Day 90 - Through the Panama Canal

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A day that Ed has been waiting for for a long time, we returned to the ghost town at the end of the causeway in the vain hope of finding some breakfast. Luckily one entrepreneurial lady was selling pastries and homemade orange juice.

Our trip was only a partial transit so we started off with a bus journey to Gatun lake, this is approximately the mid point and when it was created it was the largest man-made lake in the world. It is the higest point of the Panama Canal and provides the water for the operation of the locks - one set towards the Atlantic, and the two sets that we would be passing through on our way down to the Pacific.

It is hard to describe apart from to say it was incredible. Some people can probably muster little enthusiasm for this kind of thing, but for anyone who finds the Panama Canal remotely interesting it is an absolute certanity that you would not regret getting out here to see it firsthand.

We had a really, really good day and took about a million photos we also met an American guy called Ryan, who is sailing around the Pacific in a 36 foot sail boat over two years.

The trip was very well run with a very informative guide telling us all about the Canal, its runnings and stories (very good commentry in both Spanish and English). We thought we had been well informed at the Visitor Centre but that was nothing after today.

We discussed whether you can feel the movement as the boat goes down the 30ish feet in each lock during the 8 minutes it takes to drain - the jury is still out. You can certainly see it though.

We think these photos explain it better than we can.

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