The Panama Canal I

We were scheduled to start our transit through the Panama Canal very early in the morning. I awoke at 5 am because I somehow sensed that the ship had stopped moving. I woke up JS and we headed to the bow of the ship that had been opened to passengers for this event only. The process was slow but fascinating and by 9:30 we decided to return to our cabin for a nap. The Canal is 80 km long and it took us until 3 pm to go from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

Some basic facts:
- partially built by the French but completed by the USA in 1914, with Panama assuming full operation in 1999 but open to all nations
- over 20,000 workers died during the construction, mainly of yellow fever which is transmitted by mosquitoes
- over 2 billion dollars is collected annually in port fees (our transit fee was $40,000)
- there were 3 sets of locks that we went through, each was 110 feet wide and our ship was 106 feet wide leaving 2 feet clearance on each side
- we started at sea level; were raised a total of 85 feet; and then lowered back to sea level
- the water that is used to raise and lower the ships at each set of locks comes from Gatun Lake by gravity
- there are 2 lanes side-by-side saving ships about 4800 km via an alternative all-water route
- in 2016 a third set of locks was completed to meet the demand of the larger container ships.

There was almost a party atmosphere on ship today. They served coffee and Panamanian rolls, a soft sweet roll filled with custard. Later a bar was set up on deck. An interpreter from the Canal Authority was on board and provided a commentary throughout the day. It was partly cloudy, hot, humid and very windy. On two occasions, while taking photos, a strong gust of wind made me lose my balance with one nearly causing me to fall. It was too windy to wear our hats and, since it was dark out when we first went on deck, we both forgot to use sunscreen and got our first sunburns of the trip.

I was somewhat reluctant about taking this cruise as the itinerary didn’t interest me but transiting the Canal certainly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I enjoyed it far more than I had expected. I spoke with several other women who shared the same opinion. JS was particularly pleased with his bucket-list experience.Read more