Cruising through Panama Canal

Going through the locks along the Panama Canal

Yesterday was a sea day and as much as I had wanted to sleep in late – my brain decided that enough was enough.  So I was up and about earlier than I had hoped.  The day was spent trying to catch up on my diary and uploading some photographs.  The facebook diary is up to date now and most photographs have been uploaded.  I took a break in the afternoon to attend a lecture about the history of the Panama Canal.  The speaker was good and the information he gave was interesting.

My brain knocked on my synapse doors and woke me up at an awful hour of around 3:30am.  Paul was awake early when the Panamanian pilot came aboard near Balboa Sea Buoy before we entered the Panama Canal.  He gave me a quick call before we reached the first set of locks – Miraflores.

To go through the locks, tugboats would be in place at the side and behind the Maasdam to make sure she was lined up with the sides of the locks.  As we edged close to the lock pier, men in small rowing boats would come close up to the ship and throw lines to the ship.  These were secured to the Maasdam and the other end was secured to railway mules.  These hardy things look like miniature train engines.  They are there to guide the ship through the locks, ensure it doesn’t hit the lock walls at any time and help with braking.  They go at exactly the same speed as the ship, adjusting speed as and when necessary as dictated by the pilot.  If necessary they can pull a ship.  The ship and the mules come to a stop inside the lock; water from the lakes fills the locks whilst gravity pushes the water out.  Once the ship is at the relevant level, the mules guide the ship further and once completely out of the locks – the lines between the ship and mules are released.

At the time of the morning that we went through the Miraflores Locks the sun wasn’t giving off too much heat but by the time we went through the second set of locks – Pedro Miguel Locks – it was getting very hot.  I would have loved to have seen the canal going through the mountains – I was told that it is very pretty - but I was very tired and soon afterwards I had a nap.  An hour later or so Paul woke me up – the Maasdam was nearing Gatun Locks, a set of 3 locks which would take us back down to sea level in the Caribbean.  I grabbed my camera, sunhat and put on some sunscreen but decided not to wear my flip-flops on the decks.  It was a big mistake.  The wooden deck was very hot, even in the shade.  The sports deck was even hotter with its special non-slip, man-made coating.  I scorched my feet and nearly set fire to the deck as I raced to get to the next exit to go indoors.  I retrieved my flip-flops and spent the rest of the time on different deck levels to take photographs of the locks, fore and aft.

The muggy heat was almost unbearable and I was thankful for a cold wet facecloth that was handed out to guests now and then.  Perspiration poured off me.  Occasionally I had to go to the shade of the promenade deck to cool down otherwise I probably would have passed out.  Mother Nature intervened just as the final lock gate opened to release the ship into the Caribbean.  The rain started, gently at first.  I was still able to take pictures from underneath my wide-brimmed sunhat.  The rain got a bit harder so I put the camera and sunhat in the shelter of an angled balcony.  Nature wasn’t going to stop – she started to hurl the raindrops down.  It was time to put the camera somewhere safe and out of the rain.  Once done I went onto the bow of the ship.  There were a few guests outside braving the downpour but they soon gave up and headed indoors.  A lovely petite Indian guest and I had the bow to ourselves.  It was wonderful feeling the cool rain touching and caressing our skin.  It was exhilarating.  We almost danced for joy.  Needless to say we got thoroughly soaked, as if we had been swimming, but who cares …  😊  After 10 to 15 minutes we went inside, dripping and leaving ‘whodunnit’ trails behind us.  I avoided the passenger areas as much as I could so that I didn’t wet the carpets.  I wrung my clothes out and hung them out to dry then had a nice long shower before getting into dry clothes.  The soles of my feet are complaining a bit, still feeling scorched from the hot deck.  Other than that, I feel elated.

Follow this link to see my photographs:  Panama Canal

Tomorrow is another sea day – perhaps my brain will switch off and allow me to get some proper rest.

Cruising to Oranjestad, Aruba