Friday, January 10th – Bob and I set the alarm for 5 am. We didn’t want to miss a thing. Went up to top deck into warm darkness and then saw the beautiful moon shining across the water. In the distance we could see a bridge with subtle lighting (Atlantic Bridge). We approached and quietly went under the bridge and there it was, the Panama Canal! The pilot boarded our ship to take us through the transit. We were lining up for the Gatun locks and yet your brain is saying, it doesn’t look like we’ll fit (it’s only 110 feet wide)! I guess after 106 years, they certainly know what they are doing.

France began work on the canal in 1881, but stopped due to engineering problems and high mortality rate. The United States took over the project in 1904 and opened the canal in 1914. The Gatun locks has 3 chambers that lifts the ship a total of 85 feet in elevation to Gatun Lake.

So, we lined up for the ‘north’ bound (right) lane. Interesting, I always thought it was east to west (which the full transit is), but if you look at a map of the locks, it actually goes from a south to north bound direction. The sun started to come over the horizon just as we were entering the locks. The light was beautiful. The ‘mules’ (small train-like machines) connected a cable to the ship, both front and back, that keep the ship safely moving through the locks without hitting the sides and causing damage. Into one lock, up we went, into the second and third and into Gatun Lake (85 ft total elevation). There we saw very large cargo ships waiting their turn to enter the locks southbound.

We slowly went through the lake seeing many beautiful islands, full of thick vegetation (one of them used by Smithsonian Institute to study plants and animals). As you leave the lake, you go through the Culebra Cut for over 7 miles and crosses the Continental Divide. Now we’re heading towards the Pedro Miguel Locks (one stage lock) and passing under the Centennial Bridge. The Miraflores Locks (2 stage) is 1 1/8 mile long. As we passed into the locks, there was a huge viewing platform (over 5 stories tall) with hundreds of people watching. As we approached, they announced us. “Please welcome the Pacific Princess starting their 111-day World Cruise”. They all cheered and waved. We all waved and were close enough to shout our hellos back and forth.

We slowly went through the lake, seeing many beautiful islands, full of thick vegetation (one of them used by the Smithsonian Institute to study plants and animals of the region). As you leave the lake, you go through the Culebra Cut for over 7 miles and it crosses the Continental Divide. Now we’re heading toward the Pedro Miguel locks (1 stage lock) and passing under the Centennial Bridge. The Miraflores Locks (2 stage) is 1 1/8 mile long. As we passed into the locks, there was a huge viewing platform (many stories tall) with a huge crowd watching. As we approached, they announced us. “Please welcome the Pacific Princess starting their 111-day World Cruise”. They all cheered and waved. We all waved and were close enough to shout our hellos back and forth.

Here we are, from Atlantic to Pacific Ocean in just a little over 8 hours (50 mile transit total). As we left the locks and entered the Pacific, I was surprised to see Panama City and what a large city it is. The sun was hitting the buildings and skyscrapers were sparkling like diamonds with some very dramatic clouds in the background.

What an unforgettable day we had together. By the way, the transit toll for our ship today was $130,000. The beginning of our great adventure!

So, I’m sure you’re asking yourself, what did you mean about joining ski club? Apparently, we’ve joined this club that is “Spending Kids Inheritance”.

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