3/8/2010 - Panama Canal
Today we started out really early - we arrived at the first locks at around 6am - out on the ocean the number of ships waiting for a trip through the canal was quite amazing (apparently if you don't book in advance, there's something like a 5-7 day wait for a place!).
One of our port lecturers who now lives in Panama was doing a running commentary throughout the transit and he gave a good description of the difficulties in building it. It's quite an amazing sight - much more impressive than the Suez (which was just a big ditch!). The ship slid into the locks with only about 60cm of clearance on each side! Literally from deck seven I could have easily stepped off the ship - it would have been easier than getting on the tenders in rough seas!
The whole place has the feel of being hacked out of the jungle (as it literally was a hundred years ago).
One of our port lecturers who now lives in Panama was doing a running commentary throughout the transit and he gave a good description of the difficulties in building it. It's quite an amazing sight - much more impressive than the Suez (which was just a big ditch!). The ship slid into the locks with only about 60cm of clearance on each side! Literally from deck seven I could have easily stepped off the ship - it would have been easier than getting on the tenders in rough seas!
The whole place has the feel of being hacked out of the jungle (as it literally was a hundred years ago).
After the first set of locks (and being raised quite a distance) we crossed a large man-made lake to the second set of locks where we were partially lowered, then a little further to the third set and we were back in the pacific!
The trip took most of the day - it was quite hot and humid (as we had expected it to be). It cost approximately US$270,000 for the ship to make the transit (they charge a base rate per berth, then add extras for tugs, etc).
The trip took most of the day - it was quite hot and humid (as we had expected it to be). It cost approximately US$270,000 for the ship to make the transit (they charge a base rate per berth, then add extras for tugs, etc).
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