Leaving
Cartagena we cruised toward the Panama Canal where we arrived at around 8:50
a.m. We took a pilot to take us through the canal and eventually entered the
locks. There are three locks that you traverse from the Caribbean sea to Gatun
Lake.
Once through the locks, we anchored to tender those persons taking
excursions to the port and await our clearance to reenter the canal locks to
proceed to the port of Colon.
Four diesel/ electric locomotives called mules
are attached to the bow of the ship and two to the stern. They operate on cog
rail track and pull the ship . There is less than three feet clearance on each side of the ship.
 |
| You can see the tow lines from the mules to the ship. |
 |
| There is less than 2 ft. of clearance on either side of the container ship. |
 |
| Entering the lock. |
It takes 40
minutes to an hour to move through each lock. Once you’ve seen the ship move
through the first lock, monitoring your progress is much akon to watching grass
grow.
Panamanians
should kiss President Carters butt in the middle of rush hour. The cost to use
the canal is in proportion to the size of the ship. According to The Shipping Law Blog ships pay: Yachts and Other Small Vessels: USD 1,300 to USD 2,500; Loaded Containerships: USD
50,000 to USD 250,000; Cruise Ships: USD 80,000 to USD 300,000. That
probably explains why Panama City is a booming modern metropolis.
 |
| Panama City |
Only Nino & Michelle took an excursion which was a
train trip which highlighted the locks. (Nino's photos)
 |
| Comfortable coach car |
 |
| Rural homes |
 |
| View from the observation platform. |
From the locks we sailed to Colon, Panama where we will pick up the folks who went on excursions and set sail for Limon, Costa Rica where we will arrive in the morning.
Babs Says: Do the Panamanians know how thankful they should be to Jimmy Carter?
No comments:
Post a Comment