another check off the list. today we embarked on an adventure through the panama canal to understand what happens when a ship passes through the locks. surprisingly there was quite a crowd on the boat. even a finnish guide was present to translate for the finnish people. the way i picked up on it is by hearing her say kiitos (thank you in finnish) when the panama canal pilot disembarked off our ship onto another ship in the middle of the rough ocean.

the tour began halfway between colon and panama city in a location called Gamboa where we boarded a small cruise ship. we passed a cruise ship with people exchanging waves with us and several cargo ships, which were being led or pushed by a tug boat. the tug boat is required by the panama canal and they charge 1000 dollars an hour. the voyage from start to finish is about 8 to 10 hours. nice little extra cost for the passage. the average amount paid to pass through the locks is around 150,000 dollars. the most ever paid was 350,000 dollars by a cruise ship. a cruise ship? not those overladen cargo ships? surprising.

at the beginning of the voyage, we saw something that was startling. blue skies?! what’s that bright object in the sky. oh it hurts my eyes when i stare at it. thankfully, our old friend returned to save our retinas, mr. rain and clouds.

before reaching the first lock, we passed under a massive suspension bridge that reminded me of the new bridge in charleston. the cargo ship passing underneath it demonstrates how tall the bridge really is.

we reached the first lock. as the door opened to the water tight lock, john commented that there should be a booming, villainous voice saying, “welcome”. after passing the door, it closed behind us to create the water tight lock where we would be lowered some 35 feet to reach the level of the lake below. the entire process takes about 20 minutes to be lowered, but in no time, you are surrounded by the brown, chipped away rock wall of the lock. the trains that guide the massive ships are not necessary for our tiny ship, but we did have to anchor to the wall as we were lowered.

after being lowered, the doors opened in front of us and we passed through them to the journey on to the pacific ocean. this set of locks was called pedro miguel. what i didn’t realize was that the whole process is done using gravity. i had thought pumps were used but it is characteristic of the water’s gravity pushing it to the lowest point. huge pipes, the size of nyc’s subway tunnels, are used to empty or fill the lock depending on which direction the ship is headed.

we reached the last set of locks, the miraflores locks (means look at the flowers in spanish). miraflores has two sets of locks and the observation building which we visited yesterday. the rain was really coming down so we attempted to take some pics without getting the camera too wet. check out the photo to the right. see the man at the bottom. this demonstrates how massive these cargo ships are. they called our section for lunch. we were both starving so we to the lower level to eat.

i would have enjoyed spending time up on the deck taking pictures and enjoying the amazing engineering of the system, but the rain was coming down and i was tired of being wet.

we passed through with no problems into the pacific ocean. the next huge structure we saw was the bridge of the americas.

as we made our way out into the open water, the ocean became a roller coaster. we were sitting underneath as we went up … and then back down. up … and then back down. stuff fell to the floor when we hit a huge swell. we were passing some massive cargo ships, which appeared unaffected by the rough waves. you know me. i wanted to test my sea legs and take some pics of the boats. i hurried as fast as i could through a calm period and just before i reached the door, we went way down and to the right. i was dancing like bambi on ice trying to lower my center of gravity to avoid crashing into the people sitting at the tables. then we went up and left. i almost crashed into another table before reaching the door. everyone was laughing at me.

i made it outside without falling. not longer after i reached the stern, we hit a massive swell that made everything crash. the waves were impressive. i had a desire to jump on a waverunner and grab some serious air on the waves. john thought that was a stupid idea. thank you mr. sensible, mr. none-daredevil-man.

john joined me not longer after i had made it to the stern. he was in the stairs when we hit the massive swell. i was impressed. i didn’t think he would have joined me. the rain had subsided a bit and we went to the top deck to take some pics and enjoy the view of the skyline, ships, and the surrounding islands.

we docked at the isla flamenco, which was at the same location where i lost the guidebook and bought my camera. how many times are we going to visit this place?!?! the tour director was there to pick us up and take us to the hotel. however, we had him drop us off in casco antiguo where we wandered the narrow streets in search of coffee. we have yet to drink a decent cup of coffee. we found our fix and due to the lack of seating, we stood at the register, drank it pretty fast for john’s speed, and then headed out.

casco antiguo, or casco viejo, is a quaint part of town that has a ton of character and history. the place is pretty run down but there is a lot of interest and effort in revitalizing the area. some of the older looking buildings were just shells of buildings. in one of the pics below is the inside of building with a staircase hanging off the side of the wall.

we ended up at a small bar and sat outside to enjoy some panama cervezas. the rain was continuous, and we sat back to relax and watch the locals pass by. after a few, we headed toward a restaurant that we had spotted the day before. i forgot the name but it is a white table cloth place. as usual, we were the only ones eating. another aspect of visiting during the rainy season, no one is around. i was half expecting us to be the only ones on the boat, but there was a large number of us on it. thank goodness, we are not the only ones suffering with the rain.

so, the menu for dinner had squid risotto in its own black ink. whoa. cool. i had it. the ink may have added something but i couldn’t tell. it was a black mound of risotto with squid. it was quite good.

we grabbed a taxi back to the hotel to call it a night. even though it is friday, we have to wake up around 4:30 am to grab a plane at 6am bound for the san blas islands. if it is rainy there, i won’t care. i will sit on the porch and read or what not. what i am afraid of is the possibility of no internet. i may not be able to post for several days, so i will catch back up with the site when i return to panama city on monday.