… which takes an entire day. The ship positioned itself at the entrance to the Canal long before dawn, and by about 6 am made its way slowly into the mouth of the canal, where it was hooked up to six canal “mules,” the train-like engines that pull ships through the canal.
The most surprising part of the passage is the rowboats. Two men in a small boat row out to the ship and pass a thin rope to crew members. That rope is sent back and steel cables then attach the ship to the first mule, which pulls the ship close to the canal wall. Additional lines are simply tossed to the ship, but the rowboat crew provides the initial contact.
As a passenger vessel, our ship had extra security while in the canal. Holland America paid more than $300,000 for the transit, all due in cash 48 hours in advance. The day was hot and muggy, with a few sudden rain showers. Starting at 5 am, the ship provided passengers with its signature “Panama Canal Rolls,” a tasty bun filled with apricots and custard which was created by Holland America. These rolls appear at various sail-in ports, renamed “Hong Kong Rolls,” “Sydney Harbor Rolls,” etc. We each had two, and they were completely gone by noon.
The Canal, opened in 1914, is 50 miles long; 2010 saw the millionth ship pass through. The Canal’s system of two-lane locks raises ships from sea level to the level of Lake Gatun, 85 feet above sea level, and then lowers them the same 85 feet back to sea level. Entering from the Atlantic Ocean, ships pass quickly through the first three Gatun locks, then sail through Gatun Lake to reach the Pedro Miguel lock, sail briefly through Miraflores Lake, before reaching the two Miraflores locks, which empty into the Pacific Ocean.
The decks were crowded all day with passengers supervising the transit.
Here we’re pulling into the first lock, and looking at the lock we’ve just passed through from the back end of the ship.
The canal buildings are quaint, and sit very close to the passing ships.
The red cargo ship passed through all the locks just after us, using the other set of lanes. It looked too large to fit, but miraculously did! The green-tipped arrows are one of the most iconic sights on the canal. At the beginning of each lock, they point to which of the two lanes the next ship should enter. As soon as a ship enters, the arrow swings to the opposite lane.
Near the middle of the final set of locks is a large hotel. The major draw appears to be watching ships passing through the locks. The standing room only crowd cheered and waved as we passed through. It was quite a send-off for a remarkable day!
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