A momentous and exciting day as we passed from the Pacific to the Caribbean by way of the Panama Canal, one of the greatest feats of engineering in the world. An interesting place. It is actually where Columbus landed in 1502 and the only place on the American continent he ever visited. He was convinced there was a navigable way through the continent and this belief and desire remained for 400 years. There were various attempts to build a canal here mostly from the French but they all failed. The extreme heat, the devastation caused by mosquito driven diseases like malaria and yellow fever all proved too much. 23000 people died in the attempt by the French to build the canal in the late 1800s. One ironic fact is that at this time it was believed that malaria and yellow fever was caused by ants and termites and so hospital beds were stood with their legs in bowls of water. Of course standing water is a huge haven to mosquitos and so the patients were surrounded by them. It must have been an absolute hell.

It was only when the Americans became involved in the early 1900s that the canal really took shape and was completed in 1914. It cuts about 12000 miles off a voyage from one side of the canal to the other, a huge amount. Obviously the attraction for the U.S.A. was the increased ability to link the two coastlines by ship and their navy. The statistics are amazing. 9500 people man the canal 365 days a year 24 x 7. 14000 vessels transit it each year. A cruise ship takes about 9 hours to make the transit compared to a container ship which typically takes 23 hours. The cruise ships pay a premium price for the privilege. It cost our ship $300,000 today. The canal is 48 miles long and links locks and lakes. There is a massive expansion project underway which will in time allow more and bigger ships to make the transit. Many of the world's largest ships simply do not fit i.e. Queen Mary 2, the large Voyagers etc. Even now, in 2015, it is a huge engineering project which has run into considerable difficulties and where the completion date is moving back year by year.

We got up on the front deck for 0630 as we were approaching the Bridge of the Americas which marks the western entrance to the Canal. Stayed there watching for 2 hours while we cleared the first set of locks. The process was absolutely fascinating. There are two "channels" through the locks and with ships of this size there is very little clearance on either side. About 2 feet in our case, less in the container ship that was in the adjoining channel and passing through slightly ahead of us. The ships proceed on their own power but are attached to a mechanical mule on either side of the bow which keep the heading on track. The mules are superpowerful railway engines. Many people (me) believed that the trains pull the ship but this is false. The clearance is staggeringly small. I have a picture of the container ship next to us in the locks and you can see that it only just fits.

The whole thing runs like clockwork. Gates opening and closing. The ship edging forward. In between the sets of locks are a couple of large lakes. Along parts of the canal, towards either end in fact, it is quite industrial but for most of the length the canal is surrounded by tropical wilderness. We saw crocodiles and birds en route. We have also transited Suez and this is a much more spectacular and interesting passage. So glad we did it.

After viewing from the front, we had breakfast and then went to spend the day with Maureen and Mick who were in a really fantastic suite - very large and spacious with a big balcony. Talk about how the other half lives! It was superb. Very well equipped with all sorts of niceties, Jacuzzi bath, outdoor dining table, and so much space…… It was so great to watch the canal drift by in great comfort, washed down with several bottles of champagne and some nice nibbles. Another couple joined us for a while and it was all very convivial.

At lunchtime there was a bbq up on the top deck so we went and got food and brought it back to the suite to eat. What a great day. In one of the locks we found we had free Panama Canal wifi so we tried to ft the girls. We managed to find Lucy and had a short but lovely call with her. All good news.

We reached the Caribbean at about 4pm and went back to our cabin which now seems very small LOL. We were soooo tired. No idea why? Up early, champagne and heat????? Anyway, we both fell asleep and then went and got a quick dinner upstairs in the buffet, a trot around the promenade deck and retired. It is quite breezy on deck tonight so may be so tomorrow. We have one sea day and then Curacao,