2015 Dec 10 - Going Through the Panama Canal

Thursday was a very full day. We got up at 6:45am, just as we were passing through the breakwater that marks the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal System. I should tell you that many of today's pictures are hazy due to the intense humidity here. When I stepped out onto our balcony to take a picture of the breakwater, the camera wouldn't focus because the lens immediately fogged up. Some pictures were taken through glass, so that added to the poor quality. Sorry, but I had no choice.

At one point or another during the day, we had some eighteen canal workers and officials board the ship, from canal pilots to the guys who fed the cables to the mules. Mules are the electric vehicles that run along side the ship, keeping it centered as it travels through the locks. The mules do not pull the ship forward. The ship moves forward under its own power.

The progression thru the locks was as follows: After passing through the breakwater, there are two channels ahead. The one on the left is the approach channel for the new locks which are now under construction and will add a third lane of traffic to the canal and will accommodate much larger ships. The channel on the right goes to the Gatun Locks. There are three adjoining lock chambers that raised the ship 85 feet to the level of Gatun Lake. After very slowly navigating a twisty course (with pilot boats in some areas) through and around many small islands in the lake, a distance of about 7 miles, the ship entered the Culebra Cut. The Cut is so narrow that it looks like a river and leads to the Pedro Miguel Locks, a single chamber that lowered the ship 26 feet. After the short crossing of Miraflores Lake, we came to the Miraflores Locks, two adjoining lock chambers that lowered the ship back to sea level. The entire process, from the time we passed the breakwater until we exited the final lock and passed into the Pacific Ocean took 10 1/2 hours. The fee for our ship, the Island Princess, to pass through the canal was $256,000!

The weather was sunny and very hot and humid in the morning, and cooled off somewhat with rain in the area in the afternoon, but we only felt a few drops. I took 167 pictures today, but I can only upload a few. I hope you enjoy them. Marsha and I certainly enjoyed the day.