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[Page 61]
1914.
We had chased over the whole of the South Pacific after these German cruisers, and it was a bitter blow to hear that they had now fallen into other hands, especially as we felt that, at last, we were somewhere in their vicinity. The next thing to consider was - what we were to do now? We continued on towards our destination which was reached next day.
Dec. 10
We anchored in Pinas Bay, a beautiful little harbour, surrounded by high mountains, covered with beautiful green vegetation right down to the water's edge. The harbour itself is dotted by small islets, which makes a lovely setting for the whole. The place is uninhabited, except for a few Indians huts. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It reminded me very much of the English lake district. In the evening, having received instructions from the Admiralty, we parted from our Japanese friends and left for Jamaica; via the Panama Canal. As we left, we gave three ringing cheers for our Japanese allies, and they in return gave us three "banzais". The Japanese had impressed us, during the short time they were with us, with their skill & efficiency, and their ideas were, in many cases, adopted by our Admiral. The distance from Pinas Bay to the Panama Canal is only about 100 miles.
Dec. 11
The next morning, when in sight of Panama, we heard to our consternation that we could not go through the Canal, owing to the landslide in the Culebra Cut, preventing a ship of our length from