We began our journey through the canal around sunrise...7am....the sun rises later the closer you get to the equator and sets sooner, too (that was a bit weird to get used to!). It was warm but pleasant.
Sunrise in Panama: it wasn't as spectacular as we were hoping for but still a very peaceful way to begin our day
The naturalist on board explained that whenever you see turkey vultures on the shore, a crocodile lurks in the water. Sure enough, there he was.
Pretty amazing to see this big animal. With Greg's telephoto lens we were able to get up close and personal.
Panama has a beautiful jungle canopy and the sunrise casted an interesting glow over the trees.
Approaching the first set of locks. Shortly before we entered the locks.......
.....the pilot crew boarded our ship and it was like Chinese fire drill. They just kept coming up out of the boat and climbing aboard our boat. As we passed through each set of locks (there were three), one crew would be getting off the ship while another was boarding. Our balcony was pretty much directly over the entry point!
We spent some time on the upper decks of the ship enjoying the views. Even though it was our second time through the canal, it was still pretty amazing to see all of it. (Temperature: 102)
There were four cars that pulled our ship through the locks. The crews hook up the ship as it enters the locks and the cars take over.
Not much room to spare (like 11" on each side!!!). The new set of locks is being built and these will accommodate much larger ships than ours.
Getting through the first set of locks...headed for Gatun Lake....
Gatun Lake: This is the area the ships queue up to await the order of entry for the journey to the next set of locks. Depending on the priority list, ships can wait up to 8 hours to enter the locks. Cruise ships pay a hefty fee to move to the top of the list.
We traversed the "river" or waterway area and passed under this bridge. Pretty awesome sight.
We played follow the leader with these ships the entire day!
Which way do we go? At each set of locks (whether you are entering from the Pacific side or the Atlantic side), there is an arrow indicating which side of the locks the ship is to enter.
Our final locks. We entered the first set of locks around 8am and left the canal at 5pm.
Say hello to the Pacific Ocean!
And good-bye to the Atlantic side! (Okay, that's a bit of stretch, but you get the drift!)
One last look at where we came from. It was an amazing journey. Now it's on to Fuerte Amador.
Sunrise in Panama: it wasn't as spectacular as we were hoping for but still a very peaceful way to begin our day
The naturalist on board explained that whenever you see turkey vultures on the shore, a crocodile lurks in the water. Sure enough, there he was.
Pretty amazing to see this big animal. With Greg's telephoto lens we were able to get up close and personal.
Panama has a beautiful jungle canopy and the sunrise casted an interesting glow over the trees.
Approaching the first set of locks. Shortly before we entered the locks.......
.....the pilot crew boarded our ship and it was like Chinese fire drill. They just kept coming up out of the boat and climbing aboard our boat. As we passed through each set of locks (there were three), one crew would be getting off the ship while another was boarding. Our balcony was pretty much directly over the entry point!
We spent some time on the upper decks of the ship enjoying the views. Even though it was our second time through the canal, it was still pretty amazing to see all of it. (Temperature: 102)
There were four cars that pulled our ship through the locks. The crews hook up the ship as it enters the locks and the cars take over.
Not much room to spare (like 11" on each side!!!). The new set of locks is being built and these will accommodate much larger ships than ours.
Getting through the first set of locks...headed for Gatun Lake....
Gatun Lake: This is the area the ships queue up to await the order of entry for the journey to the next set of locks. Depending on the priority list, ships can wait up to 8 hours to enter the locks. Cruise ships pay a hefty fee to move to the top of the list.
We traversed the "river" or waterway area and passed under this bridge. Pretty awesome sight.
We played follow the leader with these ships the entire day!
Which way do we go? At each set of locks (whether you are entering from the Pacific side or the Atlantic side), there is an arrow indicating which side of the locks the ship is to enter. 
Our final locks. We entered the first set of locks around 8am and left the canal at 5pm.
Say hello to the Pacific Ocean!
And good-bye to the Atlantic side! (Okay, that's a bit of stretch, but you get the drift!)
One last look at where we came from. It was an amazing journey. Now it's on to Fuerte Amador.
1 comment:
You have been busy!!! I love the pictres, you guys did a great job getting awesome shots!! Beautiful!!!!
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