'I'm always looking for the Hows and the Whys and the Whats,' said Muskrat, 'That is why I speak as I do. You've heard of Muskrat's Much-in-Little, of course?'
'No,' said the child. 'What is it?'
- The Mouse and his Child. Russell Hoban.

Go here to find out more.

Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Through the Panama Canal


When I was 10 my parents took my sister and me to England.  We went by ship and had a wonderful time enjoying the freedom of swimming, playing and eating what we liked for six weeks.  The only rules were that we did our daily study from the Correspondence School, never stood more than one rung up on the rails around the sides of the ship, and were in bed by a certain time. I think my parents asked one of the stewards to check we were there, so it was a nice holiday for them too!

Going to England, we went on the S.S Oronsay via the Suez canal.  I think the route was Auckland - Sydney - Manilla - Hong Kong - Singapore - Bombay (as it was then) - Aden - Port Said - Naples - Palma de Majorca - Tilbury.*
The return voyage on RMV Rangitoto was the other way:  Colon - Panama - Tahiti - Auckland.

Unfortunately I got a bleeding nose due to the heat just as we were about to start through the Panama, and so missed most of it as I was sitting in the doctor's surgery having my snoz packed with bandages.  So for my edification, and for any readers who have also not travelled through the Panama Canal, here it is.

In 75 seconds.





 * Correct me in the comments Dad, if I got it wrong.

7 comments:

  1. GB10.4.13

    Never been though either of the canals but I must find the same for Suez because Gaz travels through it.

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  2. Kate10.4.13

    Geeb, there are plenty. Just search on YouTube using the words 'Time Lapse Suez'. :-)

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  3. rhymeswithplague10.4.13

    Great trip! My dad was through the Panama Canal several times during WWII while in the U.S. Navy. He told me all about the locks.

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  4. ADRIAN10.4.13

    They are both great canals but the Panama is by far the better of the two

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  5. Kate10.4.13

    A sailor told me that once he and his mates played a trick on a new sailor. From the very start of the voyage, they told this chap to save bread for the poor donkeys whose job it was to pull the ships through the locks. The gullible fellow had quite a few bags full by the time they reached the canal and discovered that that was the common name for the motorised tracked machines that haul the ships through.

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  6. Kirsten11.4.13

    What a nice trip you got! To travel is to live. My next travel wil go to USA where we will drive around in a motorhome for a month.

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  7. Kate11.4.13

    Kirsten - I agree entirely. And that is a great trip you have planned. Ben might suggest you do NZ instead! :-)

    ReplyDelete

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