PANAMA CANAL COMMENTARY

Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica – 30 April 2011.

Hello again everyone Cruise Director Nigel is back!


As you can see today we are in the Republic of Costa Rica, it is in Central America and to the north is Nicaragua to the south Panama. It has a 632 mile coastline here on the Pacific Ocean side, and a 132 mile coastline on the Caribbean side.

Costa Rica possesses the greatest density of species in the world, and around 25% of the country’s land area is protected national parks, the largest percentage of protected areas in the world.

Our passengers have a choice of no less than eight shore excursions that will be operated today. You can go on a shopping trip, forest skywalk, mangrove eco tour or even get a train through the Monterverde cloud forest!

On Thursday 28 April we transited ‘THE’ modern engineering wonder of the world, the Panama Canal. We passed through and over the Isthmus of Panama from the Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean in what was less than twelve hours.

I am fascinated by the Panama Canal, I did my first transit in 1982 on the Sea Princess, (later Victoria), and Thursday was my 38th time through!

When we transit a commentator is vital, there is just so much to tell our passengers about. Apart from anything else the Isthmus of Panama is very beautiful; we cruise through some of the most pristine tropical rainforest in the world while viewing one of mankind’s finest achievements. I started doing the commentary about ten years ago and since then have done it on four of our P&O Cruises ships. To my knowledge I am the only Cruise Director to do it, it is usually done by the ship's Port Presenter or from a commentator supplied to the ship by the Panama Canal Authority. My wife Mandy and son Bradley think I should go on the TV quiz show ‘Mastermind’ taking questions on the Panama Canal and if I get through the first round I should answer questions on British Rock Band Led Zeppelin on the second!

Last year 225 passenger ships did a transit of the canal that roughly equates to 45,000 passengers. As to cruise through the canal is the only way to see it properly that is a very small amount of tourists - Venice Italy gets 16 million a year! In all my years at sea there have only been two places I have never heard a bad word spoken about, Sydney Australia and the Panama Canal.

I have written my own notes for the canal transit and these now number 40 pages, every time I know I am going to transit it I research it further. For the last three weeks I have made many additions to my notes, a great number of them to do with the canal's military history and fortifications.

The two canal transits will be highlights of this cruise.

During the transit I talked about the main physical and engineering features but also the history of the Republic of Panama and the canal construction. It is fifty miles from deep water on the Atlantic side to deep water on the Pacific side.

The French were in Panama from 1880 to 1903 attempting to build a sea level canal, which is a canal cut ocean to ocean with no lock chambers. The French canal company went bust with huge debts; it is estimated during their time in Panama 22,000 workers died, most from tropical diseases.

In 1903 the USA bought out the French canal company, Panama declared independence from Columbia and the canal zone (which was five miles wide either side of the canal) was made into USA territory.

The Americans decided that a sea level canal was going to be impossible to build because of the mountain chain running through Panama and the mighty Chagras River which would have flooded the canal during the wet season which in Panama lasts for eight months of the year!

The Americans came up with a simple solution to this, they would dam the Chagras River a few miles from where it entered the Atlantic Ocean and this would form the largest artificial lake in the world at that time. This lake would flood up most of the centre of the Isthmus of Panama at its narrowest point, the level of the lake would be 85 feet above sea level. On the Atlantic side of the canal three lock chambers would be built to lift ships up to the lake, or lower them back down, and the same would happen on the Pacific side. In addition the mountain chain that runs through Panama would have to be cut through for a length of nine miles.

The Panama Canal opened on time and under budget in 1914 and was owned and operated by the USA until noon on 31 December 1999 when Panama assumed full responsibility for the administration, operation and maintenance of the Panama Canal and the Canal Zone.

I will be doing another blog for our canal transit on 2 June, and during that I shall be telling you about that day through the canal and the $5.25 billion ‘Third set of locks’ expansion project which is due for completion in 2014.

I do hope you enjoy all the wonderful photographs of the Arcadia in the Panama Canal. They are great to look at but being there and seeing it is something else entirely! If you have not been on a cruise through the canal put it on the top of your wish list. The Panama Canal is inspiring, emotional, beautiful and a tribute to the determination and vision of the human race.

Arcadia approaching the lower chamber of Gutun Locks, she is about to be connected to the eight electric locomotives that will assist her through the lock chambers.

Arcadia in the lower chamber of Gutun Locks, she had two feet either side of her and thirty two feet either end of her in the chambers.

Arcadia in Gutun Locks.

Arcadia in the Gaillard Cut, this is the nine mile section of the canal that cuts through the mountain chain.

Arcadia approaching Pedro Miguel Locks.

Arcadia approaching Miraflores Locks, the east tower of the Centennial Bridge can be seen to the left of the photograph.

Myself in the Crows Nest on Thursday 28 April ready for the commentary wearing a Panama look-alike hat!


I do hope that you have enjoyed today’s blog.


Bye for now


Nigel