After a half day in Colombia we were on our way to Panama to transit the Panama Canal. We arrived to the canal at about 5am and Branden and I were up and ready. We had to wait about an hour before we started transiting because of the scheduling of the boats, as well as the fact that it was still dark out.
As soon as we were ready to go through the canal, the ship had to give up control of the vessel to the Panamanian government. The captain of the ship is not allowed to navigate through the canal since it takes extreme skill and only those who have been trained can do it. In these pictures you can see the tugboats coming to the ship to gain control of it.
Once the ship was under the control of the Panamanians, we were on our way! The enginerd definitely came out in me since the canal is such an amazing engineering feat. They are even constructing a bigger and better canal that will allow massive carrier ships to come through. The current canal is 110 feet wide and 1,050 feet long. Our ship was 106 feet wide and 964 feet long (the maximum size a ship can be to safely navigate through). The new canal will be 1,400 feet long and 180 feet wide.
You can see the building of the new locks over to the left of the current locks.
As you approach, the ship needs to be tied to little cars that help keep it in line and stop it from banging against the sides of the canal.
A ship came up next to ours to navigate through the locks right next to us.
You can see all the water gushing in down at the bottom right. The water gushing in helps to raise the ship to the level of the next canal.
After we navigated through the first set of locks, the Gatun Locks, we anchored in the middle of Gatun lake. From here, Branden and I decided to take a tour of the rest of the canal since our ship was going to be turning around and going back out to the Caribbean Sea. It was really an amazing experience being able to go through the locks in a large ship as well as a smaller boat. I loved being able to see the perspective of both.
Leaving our ship and heading to the tenders for our tour
Construction on the new canal
We made it to the Pacific Ocean!
I know the canal wasn't exactly Branden's favorite excursion to do but I'm so glad he put up with me being such a nerd. I was absolutely fascinated with how all the locks worked, how they brought he gallons of water in/out to raise/lower the ships, and the precision with which the workers are able to keep the ships so steady. Even though it was scolding hot and then pouring rain, we both had a great time and I would definitely recommend taking a trip to see the Panama Canal if you ever get the chance!
The next stop on our itinerary was Costa Rica! I'll post more about that (as well as our last stop in the Cayman Islands) in my 3rd and final portion of our honeymoon.
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