Little Lolly's Small Adventures: Passing through the Panama Canal.

We had a nice day going through the Panama Canal. For most people, it was their first time to go through.

A pilot, when boarding a ship to take it through the entire canal, takes full control of the ship. The poor captain can only stand and watch, hoping that the pilot doesn't make a muck-up. Once within the canal lock - there is, in the Maasdam's case, about 1½ meters on either side of the ship to spare - not much space at all. The mules on either side help to keep the ship in one place and steady.

It was interesting to see the process from start to finish of what happens when the ship approaches the lock, tying up to the mules/locomotives, slowly being pulled along and kept in place within the lock; and once through -
leaving the mules and locks. There are 6 mules, 3 to each side of the ship. Each giving loosening the wire or putting tension on the wire as the ship is manoeuvred along.

Through the canal and the locks

Throughout much of the day I was taking photographs from front, back and sides of the ship to capture what was happening. Sometimes it was difficult to be in a few places at once but at least I got some pictures to give you an idea of what it is like to go through the Panama Canal.

The Panama Canal is about 80km (about 50 miles) long and the Maasdam will take anything from 8 to 10 hours to go through from end to end. This time it took us nearly 11 hours to go through. Here is the high-speed version of our trip through the canal which Paul managed to capture on the GoPro which he put somewhere on the bridge:

Cost? The pre-booking fee to go through the locks, for the Maasdam, costs $25,000. The entire cost

for taking the ship through the canal, including the pre-booking fee, is just a little over $256,000.
Some ships who prefer not to pay for a pre-booked slot could wait a couple of days to a couple of weeks for a chance to get through the Panama Canal. At least pre-booking a slot will guarantee you a slot on the date booked. Times going through can vary because some ships are slower than others so the Maasdam could be given a time to go through but it is an estimate based on any ships in front of it.

Why don't we go through the new locks? The new locks are for much larger ships that cannot go through the old locks and canal, and are more expensive. The older locks have got a lot of character to them and the route is more scenic even though the new locks and canal runs parallel to it.

Towards the end of the of the Panama Canal run it started to rain on and off. It started to rain again when we were going through the final lock but a few people stayed

Heading to Cartagena

on the bow for a bit. I stayed as well, found a place to hang up the camera under the overhang of a railing and watched life go by. As the rain came down harder, people left until there was only me and another guest. We stood in the rain for quite a while as the ship sailed under a partly constructed bridge and out towards the sea. Standing in the rain was a fantastic feeling, not too cold at all. It was good to be alive!

The Maasdam is now heading to Cartagena, Columbia.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Approaching Panama

The Pilot has arrived and taken control of the ship, from now until the
Maasdam leaves the canal. View of Panama city in the distance.

Pilot boat bringing staff who will link the ship to the mules when we head
into the locks.

Pilot boat is here, securing the boat before staff can board the ship.

Staff getting onto the ship. They have brought a pile of ropes with them.

On board and more men to come!

Harbour/shipyard/military base as we head to the Milaflores locks

The new locks are to the left.

There are 2 ships ahead of the Maasdam, waiting to go into Milaflores locks.

Looking aft, a tugboat has come to accompany us through the canal

Paul on the bridge - but I'm not allowed inside.

An officer keeping an eye on things.

Passing the new locks (in the distance)

From left to right: Linda (nurse), Art Auctioneer, Marizaan (nurse) and Ryan

Two ships are ahead of us, entering the Milaflores locks

Entry and going through Milaflores locks

Note the rowing boat as we approach. They bring across
a rope. The Maasdam's crew will drop a heaving line to
them which they tie to their own rope which in turn is
attached to a steel wire which is attached to a mule.
The Maasdam's crew will pull on the heaving ropes and
draw the steel wire towards the ship and secure it.

The arrow on the roof shows which lane ships are to go into.

2 tugboats are following us now...

The ship in front of us has just left one of the locks. The doors are closing
behind it and water will be pumped out to lower the level so we can go in.