On the Way Home

Saturday, 2 February 2018

As we flew over the Caribbean and up the Atlantic coast of the southeastern US, I got to see some interesting landforms below.

This is the southern coast of Cuba. After consulting Google Earth, I realized that the finger-like bay is the notorious (at least to Americans of a certain age) Bay of Pigs.

As we flew over the northern coast of Cuba, I figured that this distinctive urban pattern should be easy to find on Google. It's Cardenas, a city about 100 km east of Havana. I presume Havana would have been visible from the other side (port, left) of the plane.

Next up were the unmistakeable Florida Keys. Again, with a map I was able to figure out which Keys I could see.

The southern tip of Florida with the Everglades to the lower left and the Keys running from the center to the right.

Richmond, Virginia. The WestRock (formerly MeadWestvao, MWV) Building at the arrow.

Panama Wildlife

Tuesday, 29 January 2019 through Friday, 1 February 2019

It wasn't all birds.

We saw several three-toed sloths. Most of the time they just looked like a bundle of fur high in a tree, ...

... but one time we got to see the face.

An agouti ran across the lawn one morning.

Howler monkeys were particularly noisy in the morning.

We saw a number of caimans (above) and crocodiles.

These turtles didn't seem particularly concerned about the caiman in their midst.

Panama Birds

Tuesday, 29 January 2019, through Friday, 1 February 2019

Our guide, Beny, is an expert birder and led two birdwatching walks around our hotels. We saw an amazing diversity of birds even around urban areas. Below are just a few of the birds we saw.

Pale-vented doves were quite common.

Yellow-breasted elaenia

Purple gallinule

Southern lapwing

Red-crowned woodpecker

Red-legged honeycreeper

As we were going by the harbor in Panama City, there were lots of pelicans flying around. What looked like sticks poking out of shallow water was really a mass of anhingas.

A closer look at the "sticks" that were really birds, hundreds of birds!

And on one of our bird walks, we saw the unusual "cellular palm".

The Panama Canal Railway

Friday, 1 February 2019

We returned to Panama City on the daily passenger service from Colon. The railway predates the canal by almost 50 years and is still an essential link between the two cities. Mostly used for freight, the passenger train runs from Panama City to Colon in the early morning, and returns in the late afternoon.

The railway station in Colon.

Our group had the observation car reserved.

Most of the time the train runs through forest and has little view.

A glimpse of Gatun Lake.

Another view of "Titan" at Gamboa.

Sunset in the Galliard Cut.

Ships heading south in Miraflores Lake.

Panama Canal Transit - Part 3

Thursday, 31 January 2019

Gatun Locks

Entering the Gatun Locks, we were back with our old friend, the tanker.

For unknown (to me) reasons, small ships are always in the ocean-side end of the locks. So this time we went first. It was unnerving to see this enormous ship approach our small boat and come to a stop just 10 feet or so away from our stern.

Yes, ships do sometimes hit the lock gates. You can see several dents in the gates where the bow of a ship has made contact with the gates.

The Canal is showing its age. The canal walls sometimes leak.

While the gates are closed, some maintenance can be done.

The double gates are opening.

Leaving the last of the Gatun Locks. The Atlantic Bridge is under construction in the background.

Looking back at the entrance to the northern (Caribbean) locks. The entrance channel to the new Agua Clara Locks is on the left, and the channel to the Gatun Locks is on the right.

Limon Bay and Colon

Passing under the Atlantic Bridge and into Limon Bay.

The container port near Colon in action.

Colon, the city on the Caribbean end of the Canal is a far cry from Panama City. The climate here is much rainier and not as pleasant as the Pacific side, so it has never been a preferred location. Colon is currently undergoing much-needed renovation and hopes to be a good tourist destination in a few years.

Panama Canal Transit - Part 2

Thursday, 31 January 2019

Gaillard (Culebra) Cut

In 2004, a second bridge crossing the canal was completed. The Centennial Bridge crosses the canal at its narrowest point, the entrance to the Gaillard (or Culebra) Cut. This is the part of the canal that passes over the "Continental Divide" between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is the beginning of Gatun Lake, which connects what were originally two rivers: the Chagres going from the highlands to the Caribbean, and the Rio Grande that went to the Pacific.

The Gaillard Cut.

The Gaillard Cut has lots of navigation aids to help ships navigate the narrow channel.

The Chagres River is the source of almost all of the water for the operation of the Canal.

We swapped Canal Pilots at Gamboa, half-way through the Canal. The pilots come on a Canal launch.

This giant crane, "Titan", was one of four taken from Germany at the end of World War II. It is the only one still in existence, but is scheduled to be sold as scrap in the near future.

A back view of navigation aids and the Titan crane from the "Pipeline Road" the day before our transit.

Gatun Lake

When it was built, Gatun Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world. The Gatun Dam, which created the lake and provides hydroelectric power to Panama, was the largest dam when it was built.

It was a windy day on Gatun Lake. The ship is the same tanker we shared locks with. Once it came up to speed, it could travel much faster than our yacht.

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is located on Barro Colorado, a large island in the lake.

Our first sign that we were nearing the end of the Canal: the Atlantic Bridge in the distance.

Ships line up for their turn to enter the locks at the northern (Caribbean) end of the Canal. The Atlantic Bridge is in the distance. Some of these ships will go through the older, smaller Gatun Locks. The largest ships will go through the new Agua Clara Locks.

Gatun Lake was a good place to see a variety of ships. The only type of ship we didn't see on our transit was a large cruise ship.

Here you can see the enormous size difference between Neopanamax and Panamax ships. The container ship is Neopanamax.

This is a Neopanamax "car carrier" or "roll-on roll-off" ship. They can carry far more than just cars: they also carry a lot of heavy equipment across the oceans. We found the pink color of this ship mildly repulsive!

Another car carrier with a more conventional color scheme. In windy conditions these large ships are particularly difficult to maneuver.

A Neopanamax tanker carrying LNG (liquified natural gas). LNG and LPG (liquified petroleum gas) tankers are new business enabled by the larger new locks.