A man, a plan, Panama

Sunday, January 27, 2019

This morning, I was lying in bed (did I choose the right verb, Mark?) with a good book when the room proceeded to get gradually but discernibly darker. At first, I thought that it must be clouding up. But then I noticed that the sound from out side, that constant droning sound of the engines rumbling had also stopped. Mustering all of my strength, I looked out of the window. To my surprise, I saw this:

That is the wall of the Gatun Lock of the Panamaa Canal just about 18 inches from my window. And this started the most exciting day of the trip so far, and I don’t even have to go ashore to enjoy it. Today is our transit of the Panama Canal and we’re starting at about 7:30am from the Caribbean side.

Once official Panamá Canal pilots have boarded the ship, we pulled up to the Gatun Locks and the “mules” hook up to us on either side. The mules are locomotives that are used to keep the ship squarely in the center of the lock, never touching either side. Once connected, the Panamanian pilot uses the ship’s own power to propel us into and out of the lock.

Gatun Locks has three locks in a row, lifting us about 85 feet higher than the level of the ocean, but matching the level of Gatun Lake.

We sail through Gatun Lake for about 30 miles at a rather slow speed. Traversing the entire canal (end to end) takes about 10 hours.

The sailing across the lake is uneventful. The lake is very large and takes quite a while to cross.

Eventually, we reach Culebra Cut and the continental divide. In Spanish, “culebra” means “snake” and here is where the canal snakes through the mountains that create the continental divide. This part of the canal is the most dangerous and is one of the reasons that the Government of Panamá requires a trained and experience Panamanian pilot at the help of the ship.

A landmark of the continental divide in the Panamá Canal is Gold Hill, and here is a photo of Gold Hill:

Now, the photo of Gold Hill is not at all exciting and, originally, I was not going to include it in this post. But then something memorable happened. Our on-board narrator had just made a ship-wide announcement about Gold Hill and the continental divide. I was standing next to an older lady (certainly older than I) when another older lady approached the first and asked, “What did he just say?” The first lady told her inquisitor that we were just now crossing the continent divide. The lady who asked the question considered the other woman’s answer and looked around a bit. She then proclaimed that this new continent that we crossed into didn’t look much different than the continent we just left. I caught myself audibly groaning so I made a quick exit.

The Canal is built upon, surrounded by, and overpassed by beautiful works of engineering. Here, across the Culebra Cut, can be found the Centennial Bridge, named in honor of 100 years of Panama’s independence from Columbia. I was told that, at night, the bridge is brightly lit and appears as two pyramids floating above the water.

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Shortly after passing under Centennial Bridge, we come to the Pedro Miguel lock. By this time, I was back in my room. I really wasn’t paying attention to anything when I finally noticed that the room was darkening, yet again. Here’s what I saw in the next minutes that passed:

Continuing on past the Pedro Miguel lock, and after emerging from the Miraflores Locks, the ship was in the Pacific Ocean and I feel like the first phase of this voyage (the Caribbean Sea) is already over. I happy, though, that there are many more phases remaining. Still, I place some punctuation for this trip right here.

We anchored in Fuerte Amador, a small island near Panama City that was converted from US Military use to a commercial hub. It is connected to the mainland by a narrow strand about three miles long.

On the ship, I settled in for what was likely the finest meal I’ve had so far. In the Italian specialty restaurant named Canaletto. For my entrée I enjoyed Ravioli al Gamberi. These little pillows of pasta are fill with a spicy preparation of shrimp, then served in a deliciously mild seafood sauce that was almost a bisque. So tasty!

After dinner, and to end the long day, I enjoyed Cigars under the Stars. This gathering is held nightly, outdoors, in the Sea View lounge. With a cigar in one hand an a glass of Don Julio Añejo tequila in the other, I soaked up this view for about an hour. This is Panama City, by night.

In order to help you get your bearings regarding where I was today, I offer this little map.

What is it?

In my last post I offered a challenge to you: what kind of animal has been made from towels that lives on my bed? Here is that animal.

Did you try to guess what is was? I know that several of you did. My favorite answer came from Araceli Rojas who told me it was a “sexy fish.” It’s very entertaining to read “sexy” and “fish” in the same phrase. Araceli, I love your guess, but it is not correct.

The correct answer was provided by several of you, including Julie Tolle, Marilyn Ronci. Excellent guesses! It is, according to its maker, a lobster!

Tonight’s “What Is It” looks like this:

So, what do you think this is? Feel free to send me your guess in the comments section on this page, or send me a message via any other method that you know I use. I’ll be reporting the results soon. Have some fun. Join in and send me your guess!