Day 8 - Panama Canal/ Colon, Panama

Monday, January 21, 2013 - Today we passed through the Gatun Locks, Panama Canal. We passed the breakwaters at 6am and took on the Pilot for our trip through the locks.  At 7:30am we entered the Gatun Locks.  About 9am we departed the Gatum Locks and anchored in Gatun Lake. Only passengers who were signed up for tours were allowed to leave the ship, as per Panama Canal Authority regulations.  At 11:30 we began our return trip through the Gatun Locks leaving the locks about 1:00pm.  We docked in Colon, Panama at 3:30pm.  Passengers who went on tours were waiting to reboard the ship.  We were in port for 2 hours so we were able to get off ship and wander through the shops near the port. The trip through the locks was amazing.  Hard to believe the Panama Canal was officially opened on August 15, 1914.

The Gatun Locks is the first set of locks situated on the Atlantic entrance of the Panama Canal. A series of three lock chambers raise ships to a height of 87 feet above sea level. Each lock is 100 feet wide and 1000 feet long and takes eight to 15 minutes to fill with water. There are three sets of locks in the Panama Canal. On the Pacific entrance are Miraflores, with two chambers, and Pedro Miquel with one chamber. Panama receives as much as 200 inches of rain per year. This was a determining factor in placing the canal there since 52 million gallons of fresh water is lost to the ocean on each transit. 

 6:45am approaching the lock.  There are two lanes and we will be entering on left.

A car carrier ship from Kobe, Japan on left and P&O Cruise ship from the UK on right 

Cruise ship on right is entering Lake Gatum

View from back of ship.  A cargo ship coming behind us and a large sailboat beside us.

 Anchored in Lake Gatun

11:30am ready to enter the lock on left for return trip through the canal.

 Paulette & Fred 

The ships are guided through the lock chambers by electric locomotives called mules. The mules are used for side-to side and braking control in the narrow locks.  Forward motion through the locks is provided by the ship's engines not the mules. The ship pulls up to the guide wall, where she is taken under control by the mules on the wall before proceeding into the lock.  As the ship moves forward additional lines are taken by mules. Our ship had a total of eight mules, two mules on each side at the bow and two each side at the stern.

This was taken from our veranda.  

Ships waiting to go through the canal and Colon, Panama.

Welcome to Panama

Grocery store