March 12, 2025: From the Atlantic to the Pacific

Our first Panama Canal transit occurred in 2022 on our cruise down the west coast of South America. This year, we shared the experience with family, making it even more enjoyable. While sailing away from Cartagena, we made plans to make the most of the transit. Much of what is written here has been taken from the 2022 experience.

In the predawn light, the Zaandam slowly sailed from the Caribbean Sea, towards the Atlantic Bridge, the beginning of the Panama Canal. Ships were lined up on the starboard side, navigation lights on, awaiting their turn through the locks. It took the Zaandam over an hour to reach the bridge and head to the Gatún Locks, a set of 4 locks and the “original” locks of the Panama Canal. Parallel to these locks are the Agua Clara Locks, created by the Panama Canal expansion in 2016, which doubled the canal’s capacity. While waiting for the Zaandam to make its way to the first set of locks, the crew distributed Panama Rolls and coffee. Delicious!

Once in the Gatún Locks, the Zaandam was raised 85 feet to the level of Gatún Lake. This is a man made lake, formed in 1912 by damming the Chagres River. We rose through the last of the 3 locks and sailed onto Gatún Lake along with container ships and other cruise ships. The “islands” in the lake are actually the tops of hills. The largest of these islands is Barro Colorado Island, with a distinct red color. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is located here as the entire island is a nature reserve.

During the transit, the Zaandam provided ongoing narration on Panama Canal highlights. The ship’s speed was about 6 knots for the entire transit which made viewing and photography ideal. We finally reached the 8-mile long Culebra Cut, located at the Continental Divide. During the canal’s creation, this narrow, short waterway was the most treacherous section to excavate due to the unstable clay-like soil. It is also where most of the digging occurred. The engineers had to contend with multiple landslides causing injuries, deaths and delays. We noted several areas along the shore where there is evidence of landslides, terraced shorelines and abandoned equipment.

Through the Centennial Bridge and toward the Pedro Miguel Locks that lowered the Zaandam 30.5 feet on our way to the Pacific. This is the first of 3 locks separated from the 2 Miraflores Locks by Miraflores Lake, about a distance of a half mile. The reason for this is that a tectonic fault lies beneath the lake, necessitating the lock separation.

Onward through the Pedro Miguel Locks and the Miraflores Lake, the Zaandam headed to the Miraflores Locks that dropped us down another 54 feet, reaching sea level on the Pacific side. We left the Panama Canal after cruising under the Bridge of the Americas, a key section of the Pan-American highway.

The cruise through the Panama Canal, from the time we entered the Gatun Locks to sailing under the Bridge of the Americas, lasted over 12 hours. There was plenty of sun and scenery. The cruising experience was made even more meaningful after reading, “The Great Divide: A Historical Novel of the Panama Canal” by Cristina Henriquez, and it just happened to be in the ship’s library. It was an incredible experience being able to cruise from the Atlantic’s Caribbean Sea to the Pacific’s Gulf of Panama on one of the greatest engineering feats in history!