The Panama Canal is one of the greatest feats of human endeavour, a worthy companion to the Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal and the great cathedrals of Europe.
There is a mass of information about the cannal available online, doccumentary films and your library so I shal not go into that here rather just try to show some of our own experiences.
In the pre-dawn we entered the two dimensional funnel area which constitutes the entrance to the canal. It is the holding area for ships awaiting their thurn to transit.
There are often more than 50 ships anchored in this area. We were assigned the number N19P signifying that we were the 19th ship going northward since midnight that day. It was 5am; that will give you some idea how busy the canal is. as there had been at least that number coming southwards during the same time period. Ships alternate between directions in groups.
Before enteding the immediate area of the locks two canal company pilots board the ship. The will instruct the helmsman for the full transit
One of the canal's most famous features are the locks.From the south the first runs of the ladder the Miraflores group.
We were accompanied by our sister ship the "Norwegian Pearl" the first time that two ships from the same company have transited together. The "Island Princess" went though alongside us and is seen in the pictures.
As the ship cautiously enters the lock basin itself it is taken hold of by electric locomotives that run the length of the locks and steady the massive ships in their placement between the wall and lock gates.
These ships are rated "panamax""; the largest vessels that are allowed to transit the canal. They truelly fill the basin leaving only a couple of feet each side!
The next post will have more pictures and notes..
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