We passed by Panama City in the early morning haze(?) …

… and pushed up the inlet towards the Panama Canal under the Bridge of the Americas … a flimsy looking version of the SHB, but much bigger than it looks when you get close up.

Then we approach the two channels of the Canal. Two steps up here. The red and white guy on the left is already rising higher than orange the one on the right, currently sitting on the first step.

Time for us to go in …

With a couple of hitch-hikers. The one on the left a boat full of happy Canal day tourists.

We eventually get pushed up to the second step. The gates open and we’re off across a little lake, following the other two ships, to the third and final step up.

In we go. Up we go. Then the gates open and we’re off … the Centennial bridge up ahead …

… along the Cut through the continental divide … dense tropical jungle close on both sides for nearly 20km …

… then to the vast Gatun Lake … it’s time for lunch in the ship’s Terrace Cafe …

We weave in and out of, and quite close to, pretty islands at a good clip …

… and get up quite close and personal to many ships going the other way.

Then to the Gatun Locks on the Caribbean side. Three steps back down to sea level (about 93 feet in total) … we line up in the right hand lane this time, with a pair of tugs (of which there appear to be dozens here).

We progress past the control room (never updated in 100 years), on the middle step.

By now our red and white friend has disappeared down the channel, and the orange one has just been set free …

Now it’s our turn to go, and we set off down the channel into the gloom closing in.

The gloom foreshadowed what turned out to be a very rough night at sea to come.