Today is the day! Dad is going to get to see something he has wanted to see his entire life, I get to tick another 'life goal' off my list and mom, John & Maya are there too (ha, ha) to witness it all...
The ship reaches the bay very early & is already moving in to place by the time we wake up. Cruise ships don't really have to 'wait' for their turns in the canal. They have their passage scheduled down to exact minutes so we're always moving ahead. Plus, they pay a LOT of money to go through so are given a wee bit of priority over the other (mini) boats waiting nearby.
Here are some details about the canal to make you sound smart at parties:
-It cuts through the middle of the small country of Panama (hence the obvious name) but the area surrounding the canal itself was not owned by Panama until 1999, nor were/are citizens permitted near it. It's a guarded security zone.
-Construction was started by the French in 1881 but they abandoned the project in 1889. The USA took over the project in 1904 and completed it in 1914. They controlled the canal (and the profits) until Panama took over constrol & ownership in 1999.
-It is 48 miles long, has only 6 locks and lifts the ships only 85 feet to the high point of Gatun Lake
-When going from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea/Atlantic Ocean, you are actually going East to West (figure that one out)
-The Locks are 110ft wide x 1050ft long (which is small for todays needs)
-Many (cruise) ships are built with the canal size in mind as it would DOUBLE a ships time as sea if they had to go aaaaaallllll the way around South America.
-A third set of locks is currently under construction and is due for completion in 2015 with a budgeted cost of $5.25Billion.. They will be longer (1400ft), wider (180ft) & deeper (60ft) than the current locks so larger ships will be able to pass through.
OK. Lesson over....
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