Today we entered the Panama Canal. This was my forth trip thru the canal. The canal was build built from 1904 to 1914 and is one of the greatest man-made wonders of the world The annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in the canal's wary day to 15,000 vessels in 2010. Many ship including the the Amsterdam were built to go thru the Panama Canal. We had about 2 feet of clearance on each side. Many ships are too big for the canal so a new set of locks is now being built. They say that it will open in 2016 but from the looks of the construction and the changes that I remember from two years ago, I don't see how it can be completed by 2016. The estimated cost of this project is US $6.2 billon. Going from the Atlantic to the Pacific you go thru 3 set of locks which lift the ship up to the level of the Gatun Lake some 26 meters above sea level. When constructed the Gatun Lake was the largest lake in the world but it is now the third largest. After ships arrive in Gatun Lake they wait until the ships going from the Pacific to the Atlantic get thru the locks on the Pacific side. The next step is to pass thry t;he Culebra Cut, a thu the Continental Divide and is 12.7 kilometers long. You then enter the Pedro Miguel Lock which takes you down to the level of ;the Miraflores Lake. After a short journey on the Miraflores Lake you enter the two Miraflores Locks which takes us to the level of the Pacific Ocean. Out scheduled called us to enter the Gatun Locks at 6:30 AM, the Pedro Miguel Locks at 1:35 PM and the Miraflores Locks at 2:55 PM. We actual made it thru the Panama Canal about 1/2 hour early.
I didn't get out for the first picture until about 7 AM. We were in the first lock at this time. I ate some breakfast and took some more pictures. At 9:15 AM, I looked at the daily schedule and found out that the church service had started at 9 AM. So I went to the rest of the service. The minister talked about forgiveness and he gave a short dialog on communion and what it represents and we had communion and left the service. When we got to the cut and the next locks I took some more pictures. If was hot and I was tired from standing so I went back to my room and rested.
In the late afternoon I watched the NFL football game, went to dinner and attended the show. The show was Ole-Ole Rumba Flamenca with a Difference. It was a man who sang and played the gurtar and two ladies who danced.
Below are some pictures from the trip thru the Panama Canal.
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