greenroads: THE PANAMA! ( December 17, Day 8)

Today we were up VERY early to watch our approach to the Panama Canal and then enjoy the day doing the transit. This is the day we have all been waiting for though we have seen many interesting sights along the way. As the sun rose the "Pilot" was dropped off on board to guide us. A pilot comes on board at every port.

Deck 4 was opened to allow us to come closer to the bow of our ship so that we could see the canal better as we entered. Coffee and snacks were set up on this deck and a running commentary by someone familiar with the workings and history of the canal was appreciated.

A beautiful sunrise dawned but don't be deceived by a few clouds. It was hot and humid and you could have worn a bathing suit first thing!

I managed to spot a crocodile but I was surprised that I actually caught it on camera with my zoom. If you click on a picture you can enlarge it for a better look and then click outside of the picture to get back to the blog. Crocodiles were at the entrance of the canal but you really had to look for them. I saw 4. They look much like alligators but their snouts look pointier and I think their bumps are sharper looking. More intimidating than alligators!

Here is one of the tug boats that must accompany each ship as it enters and exits the canal. The tugs are on standby really, they will not touch the ship unless it needs help to stay centred. These are part of the huge cost of a transit through the canal. Our ship would have paid close to $400,000 for a full transit. Commercial ships pay less. We did a partial transit up to Lake Gatun but paid full price since we had to go back out again so that is the equivalent of a full transit. Lake Gatun is at the end of the first three locks and that is where we anchored for a while to wait our turn to go back down. If we had continued on we would have arrived at the Pacific Ocean.

It was fascinating not just to watch what was happening but to be a part of it. As our ship navigated the 3 locks, amounting to a climb of 85 feet, we had excellent views of the process as well as the commentary over the speakers.
The ships ahead and behind us looked humungous and I am sure we did too! There is not much room on either side but the ships are kept straight by "mules" which are steel engines looking like train cars. Their strong cables are attached to the ships and they maintain tension to keep us from moving sideways.

Mules seen from above and the wheel house of our ship.

You can see the mules on the tracks to each side of the canal. The lighthouse in the background is still in use.

Mules were very busy and fun to watch.

The Panama canal was actually completed in 1914 and the original mechanisms are still in use today! It is so amazing to experience one of the SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD first hand!

Along side of us on the way up to Lake Gatun was a huge container ship. It was fun to watch it and the crew could be seen taking pictures of our ship as we took pictures of theirs. I have never seen so many containers and container ships in my life! What a happening place for transporting goods all over the world!

Here we are nearing the end of the third lock and about to navigate into Lake Gatun. At the time it was created by damming the Chagres River, it was one of the largest man made lakes in the world. The rainforest all around the Lake has provided the Panama Canal with a natural defence system. It was a bit surreal climbing up to the lake and seeing the ships waiting for transit. Looking back the Atlantic (Caribbean Sea) had a strange look as well since it was down below us.

Once we got past all the ships waiting their turn we anchored so that we had a view of the construction site of the new canal. The Panama is 48 miles long in total and the canals are 110 ft. wide. The new set of locks is supposed to be completed in 2014 and will be wider to accommodate the gargantuan ships that now transport containers all over the world. The old locks will still be used as well. It is beside them and will use a different system that reuses water from holding ponds. We saw this in Europe when we did the River Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest.

Here you can see the cranes of the new construction site and looking back, the ghostly ships in the background waiting their turn. Apparently some ships do not book ahead but wait for a space to come up...it must be cheaper that way. We had booked a passage however and you have to book well in advance!

Now we are heading back to the locks to make our way back down so we will do the same thing over again in reverse.

The tug comes aside to help us if needed.

This time a "dead ship" is along side of us and this is highly unusual. Ships are supposed to be able to power themselves but for some reason someone paid for this ship to be guided through by tugs. It will likely be sold for scrap metal somewhere and from the size of this dead heap of metal I would say it must be worth it!

I really enjoyed this transit through the canal and spent the whole day on decks. We started out on deck four near the bow but moved around to get better views as the day went by. I loved seeing all the ships and the size of them! There were excursions available from the ship. You could take a tender from the ship once we got to Lake Gatun and tour areas of Panama. One trip took a ferry through the rest of the locks and then took a train back to meet the ship in Colon Panama later in the day. We did not consider them since they were all very expensive but I have to say I loved staying on board and seeing everything from there.

It was very windy and hot as we left the Panama Canal and headed toward Colon, not far away. We went up to the Observation Lounge and sat comfortably out of the wind and heat with a great view.

As we made our way toward Colon we passed many ships waiting in Christobel Harbour, the large waterway and channel leading up to the canal on the Atlantic side. We rounded the coast toward Colon where we stopped for a few hours and people who had gone on excursions came back on board. Colon was not a spot for excursions. The Zuiderdam did not provide any but we were able to get off the ship and walk around the port shops. Local cabs offered tours but we weren't interested. For one thing time was limited and also we were told it may not be a safe place to tour. Maybe just to deter us?

The dock at Colon was very small and it was quite a feat to get our ship secured here. The dock workers had their hands full as they manoeuvered their small boat to get the huge lines over to shore. It took a few tries and our engines churned up mud.