Well, they sure picked a warm and muggy day to transit the Panama Canal. The skies were partly cloudy with a chance of tropical rain (never happened). The temperature was predicted at 88 degrees with humidity equal to that. Yep, hot and humid. And while we are on that subject, we received a letter reminding us all how to prevent heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Drinking a lot of fluids (not booze) during the day would be helpful. So would limiting the exposure to the sun to 20 to 30 minutes at a time, then go inside to cool down. Then use sunscreen, hats, and light clothing. And please, do not leave your veranda doors open for long periods. OK….got it.
It wasn't that warm at 6:30am when the first pilot arrived to the ship near Colon on the Caribbean side of the canal. According to Valerie, the cruise director and port lecturer, the N. Amsterdam had reserved a spot for today's transit at the cost of $35,000. Without that reserved spot, we may have to wait for a long time to get in line to transit. This applies to the commercial vessels as well.
This will be the first time we will go under the newly constructed bridge here called the Atlantic Bridge as it opened in 2019. The new set of Neopanamax Locks are here at Agua Clara Locks. We will be using the original Gatun Locks, since our ship fits easily.
But before we start, we headed for breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill at 8am. The nicest treat of the day was waiting for us….Panama Rolls. At least this is one tradition that has not fallen by the wayside. After our meal, we headed back to the room to watch the beginning of the transit, which actually started early. Two more pilots joined the ship, giving us a total of three. Since Valerie took over the narration, there was no need for a local speaker. The only problem we could see was that her talks were not coming through outside on the verandas. Only the outside decks. Watching from our veranda, we had to pop in and out to listen to her on the TV's bow camera. So much for keeping the door closed.
What was different today was the fact we had ship traffic coming the opposite way. Normally, it is one way traffic, until later in the afternoon. The various types of ships using the canal are containers, liquefied petroleum and natural gas, bulk carriers, car carriers, and tankers. And cruise ships, of course. Even small pleasure craft will pass through here, although it is not cheap.
As we were close to Gatun Lake, we spotted what appeared to be a type of raptor with a fish in its talons almost as big as the bird itself. It managed to bring it on a buoy, and proceed to devour it. It had distinct markings with a cinnamon-colored body, dark wings with a single white strip on each wing.
About ½ hour later, we saw an osprey in flight and took many photos as it was obviously on the hunt. They are so fast, it was difficult to get a clear picture of it.
Once we were in Gatun Lake, it seemed like we kept up a good pace. Sitting on our lounges, we enjoyed the silence as we passed by many small islands with dense tropical growth. We could hear the birds and even some howler monkeys in the trees. The trees that produces dark yellow blossoms were beginning to open up. Scanning the banks for possible crocodile sightings produced nothing today.
Also to our benefit, we discovered that deck five forward had doors that opened to a bow, like on the N. Statendam. So we could pop in and out of there to see he sights on the starboard side. One of those was the 375 foot crane called the Titan. It was formerly called Herman the German. It is used to lift the massive gates that close the locks for the water to fill.
We reached the Culebra Cut at 12:45pm, the narrowest part of the canal, and where the Chagres River enters the lake. From here we could see the Centennial Bridge that was built in 2004 to reduce the traffic on the Bridge of the Americas. It helped by taking half the traffic off of that bridge.
So talking money, we learned that the canal takes in 2.7 billion dollars in a fiscal year. The estimate for our ship today was $450,000, averaging $520 per person. That amount, more or less, is built into our cruise fares we understand. Today the real cost of the transit was $380,600 due to the fact we only have 900 passengers onboard. Valerie said that was a bargain.
By 2pm, we reached the Pedro Miguel Locks, then the Miraflores Locks at 2:45pm. This is the first time ever, the building that houses the Imax theater, was empty of well-wishers. Only the working staffers were there cleaning. Wonder if this was Covid-related? The ship was out of the last lock by 4:15pm. And that's where we began to search for the area we always see the huge capybaras. They are giant rodents that can be as large as a small pig about 150 pounds. There is a stretch of field that lines a wooded area with the river behind it, and that's where they seem to thrive.
Finally, the ship went under the Bridge of the Americas, thus ending our transit today. Now we are sailing in the mighty Pacific Ocean……all the way to San Diego, and for some, Vancouver. And you know what? It was still warm and muggy, even when we reached this ocean. Normally, you pick up a breeze, but not today.
As we turned out of the canal area, we also saw the tops of the high rise buildings of Panama City. Many times, our ship has dropped anchor off of Ft. Amador, and we spend a day exploring Panama City and the surrounding countryside. Today was not one of those days, but we did see the crazy-built building, with a multi-colored bizarre roof, which is now a museum since 2014. They have a show in there about the building of the canal, and is part of a tour these days. This museum is on a very long causeway that is planted with palm trees all the way to Panama City.
At the very end of this causeway is Ft. Amador, where an apartment complex now has an airplane as part of their décor.
It may have been just as easy to stay in, and order dinner (or even burgers and pizza),, but we changed and went to the dining room. The heat had gotten to us, so we were not that hungry. Both of us had the crusted meatball appetizer, farmers nicoise salads, and shared breaded veal and a pasta. The dining room was half full tonight, so the staff had time to visit with us. Even Pandi went out of his way to stop and say hello. He is the manager of the Lido, and also assists in the upper dining room. And we have known him for years. The head chef also made an appearance as he checked with each and every table.
Another hour went back on the clocks tonight. One more to go for us.
Bill & Mary Ann
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Report #115 Transiting The Panama Canal Monday April 11, 2022 From 6am To 5pm Cloudy, Hot And Humid 81 Degrees
