Rotterdam 2024, Panama Canal, Panama...

I was up this morning at 5:30 am and out on deck shortly thereafter…  I was excited for our very first transit of the new Panama Canal Locks system albeit only a partial transit. Got a good look at the new locks in 2018, when Ann, Cathy and I did a coast-to-coast helicopter tour of the Panama Canal.  Now I get to see it up close…  Opening a direct passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Panama Canal was a game changer for maritime trade 110 years ago. Being our first transit of the new locks, I will give a quick bit of history on why the new locks were needed for the Panama Canal. In addition to the demand for increased traffic thru the Canal, a more obvious reason for building the new locks was the new generations of mega-ships which were too large to fit thru the old locks. The new locks opened for commercial operations in 2016. Most people are not aware that there is a newer set of locks, which is understandable. The old Panama Canal locks, the original locks from 1914 swing out like a double door opening and closing, while the new locks slide open and close like an elevator door. While the newer locks use newer energy efficient technology in their operation, both sets of locks accomplish the same thing of raising and lowering the ships to different water levels in order for the ships to transit the Panama Canal. The large tug boats in the new Panama Canal locks replaced the mule trains that are still used in the original locks. Leaving the Caribbean Sea, we passed under the Atlantic Bridge before entering the Agua Clara Locks. The Agua Clara Locks is one of two new sets of locks. Three consecutive chambers, with water-saving basins, move vessels from sea level to Gatun Lake and back down again. Once we entered the Gatun Lake, we could see the Gatun Dam. The dam, constructed in 1908, spans the Chagres River and drives all of the electricity operating the canal. Its construction buried entire villages, which were relocated as part of the project. Gatun Lake formed in 1912, with the damming of the Chagres River, this artificial lake is 85 feet above sea level. In addition to opportunities to see the infrastructure of the canal, Gatun Lake is known for its biodiversity. Here ships from both the old and new locks can be seen in the huge lake as they transit and/or wait for clearance to proceed through either set of locks. A number of ships tours were being dispersed from Gatun Lake via the tender process to the mainland and these passengers will return to the ship during our brief stop in Colon, Panama late in the day. We spent about 2.5 hours in the Gatun Lake while offloading 900 passengers for their shore excursions before we retrace our steps returning to through the Agua Clara locks to Colon. The Panama Canal remains one of the greatest engineering marvels around, and the new locks are pretty amazing, too! Once we transited back through the locks, my camera was ready for more so I continued as we made our way to Colon…  It was a really beautiful day here in Panama, the heat index was only 100 F.  On to Costa Rica!!!