We did a
partial transit a couple of years ago. We got up early to view the sunrise and
await our turn to go through the locks. We tendered off the ship in Gatun Lake
and then were bused to board a small ferry to do a full transit out to the
Pacific and past Panama City where we bused back to meet up with the ship in
Colon. It was an interesting contrast doing it in a cruise ship where we nearly
touched the walls and in a small boat where we dropped way low and the walls
towered above us.
So, this
will be our first time doing the full transit in a cruise ship. We will wave to
our future home in Panama. The ship doesn’t stop here, but continues on until
we get to Guayaquil, Ecuador in a couple of days.
This time we
were a bit more leisurely start. Greg got up and did his usual time in the gym
and we watched for a while having breakfast outside aft of the ship, then went
back and forth watching the opening and closing of the gates and watching the
beautiful scenery of Panama. We couldn’t have asked for a better day. It was
warm and a bit breezy. Last time we did the Canal it was cool and rainy.
Panama
facts:
The Panama Canal is an engineering feat of all time
and the 8th wonder of the world. It’s a 51 mile waterway.
There are three sets of
locks – Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores, where they raise the ship above sea
level through the waterways.
We also pass through the famous Gaillard Cut, or Culebra Cut, a nine-mile excavation that cuts through the continental
divide
in Panama. The cut forms part of the Panama Canal, linking Gatun Lake, and thereby the Atlantic Ocean, to the Gulf of Panama and hence the Pacific Ocean.
The Canal
is also being expanded. The construction consists of two new sets of locks –
one on the Pacific and one on the Atlantic the side of the Canal. Each lock
will have three chambers and each chamber will have three water reutilization
basins. The program entails the widening and deepening of existing navigational
channels in Gatun Lake and the deepening of the Calebra Cut.
We will pass under the
Bridge of the Americas, which spans the Pacific entrance to the
Panama Canal and the
Centennial Bridge which is located 15 km (9.3 mi) north of the Bridge of the
Americas, and crosses the Gaillard Cut close
to the Pedro Miguel locks.
A third bridge
over the Panama Canal is a proposed road bridge in Colón, Panama, which will
span the Atlantic
entrance to the Panama
Canal
It is amazing to watch the process no matter how many
times you see it.
We eventually went to lunch and I had a wonderful
Madras Lamb Curry. Interesting conversation with our tablemates (lunch is open
seating and you meet new people every day) as we watched the scenery go by.
We watched the transit from the balcony for a while
and then went for our daily walk on the track. (we normally do part on the
track and the rest walking the stairs and halls for exercise). Today it was fun
to walk and watch the canal, stopping for pictures now and then.
Finally we passed under the Bridge of the Americas
and we got some great shots of Panama City and said goodbye to the Atlantic
Ocean and hello to the Pacific Ocean.
Time for dinner and the evening show. We spent some
time working on pictures of Costa Rica and the Canal. Hopefully, we will get
some posted today to tomorrow.
Next 2 days are sea days. Whoo hoo!
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