Panama Canal Transit... Part 2 of 2

I got up at 5:30 this morning so I was sure to be out in time for the beginning of our westward transit of the Panama Canal…  We entered the Panama Canal at Cristobal/Limon Bay bright and early and made our way to the first set of locks known as the Gatun Locks leaving the Caribbean Sea behind. Cruising the Gatun Lake, we passed Gamboa, the Panama Canal Dredging Operations Headquarters. Continuing along, we passed the Culebra Cut where they cut through the Continental Divide. The Continental Divide is an area that separates which directions a continent's river systems flow. Making our way under the Centennial Bridge we arrived at the Pedro Miguel Locks. Transiting the final lock system known as the Miraflores Locks we then sailed under the iconic Bridge of Americas, the first bridge built to connect land of North America and South America. Again, a great transit of the Panama Canal… I particularly like that, even though we are transiting through the original locks, we are still able to see a great deal of the operation of the new locks…  very interesting!  As we completed the westward transit, we headed to Fuerte Amador for an overnight anchorage. Ian Page, Cruise and Travel Director and Erica, his assistant, did another terrific job of narrating the canal transit. Today was very hot, actually the way I like it but not when wearing a mask….  I would really get overheated.   I cut back on my canal photos today, not nearly as much as I wanted but it’s a start.  My focus today was to concentrate on ship photos for my dear friend Aart to enjoy…. He loves his ships!  Another fabulous day on the Zuiderdam…  This blog is in two parts, way too many photos for one posting.