Oh, The Places We'll Go!

I received a NOOK for Christmas (that's the Barnes and Noble e-reader for those of you who missed the hottest tech toys of 2009!)  Anyway, that has absolutely NOTHING to do with my 2011 cruise -- other than the fact that I'll probably bring it along because I have fallen madly and deeply in love with the thing -- but basically I've spent the past few weeks doing nothing other than reading novels.  I kind of figured it was about time that I put the damned thing down and so something else; what might that something else be?? Of course, it's on to the computer to do some OTHER reading!

So, anyway, I decided to start looking at the places we will be stopping and one of the things I am most looking forward to is the transit of the Panama Canal.  Even though there is no beach.  Or no casino. Or no golf course.......

But, it is important to know about geographical "things" and really I might get the chance to try out for Jeopardy again (did you know that about me??).  So here I find myself reading all kinds of interesting narratives about the construction and general history of the Panama Canal and seriously it is quite amazing!

I've taken the liberty of "lifting" a few pictures that show 1) an easy-to-read detailed map of the canal and 2) an illustration of how the locks work.  I am now going to attempt to insert these pictures right here in the same general vicinity of this paragraph ~~ here goes!!   Okay, well they appeared kind of all around this paragraph but that's okay, a couple of months from now I'll have this all down pat again!

Here is how the route we will be taking works: Ships approaching from the Atlantic first pass through the Gatún Locks -- a series of three lock sets that lift vessels 85 feet (26 m) to Gatún Lake. Once there, ships wind through the lake's channel for about 23 miles (37 km) before entering the Gaillard (Culebra) Cut. After about 8 miles (13 km) spent crossing through the Cut, ships reach the Pedro Miguel Locks. These locks lower ships 30 feet (9 m) to the Miraflores Lake, where they pass through a mile-long (2 km) channel. Ships then approach the two-stepped Miraflores Locks that return them to sea level. A 7-mile (11-km) passage takes them out to the Pacific. From deep water to deep water, the canal is 50 miles (80 km) long.

Each of the locks is built in pairs to allow for two-way traffic. With a total transit time of eight to 10 hours, it just wouldn't make sense to run a one-way street.  To raise a ship, water is released from a lake (Gatún, Alajuela or Miraflores) or from a higher lock through valves that open on the upper end of the lock. To lower a ship, water drains to a lower lock or to the ocean through valves that open at the lower end of the lock. The locks are powered by electricity.

Because so much hinges on the locks' integrity, safety precautions prevent large ships from sailing through on their own steam. An out-of-control large ship could plunge through a lock. Large craft are instead escorted by electric towing locomotives.

To find more information, or to read the whole story, visit Panama Canal Authority -- I believe we all only have time for the Reader's Digest version!