Panama Canal

Day 8 of 15 Panama Canal…Our Fascinating Crossing of the Panama Canal, from the Atlantic to the Pacific

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Friday April 28, 2023

Day 8 of 15…..Welcome to the Panama Canal. The whole purpose of the trip. Traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, going through 3 sets of locks.

Arrival 6am……..Departure 6pm.

PANAMA CANAL SCHEDULE

Gatun Locks ……6am

Pedro Miguel Locks…..1:30pm

Miraflores Locks……3pm

Finally, the day has come….. Traveling through the Panama Canal on our ship “Radiance of the Seas”. We have been waiting for this a long time. We have been waiting over nite in the Limon Bay area that is the holding area for all ships ready to travel through. First the tolls must be paid before they can proceed. The information we received was that our ships tolls for passing through were over $400,000. Yes, that right, “Four Hundred Thousand Dollars”….. Wow, lots of money. The fees are figured according to the type of ship it is. For Cruise ships, it is figured by length, width, draft of the ship (feet below water) and count of passengers and crew. Also, there are other charges, namely how many mules that are used. They are attached to each side of the ship to guide it through. Those are just a few of the charges that I remember. Now the commercial ships are charged differently as they have cargo. Every ship has a different formula set by the Panama Canal Authority. We started cruising toward the mouth of the Canal. Ahead of us was the first of 3 bridges that cross the canal. t is

The Atlantic Bridge crossing the Panama Canal on the Atlantic side entrance..

It is the Atlantic Bridge. It is the newest bridge finished in 2019. It is 4 lanes carrying traffic pedestrians and bicycles. Right after entering the channel, the canal splits in two. In 2016 another lock system was finished to serve the larger ships. It is called the Panama Expansion Project. We are now approaching the Gatun Locks. This will be a series of 3 locks stepping up. In total the locks will be lifting us up 85 feet to cross Panama and then lowering us at the other end to the Pacific side.

Gatun Locks in the Distance
Looking Back at the mouth of the Canal with the Atlantic Bridge crossing over. A ship has crossed from the Pacific and is entering the Atlantic. So impressive.
The Pilot Boat coming up along side us.

We now will be entering the locks. There are 2 locks side by side. Traffic is going each way, just like a road. As we enter, the Mules will be attached by very heavy cables. They will attach 2 mules on each corner of the ship Totaling 8 all together. They are used to control side by side movement and breaking control. The ship engines will actually be the power to pull the ship through.

The mules, coming to attach to our ship.
The doors are closed, and the water has risen. You can see the Mules double set of rails on each side. as well as how much higher we are now.
We are now through the 1st set if locks, the Gatun Locks.

The Mules are mini locomotives on broad gauge railroad tracks. They travel the entire length of the locks. At the end, they detach the cables, and the track turns and runs alongside the 1st set all the way back to the starting point at the other end. We had to wait a little bit for the first lock to lower its water level to our height. The water in the locks work by gravity. I still haven’t totally figured it out. Soon the huge gates open and we slowly enter. The gates close and the water starts to come in and raises us. When we reach the level to equal to lock #2, the doors open and we proceeded to the 2nd level, Then the same thing for the 3rd level. We have now risen 85 ft.

We are now up on Gatun Lake. It is a beautiful cruise with small mountains and forests all around. We passed the dam. Gatun Lake is manmade. Instead of cutting the mountains all the way down, they had decided it would be easier to flood the area with this manmade lake and install the locks to raise the ships the 85 ft and then lower them back down at the other end by another series of locks.

The Gatun Dam, formed to make the lake.
The Panama Canal Authority kept a close watch on us.

We cruised on for quite a while among the beautiful mountains and rolling hills. It was so beautiful and unspoiled by civilization. The water was a beautiful blue. Finally, we approached an area that had been blasted out. Then we went under the 2nd of the 3 bridges we cross under.

These areas were blasted away to allow this channel to be built.
Centennial Bridge, opened in 2004

The Centennial Bridge was built to take the major portion of the traffic away from the Pan American highway. We will go under that bridge that carry’s that highway after the next set of Locks. This bridge is 6 lanes wide. We are now heading to the Pedro Miguel Locks. As we approached, you could see the large ships that have been crossing on the new canal next to us. It was opened in 2016 and was called the Panama Canal Expansion Project. The canal is wider and deeper, the locks are also wider, longer and deeper. This canal accommodates the newer larger ships that are being built today.

A ship in the Panama Canal Expansion Canal.
The Pedro Miguel Locks….

We have entered the Pedro Miguel Locks now. This has only 1 lock. We will now begin our decent to reach the level of the Pacific Ocean. The descent in this lock will only be 31 ft.

This is where we sat most of the day. It is the very back of the ship. The Windjammer Buffet is right next to it. We can fill our plates and come out her to eat. THE BEST SEATS IN TOWN
Pedro Miguel Locks in the background, entering Miraflores Locks
We have entered the first lock. The water level was lowered to match the next lock. The doors opened and we are entering the next level. Notice double lock doors, not only are they a safety factor, but also if 1 set needs repair the 2nd set is all they need.
Their is not much space, the mules travel right in front of the doors.
We are in the 2nd lock. Notice the lock doors are the only “sidewalks” to the other side. When a door is going to open. A bell rings and then the rails fold down automatically against the doors.
We are now in the second lock. We are lowering to meet the Pacific Level. Notice the ship in the background. He has just entered.
IMAX Theater that we visited the day before. This is the backside.

As we were going through the Miraflores Locks, I looked to the right and recognized the Imax Theater that we had been to the day before on the bus trip. We weren’t told about the viewing area. We were taken in the front and out the front. I was excited to see this side, so I took a picture of the building and the viewing area with all the tourists. Several days later I was looking at Google Maps. I always like to put things into perspective on the map. I found the Imax and clicked on it……..Lo and Behold, there was a picture of the back of our boat going through the locks. While I took one of them, they were taking one of me……..Who could it be, We will never know. It could have been a local or anyone who was on a vacation from anywhere in the world really. I’m so glad they posted it on Maps. But I surely love it. I was standing at that railing near the top. That is part of the open dining area that we sat at most of the day.

Our ship, “The Radiance of the Seas” passing through Miraflores Lock. Taken by a Vistor from the Imax viewing center. Found this on Google Maps several days later when clicking on the Miraflores Locks. Now how ironic and amazing is that.
Leaving Miraflores Locks. The Mules have unhooked at this point. Notice the channel opens up larger, the Mules follow around a circle here and head back to the other end of the Locks.

We have now left the last lock. Miraflores consists of 2 locks. The first on lowers you 54 ft. The second lock can lower the ship anywhere from 31ft to 64.5 depending on the tides. Pacific have much more extreme tides than the Atlantic has. We are now heading out to the deep sea of the Pacific. We have spent most of the day on the back open lunch area. It has been amazing. The perfect place to see this all unfold before us. It felt like we were part of something phenomenal. We love this boat for this reason. Such beautiful views any time of the day or evening. If your hungry the Windjammer Buffet is open just steps away. So so Grand. Living like a King and Queen.

Passing under the last Bridge. “The Bridge of the Americas” Completed in 1962.
Panama City in the background…..In the fog…..Like a Mystery
Heading out to the deep sea of the Pacific. We passed many ships anchored waiting their turn to cross to the Atlantic.

We have completed our trip through the Panama Canal. What a Wonderful Day it has been. Evening is fast approaching. We will of course eat another meal and see Conmelia and Shane again. We will check out what is happening in the Centrum for Entertainment, and finally find our way to bed. Much to our Surprise, Conmelia had a Surprise for us. She put it in a take-out container. No one could see because this was their private stash for the workers. We were never served Grapes and Strawberries. We sort of feel like royalty. Now we have two days at sea to enjoy the ship and rest up for our next adventure. On day 11 we will arrive a Huatulco Mexico. This will be another eventful Adventure. So now we are cruising North on the Pacific side……..This is AMAZING……GOOD NITE ALL…..

Day 7 of 15…. Colon Panama

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Thursday April 27, 2023

Day 7 of 15….Welcome to Colon Panama, the gateway to the Panama Canal on the Atlantic Ocean

Arrival 9am……Gangway Open 9:30am….All Aboard….5:30 pm

Yesterday, Cartegena Columbia…… Today, Colon Panama…….. Tomorrow, The Panama Canal….Its a very busy 3 days. Today our excursion will be the Imax Theater production of The History of the Panama Canal. We headed to the Aurora Theater again to check in and get our number and colored sticker. We waited to have our number called and then proceeded playing follow the leader again down to the 4th floor to get off the boat. We had docked this time at the dock. It was a very short distance to all the buses.

There is our dock, and all the buses lined up waiting for us.
The red bus in the middle will be ours.

We looked for the guy with a sign with our Tour Number. On the way we stopped and had that Quick picture taken again…..Ughhhh…..

OMG

Then followed the Guide to our Beautiful Red Bus. As we had come down the inlet to dock, we had seen all these warehousing looking buildings. We found out it is the Tax Free Zone. Colon is a Tax Free Port dedicated to re-exporting to Latin America and the Caribbean. It is the largest free port in the Americas and the 2nd largest in the world. Hong Kong is first. It covers approximately 130 acres. It is separated from Colon by a wall. As we drove by the many entrances, it looked like regular shopping streets inside. Each entrance is gated. Our guide said it is totally locked up every nite at closing.

The Gates of the TAX FREE ZONE

The guide we had this time was not the best. He had a very heavy accent and was difficult to understand. We also didn’t realize the Imax was clear on the other side of Panama, on the Pacific side. That was about 50 miles. We also didn’t realize until later that the back of the Imax was against the Canal. So, we now had about an hour drive across Panama from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It really was a very pretty country. Lots of Trees, hills, just like the states, some small mountains, Lake Gatun, the manmade lake they flooded to make the Canal. There were plenty of small homes, very poorly made, hidden in the landscape. The main highway was Route 9, a beautiful highway, 4 lanes in places that ran from Colon to Panama City.

Countryside and the Highway from Colon to Panama City
Lake Gatun….The man-made lake for operating the locks.

We arrived at the Imax to a very large modern building. There were many buses there, not only from our ship but many others. It is probably a main Tourist attraction coming out of Panama City also.

The Imax Theater 3 miles from Panama City

We entered and was given free popcorn and soda. It was a very well-made movie about the History of The Making of the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal was constructed at the Isthmus of Panama in order to save ships from going around Cape Horn in South America, saving 8,000 nautical miles. The canal is approximately 50 miles long from Atlantic Ocean deep water to Pacific Ocean deep water. The French first attempted to build the canal but gave up. So many men died of Malaria and Yellow Fever due to mosquitoes. Finally, the United States took over and acquired the Canal from France in 1904 and it was completed and opened in 1914. In total over 25,000 men died constructing the Canal, mostly French. Now what we did not know, was behind this Imax was the 3rd set of locks, Miraflores Locks. There was a stadium seating viewing area that they did not show us. The next day as we went through the canal, I seen the back side of the Imax. Now I sure don’t know why they didn’t take us there. We headed back to our BRIGHT RED BUS.

Our Bright Red Bus and Tour Guide
Drivers seat with his hanging monkey friends.

The tour guide drove us all through the area. The Canal was owned and run the United States from 1914 until a Treaty was sign in 1977. It stated that the Panama Canal would be officially handed over to Panama Dec. 31, 1999. During the United States time they owned it, they had constructed many buildings. Office buildings, homes for the officers and their families, as well as hospitals etc. All these were given to Panama.

The Style of all the American Buildings. They were all given to Panama

Our guide took us past many of these buildings that are successfully being used today. We drove by the Corozal American Cemetary. This land was designated for a permanent cemetery in 1914 when the US opened the Canal. Citizens of over 70 nations are buried here, among them over 5000 Americans, Veterans and Civilians.

Rolling Hills of tombstones, in Corozal American Cemetary. 5,000 Americans buried their since 1914.

Then we headed towards Panama City. We rode on the Official Highway 1 that connects the Americas. We saw the Bridge of the Americas through the trees and then passed some apartment areas with graffiti paintings.

Bridge of the Americas….Highway #1 in the distance near Panama City
Apartment Buildings overlooking Highway #1

We headed for a little strip of land that ended in an area called Flamingo Island. It was a beautiful drive to the point. The ocean was on either side. Panama City was in the distance. So impressive with its tall buildings.

Flamingo Island in the distance
The Skyline of Panama City….This is as close as we got.

We drove all the way out there to stop at a souvenir shop and a bathroom break. lol. But it really was a pretty area. At the Souvenir shop I bought this cute little purse. I bought this purse for a purpose. I will write all about that the next time. Its worth a laugh.

Cute little Panama Purse.

Time to head back to the ship. We were pushing it for time. I heard comments being mentioned about how late we were. But remember……..We purchased this tour through Royal Caribbean. They wait for any tours that come back late. So I wasn’t worried. So back across Panama we went to Colon and our ship, The Radiance of the Seas. Another pretty drive back through the trees, hills, some mountains, Lake Gatun to Colon.

…..The POLICIA PASSED US BY….
Pretty red curtains on our bus. You don’t find that in the USA
There she is “Radiance of the Seas” “Home Sweet Home”

We finally got back, again tired and hungry. So off to the Windjammer for Dinner. We looked for Conmelia and Shane. As usual there they were. It is so good seeing them every day. Like seeing long lost friends. It was so good to sit down and relax in front of the windows and see the magnificent scenery that lays before you. Here we sit after a full day tour and are eating a wonderful meal before us, while looking out of the wall of windows from the 11th floor. Your looking at this magnificent view and think. WOW, Is this real? How Amazing life can be. We left port and are now traveling to Limon Bay near by. It is the entrance to the Panama Canal. We have to head out and wait for our turn to enter the canal in the morning.

Ships waiting in Limon Bay to head across the Canal.

Tomorrow, we will be entering the Canal and riding through 3 sets of locks to the Pacific side. It will take all day. This will surely be the highlight of the trip.

This is a map of the Panama City side of the Canal. The red flag is where the Imax was and the last of the 3 locks, Miraflores Locks. The long strip of land called the Punta Nature Center is where the driver took us. Panama City is on the right upper side of this photo. So tomorrow we get to stay on board, but it will be the Purpose for taking this Cruise. Our Passage all the way through the Panama Canal to the Pacific. It’s a once in a lifetime trip for us.

This was an actual license plate that we purchased.
“PANAMA CANAL……..HERE WE COME”

It’s Been 2 Years. Time for a Blog….Bucket List Time…….

w2bergen 1 Comment

I’ve been planning on writing our cruise blogs all summer.  It’s been nonstop 100-degree days.  It’s really getting old.  It’s a furnace outside.  Ironically, as I look at the last blog, it was over 2 1/2 years ago when we just had a very cold week.  It was down in the 20’s for a week.  We were all freezing.  Can we ever be happy?  lol

. 

We finally did our cruise last April 2023 that we had been planning since early 2020.    This cruise was taken from our Bucket List.  Our 50th Anniversary was January 14th, 2022.  We started planning a Cruise through the Panama Canal.  But as we all know, life was interrupted with the arrival of Covid.  Life as we know it shut down all over the world.   We were going to do it sometime between 2021and 2022.  It seemed 2022 still was not a good time to Cruise.  The ships were just starting to sail again and to many regulations were still in force.  We wanted this to be a nice relaxing time and not worry about testing and any Covid scares that might rear its angry head again.  We finally scheduled a 15-day Cruise, April 20-May 6 2023.  We chose Royal Caribbean as Ron; our good friend and Park Manager is a Travel Agent.  The ship was the Radiance of the Seas leaving from Galveston Island, arriving in LA California.   We would have to then fly home. 

RADIANCE OF THE SEAS

The Radiance of the Seas is an older smaller ship than the new ones they build today. This series of ships built at this time were known for all the glass. The elevators were all glass capsules, and the outside walls from the elevators were walls of glass. Its maiden voyage was in April of 2001, built at a cost 350 million. It is 960 feet long and cruises at 25 knots. It has 13 decks with a capacity of 2501 passengers and 859 crew. It was refurbished in 2016 and went through routine Maintenace in 2021. This ship did not have all the fun things for kids like the bigger ships of today. They did have mini golf, basketball court, and a small pool and water slide for the little kids. On our cruise there were only around 20 kids and babies on board. Also, it was during school time. So, it was nice not having many kids on board.

Our itinerary was designed to stop at 5 Ports, not including Galveston or LA.  1. George Town, Grand Cayman in the British West Indies 2. Cartagena, Columbia 3. Colon, Panama, travel through the Panama Canal 4. San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, and 5. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  What an exciting itinerary.  At each Port, we booked excursions through Royal Carribean.  Before we left, they gave us a change.  San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, was removed.  We were excited about that one.  We had booked a trip to a Hacienda by Lake Nicaragua.  We would have been served lunch by the owners.  It looked like a beautiful setting with mountains in the background.  It was replaced by Huatulco Mexico.   We asked later and was told it was a political issue. 

As time went by, we picked our excursions online.  Royal Carribean creates an online site for your individual account.  You can see and book all the excursions with descriptions and costs.  You check the times you arrive and depart, the costs that you incur by your ability to purchase souvenirs, special meals, and drinks and anything else.  The ship takes no cash or credit cards.  Everything runs through your account.  On board they also have their own special ship internet.  It is the daily itinerary of activities on board.  Believe me, there is no dull moment.  Plenty to do.  We decided to pack as light as possible.  We didn’t want to pay to check bags.  It is also so much easier to check in on board and also easier to get off and through Customs when the trip is over.  So we each had 1 carry on size roller bag.  Also 1 beach type bag, qualifying as a purse. 

Finally the day came to leave.  We had friends take us to Galveston.  We left around 6am and arrived around 1pm.  We missed most of the crowd boarding the ship that late. It was a breeze getting through.  We checked in, showed our passports, received our Sea Pass cards (Ships Credit and ID Cards).  You need these anytime you buy on board, and always when you exit the boat.  We purchased lanyards to wear onboard.  Now the pictures begin. 

They had a photo op set up in the boarding terminal.  They took lots of pictures through out the cruise. They post them daily, and you picked them out later during the trip at the photo lab.  All 8x10s….so hard to choose.  The rooms weren’t ready for another hour or two, so we went to the Windjammer Buffet. 

Food Islands of the Windjammer
Breads and Pastrys…yummmm
Formal Dinning Room, 2 levels

This will be our most favorite place on board for the next 15 days.  Islands and Islands of food.  Main dishes, Side dishes, all kinds of breads, a whole island of fruit and desserts.  Just amazing.  …….ALL FREE….  There is also the Main Dining Room for the Sit-down dinners.  But we don’t like to dress up, we prefer buffet style.  We filled our plates and found a table near the windows so we could watch the people still boarding and watch the skyline.

Rich on our Balcony as we were leaving Galveston
Very comfortable and spacious. Love seat on the left, TV on the right

Finally, the rooms were ready for us. We found ours and unloaded our clothes. This would be home for the next 15 days. We chose a Balcony Room. It was a fabulous balcony as it was double wide due to the location on the ship . Unfortunately, when Ron booked it, there was only 1 left. It was the very last room on the Starboard side. It was the farthest away from all activities. It seemed to get farther and farther as the days went on. The Windjammer Buffet was above us, but we had to walk to the middle to get to the elevators. But on the other hand, as much food as we ate it was probably a good thing…. lol… So now we are aboard, we have eaten, the boat is preparing to leave. Time to explore this ship. We have 2 days at sea before we arrive at Georgetown, Grand Caymen, British West Indies. So I will leave you with a vision that never got old. This picture was taken in the very back of the boat. We could fill our plates in the Windjammer, and head outside to the tables and chairs. We sat their for hours, during the days, when we went through the Panama Canal and watched so many sunsets……Next Stop Georgetown Grand Caymen.