musings

We didn’t do much today, but we did play a few games of Murder in the Dark and a crotchety woman was grumbling.

I waited for half an hour for Scouts, in the end I got fed up and left.

We had just gone through Miraflores Lock when I went on deck, and were sailing up to Pedro Miguel Locks in the melting sun. I missed breakfast so that I could see us going through a lock. I went up to Observation Deck to see it, I had a grandstand view where nobody could get it my way.

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We docked in Balboa, after going under the Thatcher Ferry Bridge (I didn’t think we’d fit!) It didn’t look promising as we crawled in, past the iron and concrete docks, with the makeshift warehouses and rattle bomb cranes.

As I walked off I saw a policeman, he had two guns, ammo pouch, torch and a truncheon! All the taxis (private cars too) were like the ones in “cliffhangers” (pretty shabby too). After that note yesterday we heard nothing about me not permitted ashore and I simply walked off.

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Mark turned up for Scouts today (I learned sheet-bend) and wouldn’t go away from us when Scouts were finished. He got angry when we told him to go away so he kicked Paul in the stomach. We are still seeking revenge.

Mandy’s nose bled today and a waiter was ever so kind to her (he even went up to M deck to unlock the cabin door for us).

The Scouts are going to the pool but I can’t because of my chill. We received a note telling us I can’t go ashore because I’m not injected but we’re going to sneak ashore.

I felt extremely cold in the night, although it was quite warm. In the morning I discovered I had a chill (air-conditioning) so I stayed in bed until 2.15 and then I saw Stagecoach at the cinema lounge.

I haven’t been outside today, but dad says it’s stormy. The nearest land is Guatemala.

Today mum and dad went in the pool but it was too rough to stay in for long.

I thought there might have been Scouts at 10.30 and I had missed them, but when I went down to John he said he hadn’t been either. We sat for a long time watching the sea go by – and the five ships.

At 0600 hrs today I was up watching Acapulco close in on us, catching us in the launch-infested harbour.

Boys rowed out to us in their crude canoes, and then waited for pennies, but they didn’t yell out “seexipens” like the Suez Canal ones. We didn’t land, we just anchored, and I saw the man radio to the Bridge and I saw the chain go through the hole. The lifeboats were lowered for getting ashore, I watched as one was lowered. Just as we were getting on a launch a man told us to go to the other gangway, but eventually we got a “rocky ride to Mexico!”

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It was a horrid day today, bleak and miserable the foggy sea having cruel peaks, covered in foamy snow. It was raining as well. Lots of Goonie Birds (albatrosses) are flying over the ship, but they never land.
At the Scout meeting I asked our scoutmaster whether I could take my Tenderfoot Test and he said at 4.15pm.

There was Emergency Boat Drill and we went up on deck to see the lifeboats being lowered, but they didn’t. We had a game of deck cricket and Mandy skipped off. I asked the I ask John the time, it was 4.25 I had missed scouts! We are getting an early sleep tonight, as we are landing in Acapulco tomorrow.

Mummy is not allowed in the sun because she has a skin rash. It was extremely hot today but I still went up to observation deck to view some land 16 miles away. We went in the pool and it was perfect.

There was a film on today but I missed some of it, it was called “Moulin Rouge”. I am going swimming with Scouts tonight but I forgot to go to the meeting.

Tonight we had the Fancy Dress Parade (grown-ups) and there were some good ones. One was called Andy Capp and he was the best. Afterwards we had a buffet dinner and I won’t need breakfast tomorrow.

That had made us thirsty so we nipped over to the Tavern and had a Coke. The sun was exactly overhead at noon and it was melting us! We saw a school of porpoises, there were at least 300.