The Panama Experience - part two

Sunrise as we head for the canal

As we were on our way back from our trip yesterday, I suggested to Nick we had a quick freshen-up and then take the shuttle bus into Panama City. It looked amazing and as per normal, I wanted to max out our time. We didn’t have to be back on the ship until 10pm, so we could see Panama at night. Awesome. “Let’s see how we feel when we get back” I am learning that what that actually meant was “are you utterly bonkers woman, all I’m good for is a lie down in a darkened room.” After several days of not being terribly hungry, it felt like yesterday I was hoovering up everything going. I think the heat and sheer sensory overload seem to do something to the brain that advises time-out is needed and you end up a bit weirded out. Sure enough, when we got back to the ship, even I was in agreement that the thought of going out into Panama City was indeed, a bonkers idea. Dinner was nothing to write home about (oh and here I am writing home about it) followed by a quiet night in. So much for my bright ideas of going out on the razz in the big City.

I feel a massive sense of responsibility for today and hope I’ve captured everything we’ve experienced through what has been, a day to remember. Some fun facts about the Panama Canal. The Canal has been in operation for 109 years. 9,500 people are employed on the Canal to assist 14,000 vessels a year. In the last 109 years, more than a million ships have transited the Canal. The total length is 48 miles. The cheapest fee paid to date was by Richard Halliburton who took 10 days to swim the Canal and paid 36 cents for the privilege. Lock chambers are 1,000 feet long and 110 feet wide. Each lock is capable of containing up to 11 million gallons of water. An expansion programme was completed in 2016 at a cost of $5.3 Billion. This work has allowed an increase in ship size of 25% in length, 51% in beam and 26% in draft and defined as the New Panamax size.

Everyone who knows me well knows that my view towards sleeping is not conventional. Yes it’s a necessity, but it gets in the way of thinking, planning and more to the point, experiencing. So even I was amazed that I clocked up a staggering 3 hours last night given that I was so excited not only to be transiting the Panama Canal, but it was my turn to do the writing.

Panama Biomuseum

We set off from Fuerte Amador at 4.15 am. Later on in the morning, when he finally emerged, bleary-eyed, Nick opened his mouth to ask how I knew and then promptly shut it and just accepted that was the time we set off. By 6am Panama airport was fully awake and the planes were being launched into the skies every couple of minutes. Our pilot was with us and we commenced our way at a stately 7 knots towards lock number one. The Pilot boat kept dotting from port to starboard at the bow. Hark at me with my nautical terms. Today we will be leaving the Pacific behind. 

Panama City

Regrets. I’ve had a few. But then again…(ohhh there she goes again, there’s a song in there somewhere) that I didn’t take up my brother Nick’s offer to loan his camera. However, this trip has made even me realise my elderly phone needs replacing. Not for the phone element, but for an upgrade on the camera aspect. 

Sleeping Beauty

At 6.35 the Pilot Boat decided everyone should be up and blasted his horn. A lot. Wow, even that didn’t wake Sleeping Beauty. 5 minutes later I was rewarded with the most stunning sunrise and proceeded in taking a massive amount of pictures as it emerged. 

Las Americas Bridge

At that point, my brain finally woke up and I located Nick’s phone. Pictures should be better hereinafter. At 7.15 the Pilot Boat whizzed past us again at speed and very loudly. That finally woke Nick up. Hurrah, my playmate was here to join in the fun too. 

Centennial Bridge and pilot boat discharging lots of people

First up, we sailed under the Bridge of the Americas then a further 3 miles before we got to our first lock Miraflores. 

Heading into the first chamber of Miraflores - with rowboat

As we approached the locks, a row boat picked up our ropes and we were hitched onto 3 little locomotives. 2 at the front and one at the back. This was the case for both port and starboard sides, so 6 locomotives in total. 

The low-tech pointer indicating the chamber the next ship should use

We heard a rather pathetic makeshift bell sound and literally an arrow changed its pointer to highlight to the next vessel which lock to use. With all this tech, that was pretty low-key. Given these locks operate 24/7, 365 days a year, I was really surprised to see that the workers had time to welcome us to the lock. As we progressed through the first chamber of Miraflores Lock, we literally had inches to our side. 

The buffer wheels at the entrance and exit of each chamber - plus heron!

And then the screeching and grinding started as the odd tyre-on-boat sound could be heard as we squeezed our way through the narrow gap. 

Looking down vertically to show clearance and one of the locomotives

The front 2 locomotives then sort of operated independently as one went up an incline to the top of the lock gates first, whilst the other waited at the bottom of the incline. Miraflores has the heaviest and highest of the three lock systems, coming in at a height of 82 feet and weighing 730 tons. We rose by 54 feet over the 2 chambers.

Azamara Onward addressing the Miraflores Lock

Azamara Onward, which has been neck and neck with us pretty much throughout our trip, took the lock next to us and due to its much smaller size, was able to travel at a faster pace than us. Also, they only had 2 locomotives on either side of it. It was a double-whammy treat, experiencing what was happening on our ship, but seeing the operation on Azamara Onward. Azamara’s operation was much quicker than ours and also more musical. 

Bagpipes on the Aazamara Onward

Seriously, and I am honestly not making this up, there was a couple on one of the suite decks playing the Bagpipes. I mean, really!? Bagpipes through the Panama Canal? Shirtlessly (I hasten to add). Well, it’s a thing, OK? and there was me thinking we were being a bit lah-de-dah by having our breakfast on the balcony.

Crowds watch ships transit every day

Bells sounded when the lock gates were shutting and when the gates were firmly secure in place, barriers rose on top of the locks so that the workers could walk across from one lock side to the other. As we came through the lock at 8.40 this morning, our ship’s whistle sounded throughout Panama and out of nowhere, a Pelican fly past emerged. Another emotional event. There were stacks of folks on an observation deck doing exactly what we had done yesterday. 

After we got through the Miraflores Lock’s two chambers, we did a quick shimmy across Miraflores Lake, which is a man-made lake a mile in length. We grabbed this opportunity to have a speedy shower before our next lock, the Pedro Miguel Lock. This lock had a single chamber where we were raised 31 feet, to be the same level as Gatun Lake. We then passed under the Centennial Bridge which was completed in 2004. The bridge has 6 lanes of traffic and has a clearance above the Canal of 262 feet.

Not for the first time on this holiday have I thought how much dad would have loved all this spectacle of engineering. I feel certain Charlie will act as “interested” party in his absence. Other observations were the sprinkler system on top of the tiled roofs of the lock control towers. 

Canal de Panama logo

The Panamanian flag

The Canal de Panama logo is a clever and pleasing logo matching the Panama flag beautifully. 

Our cabin steward, Steevan

Steevan, our cabin steward said that back in 2018, P&O Cruises ships Arcadia and Ventura transited through the Panama Canal in locks next to each other. I can not believe we are still an unusual spectacle to the workers on the Canal, but they waved and saluted us out of the lock with the Pilot finally off at 10.45. Or to be precise 17 of them! Seriously. 

The Galliard Cut and the railway bridge under which we photographed yesterday

It was then on through the Galliard Cut, which is 9 miles long and has a slight bank to it which entirely stopped all Internet access and then on to Gamboa, where we were yesterday. It was great seeing the same images as yesterday but from a different angle. 

The scenery drifts by, right outside our cabin

Then on to the Gatan Lake. It was so tranquil, drifting past the jungle. The Gatun Lake is 23.5 miles long and has an area of 164 square miles. 

The jungle right by our cabin

It reminded us both of Halong Bay in Vietnam. Admittedly in Halong Bay, they had limestone casts, whereas here, they are little islands. Oh, and the boats are a little different in size here compared with Halong Bay.

First chamber of Gatun Lock

Then it was on to the Gatun Locks where there were three chambers which lowered us back down to sea level, a total of 85 feet. We were a little later than our programmed time of arrival, which should have been 1.20pm and departing at 3.50pm. Instead, we arrived at the lock at 2pm. But before we got to the lock, the Pilot Boat arrived and offloaded 19 Pilots. What are they all going to do!? As today was a special day, we had lunch on the balcony too and just as that was happening, another Pilot boat rocked up and offloaded another Pilot. It’s going to be very busy on that Bridge this afternoon. Maybe that’s where the party’s at.

There’s a strange, quite noticeable sway when the locomotives start their work again after the ship has been in the lock. There’s also a strange illusion that when you approach the first chamber, you think that’s it, even though you know there are three chambers. The chambers operate a little like a Ha-Ha and so all you seem to see is the sea, but it’s not until you get to the second chamber that you see the ramp going down to take us down a level.

We have been lucky that it was only this morning that our balcony was in the sun. As we came through the Gatun Locks, we reached 30 degrees and it would have made watching this process quite unbearable from our balcony. As it was, it was more than warm enough being in the shade of the ship. 3pm was shift change over time, so more shouting and waving from the workers. We got through the final chamber at 3.30pm, then of course all the Pilots had to get off again, which of course, took an age. 

The Atlantic Bridge

The job was done by the time we’d travelled under the Atlantic Bridge and for the final time, the ship’s whistle resounded throughout the Panama Canal at 15.50. 

Welcome to the Caribbean Sea.