Adventure Logan

The Panama Canal is a 77.1 km (48-mile) -long canal bisecting the Isthmus of Panama. It connects the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea. There are locks at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 26 metres (85 ft) above sea level. The current locks are 33.5 metres (110 ft) wide. A third, wider lane of locks is currently under construction and is due to open in 2015. Ships taking this canal can avoid the long journey that was once necessary for getting from one side of the Americas to the other — a route that went all the way around the southern tip of South America.

Our trip through the Panama Canal was fantastic! It was a long and hot day but the sights were worth all the effort. At 6AM we went to the bow of the ship to watch our entrance into the first locks. The staff served Panama Rolls and coffee! It was still dark and a huge line of tankers waited along the coast for their turn to go through the locks.

All ships have to book but ours was for a specific time so we did not wait. The fee for our passage through the canal was $350,000 – makes that bridge toll in Halifax look puny!

We entered the first locks at Panama City. (seen in the background)Sailing under the Bridge of the Americas. This road bridge spans the Pacific entrance to the canal.

The first three locks on the Pacific side (Miraflores) took the ship up 85 feet to the maximum height (Gatún Lake) and the last three locks (Gatún Locks) took the ship back down the 85 feet to sea level on the Atlantic side. The locks are fascinating  to watch when in action and it is almost hard to believe that they fill up so quickly (28 feet of water height in 8 minutes).

These locomotives called mules are attached to the ship and the tension of the lines keeps the ship in the center of the lock and away from the sides.  We only had about 1 meter of spare room on each side.

Since we couldn’t see ourselves I photographed the car carrier that travelled in the lane next to us. Notice in the second picture that it has risen to the second lock height and the doors are opening for the next lock.

The scenery through the canal is breathtaking and we spent the day moving from location to location on the ship to see things from different vantage points.

Dave watching the movement in the lock.

Gatún Dam

Exposed rock along the canal that was cut in steps. Sadly, it made me think of the over 30,000 people who died making this path through the rock.

Prison where General Noriega is now living

Centennial Bridge

The long day was worth every sweaty moment. By moving around the ship and finding various vantage points we saw lots and enjoyed the whole day. When we finally made it through the canal at about 4PM, we headed toward Columbia, South America.