twangster

The adventure begins

This images shows a cross section of our transit.

We start at sea level, go through three locks to reach Gatun Lake around 85' above sea level. Then we cruise across Panama at 85' feet above sea level. On the other side there is one lock, a small lake, then two more locks. Once through them all we'll be back at sea level.

Yes! We passed it on the way in.

Royal could a little more thought into the excursion meeting points. This cruise has a lot of seniors who are forced to descend the stairs of the theater to collect a sticker only to climb all the stairs to exit. Quite a few are struggling with the steps.

The sunrise, stars and moon pics were passed through Lightroom. The rest are right from my phone, mostly posted from my phone.

Our terminal today.

To give you an idea where we are relative to the locks, here is a screenshot from marinetraffic.com. The NCL Sun is going through the locks right now. Colon is in the upper right where we are. The old Gatun locks on the left, the new Agua Clara locks on the right.

Colon

A break wall was added as a defense from foreign submarines who would try to destroy the canal during WWII. We'll go through the gap tomorrow morning.

Starlink report

As we approach Colon we begin to see dozens of ships at anchor waiting to transit the canal. That's the more economical price to use the canal. Radiance will pay a reservation fee to go through tomorrow morning. It would be hard for a cruise line to keep an itinerary if we saved money but had to wait at anchor for a day or two, or three. In the distance you can see the new Atlantic Bridge completed in 2019. That's the path to the canal. We'll pass under it tomorrow.

The mountains of Panama on our port side. Who thinks digging a sea level canal is a good idea?

Sunrise in the wake this morning given our Westbound course. Early signs of the day forming in the sky. Finally the sun made an appearance.

Day 7 - Colon, Panama Progress report

For families with kids there is an arcade on board.

30 minutes after the Emerald factory, or slightly longer if, like me, you escape the Emerald factory early and wander to the cheese bakery next door for a snack.

Yes, I like him.

Hypnotist in the theater. Not really my thing. I'm just going to walk off dinner and head to bed early. My six CAS drinks consisted of 1 beer, 3 water and 2 Powerade. That Cartagena heat zapped me out.

Chops update - the Truffle Fries were truffled!

Tomorrow is Colon and a port to book an excursion. My excursion focuses on the new locks. If we start at the Miraflores locks we must drive there so I'm looking forward to seeing the area from the ground.

Chops for dinner tonight. I may not be dining with Mary, but I may have a little Lamb tonight. Chops price on board is $52.99 for dinner, $26.99 for lunch.

Another look at The Protector.

Yes, but did you take a tour of the bay? 🤣

And we're off... Next stop, Colon. Captain reports tomorrow's weather should be similar to today.