Today was awesome in more ways than one. Transiting the Panama Canal was one reason, but another was the fact that today was a birthday for one of us. Keeping quiet about it was not in the cards. Upon leaving our room this morning, there were two balloons and a Happy Birthday note taped to our door. Then on to breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill, we were there 5 minutes when a decorated plate arrived with a special birthday cupcake. Tina and the waiters came and sang Happy Birthday then had me "blow" out the candles, which were the battery-operated luminaries. To make the meal perfect, we took advantage of the Panama Canal rolls we love. Some fellows sitting close to us mentioned they had ordered one dozen rolls for room service. Then they asked for some more to go from here and the waiter brought them wrapped in a foil basket. Yes, they really are that good.
By the time we got back to our room, we discovered two vases of flowers and cards from a favorite officer Shiv and Michelle and the front desk team. So sweet of them to remember. And there were cards from our agent, hosts, and other friends onboard. Long time friends had mailed cards before we left home for each of us to open on the right day. Later in the afternoon and evening, there were more surprises.
So back to Panama, it is a country of 3.7 million people that speak mostly Spanish. Although we will not have a port stop here this time, we will transit through the Panama Canal. Cutting through the Continental Divide, the Panama Canal is the world's greatest short cut. It links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, shortening a ship's voyage by 7800 miles. The construction of this canal began well over 100 years ago, and it came at a huge cost not only money-wise, but at a loss of life. Between malaria, yellow fever, and accidents, the canal claimed many worker's lives. Finally after 10 years, the canal began operating in 1914 and continued with the same technology until new locks were added starting in 2016. Over the years, we have witnessed the progress made on both ends of the canal with the new style of locks. Finally opened a few years ago, we have never been on a ship that actually went through the new locks. But we have been told that with the new system, it is not as fun to watch as the old locks with the workers and the "mules" that keep the ships centered.
We ended up watching the entire sailing from the comfort of our room and veranda. Most all of the best things to see were on the portside, and that's where we were. No doubt, the water level of the canal and especially Lake Gatun is lower than we have ever seen. Many of the islands in Gatun Lake had exposed shorelines, and the entire route was well marked with buoys. We did have a 26 member team of Panamanians join the ship (several were pilots). We trust they knew all of the shallow spots and kept us in the deepest waters. And we figured that to keep the ship light in the water, we did not have full fuel tanks. For the first time ever, the ship had to stop outside the canal beyond the Bridge of the Americas to bunker fuel.
Entering the first locks at Gatun, we saw the Ruby Princess entering the new Agua Clara Locks. Then a Carnival ship was behind us as we left Gatun Locks. It appeared that neither ship was headed for the complete transit. We assume they turned around in the lake, and went back to the Caribbean. That may have saved them some money, since our transit was $366,000 and probably paid in cash. By the way, the entire narration through the Canal was delivered by our cruise and travel Director, Kimberly. She did a fantastic job, talking most all of the day from the navigation deck until well after 6:30pm. It would have been better if she had been able to broadcast from every speaker, but it came through only on the outside decks, not near the rooms. The room TV's worked but the sound was only ½ of what it could be. And in order to hear it, you had to stay inside the room.
Usually, the ship enters the locks on the Caribbean side so early, it is dark. Today we did the transit with the early morning sun rising behind the newest Atlantic Bridge which opened in 2019. The Gatun Locks took us up about 100 feet in three consecutive sections. There are also double locks here for two way traffic. The nearby Agua Clara Locks that opened in 2016 can accommodate much larger ships such as the Neopanamax and some of the newest cruise line behemoths. The Zuiderdam is small in comparison, so we went the traditional route.
The manmade Gatun Lake sits between 82 and 87 feet above sea level, and became our passage for much of the morning. Kimberly continued her narration almost non-stop as we passed by Barro Colorado Island, home of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. More than 100 species of mammals and reptiles can be found here, but are seldom seen. There are also 500 different bird species, but the majority we saw today were vultures and frigatebirds. The busy settlement of Gamboa is located here as well as the Chagres River.
A famous section of the canal has to be the Culebra Cut, which gave the builders the most difficult challenge in the old days. It is an 8 mile transit crossing the Continental Divide. The rocks and soil excavated from here is said to be equal to that of 63 Egyptian pyramids. The Centennial Bridge, built in 2004, has helped lessen traffic on the older Bridge of the Americas. We have been lucky to have driven over this bridge while on a tour when it first opened.
By 1:30pm, we entered the Pedro Miguel Locks, where our ship was lowered 30 ½ feet to Miraflores Lake. We did have some onlookers that came to cheer us on as we exited the lock. From here we slowly made our way to the Miraflores Locks, where hundreds of locals came out to greet us. The two chambers dropped the ship 54 feet, bringing us to the level of the Pacific Ocean. The newest and larger locks, Cocoli Locks, are visible from here and opened in 2016. Once again, we did not use the modern locks.
As we were on our way towards the final bridge, we knew the area on the port side to watch for capybaras that sometimes graze in a field near a wooded mangrove. We did spot six of them, one of which was a "porker". They are the world's largest rodent and are on some menus in this part of the country. We scanned the banks for other wildlife, but only saw many types of birds. No crocs.
The final exit from the canal was the Bridge of the Americas completed in 1962. The cost to the USA was 20 million dollars, a small amount these days, it was impressive back then. This bridge is part of the Pan-American highway.
At 6pm, we were scheduled to bunker fuel at a Balboa anchorage. However, due to a comedy of errors, we ended up bunkering the fuel for 12 hours instead of six hours. Some of these errors were due to mishandling of the ropes of the barge as well as the ropes getting sucked into the pumps. This was the team of locals that had the problems. And we are certain that Captain Frank found no humor in this situation at all. The Zuiderdam left the area after 8am this morning and needed to do 19 knots to make up for the lost time.
During the afternoon, we had a series of birthday deliveries. First was another decorated cupcake on a plate from the Captain. Then Maja, the Guest Relations manager, and Michelle, our concierge paid us a visit carrying gifts. One was a woven black & white bracelet from the Nautical team and a small commemorative wooden plaque, compliments of the Technical Team with Happy B Day and my name on it. Both came with really nice cards.
We chose to have dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, as we always do on our birthdays. It was also another way to avoid the display of the waiters singing in the dining room. As it turned out, we were instantly greeted by Jacques, the Cellar Master, who escorted us into the restaurant and proceeded to present us with a chilled bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne. The real deal. It was a gift from him, Tina, and Henk, our hotel director. Our meal was excellent with warm rolls, wedge salads with a side of candied bacon, and two small filets with fries and a baked potato. We had a surprise visit from Henk and head chef Neil wishing a wonderful birthday to me. Then a three layer cake arrived and of course, all of the wait staff singing Happy Birthday. They all had the "candles" to blow out. We opted for a small serving of sorbet and asked for the cake to be delivered tomorrow after our dining room dinner. Once again, it was the best birthday ever, and most unexpected. And we did get two certificates for today's successful crossing of the Panama Canal. But there was one more nice surprise…..our room stewards Putu and Dedi had made a two-tiered towel "cake" tied with a ribbon and dotted with pillow chocolates and Kleenex candles. A very nice gesture, we really appreciated adding it to the collection.
Really looking forward to a day at sea tomorrow, although we were still bunkering fuel when we called it a night by 11pm.
Bill & Mary Ann
