Wednesday 11th
April 2012
What a surprise today has
been and those of you who have been through the Panama Canal will know what I
mean!
We started the passage
through at 7.30 am and most people were on the decks fairly early to enjoy the
passage and to see what it was all about. There are 3 locks, 2 which raise the
ship 84 feet above sea level and 1 series of 3 to lower it again to sea level
at the end of the passage through. What a great time everyone had watching and
enjoying what proved to be a wonderful experience.
We were in a convoy of
ships of all sizes but one only sees the one in front or behind. The actual
mechanics of the locks are fascinating. 197000 litres of water are used for each
ship and that water is eventually flushed into the sea. With about 45 to 50
ships daily passing through that is an awful lot of water and has to be
replenished by the annual rainfall collected in the Gatun Lake which is between
the locks.
What we thought would be a
passage through a canal for 40 odd miles was nothing of the sort. Once you get
up to the plateau and into the Lake the whole experience is just wonderful. The
Lake is immense, with a vista of tropical rainforest and numerous Islands. The
bird life is prolific and we witnessed a hawk just missing his prey a smaller
bird, by inches. We also saw 4 crocodiles basking on the banks of an island. The
whole day was spent out on deck observing this wonderful site of nature and of the
ingenuity of the locks themselves. One of the wonders is to watch the “electric
mules”. These are small locomotives to which the ship is tied and which run on
rials alongside the ship as it passes through the lock. The ropes are cast off
at the end of ther passage through. The whole concept and operation is just
brilliant. From 7.30 in the morning until 5.00 pm it was a day of pleasure not
to be missed and in equatorial temperature and sunshine.
We arrive in Colombo
tomorrow!!
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