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| First Gatun lock closing behind us before raising water level |
It is amazing to think that centuries ago explorers had to
travel all the way around the southern tip of South America to reach the
Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic. Instead
we now have the luxury of making the trip from the eastern side to the western
side in less than a day!
At 48 miles in length, the Panama Canal connects the Atlantic
Ocean, via the Caribbean Sea, with the Pacific Ocean. The map shows that although we cross from
East to West, the canal itself runs from the NW on the eastern side to the SE
on the western side. On our first trip
through, I found this quite confusing until I had a visual!l
The locks at each end of the canal lift ships up 85 feet to
the Gatun Lake. At the time it was
built, Gatun Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world, and the Gatun Dam
was the largest dam in the world.
Currently the locks are 110 feet wide.
Chuck heard someone comment that the locks fill with more than 20
million gallons in eight minutes!
A third wider lock is being built and is scheduled to open
in 2016. This set of locks will be
approximately the size of four football fields!
The building of the canal was originally begun in 1881 and
spearheaded by Ferdinand de Lesseps of France, who had earlier successfully
built the Suez Canal. It was his intent
to build a sea-level canal in Panama, but engineering problems and high
mortality due to disease caused him to abandon the project The building of the
Panama Canal was subsequently taken over
several years later by the United States, who realized that it would make more
sense to build a canal with locks. Under
the direction of the Corps of Engineers, the canal took about 10 years to build
and was completed in 1914. The American Society of Civil Engineers considers
the Panama Canal to be one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
The trip through the Panama Canal was scheduled to take us
approximately 12 hours. We were supposed
to begin the transit of the canal before sunrise. We felt no urge to get up extremely early as
we had enjoyed a magnificent crossing two years ago. But we were up in time to watch the ship
enter the Gatun Locks at about 7:30. The
process of going through the locks was amazingly quick. Once through the locks, we joined many other
ships (mostly cargo ships) in the Gatun Lake while we awaited the passage of
the eastbound ships from the Pacific who were progressing through the Miraflores
Locks, the Petro Miguel Locks and the Culebra Cut, which is the narrowest part
of the canal. (The Culebra Cut was
excavated through rock and limestone of the Continental Divide. So much material was excavated that as many
as 63 pyramids the size of those in Egypt could be built!)
Finally we were given clearance to depart Gatun Lake and
progress southward through the Culebra Cut, under the magnificent Centennial
Bridge, arriving at Pedro Miguel locks in mid-afternoon. The day was hot and humid (a far cry from the
weather our friends at home are experiencing), so fewer and fewer people were
out to marvel at the scenery as the day progressed. I went back to the room to cool off, and when
I went back out, I was surprised to learn that I’d totally missed the Pedro
Miguel Locks! Fast approaching was the
end of our journey through the Panama Canal: the Miraflores Locks at the
Pacific side of the canal. In the
distance we could see glimpses of Panama City, meaning that we were about to
enter the Pacific Ocean.
After dinner we found our official HAL certificates stating
that we had passed through the Panama Canal.
These certificates serve as milestones in our travels. They also contain a lot of information! The Panama Canal certificate states that at
one time there were about 1000 ships that passed through the canal each year;
but that has risen to about 15,000 ships per year! By using the canal, a ship traveling from New
York to San Francisco can cut the mileage drastically: to go around Cape Horn, the total distance
would be about 14,000 miles, but by using the Panama Canal, one can cut that
mileage to about 5,900 miles! That’s
quite a savings in time and fuel! Because
many ships are now at the maximum tonnage (called Panamax), it has truly become
necessary to build that third lock that is scheduled to open next year. This lock, at the cost of about $6.2 billion
will about double the canal’s capacity!
Pretty amazing!
As we wave a final good-bye to the canal, we set off toward
our last American port, Manta, Ecuador.
On a personal note, I finally remembered to bring a “travel
companion” with me! Back in 1998 I found
a pair of trolls tucked away in a store in Bergen, Norway. They called out to me to bring them home and
tuck them into my classroom. Named Sven
and Helga, they provided much amusement and entertainment for my students
during my last several years of teaching.
Those who have gone to Norway know that trolls are real pranksters! They create mischief of all kinds, but the
blame falls upon the person who owns them!
My students’ responsibility was to make sure Sven and Helga didn’t cause
too much chaos! These two homely and
unkepmt little beings became class mascots, and even when I was subbing, my
former students would often ask me about Sven and Helga, whom I carried in my
briefcase during my subbing days.
Sven has seen better days so is at home resting. However, Helga has decided to hop into my
suitcase and accompany me on this Grand World Voyage. She will periodically appear in my pictures
throughout the trip – her first appearance being in the Panama Canal.
BT
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