The night before the crossing, Gym had watched a show on TV which described the gargantuan ordeal of building the "Ditch", as it is referred to by some. It becomes obvious as you cross the Central American Isthmus in a ship, that this 82 kilometer waterway is nothing remotely close to a ditch. This wonder of the engineering world, is amazing.
Some of the most interesting facts about the Panama Canal are as follows:
1. Gym and Mrs. Gym crossed it in 2019;
2. The original system of locks is 105 years old and a new parallel system that can handle bigger container ships was completed in 2016;
3. 25,000 lives were lost in building the canal, most from diseases like Malaria and Yellow Fever;
4. The earth and rock removed from the excavations could bury all of Manhattan in 12 feet of rubble;
5. Not far from the Pacific entrance to the locks, the canal goes through the Culebra Cut. This is where they blasted away the American Cordillera which is an extension of the mountain range and it's continental divide, that runs all the way along the entirety of North and South America; and finally,
6. Before any ship enters the locks, a toll based on the size of the vessel, has to be paid in cash a full 24 hours before passage. These tolls ranges from hundreds of thousands of US dollars to over one million for the biggest container ships. About forty ships per day pass through the locks - a good business!
The Marina had informed its passengers that the crossing would take 8 hours. It had been scheduled to take from 7:45 am to 3:55 pm. However, when Panama learned Gym and Mrs. Gym were aboard, the Marina was given priority. The ship steamed into the Port of Balboa at 6 am and they passed under the Bridge of the Americas at 6:15. At 6:30 they passed the entrance to the new and wider locks which had just come into use in 2016. Then, they entered the original Miraflores Locks at right around 7 am. From there it was a blur but our lucky travelers had a great vantage point to view the crossing with their cabin positioned above the bridge, on the bow of the ship. Before 2 pm they cleared the Gatun Locks and were sailing past the port of Colon, on the Caribbean Sea. We had crossed the Central American Isthmus and the great divide of the Cordillera, one hour ahead of schedule. That night we received certificates for successfully crossing the Ditch.
The Marina sailed out past Colon and headed north along the eastern coast of the Isthmus. The Caribbean greeted the Marina with light rain but the sea was calm. In the morning, they would be docked in Limon, Costa Rica, where an adventure in the rain forest was planned.
Stay tuned!
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| Approaching the Bridge of the Americas early Sunday morning |
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| Passing under |
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| We were to use the original Miraflores Locks but on our way to them we past the entrance to the much wider, new Cocoli Locks which opened in 2016. |
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| The Miraflores locks are comprised of a set of two locks that fill by gravity drainage from Miraflores Lake. Each lock raises the ships 27 feet and there is a 54 foot spillway on the right to handle high water events. Then you travel about two kilometers across Miraflores lake and climb another 27 feet to a final total of 81 feet above sea level. in this picture we enter the lake and can see Pedro Miguel lock in the distance. |
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| Once through the Pedro Miguel Lock you see the new, Centennial Bridge built at the beginning of the Culebra Cut. It helped lessen the traffic jam at the Bridge of the Americas as the People anAmerican highway has gotten very busy. |
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| Beyond the Centennial Bridge you are inside the Culebra Cut which was sliced through the American Cordillera, the backbone of the Americas. |
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| After the Culebra Cut you pass onto the man-made Gatan lake. Ships cruise the lake for 24 kilometers |
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| At the other end you enter the Gatun Locks which are a set of three. |
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| These three locks lower you by gravity drainage, 81 feet to the Caribbean Sea. |
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| On the way out you pass Colon, Panama. |
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