Gulf of Panama/Panama Canal Transit
Mira! Over there! And over there! What’s that? And what’s going on over here? Look at the size of those doors! Hey, it’s filling up! For guests, expedition staff, and the Sea Voyagercrew, a transit of the Panama Canal is an explosion of activity and interest in every direction. From our morning anchorage in the Gulf of Panama and our Zodiac trips through colonies of magnificent frigatebirds, brown pelicans, and brown and blue-footed boobies, through our refreshing swims from the stern of the ship, it is the anticipated transit of the Panama Canal that created the atmosphere of excitement that kept us out on the decks all day. The morning’s Zodiac cruises around the seabird colonies illustrated the colder nutrient-rich waters of the Gulf of Panama, so different from the Caribbean waters that we would reach tomorrow after transiting the 50-mile Canal.
We anchored at 1500 amongst a diversity of container ships, bulk and car carriers, reefers, and all other types of ocean going transport, with the spectacular skyline of Panama City as a backdrop. The pilot boat arrived at 1615 and we were all out on deck for the entrance under the Bridge of the Americas, with Alvaro Perez giving play-by-play commentary on the decks to bring out the history and personality of his native Panama as we cruised by.
The ship’s crew had organized a special cocktail hour on the sun deck for our entrance into the first set of locks at Miraflores. It didn’t take much to get us up for ceviche and cocktails, though it was hard to pull our eyes off all of the surrounding activity. The line-handling locomotives, or “mules” tow the Sea Voyager into Miraflores locks, and the historic Miraflores control center in the background contains a model of the canal that mimics the moves of every lock door, ship, mule, light, bell and whistle. Waiters Chiqui and Rolando sport their Panama hats and fasten their attention on the line-handling on the eastern bank, pulling a Singaporian reefer (refrigerator ship) into the lock behind us. Dinner on deck brought us through the Pedro Miguel Locks and the ever-widening, ever-active, ever-dredging Gaillard Cut, until we finished the evening with some stargazing in the tranquility of Gatun Lake. For activity, interest, beauty, history and culture, a transit of the Canal is an unforgettable experience that everyone should do once in their lifetime.
Mira! Over there! And over there! What’s that? And what’s going on over here? Look at the size of those doors! Hey, it’s filling up! For guests, expedition staff, and the Sea Voyagercrew, a transit of the Panama Canal is an explosion of activity and interest in every direction. From our morning anchorage in the Gulf of Panama and our Zodiac trips through colonies of magnificent frigatebirds, brown pelicans, and brown and blue-footed boobies, through our refreshing swims from the stern of the ship, it is the anticipated transit of the Panama Canal that created the atmosphere of excitement that kept us out on the decks all day. The morning’s Zodiac cruises around the seabird colonies illustrated the colder nutrient-rich waters of the Gulf of Panama, so different from the Caribbean waters that we would reach tomorrow after transiting the 50-mile Canal.
We anchored at 1500 amongst a diversity of container ships, bulk and car carriers, reefers, and all other types of ocean going transport, with the spectacular skyline of Panama City as a backdrop. The pilot boat arrived at 1615 and we were all out on deck for the entrance under the Bridge of the Americas, with Alvaro Perez giving play-by-play commentary on the decks to bring out the history and personality of his native Panama as we cruised by.
The ship’s crew had organized a special cocktail hour on the sun deck for our entrance into the first set of locks at Miraflores. It didn’t take much to get us up for ceviche and cocktails, though it was hard to pull our eyes off all of the surrounding activity. The line-handling locomotives, or “mules” tow the Sea Voyager into Miraflores locks, and the historic Miraflores control center in the background contains a model of the canal that mimics the moves of every lock door, ship, mule, light, bell and whistle. Waiters Chiqui and Rolando sport their Panama hats and fasten their attention on the line-handling on the eastern bank, pulling a Singaporian reefer (refrigerator ship) into the lock behind us. Dinner on deck brought us through the Pedro Miguel Locks and the ever-widening, ever-active, ever-dredging Gaillard Cut, until we finished the evening with some stargazing in the tranquility of Gatun Lake. For activity, interest, beauty, history and culture, a transit of the Canal is an unforgettable experience that everyone should do once in their lifetime.
