Today was the day. We passed from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal. We arrived at the canal at dawn this morning. The surrounding waters are full of ships waiting their turn to transit the canal but we were able to sail right in and head for the first lock. It was incredible seeing huge ships, including ours, lifted in stages from sea level up to the level of Lake Gatun. Once in the lake it is a couple of hours before you reach the actual canal section which is quite narrow. The Norwegian Pearl is a Panamax ship, which means it is designed exactly to fit in the lock chambers. Once inside the lock, there is less than 1 m to spare on each side. Early in the afternoon we sailed under the Centennial Bridge which is one of the two road bridges to cross the canal. By mid afternoon, we reached the first of the locks on the Pacific side (Pedro Miguel) and a little later the final two locks (Milaflores) which lowered us back to sea level. Then finally we sailed under the Bridge of the Americas and into the Pacific Ocean. A great day and an incredible experience.
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