Panama Canal - part 2

For a number of reasons the Panama Canal cruise we ended up booking was for a partial transit of the canal. The ship would enter the canal, make passage through the Gatun locks and enter the man-made Gatun Lake. After a short 'scenic' cruising, it would go back through the same locks. Those with shore excursions got off the ship at the lake, completed their activities on land, then boarded the ship again on the Caribbean side in Colon, Panama. We purchased tickets to complete the canal transit all the way to the Pacific Ocean. We disembarked at Gatun Lake then got on a ferry to finish making the passage. At the conclusion of the canal trip we rode a bus to Colon to join the cruise.

A new Panama Canal is being constructed to accommodate larger sailing vessels. We could see work being done in several places. The plan is to open the new canal on the 100th anniversary of the original Panama Canal.


The water in the canal was really muddy. During December Central America had some really heavy rainstorms. Damage was widespread. Roads were washed out. Flooding was common. For the first time in the history of the Panama Canal, it was closed for a while until waters receded. The mud continues to 'color' the water brown.

This picture is taken looking back after passing under the bridge. Where the terraces are on the side of the canal is the continental divide. Note how the color of the water changes. The pacific side is not quite as muddy.

There was this neat looking clipper cruise ship that followed us through the channels and locks. In the third picture below notice the difference in the water color as the clipper passes to the pacific side.

Touching the side of the canal

Mira Flores Locks

Mira Flores Observation Tower

On the Pacific side - clearer water


More work on new canal

Panama City comes into view

Largest & most modern city in Central America

The wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean

At this point our transit was complete so we boarded a bus and made the drive to Colon through rush hour traffic in Balboa. It would have been nice to be able to also tour Panama City. Colon is a large city but doesn't have a single traffic light! The largest vehicle has the right-of-way. Two regrets: being in Panama but not getting to see the temple and not having the time to get some coins for Mason. The coins of Panama are just like U.S. coins...same size, metals and weight.

We don't anticipate seeing or going through any more locks in our lifetime. We've previously cruised the Yangtze River in China where we went through the locks at the Three Gorges Dam and on a smaller scale, the locks at Lake Washington.

Along the west coast going south from Los Angeles, we have been in San Diego, Tijuana, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Costa Rica and Panama. On the Atlantic or Caribbean side we have been in Florida, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, Honduras, Aruba, Curacao, Costa Rica and Panama. We don't want to repeat these places nor cruise there again (except we'd like to winter in Costa Rica). If we head south again...such as to Machu Picchu, we'd fly. If we go to Guatemala, we'll fly to Guatemala City and do a land tour. Oh, so many places we want to visit!