Saturday we transited the Panama Canal for the fourth time. The unique thing about this transit was that we went from the Caribbean to the Pacific. The past three times we transited the other way. Did it make it a different experience? Marginally!
In the morning, as we approached the canal, I was walking on deck.
First up were the Gatun Locks, a series of 3 locks that brought us from sea level up to Gatun Lake, the high point of the canal, about 27 meters above sea level.
It is always interesting to watch the so-called mules, the trains that hold the ship in the middle of the narrow locks. The big cargo ships that we passed going the other way had even less clearance than we did.
Cruising through Gatun Lake takes a few hours of smooth, picturesque sailing. We spent some of the time looking for wildlife along the shore, sloths or monkeys, perhaps. No luck. You may also be able to see that the level of the lake is somewhat low which causes operational problems for the canal.
Next up was the Pedro Miguel Lock which started our journey back down to sea level.
And finally, it was the Miraflores Locks, 2 locks that brought us down the rest of the way to the Pacific Ocean.
On the Miraflores Locks there is a visitor center where there was a large crowd cheering us on. About 12 years ago, we had a lunch and a dinner at that visitor center when we did a land tour with our daughter and grand daughter, Amy and Emma.
Leaving the canal we had views of Panama City in the distance, the colorful Biomuseum, and, finally, some wildlife - deer!
Today, Sunday, has been a smooth day of sailing through some rain showers. Tomorrow we are in Puntarenas, Costa Rica where we have a lengthy excursion booked including a hike in a national park. Hopefully the rain will hold off.
Peace, blessings, and crookedness,
Linda and Larry
Do those cargo ships have clearance?? Looks like they are scraping to me!
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