Panama Canal

Panama Canal Transit

After sailing down the east coast of the USA and then across the Caribbean, we made it to the entrance of the Panama Canal without incident or delay.

There was some concern as we approached because of the backlog of ships waiting to go through the canal. Currently, there is a drought in one of the wettest places on earth which has affected the man-made lake which we traverse and which provides the water required for the locks. This has necessitated a reduction in the number of ships allowed to pass through each day and a backlog has built up. It turned out that the backlog mainly applies to vessels which had not booked a slot. As Princess had booked (and paid for) our slot some time in advance we were not held up. Some digging on Google and a quick calculation gave a figure of close to half a million dollars as the fee payable for our 97 thousand tonne, 2 thousand passenger ship to transit. We are also able to pass through the old locks as the ship was designed with that limitation in mind. The new locks allow much larger ships to pass but of course, require more water for each cycle.

Anyway, we approached the canal on a partly overcast day and did some initial jockeying for a position on the top deck to take photos. We passed under a large bridge at the start of the canal and then proceeded to the locks. One set of locks were used to lift the ship from sea level to the level of the central lake. In these locks, there are powerful railway engines called mules which assist with keeping the ship centred in the locks as we move forward.

After the first set of locks, we proceeded across Panama through the man-made lake. By now it was party time. We had been invited to join some friends in their suite cabin and we spent the afternoon drinking and occasionally venturing out onto the balcony to view the passing scenery. We brought along some Cava we had picked up in Malaga and there was wine and buckets of Gin to consume.

A 360-degree version of the party photo can be seen on Facebook.

The video gives some idea of how the day was spent.

After sailing through the lake we passed through two sets of locks to step back down to sea level. Under another large bridge and off into the Pacific Ocean. At the last set of locks, there was for some reason a set of grandstands. There was a building full of people having a party and waving as we went through. We are still not sure why. Also at the last lock, we saw lots of crocodiles in the water. Again not sure why we saw so many at this point but let us hope all the partygoers made it home safely.

Out under another large bridge and into the Pacific Ocean. Past some of the ships waiting in line for their turn in the Canal, then the Captain set a course for our next stop in Ecuador and our land excursion to Machu Picchu.

All in all, I can recommend day drinking as a way to pass through the Canal on a sometimes rainy day!