hollisandbeyond2015: Caribbean Cruise

We were up at 5 AM to see our approach to the breakwater at the famous Panama Canal. The breakwater is about 6 miles from the locks at Gatun Lake and is the first reporting point for ships approaching the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side. The sun rose around 6 AM while we were waiting inside the breakwater for our turn to enter the canal. We entered the first of the three Gatun Locks around 8:30 AM. Our ship, at just under 1000 feet in length and 106 feet wide, was a tight fit into the locks, each of which was 1000 feet long and 110 feet wide. Four small electric locomotives along the canal on each side of our ship regulated our position while the ship moved under its own power through each lock. After the Zuiderdam was lifted a total of 85 feet to the level of Gatun Lake, we exited the locks and anchored nearby. Numerous excursions related to the canal and the immediate area were available. We joined Craig and Karen for a tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Fort Lorenzo, the ruins of a 400 year old Fort built by the Spanish to protect their main route for the transshipments of the gold and silver that they had plundered from the indigenous people throughout a large part of the Americas. En route, our guide explained how Panama hats were made, stopping the bus to select the proper palm leaf to show the source of the material used in the genuine hats. Later, as we were exploring the ruins, we saw howler monkeys. We returned to the canal in time to see our ship, the Zuiderdam, passing through the locks back out to the Caribbean Sea. This was followed by a tour of the operation of the locks before driving overland to rejoin our ship at the port of Colon, Panama. We passed the construction site for the new canal which is scheduled to open next year. Both the canal experience and the fort were very interesting and we survived the intense humidity and heat quite well. The air conditioned ship felt good on our return.