Panama Canal Cruise - Day 5 - Panama Canal

The highlight of this cruise has to be transiting the Panama Canal. It took almost the whole day to get from the Caribbean to the Pacific but the trip was awesome!

It's about 7:30 am and we're getting ready to enter the first lock.

The lock gate is opening...

And we enter the first of two locks that will get us to the lake level.

One of six electric "Mules" that guided us through the locks - one forward, one amidships and one aft on both sides. The locks are only about 2-3 feet wider than our ship. That means that there's only little over one foot of space on each side of the ship. That's close!

We exit lock #1 and enter Lock #2.

Lock #2 fills up.

 We begin exiting lock #2.

 We are free of the mules and begin to enter the lake.

We say goodbye to the Caribbean lock system.

The Hemingway clan enjoys the lake views.

Lots of tree stumps litter the lake's shoreline.

We say goodbye to the lake as we enter the long and narrow waterway heading towards the Pacific Ocean.

While in the waterway, I did a little swimming and I earned a certificate proving that I swam across the Panama Canal. I really did it! I swam one lap in the deck 9 swimming pool while the ship was moving forward. The total distance that the ship sailed while I swam my lap was more than the distance across the canal. Therefore I swam across the Panama Canal and I have a certificate to prove it.

We are now entering lock #3 on the Pacific side.

If you look carefully, you can see the meer 12-18 inch gap between the ship and the side of the lock.

We're leaving lock #3 here.

A building with 4 floors of tourists waving at us as we exit lock #3.

Entering lock #4 - the last one.

Lock #3 fills behind us in preparation for the next ship.

Exiting lock #4 and entering the Pacific Ocean.

Open water ahead...

It's a little after 4:00 pm as we say goodbye the the Panama Canal. It was a fun day!

As we enter the Pacific Ocean we enjoy a beautiful sunset.