Panama Canal

We were scheduled to enter the Panama Canal at 7 AM on November 30th. I had the alarm set for about 6 but awoke at 5:30 and decided to step out on the balcony for any action. 

I knew we were close to the channel as we had never seen this many or these types of lights any of the other days. These ships had either just left the canal coming from the Pacific or were waiting to get in line for entrance behind our ship.

lights of a cargo ship 

sunrise in Panama

light house along the canal

crocodile sunning itself in the canal channel

entering the first lock

this is the west lane lock used by ships 

going from the Pacific to the Atlantic

lock gates closing on the west lane before filling with water

our ship rising in the first lock

the amount of room from the hull of our ship to the 

canal wall

built in 1915

a tanker or carrier ship in the west lane

the 'mules' that attach cables to each ship

(I think 2 or 3 on our side of the ship)

to help move it through the 3 locks of the Atlantic

side of the canal

our geocaching photo from the Panama Canal

yes, a geocache in the canal placed by

Rapid City SD geocachers, whom we have met

another ship ready to enter the west lane as we are 

exiting the locks and entering Gatun Lake

our cruise ship dropped anchor in the lake

dropped off excursion groups

and then got in line for a return through the locks

and porting in Colón Panama

we boarded tenders from our cruise ship

to get to shore and board a bus for 

our Panama excursion

we visited the Agua Clara Visitors Center

built when the third lane was completed

now used by cargo ships and the new bigger

ocean liners/cruise ships

In the background is a new bridge connecting the east and west side of the canal. It is not complete, but is an awesome sight. As it is now, commuters must wait until ships (going in and out, often at different speeds) clear the channel so they can cross on ferries.

Our bus took us south to Panama City where we drove along the Pacific Ocean for a bit and had a nice view of the capital's skyline.

Panama City

then we boarded a train for a ride through the rain forest 

and along Gatun Lake to Colón 

Colón 

we had a couple hours to shop and geocache

before boarding our ship 

we met a geocacher from Canada while looking

for one of the caches