28th March 2015 – Panama Canal – 2015-04-01 22:44

Today we have a tour to the Panama Canal and we are driven by bus to Gamboa where we board a ferry on the man made Gatun Lake that is 25 meters above sea level. We will be traveling on the canal from this lake back to the Pacific Ocean. The drive in the bus took us through densly treed forests alongside the canal and the Panama Railway line.The canal is 77 Kilometers long and from the Atlantic Ocean side it has the Gatun Locks up to the Gatun Lake where we start our journey today.ÿ Alongside the canal is the Panama Canal Railway. A train went past us and it had 55 carriages, each one capable of carrying 2 40 foot containers.The lake was once a valley and the mountains were cut away to create the canal which was flooded to create the largest man made lake at the time the canal was built in 1914. On the ferry we cross the lake passing huge cargo ships loaded with containers. We also see a crocodile on the shore, watching some birds. The first lock we go into is the Pedro Miguel lock and we drop down approximately 10 meters. The second lock we go into is the Miraflores lock and it has 2 chambers each one dropping approximately 10 meters so we are at sea level when we come out of the second lock.ÿ A new lock is currently under constructions, that will increase the number of ships that can pass the canal.We pass under the Centenary Bridge and the Bridge of the Americas which is part of the Pan American Highway and the route we’ll follow when we leave on Monday. It starts to rain quite heavily and the view back to Panama City through the mist is just a silhouette of the skyline through the palm trees.The ferry drops us out of the city in a marina where we get back on the bus and return to our hotel.