Panama Canal

On Friday afternoon, Gina took Linda and I to the Panama Canal. I absolutely loved it, could have stayed all day - it was fascinating. There are 3 sets of locks, we went to the Miraflores Locks, just minutes from Panama City.

There are two sets of locks at Miraflores. Half the day the traffic flows Atlantic to Pacific, half the day Pacific to Atlantic, and at night one lane is open for each. This Maersk ship had just entered the last lock when we arrived.
See how above the blue part of the ship was visible and below it is not....that is all done through massive amounts of water being pumped in and out of the locks.
The ships receive a pull from a tug boat to get into the locks, and from there they are hooked up to mini-trains that guide them through (as you'll see with the cruise ship pictures below).
Over looking the locks.

Coconut water....so much better than regular boring water :-)

We were told that this car carrier only had 2ft on each side to pass through the locks. There are several ships that actually scrap the sides going through.

Again, note the before and after as the car carrier goes through the locks. The ships are lowered 27ft at Miraflores.

I took some video of the locks opening and a small cruise ship going through. Yes, this is a small one - ships are taxed based on cargo and this one was $156,000. The largest cruise ship cost $375,000 - yikes!

The locks also has a great museum with a video about the history of the Canal, and several floors of exhibits explaining the Canal, from mechanical to biological. As I said, I absolutely loved it and will definitely go back when I return in March!!!