Panamakanal

This morning we entered the Panama Canal. It is currently the rainy season and it was raining in the morning. Now at noon it is quite sunny and about 28°C.

Our ship is still Panamax, so it has the originally maximum size. For these ships, there are the 'old' locks which lift/lower the ships from the Atlantic to the Pacific and vice versa. The ships are pulled into the locks by small locomotives and held steady there.

Some distance away from the old canal, there is a canal for larger Newpanamax or Neopanamax ships. These ships can carry 5 to 10 times more cargo than Panamax ships. However, this canal operates only in one direction.

Between the Atlantic and Pacific locks, there is a large reservoir and around the canal and lakes, there is the jungle. By the way, the Pacific is 20cm higher than the Atlantic at the Panama Canal. So, if a level canal were to be dug, the Pacific would drain into the Atlantic.

At the end of the passage towards the Pacific, you pass under a bridge and Panama City with 1.5 million inhabitants is nearby. However, you can see the skyscrapers long before reaching the end of the canal.

The passage takes until evening and then we continue towards Mexico.