Journey through the Panama Canal

Traveling through the Panama is a bucket list must, especially for anyone interested in historical achievements that has benefited many ships and their cargo.   On a cruise ship, this is a day long transit that began for us in the Pacific Ocean traveling through the first set of locks that raise the ship to the level of the lake (a man-made reservoir) in the center of the canal, then traveling through the second set of locks that lower the ship to the level of the Atlantic Ocean.  (Our cruise ship makes the journey from the Pacific to the Atlantic and then returns from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  The ship for our journey was the NCL Star).  

Here is a link to a map by Thomas Römer/OpenStreetMap data [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons that displays the canal as a whole.

During the day long transit, a narrative guide was brought on board the ship to share the history and details of the canal.  Also, a professional photographer stood on the land and hills to take photos of the ship and passengers as we progressed through the canal.  This was later made available on a DVD.

What a memorable trip that was worth experiencing!  And I have a few photo memories to share...

A photo of the set of locks as we entered on our ship, the NCL Star.  You can see a pilot boat and another vessel in the distance.

Inside the first set of locks.  The vessel and pilot boat are already in the second lock.

Looking to the side, you can see the rail cars that help navigate the ship through the canal locks.

Water being flushed out of the lock - all of the movement of the water to fill and empty the locks is by gravity

A look back as the lake portion of the canal is shown.

A passing vessel in the lake of the canal.