We will be going through the canal all day since it takes between 8 and 10 hours. We will refuel before entering and then go through at our designated time. The locks going up and down do take a certain amount of time and can not be rushed. There is also a very slow speed limit though the whole area even while crossing the large lake. The whole area is only 50 miles long but it takes some time to get through. It just doesn't seem like it should take that long but you can't rush this special place in the world. We don't plan on returning, mostly since I am such an avid cruiser. 😊
We were up very early to see sunrise which didn't happen since it was so hazy. It was already hot and humid at that early hour. Plenty of folks had already parked themselves on the small bow area. It is only 2-3 feet deep so not many can use that spot. Such a huge ship and no bow space for passengers to view. We were able to see somewhat through glass but still not well. It was really interesting to see. There were a lot of ships waiting their turn to go through the locks. You can pay an extra surtax to go through earlier and sometimes perishables have to. The cruise ships try to have a day time schedule for their tourists on board. You can go through 24 hours but the night view wouldn't be that thrilling.
We very slowly approached the first in a series of three at the beginning, starting on the Atlantic side. There was a narrator, a pilot, and several others employed by the canal that were brought on board to assist with our passage. The gates opened and we slowly glided into the 1st lock with the aid of electric locomotives that were tethered to the ship. There were 4 on each side of the ship with canal employees assisting them in how much slack or tension to put on the cables. It is a very close fit for this ship, in fact we had about 2 ft. on each side. The locks close and fill with water, then we are released to the next open lock and once again the gates open and close and the water once again rises. This procedure was used for all 3 of the Gatun locks. It took approximately 10 minutes to fill each lock. It did seem that it took longer than that but the ship moved ever so slowly through each gate, so it took about 2 hours to get through these 3 locks. Then we were released into Gatun Lake. Gatun Lake is only 30 miles long but it takes about 2 hours to cross due to such slow speeds that are strictly enforced.
We probably began our entry to the locks about 8:00 AM and got to Gatun Lake about 11:00 AM. It is a very slow and precise procedure from entry to exit of this portion.
Various Canal employees, the pilot, and narrator board the ship for guidance.
The canal on the right was the one started by the French.
The locks are opening and we are proceeding through. Difficult to get photos without other folks on our pictures.
Really neat to be able to witness such a feat that was completed in 1914 and still functioning and working well, just too narrow for the huge ships that are being built in this day and age. This was truly amazing.
This is where the locomotives turn around and continue their job. At the time we went through another ship was on the other side going the same direction as we were. That is the reason the locomotives are on both sides of the waterways.
Now into Gatun Lake for our 2 hour trek.
100 Year Anniversary of the canal in 2014.
It looks pretty narrow and it is for a great many ships. The Disney Wonder is the only Disney ship that is considered PANAMAX which means it fits in the locks. They are working on new locks which are wider and deeper and those may also be too small for some of the really huge container ships.
It cost about $400,000 for the Disney ship to go through the locks and some of those huge ships could pay over a million. What a cost and it is only going to continue to go up to pay for the new locks.
This is Panama City which is about a million in population. There are other cities along the route as well but not very large cities. The Panama Canal is only about 10 miles wide and 54 miles long so what population they have is pretty much condensed in Panama City.
This is the Bridge of the Americas which we went under and into the Pacific. It was built in 1962 and had a different name at that time but has since been renamed The Bridge of the Americas in recent years. We then dropped anchor in Balboa just a short distance out and refueled. We did not resume our cruise until about 5 AM (Friday May 8th).
The whole route through the canal was truly amazing. I can't believe we were really here and went from one side to the other. Wow! What an experience. We were even able to watch from the balcony of our new acquaintances from Canada. They had a lovely stateroom they shared with us for part of the journey.
We also celebrated a birthday this evening with one of our table mates. Champagne for all at the table. We have another birthday to celebrate on the 11th (the party table you know). Nice group of folks and a varied group of personalities.
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