It was 6:15 A.M. on November 5, 2009 that we began our transit through the Panama Canal aboard the cruise ship Island Princess. In 1534, Charles I of Spain proposed a canal route through the Isthmus of Panama. Over 300 years later the French worked to dig their way from sea to sea, but could not overcome financial and engineering problems. In 1904 the United States began construction of the canal. Ten years later the canal was completed. Today the canal is under the control of Panama. There are three locks in the Gatun Locks system that raise ships 85 feet above sea level to lake. It took us a little over an hour to transit through the three locks and arrive in Gatun Lake. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and we could easily see
... read more