Day 75: December 16, 2024 – Panama Canal Crossing
The Odyssey was buzzing with excitement today: we crossed from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal.
Some of us were on deck at dawn, not wanting to miss any part of the 11-hour journey. A Panamanian expert was on board with us and provided an excellent live narration of the crossing.
The canal is a 50-mile artificial waterway composed of a series of locks. The locks are precisely engineered and coordinated to raise and lower water levels to allow vessels to make the crossing. The whole system is considered an engineering marvel.
These little locomotives called mules surround the ship on each side and guide it down the middle of the canal, keeping it on track.
The Centennial Bridge is built on the Continental Divide line and is another major land crossing of the canal.
We made it through the last lock just as the sun was setting, bathing the canal in a golden glow.
The night ended with a gorgeous full moon over the canal. This was one of my most memorable days on the ship so far!
Playing around with some different exposures for night photography:
Up next: Panama City
9 responses to “Atlantic to Pacific”
Looks like the crossing hit perfect time to get the grand sunsets.
It did. Originally, I think we were supposed to cross at night, so we were all a little disappointed about that. But then the schedule got adjusted, and it was perfect timing.
another wonderful geography lesson !!!!! Great pictures!
I know you love those geography lessons, Shannon!
Very exciting! I love this sequence. And the moon shot.
I’m playing around with the moon shots, trying to figure out the best exposures.
What an experience! And yes.. an engineering marvel!
That’s an adventure in itself! Thanks for blogging all of this! I will never be able to travel… This is enlightening and delightful!!!
Thanks again!
I’d love to do that passage one day.
I highly recommend it. Especially if you have someone there narrating everything for you. We all learned a lot!