March 27, 2013
After another day at sea, we arrived at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, at Panama City. The picture below shows sunrise over the Pacific as we entered the canal. This is not a misprint--to travel from the Pacific to the Caribbean through the canal, you actually travel east to west. (I am entitled to 10% of your bar bet winnings from that fact.)
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| Sunrise over the Pacific |
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| The canal goes east to west from the Pacific to the Caribbean Sea |
We passed Panama City at the Pacific entrance to the canal. At this point I could only get long distance shots, but we would return to Panama City the next day on a shore excursion.
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| Panama City--impressive even at a distance |
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| A rare site--Brenda up at dawn! |
At the entrance to the canal in Panama City is what looks like a pile of junk, but is actually the Museum of Biodiversity (not yet open), designed by Frank Gehry. Unfortunately, the ship doesn't get very close, so my shot is a bit blurry. I've added another picture of the other side of the museum, that I stole off the internet, to give you a better view.
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| Museum of Biodiversity--my shot |
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| Museum of Biodiversity--stolen shot |
After passing Panama City, we passed under the
Bridge of the Americas, which was until recently, the only bridge connecting the two sides of the canal.
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| Passing under the Bridge of the Americas |
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| Rear-view mirror (so to speak) view of the Bridge of the Americas |
Next we passed the first of several spots where we could see the expansion of the canal to fit bigger ships. The expansion involves building a second set of wider locks. They claim that the expansion will be finished in 2015, but that's not gonna happen.
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| Construction on the expanded locks |
Next came the first set of locks, the Miraflores Locks. Each set of locks has two channels. When we arrived, both channels were being used by ships going from the Pacific to the Caribbean. Ships are pulled through the locks by rail engines.
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| Entering the Miraflores Locks |
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| Viewing stands on the shore at the Miraflores Locks |
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| View ahead as we pass through the locks |
There is very little room to pass through the locks--about 2 feet on either side of the ship.
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| The white part is the boat, and the concrete part is the side of the lock |
At this point, the ship is being raised as it goes through the locks. The ship goes into the lock and the lock doors close. Water is added to the lock to raise the level until it is even with the next lock, and the doors open. The process is repeated for two more sets of locks at Miraflores.
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| In the first lock, waiting for water to be added (view from rear of ship) |
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| One of the locomotives pulling the ship |
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| In the second lock, looking back at the first (filled) lock. |
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| After filling and opening the second lock. |
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| Entering the second set of locks, the Pedro Miguel Locks |
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| Looking past the Pedro Miguel Locks to the Centennial Bridge |
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| Entering the Pedro Miguel Locks |
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| Construction on a new set of locks near the Pedro Miguel Locks |
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| Passing under the Centennial Bridge |
Next was Gatun Lake, a large man-made lake made when the Chagres River was flooded during the construction of the canal. The lake is part of the canal.
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| Gatun Lake |
After crossing Gatun Lake, we came to the Gatun Locks. Gatun Lake is the highest point in the canal, so the Gatun Locks lower boats heading to the Caribbean/Atlantic. The gates on all of the locks (not just Gatun) are made of steel and hollow. They are filled with water when the lock is filled, and emptied when the lock empties.
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| Gates on the Gatun Locks |
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| Entering the Gatun Locks |
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| Going through the Gatun Locks |
After passing through the Gatun Locks, we went a few more miles before arriving at Colon, the main Panama port on the Caribbean/Atlantic side. If you can't say anything nice about a city, don't say anything. So I won't say anything about Colon.
Next:
Panama City and the Canal Zone
