Eloise and Jerry's Travels: Crossing to the Pacific

Crossing to the Pacific (January 7 to 10, 2016)

January 18, 2016 en route to Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Key West to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

After sailing from Key West in the early evening of 6 January, we cruised for two days on a southwesterly course through the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Strait, and off the coast of Central America. Our destination was Puerto Limon, on the east or banana coast of Coast Rica. Whisper docked on the morning of January 9.

Sunset in the Yucatan Channel

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

The Sign Tells All

Puerto Limon was primarily a port for shipping agricultural commodities, bananas and coffee. As banana plantations diminished, a newer port was built closer to the remaining plantations, causing Puerto Limon to fall on hard times. To replace the lost plantation trade, eco-tourism was developed. This gives cruise ship passengers the thrill of being eaten alive by various insects while waiting for overfilled motorboats to sink in an alligator-invested river. ("I love the two-legged ones. They are so soft on the outside and so crunchy on the inside." Gary Lockwood, “The Far Side.”)

We walked from the pier into town and in ten-minutes had seen most of the major sites -- market, park and church. It was an 80/80 day (temperature >80 deg F and humidity > 80%) with bright, blinding sunshine. Our city tour was short. We visited the market and made a stop in the local, air-conditioned super market. The key words here are "air conditioned." Then, a quick return to the ship! One of our friends did buy a refrigerator magnet, thus supporting the local economy.

Central Market, Puerto Limon

Culture Lives

Crossing the Isthmus of Panama

After our eco-passengers returned from the wilds of the interior of Costa Rica, absolutely gaga over having seen frogs (alright, they were brightly colored and poisonous), Silver Whisper departed Puerto Limon bound for Manta, Ecuador via the Panama Canal. At 6:30 am, January 10 we arrived off Colon, Panama and the Caribbean Pilot Station in Limon Bay.

Crossing Panama from “A” to “B.”

With the pilot on board, we proceeded to the Gatun Locks where three chambers lifted the ship 85 feet into Gatun Lake. Regretfully, we could not see the nearly-completed new Gatun Locks because they follow a different alignment from Limon Bay into Gatun Lake. The new locks will allow Super Panamax ships over 900 feet in length to pass through the canal. We were told that they would be opened to traffic during May of this year, only two years later than planned.

Rising Ships, Gatun Locks

After entering the locks, we were held in place and guided from chamber to chamber by mechanical mules. Mules do not tow the ship, which moves from chamber to chamber under its own power.

Mule at Work – Do Not Disturb!

After filling the third (highest) chamber, the ship passed into Gatun Lake about 9:30 am. This artificial lake provides water for the Gatun Locks and passage for most of the canal transit. Although the locks’ chambers are paired, transit through the locks is always one way. Under normal circumstances, ships enter the Gatun Locks from seaward in the morning and from Gatun Lake in the afternoon. Smaller vessels, such as sailing yachts, generally are assigned passage in groups of two or three later in the day. It is during daylight transit of Lake Gatun and the Gaillard Cut that North and South bound ships pass. Except for special situations, the canal operates only during daylight hours. We entered the Gaillard Cut about 2:00 pm. The cut, although not technically difficult from an engineering standpoint, was the most difficult part of the canal to construct due to the geology of the mountains through which it was dug. The rock formations were unstable and landslides were common. If you are interested in the building of the canal, you might want to read David McCullough’s “The Path Between the Seas.” Even today, it requires active maintenance by dredging and blasting.

Ship Traffic Gatun Lake

Gaillard Cut

Passing out of the Gaillard Cut, we began our descent into the Pacific Ocean. On the North or Pacific end of the canal, there are two sets of locks, the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores. We entered the Pedro Miguel lock in the late afternoon and continued northward through the Miraflores. By early evening, we had finished our transit of the Pacific locks, and after passing Panama City, we entered the Pacific Ocean shortly after sunset. During our transit of the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks, we saw the new, bigger locks which are built parallel to the older locks. Construction equipment and work yards were being removed as we passed.

Panamax Container Ship and Car Carrier Entering the Pedro Miguel Locks

New Channel Approaching Pedro Miguel Locks

Before there was a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, there had been mule trains and, by the mid-19th Century, a railroad. In the late 20th Century the railroad fell into disrepair and was nearly abandoned. It was purchased and rebuilt by Kansas City Southern Lines and now carries large numbers of containers across the Isthmus daily. Where the railroad parallels the canal, container trains passed every hour or so.

Container Unit Train Crossing the Isthmus

As the ship cleared the Miraflores Locks, from on deck we could see some of the original administrative buildings of the Panama Canal Authority. These are still in use today. In the distance, we could also just make out the skyline of Panama City.