Hello everyone!
Why not take that time to do some things that can start your trip TODAY!
1) Read About the Canal
There are MANY books about the canal from many different perspectives. One can consider it from an engineering point of view, for historical or political point of view, or considering the ecology of the area. Here's a list sorted by Amazon:
https://amzn.to/3Vt6dph 2) Learn Some Spanish You won't need to speak Spanish to enjoy this cruise—at all—but it can be fun to learn a bit of the local language. Spanish is spoken Miami, Cozumel, Cartagena, Costa Rica and Mexico, so you'll have a chance to practice! Many of us on the cruise use Duolingo. If you need a Duolingo buddy, let me know! No tienes que ser un experto para aprender mucho. And it's free! https://www.duolingo.com/
3) Read Caribbean by James Michener
This is an old book now, and written by someone firmly mired in the mid-20th century, but it's a great narrative history of much of the region we'll be traveling in. No, it's not scholarly, but it's a great tale, and includes such things as Sir Francis Drake visiting our port, Huatulco, and an imagination of what life was like before Columbus in 1310. If you like pirate stories, you'll love this.
Various formats available: https://amzn.to/3Cw5Am3
4) Familiarize yourself with Merlin.
This crossing will be a great chance to add to your life list as we'll be far at sea and potentially be in rainforests and mountains on two different continents! Merlin, by Cornell is the premier bird identification app, and its new "ID bird by Sound" feature is amazing. Just leave your phone on and it will tell you what birds are communicating near you. You'll need to download the proper "paks" for the region, and some are quite large, so learning how to use this app now is a great idea. Oh, and it's free too! https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
5) Start thinking about excursions
It's early yet, but it doesn't hurt to think about what you're going to do on shore. MOST (not all) of you will be getting some sort of cabin credit which can help offset the costs of excursions sold by the cruise line, but at this point, don't limit yourself. Imagine what you'd like to do, and see if you can do it!
Some things you'll have the chance to do:
Ride an airboat and look for alligators (Miami)
SCUBA and Snorkeling (many places)
Ziplines (Costa Rica)
Close encounters with Dolphins/Manatees (Cozumel)
Swim with Stingrays (Grand Cayman)
Climb a mud volcano (Cartagena)
Visit a 16th century Mexican village and coffee plantation (Huatulco)
See La Brea Tarpits (LA)
We'll talk a lot more about things to do as we get closer, but dreaming is best when started early! As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Tempus fugit! Jeff 802-734-0662