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Panama Canal
We were underway in the wee small hours so had already passed through the Gatun lock before we woke. The rest of the day was spent out on Deck 7 rushing from one side of the ship to the other to get the best view of what was happening.
The locks were interesting as our ship is almost the maximum width although not quite the maximum length that can transit the canal. The maximum size is called the Panamax so the Dawn Princess does not quite reach that. As we entered a lock we were standing way above sea level but as the water level dropped, the ship sank rapidly until the deck where we stood was level with the ground. We could have climbed over the rail and onto the grass that was right next to us.
How it works is like this. There are two berths, side by side, at each lock so two ships can pass through at the same time although that didn't happen. There are special Canal crew who come on board each ship for the duration of the transit who supervise and assist.
As the ship approaches the lock, a man rows out in a dinghy (very high-tech!) to take the hawsers which are then attached to the mules. There is a mule at the front and one at the stern. Mules are powerful locomotives, similar in size to a tractor and they run on rails alongside the locks.
They pull the ship into the lock and the gate at the stern closes. The water is then emptied out, quite rapidly, so the ship sinks to the level of the stretch of water ahead. The gate at the prow opens and out we go.
There are three locks with a large lake between. It takes about 20 minutes to pass through each lock.
As our ship is so wide it scraped noisily along the inner sides of the lock. I'm writing this a few days later and we've been in port so I've seen the long scratches on the sides of the ship wand they have rusted already. They'll be painted at the next port, probably, as nothing on the ship is left unpainted for long.
The weather was hot, overcast and steamy, just as it had been in 1967 when we'd transited the canal in the old Sitmar Line ship, the Fairsea. Just after noon the rain came down. It was so heavy that it totally obscured the view of the rainforest. The bonuses were that it temporarily dropped the temperature and that as we were going slowly through the second lock, a coati came out to hunt for food in the cool. It was quaint with its tapered snout foraging in the grass and its long tail pointing straight up into the air.
There is a lot of excavation and construction going on along the canal as it is being widened to allow larger ships through so the Panamax will increase accordingly.
At one point we passed under a high bridge which resembled the Sydney Harbour Bridge in design but it is more modern.
As we neared the Pacific end we could see the skyline of Panama City in the distance. It is a vast modern city, quite different from the city we saw over 40 years ago!
As we sailed out into the Pacific most of us felt sad that we'd reached our own ocean which brought home the awful truth that our fabulous journey will come to an end. Even though I miss my family and friends at home, this is such a great adventure that I don't really want it to end.
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Daphne We did the Panama Canal in 1973 en route to Europe on the old Chandris ship Australis. I have never forgotten the sight and experience of a big liner virtually passing through a rainforest. Looking forward to hopefully seeing you at our next lunch on 17/9.