The
Panama Canal
The major point of our cruise was to cruise thru the Panama
Canal, and the next big “event” of this cruise was the all-day cruise of the
Panama Canal. Before we get started with
our travels thru the Canal, let me share a bit of history of the Canal,
something I frankly paid little attention to before this cruise. The first effort to build an all-water route
thru Panama began with the French in 1880, but financial troubles and various
diseases that people not from that area were not familiar with, doomed their
efforts to failure. Once Panama achieved
its independence in 1903, it reached an agreement with the US for the
construction of the Canal. The Canal was
completed in August, 1914 (over 100 years ago), and the US managed it until 1999.
Panama Canal Morning
The morning started early, with us sort of queueing up with
other ships to enter the Canal Zone (my term).
The small ship in the foreground is a pilot boat, and a pilot who would
actually take us thru the Canal locks.
Entrance to the Canal
As we approached the Canal Zone, you can see the makings of a
bridge over the Canal entrance on the right of the image. It is planned to be completed by later this
year, and will be used for commuters and other vehicles that must cross the
Canal. We’ll see shortly what is done
today, and how the traffic is at the mercy of the ships traveling thru the
Canal.
One of the things that amazed me thru the entire travel of the
Canal was how there were truly natural surroundings in the midst of the
mechanics of the locks of the Canal. I
was not expecting such natural surroundings – I guess I expected a lot of concrete and mechanical operations
throughout the entire Canal.
Right now, ferries are one way traffic can get from one shore to
another across the Canal. The ferries
defer to the ships traveling thru the Canal.
Beyond the ferries, you can see the two different canals that exist at
this point. The “path” that branches off
to the left of the image is the “new” locks.
The Panama Canal Expansion began in September, 2007, and the locks are
wider and longer to accommodate larger ships.
It was completed and in operation as of June, 2016. You can see a larger white cruise ship in the
“path” on the right – that’s the “path” we followed as well, and there are 2 sets of
locks parallel in this first, “old” part of the Canal.
Two Ships in Old Locks
Here we are approaching the first set of locks, the Gatun
Locks. The white cruise ship, a Princess
cruise ship (I believe) is on the left, and there was another ship, a smaller
container ship, is on the right, and that path is the one we were to
follow. If you look closely, you can see
that the container ship is already in the lock and the water is risen. Also, look closely and you can see a small
tug boat just behind the container ship.
Water Being Lowered in Our Lock
Now, you can see that the Princess cruise ship is in the first
lock, and that the water in our lock is being lowered before the gates open and
we can enter the first lock. The genius
of the technology of how the locks work is that is works, quite simply, by
gravity. In February, 1994, the Panama
Canal was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American
Society of Civil Engineers.
Bridge across the Locks
As we entered the first lock, we had to pause for a few minutes
while a swing out bridge was out and traffic could cross. This is the second way that traffic can cross
the Canal Zone, and again, the traffic has to defer to the Canal traffic.
Doors Opening
Here you can see the bridge swinging shut and the lock doors
open. One interesting note about the
lock doors – again, speaking to the genius of the design of the Canal. The lock doors are hollow, so that they are
light enough to operate with only a 40 horsepower motor operating them! Power for the Canal is generated by a dam
further down the Canal route.
Entering the Lock
This image shows us entering the lock. I am a bit higher up on the ship, so I had a
good view of those standing at the bow, right up at the front of the ship. Off to the right are some strange looking
silver cars – these guide us thru the lock so that we (hopefully) don’t hit
the sides!
Tight Fit
We’re just about as far into the lock as we can get in this
image. It is certainly a very snug fit,
to put it mildly! Once we’re totally in
the lock, and the doors close behind us, then the water will rise to meet the
level in the lock directly in front of us.
Tug Joins Us
At this point, I ran to the back of the ship to capture this
image of us after the water had risen and we were in the second lock. You can see a tug joined us in the second
lock and the lock doors are swinging shut.
Once the lock doors close, the water level in that first lock will lower
and the ship you can see in the background will then be able to enter that
lock.
More to come! Enjoy!
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