend lectures during our first "sea day." Challenged to avoid over-indulgence, we managed a slight degree of restraint. Daily lecturers onboard, and comments as we toured by bus, provided cultural enrichment. (Interesting tidbits are numbered and sprinkled throughout this blog.

Wind speeds gradually increased, particularly on the ridges and when the trail led us to windward side of the mountains. And since the trail's conditions on the eastern sides (leeward) were more pleasant, we began to anticipate those calmer, and warmer, stretches. We continued steadily at approximately 2 mph, which we considered quite a good pace. My legs, particularly knees, were holding up well. And when Tallow periodically checked on my condition ...

We drove to Taipivai Bay, and visited the village where Herman Melville was a "guest-captive," according to his fictionalized account in Typee. (Quite inspirational for me, the visit and the book!)

My memory of Bratislava (Slovakia) is over-shadowed by our mooring situation, crossing and re-crossing eight river cruise ships, and the bus drives in and out of the cargo facility past shipping containers.

Exhausted, I reclined on my sleeping pad to eat a light meal and took another Ibuprofen in order to maximize my R&R, rest and recuperation. Tallow and I decided not to bear-bag our food, as the campground occupation of perhaps a dozen hikers would likely deter most larger critters. As well, we were well out of active bear territory.

The Canary archipelago lies about 93 miles off the northwestern coast of Africa and 840 miles from continental Europe (Spain proper). They're governed by Spain, having been"adopted"in 1493. If any blame is to be laid regarding that latter development, I'd point my finger at Columbus, if for no other reason than timing and his encouragement to "sail the seas." (He stopped there for ship repairs in 1492 on his voyage to North America.)