At 7am on Tuesday, after two days at sea, Miracle docked in the port of Colon near the Atlantic-side entrance to the Panama Canal. Shortly after 8 we were outside the terminal negotiating with a local driver to take us on a day tour to see the Canal and surrounding countryside.
First stop was the Gatun Lock, one of the three sets of locks on the Panama Canal. Ship traffic is heavy, with 30 to 40 vessels passing through every day. We were lucky that our visit coincided with a “Panamax” rated freight ship entering the lock. The guide explained that this rating meant that this was the largest category of vessel permitted to use the Canal. This particular ship had a massive load of freight containers, and there appeared to be only a few centimetres of clearance on either side as the lock was flooded to raise the vessel the required 85 feet, and the vessel was then towed through the lock. The full transit time through the 80km-long canal from the Pacific to Atlantic, or vice versa, is about nine hours. The toll for a large freighter is about $200,000 per transit, but this is apparently good value as it cuts about 15,000 km off a journey from the west to east coasts of the USA. Nearly 1 million vessels have traversed the Canal since it opened for business on 15 August 1914. Planning is underway to cut a new channel to significantly expand the capacity of this route.
First stop was the Gatun Lock, one of the three sets of locks on the Panama Canal. Ship traffic is heavy, with 30 to 40 vessels passing through every day. We were lucky that our visit coincided with a “Panamax” rated freight ship entering the lock. The guide explained that this rating meant that this was the largest category of vessel permitted to use the Canal. This particular ship had a massive load of freight containers, and there appeared to be only a few centimetres of clearance on either side as the lock was flooded to raise the vessel the required 85 feet, and the vessel was then towed through the lock. The full transit time through the 80km-long canal from the Pacific to Atlantic, or vice versa, is about nine hours. The toll for a large freighter is about $200,000 per transit, but this is apparently good value as it cuts about 15,000 km off a journey from the west to east coasts of the USA. Nearly 1 million vessels have traversed the Canal since it opened for business on 15 August 1914. Planning is underway to cut a new channel to significantly expand the capacity of this route.
We then visited the historical and picturesque port town of Portobello, about a 45 minute drive from the Gatun Lock. This town was strategically located on the busy trade routes of the time, but sadly fell victim over decades to repeated sackings by pirates and foreign marauders including the Englishman Sir Francis Drake. Drake actually met his death here, and is buried on a nearby island.
Our tour ended with a drive around the streets of Colon and a walk through the colourful local markets.
We then re-boarded Miracle to the sounds of a salsa band playing on the walkway to the ship. At 5pm Miracle set sail from Colon, passing by a long line of vessels anchored in the harbour as we headed towards the breakwater and back out to sea.
