Tuesday 17 February 1953 (cont) native drum players for ½ mile. Keep wonderful rhythm. All rigged in home-made costumes. Trucks full of costumed children seeing the sights. Walked along shore drive with Trades blowing in from bay. A lovely cool spot with lawn and rows of Royal palms. Lawn full of crab holes. One path in grass 1 inch or so wide worn to bare earth by passage of leaf-cutting ants. Many were carrying blades of grass. One ant traveled 16 feet in 5 min. along path. You can see these runs in grass at quite a distance. Street parades keep up until after dark. Had supper at Y.M.C.A. with some of crew. Played ping-pong. Walked the streets for a while. No stores open on Front street. Only the clip-joints and bars open. Everyone very well behaved. Our ship's cook is a Panamanian. All shades of color. Back to ship with electrician about midnight. Dist 46 mi. St. T net 6 hr 43 min. Av sp 5.04 K. At anchor 9 h. 7 m. Wednesday 18 February 1953 Transiting the Panama Canal (Atlantic to Pacific) Tug showed up at 7:00 by mistake. At 7:30 A.M. running around making sure crew is aboard. Sailed at 8:00 A.M. First line aboard— 3 step Gatun Lock 8:45 Direction 189°. #1 step—start filling 8:59; finished 9:05. #2 step—start 9:15; finish 9:21. #3—start 9:30; finish 9:59—at level of Gatun Lake. Cast off 9:44. Then to our surprise we swung around to anchor(at 10:05) in Gatun Lake. Something to do with lock cleaning at Pacific side of canal. Captain ordered ladder over side for swimming. First in—water near 80° and fresh and clear. Swam until lunch time with crew and Geoff and Avice. While we were in, the "Reina del Pacifico" came east —a beautiful passenger ship(from Australia). Bearing in Pedro Miguel lock 135°—Miraflores locks 137° Left Balboa 11:00 PM. Canal pilot: Capt. White. Sailed from Gatun anchorage at 5:00 P.M. Delicate colors in sunset. Light until we passed Gamboa. Laughing gulls following ship; at twilight flew west, fast, low and in groups. 1 night hawk, lbrown pelican, black and turkey vultures, 1 caspian ? tern. Air soft and filled with wonderful fragrance (night oleander?). Passed Barro Colorado while light—jungle looks very tempting. No life visible from ship. Culebra Cut very impressive looming on both sides. Passed only 3 ships. Still dredging east of Cut. First Quarter moon gave good light. Courses from anchorage: 180°; 72°; 127°;(past B. Colorado); 168° ; 102° 55°; 99° , 90° (due east);180° is south Thursday 19 February 1953 8:30 Booby—upper wings and body all brown; white underpts; whitish around bill 50+Laughing gulls following, none with dark head. Also at least 7 Jaegers. Just leaving headlands of Gulf of Panama behind. Looks very mountainous. Course 240°. 10 A.M. Have been in bow for ½ hr—2 small, long-winged birds (petrels?) dingy brownish—black all over. No sign of white; wing-flipping and darting like small night hawk; close over waves. Another: seemed to have black and white markings on head. Both species too distant.