Day 18 - Panama Canal - 2nd part

Day 18 – Monday 27^th January 2014 – Panama Canal – 2^nd part

Canal Expansion

Presently the Panama Canal is going through an expansion, to be available to take the larger container ships and cruise liners.

The channel in the lake is being dredged and the sides are being widened with extra lights being installed.  The waters are brown due to all of the excavation work.  During the passage across the lake, we did not see any fishing boats or anglers, maybe the discoloured water is having another effect.

Improving Canal Banks

The size of this expansion is massive.  New locks are being built at either end with dimensions of 427 metres (1400 feet) long, 55 metres (180 feet) wide with a depth of 18.3 metres (60 feet) depth. The present locks can take ships carrying a maximum of 4,500 containers. When the expansion programme is complete, the new locks will be able to take ships carrying 12,000 containers and larger cruise ships.

Culebra Cut

Apart from the locks, the other amazing sight to be seen is the transit through the Culebra Cut, this is where the original builders cut through the mountain and terraced the sides.  This part of the canal took its toll in human suffering, as thousands were lost dying mainly from diseases like yellow fever and malaria.  The terracing is supported by large rock bolts driven into the sides.

A new bridge has been built crossing the Canal just beyond the Cut and is called the Millennium Bridge.

San Pedro Lock

After passing under the bridge, we entered the Pedro Miguel Lock.  This is a single lock and as previously, the mules were attached to assist in our passage through the lock.  This time we were going down and dropping 10 meters (31 feet), and then you proceed into a small lake.
 

Miraflores Locks

After crossing the lake you commencing entering the last set of locks called the Miraflores Locks.  These are double locks and take you 16 metres (54 feet) down to sea level on the Pacific side.  The tides on the Atlantic side have a rise and fall of 18 feet and on the Pacific side a rise and fall of 14 feet.  All the way through the canal passage, we were given a running commentary from the bridge, and it was most informative.

Leaving Miraflores Locks

For the transit we used three different pilots and one communications chap to deal with the traffic control.

This is the view of the Miraflores locks after passing through and at the Pacific sea level.

New Locks

While taking photographs during this part of the passage, I was talking with John Laverick, the lecturer on the Panama Canal.  He has been following this expansion of the Canal for the past five years and he was fascinating to talk with and I really get some inside information into what is really going on here.

The new locks being built at the Pacific side are a colossus operation plus dredging a six kilometres access channel.  The tower cranes, the constant movement of earth moving equipment is all there to be seen.  The opening of the new sections was first envisaged to be in line with the centenary year 2014, but it is not going to happen.

Pan American Bridge

The next imposing structure is the Pan American Bridge on which runs the Pan American Highway which links both continents stretching from Canada to South America.  Shortly after the bridge we dropped off the pilot at 18.00.

Panama City

With a back drop, off to our left, the modern skyline of Panama City.

The transit from the Atlantic pilot to Pacific pilot had been twelve hours and we had travelled 50 miles across the isthmus.  We had been raised and lowered 85 feet and Cunard had to pay $350.000 (£220,000) or the pleasure.  All of the passengers thought it was worth every penny and we were given a certificate to confirm we had traversed the Panama Canal.

After a good wash and brush up we were sat in the Golden Lion at 19.00, knocking back our pints of Speckled Hen. I had been a hot day spent on the open deck.  When we had our fill we went up the Lido for dinner, where you serve yourself from the various dishes and tonight it was tapas night.  We enjoyed the meal, but the house wine was not up to past standards in the Britannia Restaurant.

 

The ship was very quiet, in fact, dead by 22.00 with nobody about. 

I went on deck 9 to say farewell to Panama, gazing up at the night sky on this warm night, looking up at the star constellations as seen from their different aspect, as seen from 10 degrees north of the equator, which is 2,500 miles south from where I live, at 55 degrees north.

A perfect end to a perfect day.  Thank you Panama, for the experience and the re-living of old memories.