Soggy Moose Travels : PANAMA CANAL DAY

Panama Canal Day: $393,000

We were up at 0530 to overcast skies and still a good way from the entrance to the Canal. A restaurant was open for breakfast. I grabbed a slice of toast and some bacon and soon we were entering the breakwater. I went down to the cabin and grabbed the camera and found a location on deck 4. The temp was hot and deck 10 was a mad house.

Actually deck 4 is a good location to transit as one can see the most activity and you are closer to the lock workers as they prepare for the transit. On deck 4 you also get a good view of custom officials, Pilots, and line crew boarding from the various pilot boats.

APPROACHING THE NEW LOCKS

THE FRENCH CUT

NEW LOCKS AHEAD

The was a crocodile basking on the bank.

Soon we entered the first lock of the Agua Clara Locks. Here we would have three steps to take us to the Gatun Lake at an elevation of 85 feet. The new canal uses tugs, spring lines and the ships thrusters to maintain the ships position in the locks.

NEW LOCK GATES SLIDE AND THERE ARE TWO PER ENTRY/EXIT OF EACH LOCK,

THREE STEPS UP AND THREE STEPS DOWN

There is also a tug forward and aft. The new locks are huge compared to the old locks. The new locks use a system of retention ponds to provide the water for the locks. This provides a great savings in water taken from the lake to operate the locks.

Once through the locks we were in Lake Gatun and started the transit, passing many islands where we saw a bit of bird life. In the cut there was a bit of dredging going on to widen the cut for visibility, making it easier for ships to see each other as they wind through the cut. Thus far no howler monkeys.

DUFFY JUST CHILLED

Looks like we might get rain of biblical proportion as we pass the Culebra Cut. We will see. Well, it was a nice shower as we passed the Culebra Cut and passed under the Centennial Bridge. This bridge connects North and South America.

Transit traffic is backed up a bit so our expected time to enter the Cocoli Locks is 1600. The rain did get a bit heavier and there was a lightning strike. I was surprised there was not an announcement closing deck 10.

There is a cut (channel) which leads to the Cocoli Locks (new locks) and the section near the Pedro Miguel Locks (old locks). This is interesting in that at this point a ship in the old locks will actually be 33 feet lower than a ship in the cut leading to the Cocoli Locks.

We decided to watch about the last half of the passage from our cabin veranda as it is somewhat protected from the rain. I think we will stay here for the Cocoli Locks. Reflecting, it seems like the first passage we made took longer. The new locks and the system is interesting yet I guess I am a classic kind of person and enjoyed the nostalgia of the old locks.

We entered the Cocoli Locks at 1700 and exited at 1900. The sun had set as we exited the last lock and made our way to The Bridge of Americas.

If one is interested, a very good book about The Canal is “Path Between The Seas” by David McCulough. It is a good read with a lot of interesting information.

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