THE PANAMA CANAL
Today is the 10th time we will have passed through the Canal. Transiting the Canal is the highlight of those cruises I never get tired of learning something new about it. Since we have cruised so much a common question to us is: “What is your favorite cruise?”. That is impossible to answer but for cruises close by the US, we would definitely recommend you see Alaska and the Panama Canal.
HISTORY/INFO
The French began construction of the Canal in 1881 but by 1889 the French company was bankrupt and over 22,000 workers had lost their lives due to yellow fever (from mosquitoes) and accidents. Back then Panama was a province of Columbia but in 1903 US warships blocked the sea lanes so Columbia could not put down a rebellion. On November 3, 1903, Panama declared its independence from Columbia. The United States began construction on the Canal in 1904 and the Canal opened on August 15, 1914. The US controlled and provided the defense of the Panama Canal Zone until 1977 when a gradual hand over to the Panama Canal Authority was completed in 1999. We can thank then President Jimmy Carter for that mistake. So today the Panama government owns and operates the Canal. The Canal employs a work force of 9,000 and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Contrary to what you may think, the Canal runs north/south, NOT east/west!!
Our transit will begin after passing under “The Bridge of the Americas” which is on Highway 1 which connects the north and south American land masses. It was completed in 1962 at the cost of only $20 million. The port of Balboa will be on our starboard (right) side after passing under the bridge and we will be able to see Panama City in the distance, weather permitting. Basically what happens during our 50 mile transit of the Canal is our ship will be raised 85 feet to the level of Gatun Lake then lowered 85 feet back down to sea level again. This raising and lowering is done by a “lock” system. The first set of two locks will be the “Miraflores Locks“. They will raise us to Miraflores Lake. One mile later we will approach the single lock called the “Pedro Migel Lock”. These 3 locks will have raised us the 85 feet needed to sail across Gatun Lake. On the Atlantic side there is another set of 3 locks called the “Gatun Locks” which will lower us the 85 feet back to sea level.
After passing through the Pedro Migel locks the engineers who built the Canal had to make an 8 mile cut (excavation) through the Continental Divide. It was called the Gaillard Cut until 2000 and is now called the Culebra Cut when the Canal was handed over to Panama. The construction of this cut was one of the great engineering feats of its time. Many lives were lost. Over 100 million cubic yards were excavated to lower the summit of the mountain ridge some 150 feet.
So let me talk about the locks. Each lock chamber of the original Canal is 110 feet wide and 1050 feet long. These will accommodate Panamax size ships but not our aircraft carriers or Super Tankers. Because of this a new set of locks were built and opened in 2016. The new lock chambers are 180 feet wide and 1400 feet long but our aircraft carriers will still not fit in the chambers. The engineering concept of the Canal is very simplistic but requires a LOT of water. With the older lock system each time the bottom lock is opened 26 million gallons of water goes out into the ocean from the lakes above. So for one ship to transit, it requires 52 million gallons of lake water. What makes this all work is the amount of rainfall Panama receives to keep the lakes full. The new locks, however, were designed so this water is recycled and most of it is not lost.
Cruise ships have priority going through the Canal. Others are anchored on both the Pacific and Atlantic side awaiting their turn to transit and may have to wait for days. Cruise ships have traditionally been limited in size so they will fit in the locks. The large cruise ships fill the locks with just about a foot on each side. Our ship is not nearly that large. Small boats (sail boats) can also use the canal and share a lock with another ship. By the way it is expensive to transit the Canal. Company’s pay by the weight of the ship. It is costing Regent $170,000 for our transit today. Payment is by cash only and has to be wired to Panama BEFORE allowed to transit. Panama makes around $2 billion per year from the Canal
What We Did Last Night:
We all had this nice salad with hearts of palm, tomatoes, avocados, and some greens. Green Goddess dressing.
I forgot that I had made a special order for fried chicken for 4. It was good!
Lovena's show was FANTASTIC!
What We Did Today:
We crossed under the Bridge of the Americas before daylight this morning. When I got up and looked out at 6:00 we had passed the high rise buildings in the distance of Panama City even past the port at Balboa. I was dressed and out on our balcony before we entered the first lock at Miraflores in order to take the 108 photos of our transit. I could stand out on our balcony during the morning when we went though the 2 chambers of the Miraflores lock and then the 1 chamber of the Pedro Migel lock and through the Gaillard Cut (continental divide) and into the Gatun Lake as we were in the west side lane. All the action was on our balcony side.
While crossing the lake I did my hour workout then ran up to grab some lunch which I ate in the suite. When we approached the Gatun lock at 1:30, I had to go out on the deck 5 promenade to take photos as we were in the east lane this time. Can't see the action from our balcony. So I had to stand in the sun and heat for quite a while.
The transit was complete by 3:15 this afternoon and we are in the Caribbean now heading to our next port, Cartagena, Colombia. Will arrive around noon tomorrow.
So here are the photos of our transit I took today. This was our first time to go through the canal from south to north (Pacific to Atlantic). I hope you know how to open and view the link by now. If not, go back to a previous post.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KDSgJQghZHr2bsR8A
It is now 4:30 and I need a shower badly!! Will soon be time for cocktail hour followed by dinner in Compass Rose with Jane and Melissa. Harp player again in theater after dinner so will definitely not be going to see her. I hope you enjoy today's photos as I spent a lot of time writing captions to help you get a better idea of how the canal operates. As I said, I never get tired of transiting the canal. We will be doing it again next March for the 11th time. Our Panama lady who came on with the pilot and narrated canal facts was outstanding. I highly recommend that, if possible someday, you take a Panama canal cruise too.
Today is the 10th time we will have passed through the Canal. Transiting the Canal is the highlight of those cruises I never get tired of learning something new about it. Since we have cruised so much a common question to us is: “What is your favorite cruise?”. That is impossible to answer but for cruises close by the US, we would definitely recommend you see Alaska and the Panama Canal.
HISTORY/INFO
The French began construction of the Canal in 1881 but by 1889 the French company was bankrupt and over 22,000 workers had lost their lives due to yellow fever (from mosquitoes) and accidents. Back then Panama was a province of Columbia but in 1903 US warships blocked the sea lanes so Columbia could not put down a rebellion. On November 3, 1903, Panama declared its independence from Columbia. The United States began construction on the Canal in 1904 and the Canal opened on August 15, 1914. The US controlled and provided the defense of the Panama Canal Zone until 1977 when a gradual hand over to the Panama Canal Authority was completed in 1999. We can thank then President Jimmy Carter for that mistake. So today the Panama government owns and operates the Canal. The Canal employs a work force of 9,000 and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Contrary to what you may think, the Canal runs north/south, NOT east/west!!
Our transit will begin after passing under “The Bridge of the Americas” which is on Highway 1 which connects the north and south American land masses. It was completed in 1962 at the cost of only $20 million. The port of Balboa will be on our starboard (right) side after passing under the bridge and we will be able to see Panama City in the distance, weather permitting. Basically what happens during our 50 mile transit of the Canal is our ship will be raised 85 feet to the level of Gatun Lake then lowered 85 feet back down to sea level again. This raising and lowering is done by a “lock” system. The first set of two locks will be the “Miraflores Locks“. They will raise us to Miraflores Lake. One mile later we will approach the single lock called the “Pedro Migel Lock”. These 3 locks will have raised us the 85 feet needed to sail across Gatun Lake. On the Atlantic side there is another set of 3 locks called the “Gatun Locks” which will lower us the 85 feet back to sea level.
After passing through the Pedro Migel locks the engineers who built the Canal had to make an 8 mile cut (excavation) through the Continental Divide. It was called the Gaillard Cut until 2000 and is now called the Culebra Cut when the Canal was handed over to Panama. The construction of this cut was one of the great engineering feats of its time. Many lives were lost. Over 100 million cubic yards were excavated to lower the summit of the mountain ridge some 150 feet.
So let me talk about the locks. Each lock chamber of the original Canal is 110 feet wide and 1050 feet long. These will accommodate Panamax size ships but not our aircraft carriers or Super Tankers. Because of this a new set of locks were built and opened in 2016. The new lock chambers are 180 feet wide and 1400 feet long but our aircraft carriers will still not fit in the chambers. The engineering concept of the Canal is very simplistic but requires a LOT of water. With the older lock system each time the bottom lock is opened 26 million gallons of water goes out into the ocean from the lakes above. So for one ship to transit, it requires 52 million gallons of lake water. What makes this all work is the amount of rainfall Panama receives to keep the lakes full. The new locks, however, were designed so this water is recycled and most of it is not lost.
Cruise ships have priority going through the Canal. Others are anchored on both the Pacific and Atlantic side awaiting their turn to transit and may have to wait for days. Cruise ships have traditionally been limited in size so they will fit in the locks. The large cruise ships fill the locks with just about a foot on each side. Our ship is not nearly that large. Small boats (sail boats) can also use the canal and share a lock with another ship. By the way it is expensive to transit the Canal. Company’s pay by the weight of the ship. It is costing Regent $170,000 for our transit today. Payment is by cash only and has to be wired to Panama BEFORE allowed to transit. Panama makes around $2 billion per year from the Canal
What We Did Last Night:
What We Did Today:
We crossed under the Bridge of the Americas before daylight this morning. When I got up and looked out at 6:00 we had passed the high rise buildings in the distance of Panama City even past the port at Balboa. I was dressed and out on our balcony before we entered the first lock at Miraflores in order to take the 108 photos of our transit. I could stand out on our balcony during the morning when we went though the 2 chambers of the Miraflores lock and then the 1 chamber of the Pedro Migel lock and through the Gaillard Cut (continental divide) and into the Gatun Lake as we were in the west side lane. All the action was on our balcony side.
While crossing the lake I did my hour workout then ran up to grab some lunch which I ate in the suite. When we approached the Gatun lock at 1:30, I had to go out on the deck 5 promenade to take photos as we were in the east lane this time. Can't see the action from our balcony. So I had to stand in the sun and heat for quite a while.
The transit was complete by 3:15 this afternoon and we are in the Caribbean now heading to our next port, Cartagena, Colombia. Will arrive around noon tomorrow.
So here are the photos of our transit I took today. This was our first time to go through the canal from south to north (Pacific to Atlantic). I hope you know how to open and view the link by now. If not, go back to a previous post.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KDSgJQghZHr2bsR8A
It is now 4:30 and I need a shower badly!! Will soon be time for cocktail hour followed by dinner in Compass Rose with Jane and Melissa. Harp player again in theater after dinner so will definitely not be going to see her. I hope you enjoy today's photos as I spent a lot of time writing captions to help you get a better idea of how the canal operates. As I said, I never get tired of transiting the canal. We will be doing it again next March for the 11th time. Our Panama lady who came on with the pilot and narrated canal facts was outstanding. I highly recommend that, if possible someday, you take a Panama canal cruise too.
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