Monday 30th Nov. The Panama Canal

I am up and running by 7am as are most of the other passengers.  All the balconies are full of lock spotters.  It's hot already and there are lots of little tugs and pilot boats buzzing up and down around us.  This is a photo of the construction of the new bridge over the inlet.  Apparently the lake after the locks was once a fast flowing fiver which was dammed to create Gatún Lake

  

There is a very interesting commentary on our progress through the canal on the ship's intercom but too much info to tell you. Look back to my blog on Thursday or Friday for a few facts. On deck now as we approach the locks. We get raised 85 feet in a series of 3 chambers. Oil tankers cannot fit into the chambers  because of their length but there are lots of container ships waiting in the lake. There is also a width restriction, the Panamax, After the locks we arrive in Gatún Lake some 2 miles away.  Wow I can't see how a ship of this size will fit in the chamber, although they are 1000 ft long. Photo taken through tinted glass so looks a bit dark. The container ship directly ahead in the right hand side of the transit is already in the third chamber. 

The gates are opening now. They weigh 700 tons and have 8 million rivets.  In the mornings, both 

chambers only allow southbound traffic but later in the day, two way traffic is allowed. The gates have opened and the ship is gliding slowly into the chamber. We are hooked up to 8 mules, two at the front and two at the back. These are stubby electric locomotives on rails running along each side which are not dragging us, just bracing the ship to stop it bumping against the sides of the chamber which are VERY close, the info just said 2 feet at either side .  The mules will travel with us into the next two chambers at 2.8 knots, in 1992 one of the mules was pulled into the water by the ship. It had a woman driver - the info man just had to say that, didn't he?   

I am now watching as the ship leaves the third chamber and it has taken two and a half hours to complete the climb of 85 feet. 

I took this photo from the highest deck 16 but it was impossible to get to the very back.  On the deck below is the spa area where for 40 dollars a day extra,you can escape the hot poloi.

We are now sailing into the lake where we will weigh anchor ( do they still do that?) and be tendered ashore

. It seems that most passengers are going on shore excursions today and this will take some time to ferry us all ashore.  Hoping to find a wifi cafe to post the last couple of days of my blog.

We have been tendered ashore and I must say it was a really well executed procedure getting 2500 of us on to dry land. Bit like a school trip with stickers on our chests only much bigger.  On the coach now and setting off foe a scenic drive through the countryside to Panama City where we will have a guided tour of the old town. 

Been on the coach for an hour or so. The scenic drive turned out to be the main highway from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side. But we did see the excavations for the new canal which will allow more and bigger ships to pass through

The guide is not overly interesting. Again, obsessed with house prices. There is not an awful lot to see but he did promise us a big surprise.  This turned out to be a subway sandwich and a bottle of warm water but better than nothing.  The coach has parked up and we are walking through the old town. There are lots of black uniformed police with sub machine guns s the Presidents Palace is nearby. The old town was built colonial style in 1680 and is a UNESCO site.  We walked to the main square. Plaza de la Independencia.

The cathedral is moderately interesting but not much else. Many of the buildings are just a facade and crumbling and deserted and it is EXTREMELY hot. And the toilets have no paper or soap though they are clean and not smelly. We walk on in a heat haze and I am rapidly losing interest. We go past a crumbling arch and I'm not sure whether the decision to build the canal was taken here as they felt that it was a safe earthquake free because the arch was still standing.  Does that make sense?

We wander on a bit more and stop for shopping which turns out to be more stalls selling local handicrafts and very expensive drinks. We wander off and look at the two faces of Panama. The new

       And the old. This building was on the Main Street.

We are not particularly impressed. The best thing was that we are with a party of 38 Americans, moaning about the restrooms, the walking, the lack of burger stops etc. But as we walked down the decrepit narrow streets, they certainly looked after each other. When there was a hole in the pavement we all had to pass it on to the ones behind and when a car came from behind, we had to call " Car" to those in front. But I may be being unfair.  On the way back to the coach we walked through a lovely square with cafe tables outside under the tree and beautiful buildings. This begs the question why did the guide not take us here?  As we approached the coach, we noticed dozens of vultures planing over the sea.  Some of the coffin dodgers in our party looked distinctly afraid.