Two Great Oceans - March, 2019

Our intrepid couple will be on the move shortly. They are especially happy to leave what has been a very cold Canadian winter and to fly south, where it is hoped they will not hear the phrase, "wind chill", for a few weeks. Long underwear, gloves and Elmer Fudd hats will be left at home and breathable shirts and shorts will be de rigueur items for the suitcase.

On this excursion, Gym and his boss are returning to South America. Departing on March 15, 2019, they will fly to Lima, Peru, stopping briefly at Houston's George W. Bush Airport, to change planes. They expect to get into their hotel in the Miraflores District, sometime after midnight, on March 16th. They will then spend a couple of days hoofing it around Miraflores and explore as many of its beautiful parks as they can. Their last stay there was at the end of a long journey, after a bumpy cruise across the South Pacific,  capped by a trek up to Machu Picchu. When they got to Miraflores at the end of their last trip, they didn't do much exploring, they needed a rest. This time they will do some long hikes in one of the nicest and most well-to-do parts of Peru's capital city.

Then on March 18th, they will board another Oceania cruise ship. This will be their 9th cruise with Oceania and their third time on the MS Marina. It was the Marina that they came into Lima on the first time, after sailing past Easter Island on a South Pacific transit from French Polynesia. From Lima, they will then start their way back up to North America, hugging the west coast of South America, passing through the newly renovated Panama Canal and then skirting the east coast of the Central American Isthmus and the USA. The journey concludes in New York City, where it is hoped that a performance of the broadway show Hamilton, can be experienced.

This cruise, 18 days in length, should keep our heroes warm as they visit eight countries in Latin America and three States in Trumpland. By the time they get home, it is hoped that Spring will finally have settled over Western Canada (doubtful).

The  goals on this trip are as follows:

1. Stay warm;
2. Visit new countries of Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras for Gym, and those four plus two more that Mrs. Gym hasn't experienced in Belize and Guatemala;
3. Inspect the workmanship of the Panama Canal renovations for which Mrs. Gym has already prepared an excel spreadsheet so she can discuss cost overruns with the Canal Authority; and most importantly,
4. To connect the dots on several long cruises that stretch from Hong Kong to Sydney, Australia, the long way (see below).

In 2011, our heroes started in Hong Kong and sailed 45 days west through the Suez Canal to Athens, Greece. They have since connected Athens to New York City over three cruises that included a hurricane-hugging Atlantic crossing. Recently, our sailors have completed 2 more long legs connecting Sydney, Australia with Lima, Peru; across the mighty Pacific Ocean.  By filling in the gap with this trip, our two adventurers will only have to connect Sydney to Hong Kong and they will have sailed all the way around the world. There is a cruise in 2021 that will finish this prospect, just over a decade after it started.

The scene in Calgary as Gym and his lovely sidekick pack their
bags for Lima

Stay tuned!