Transiting the Canal

My husband and I splurged and did a coast-to-coast boat trip on Saturday.  It was an experience I'd looked forward to for a while now, and I'm so glad we got to do it. And this is a recap --- a long recap, I admit --- of the experience. Want to ride along with me?  Read on!

4:15, we wake up and get ready.

5:15 Our uber arrives and drives us to the Amador Causeway.

Boats lit up in Panama bay

Our own boat, waiting for us

5:45 was the call time we were given.  We arrived on time, along with a bunch of other people.  While other people lined up, we walked through the parking lot, around the restaurant, a bunch of times.  We got to stare out into the bay, seeing boats that we later learned were tuna boats, a BFR (army speak for a Big F Rock).   The sun in Panama rises very quickly: on just one lap of the parking lot, the sky in the distance changed from dark to light.

Sun rising on the bay

6:20, we joined the very end of the line to get our wristbands (yellow ones) at one kiosk, and then walked over to another little building that led to the gateway down to the boat.  The wristbands not only get us onto the boat and identify us as "full transit" (as opposed to going only partway across the canal), but also says when we'll get our meals.  

We explore the boat: bottom level has quiet rooms with booths and restrooms toward the front, and the food galley toward the back.  The second level has more enclosed booths toward the back, and the sealed-off engine room for the captain toward the front. The top deck is oen, has a canopy over seats toward the rear and lots of sun toward the front.  To me, the interior rooms smell a bit like diesel or something, but Neil doesn't notice the smell. 

6:27 the Tour Guide (who will do a great job the whole trip; I'll call him "TG") gives his first announcement, first in English and then in Spanish. 

6:32:  We cast off!  And head into the Bay of Panama.  We see other boats anchored, waiting for their turn in the canal.  TG says they reserve their spot days in advance, and still have to have a very rigorous inspection, one that can take up to 18 hours, to make sure the engines and such are in good enough shape to get them through the canal safely.  

As we head through the Bay of Panama, we also see frigate birds, pelicans and other sea birds.  The Bay of Panama, TG tells us, is relatively shallow and therefore supports lots of sea plants, plankton, and fish (hence the tuna boats we saw.  The sea is really, really calm. I'm surprised by the lack of waves; I can't feel the boat rocking at all.

The Bridge of the Americas, after we'd passed under it,
looking back

At 7:15, we pass under what the U.S. had originally wanted to call the "Thatcher Bridge" -- but Panamanians objected to the name, wanting something that reflected the Spanish language heritage, so it was eventually named "the Bridge of the Americas" (el puente de los Americas).  Panama is the start of the Pan-American highway, from which an ambitious and persevering driver can drive all the way to the far north in Alaska.  

Loading docks just before the canal

We pass ports with loading docks:  boats with smaller loads have the option of unloading here, sending their containers across Panama via rail, and reloading it onto another boat in the Caribbean. 

7:40 We see the entrance to the third (and newest) set of locks.  It was a $3.1 billion to build the new locks  that carries larger boats, an international consortium for this third lock system.  There's enough width in these that they use tugboats on the sides of the boats to help steer rather than locomotives (more on those below).  Panama is soon buying new tugboats will cost $25 million, and will be hybrids.  (Tugboat guides cost the ship $3000/hour; they're expensive!).

8:05 we begin nearing the first lock.  A little wooden ship approaches the bigger boat and grabs the rope, then take s the rope to the locomotives along the lock.  These locomotives are used only in Panama, and it's a point of great pride how well they work.  They don't pull the ship; the ship goes under its own power.  Rather, by providing tension, they steer the ship into the lock with only 2 feet on either side, keeping the ship from bumping into the sides of the lock and causing damage.  

Getting the boat ahead of us into the lock takes a while.  We enter at 8:25.  Everyone (understandably) is at the front of our boat, but I hang at the back because [crowds -- ugh!!] This turns out to be lucky for me, because TG says that the back will actually get the best view of the locks. I'm perfectly positioned to see the canal crew moor our boat (if that's the right term), the sailboat behind us slip in beside us, and then to see the giant lock gates close.  

The sailboat heading in behind us

A rope from our boat . . . 

. . . to the guys working on the lock.

The lock gates where manufactured in Pittsburgh a century ago, shipped down here to Panama, assembled into hollow doors 7 feet wide (like s ship's hull; they float like a ship's hull, too).  We rise slowly but surely.   TG tells us the water in the locks rise 8 meters in 10 minutes, "faster than filling a bathtub".  

The lock gates closing . . . 

. . . and closing . . .

. . . and closed.

8:50, the locks are full and the boat ahead of us starts moving.  

An uplifting experience

Here we are at the top of this chamber!

Climate change: how is Panama reacting?  TG says they're very much aware of the increasing threats of droughts and stronger El Niños.  They're doing a bunch of things.  For one, the new large locks recycle water, sending exiting water into side pools and then back into the lock rather than losing it all down into the ocean. They're planning to dam another river and use the water to help feed locks.  They're planning giant solar electric plants at either end of the canal. And they're also (this next one confuses me as to its green-ness) planning a gas pipeline that will allow them to distributed gas transported from Texas more directly to boats (or other things) that need it.

Moving into the second chamber of the Mira Flores locks.

9:00 we move into the second chamber.  I let the other photo takers in ahead of me.  This container has two gates, just for safety.  Up above us is a building of the Canal Authority.  I really like the logo -- a star with a canal passing through!

9:15.  We've risen up in the second chamber.  We can see the tourist center, with people in the buildings looking at us, as we look at them. TG has us all, on the count of 3, wave and yell "¡Viva Panamá!"

The canal buildings and visitors center,
with tourists in the buildings waving at the tourists (us) in the boat!

We can see the road (well, almost) where Neil rides his bike.  

A canal locomotive alongside the lock 
(it's there to guide larger boats; ours doesn't need it).
Beyond those buildings is the road where Neil rides.

Double gates, behind us; we're now at the top.

9:35, we're finally ready to steam ahead.  We cross the Mira Flores lake, one created by damming a river.  The original plan was to have only one set of locks with multiple chambers on the Pacific side, but reality intervened:  this coast of Panama is made of volcanic rock, very hard to dig through.  Building a lake with another set of locks further along turned out to be faster.  

9:45. We pass a boat semi-anchored with tug boats around.  If that boat is broken down, the Canal Authority charges them extra to fix it (and of course, to be accompanied by tugs).  Uphill is the new channel with a large boat cruising its 6 km length.  After they first built it, that channel had 2 boats per day; now it's up to about 10 boats per day, and soon will be a dozen/day.

10:16. We enter the Pedro Miguel locks.  Again, double sets of doors.  It's so cool seeing these giant things lock into closed position!  It looks a bit like a castle wall, I think, with all those rivets and square holes.  

The water reaches the top of the gate,
and we're now higher than the lake behind us.

10:40. We start pulling away.  TG says he hopes we can pass the big boat ahead of us, which is very slow.  He says that going down the locks on the other side, usually for safety reasons small boats (eg us) go first).  The skies have gotten very cloudy -- I wonder if it's going to rain?  That would be very Panama.

[Eventually, it did rain lightly, but it was hard to tell from under our cover on the boat.  It was actually advantageous weather for the day, because the breeze on the boat and lack of sun broiling us meant that it was a rather cool, refreshing ride compared to the usual heat of Panama.]

Leaving the lock chamber behind us.

10:40. We start pulling away.  TG says he hopes we can pass the big boat ahead of us, which is very slow.  He says that going down the locks on the other side, usually for safety reasons small boats (eg us) go first).  The skies have gotten very cloudy -- I wonder if it's going to rain?  That would be very Panama.

We join up with that side channel . . . 

Where the two channels meet (looking backwards;
I'm in the rear of the boat this whole trip).

. . .  and then pass under the Centennial Bridge (named for 100 years of separation from Panama), 270 above the river, . . . 

. . . and into Galliard Cut,  which was the hardest part of the Canal to build, taking 25,000 lives. The hills (Cerro Oro and Contractor Hill) are part of the Andes and the Rockies --- that is, part of the Continental Divide.   Signs on the side show the various epochs and eras of excavation.

11:20, in the midst of the Gaillard cut, we start hearing thunder.  (I think thunder; it might be wind on the microphone, or some motor noise).  On one side of this cut is the Parque Sobernia, which holds diversity records---including the most species of birds counted in one day, 300+ one Christmas day a few years back.  

Parque Sobernia

Trivia question:  What do Bhutan, Surinam, and Panama have in common?  The only 3 countries in the world that are carbon neutral.  A nifty fact to learn as we enter the rainforest!.

11:45:  We dock in Gamboa to let the partial-transit passengers disembark.  No one new gets on, so we have lots of room!

Note the tug boat behind the big ship.  Why?  Read on. 

The tug boats are in the rear of the big ships.  Why?  TG tells me that it's because a tug's main job is to slow the boat down (especially in case of emergency).  He shows me a bridge/crane in the distance.  A few years back, a big boat went out of control and crashed into the structure. Because the tug behind it slowed the boat down a lot, the crash was much milder than it otherwise would have been.  

The CLEANTEC ship is now behind us.  In the far distance,
a crane damaged (but not as badly as it could have been)
by a ship going out of control.

12:00 Underway again, and they start calling (purple) bracelets for lunch: salad and pasta salad and a chocolate chip cookie, on paper plates with bamboo flatware.

I am glad for (a) lack of plastic, and (b) chocolate chip cookie.

 We're crossing Gatun lake.  We see a railroad train out the window, and we can see large boats heading in either direction.  It's peaceful and beautiful.  TG tells us he's going to take a break from his updates for a while so we can enjoy the view in silence; he'll pick up again later.

In the distance, a train.  My phone camera 
wanted to focus on the rain drops on the window, though.

This is the only part of the canal where boats can cross each other safely; nearer the locks there's only room for one large boat at a time.  That's why, even though it seems like a waste of water to let water out of the lock without simultaneously lowering a boat, in the morning, boats only go up:  they enter the canal and then the water in the chamber gets released so that it's ready to admit the next boat needing a lift.  In the middle of the lake and in the middle of the day, the boats cross.  In the evening, the boats exit the canal (and so the lock chambers have to get refilled without raising a boat, to get ready for the next boat needing a ride down).

Ships passing in the lake.

At some point, we pass Barro Colorado Island, a place that used to be a hill until the Chagres river was dammed to make this lake, and that is now one of the most important and best-known Tropical Research Centers (run by the Smithsonian).  

Not Barro Colorado Island.  I didn't know which one it was;
this is a hill close to the Gatun Locks.

1:30 TG is back, announcing we're nearing the end of our journey, getting ready to enter the Gatun Locks, which will take us (by three steps down) to the Caribbean side of Panama, the northern end of the canal.  There's a visitor center on the hill.  As he mentioned, we'll go into the chambers ahead of the big boat. 

He tries to promote Colon, which he says he loves even more than Panama City.  It rains 70 inches more per year, and the morning rains create steam  that rise and give way to afternoon rains.  For this reason, the forests are even more diverse and lush.  The economy isn't as strong, partly because of the American US pullout in the 70s, but it's coming along.  (I have to admit, none of this sells me on Colon; I think it rains a lot more than I'm used to in Panama City, and the economy in Panama City has its own ups and downs. But good try, TG!)

1:37, We pass Gatun Dam, with 14 gates (looks like a bridge) which made this lake.  At the time, it was the largest human-made lake in the world. 

The top of the Gatun Dam.

Question: What did the fish say when it swam into the concrete wall? (It said, "oh, Dam!").

Sailing toward the Gatun Locks.

The Gatun Locks Visitors Center.

1:45, we enter our chamber but have to wait for another boat to join us.  

Looking forward toward the lock gate.

Looking backward: we're alone in this lock!

2:20:  Our companion boat enters, and we're called down to the galley for our snack: banana, mini sandwich, and a granola bar.  

2:30 We're descending the first chamber, with a big boat behind us ("CLEANTEC") and two sailboats to our side.

TG tells us these leaks (see below) in the canals aren't unusual.  Because December is so busy (Christmas delivery time!), they'll just deal with it for now.  In March or April, as traffic decreases, they'll shut down a lock for a complete overhaul and repair, and add concrete to fix the leaks that have formed over the past year.  

The canal walls are leaking.  
Don't worry; they know. 
They'll fix it later.

2:37, the gate in front of us open, and we head into chamber #2.   As we do this, I get to watch the locomotives heading down the steep hill, guiding the CLEANTEC straight along.

3:03 The second set of gates opens, and the four of us get to go into chamber 3.  TG describes the reasons leading up to the U.S. handing control back over to the Panamanians.  The U.S. is still by far the biggest canal customer.  Also, I didn't know this, but U.S. military vessels (gunboats, submarines) are permitted to jump the line and to traverse the canal for free. That's a huge perk, for sure!

3:20 we start our final descent.  

3:29, the locks open, and we steam into the Caribbean.  

The green buoys that help ships navigate the canal are solar powered and light up at night. 

There's a pelican sitting on top of this buoy,
but I don't think the pelican is solar powered.

3:40 pass under Puente Atlantico, $450million to build, finished in 2019, replacing a ferry system & draw bridge.  It holds a Guiness record for longest extension from one suspension tower & the next (1.5 km).  

From there, we pass more ship yards and beaches of mangroves/wetlands, a hugely important ecological system.  

4:00 Our canal pilot disembarked onto his pickup boat.  We're officially in open seas!

4:15 We pull past the breakwater, into the marina at Fort Sherman.  

And that was the boat transit.  From there, the ride back was via land, and much faster.

4:30:  We're on the bus. I'd made a quick detour to use the restroom beforehand, & glad I did, because no restroom on the bus.

6:00 after an uneventfully and surprisingly tranque-free (that is, free of traffic jams) ride on fairly large, smooth roads, we arrived back at Amador, where we'd started.