January 11, 2017
What a great way to celebrate a birthday! We have been through the Canal before but it was many years ago. I remember thinking what an engineering marvel it was then and my feelings have not changed.
First a little Canal humor…breakfast today has to be bagels and locks…well, it is very little humor, but still.
We entered the canal from Colon on the Atlantic side and will edit at Panama City on The Pacific side. The canal stretches 50 miles and provides passage for over 12,000 vessels a year. It cost our ship $150,000 for the transit. It was opened on August 15, 1914.
Going into the Gatun lock. We will be in the left side. You can see a large Holland America ship on the right, already in the locks.
There are 3 sets of locks that raise the ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 85 feet above sea level. We had Ed, a specialist on the canal, narrating throughout the day. We entered the first lock at 8 am and will exit the third as I write this, about 3:30 PM.
Good morning!
Here you can see the small vehicles, called “mules” that guide the ship in the locks. They used to use real mules. You can also see the lock gates straight ahead.
Here is the shadow of our ship as we pass through the first lock.
At the Culebra cut the canal passes through the Continental Divide. This is the narrowest part of the canal and was excavated through rock and limestone. Even today, it is hard to keep the sides from falling into the water. With the material excavated here, up to 63 Egyptian pyramids could be erected!
We passed the prison that holds General Noriega. Most of the shores are covered with jungle like vegetation and at parts you can see the terracing that was done to try to prevent erosion.
It was a really fun day with a lot to see and learn.
Tonight we will celebrate my birthday in the Italian restaurant – Toscana – with champagne of course!
Tomorrow we will be in Golfito, Costa Rica.
Pat and Norm's World Cruises and other adventures 
You really know how to celebrate a birthday in style! Enjoy!
Sounds like you have an exciting voyage ahead of you. Looking forward to the next installment.
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What a fabulous birthday celebration! You could not have planned it better! Enjoy your dinner and 🍾🎂XO🤗😘
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What a fascinating day, Pat…and I’m not just talking about your birthday 😉 !! Thanks for sharing some of the history and pictures of the canal…so interesting! Best wishes for a healthy, happy and adventurous year ahead! love, deb
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Happy Birthday, Pat! Enjoy this magical day.
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Happy Birthday, Pat. You really know how to celebrate!!
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Hope you had a wonderful day and clearly a wonderful passage through the canal. Hilary x
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Wonderful narrative. Great pictures. Please keep it coming!!! Looking forward to meeting you both in Bali.
Happy Birthday!!! What a great way to celebrate (save some bubbly for us).
Jewel and Robert
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Happy Birthday!! I love your post and this one is especially interesting since I will be celebrating my up coming retirement with a two week Panama Canel Cruise! Enjoy your special day!
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What a great way to celebrate a birthday,,,.. we too have been thru this canal and it still is very interesting.. love the picture of you and Norm with the locks behind you.
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Cheers🥂 Happy Birthday 🎂! Not too many can say they celebrated their birthday while traveling through the Panama Canal! Beth & Paul
Sent from my iPhone
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Happy Birthday, Pat. Love reading your blog. Leslie shared your site. I was at the Panama Canal 2 years ago on an ship excursion. What an interesting and great place. Enjoy!
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