This was supposed to be a joyous year for the Panama Canal. Its 100th birthday and the ensuing celebration was going to be centred around the opening of the expansion and new locks.
Well, the celebration will probably go ahead but the expansion and new locks will not be available until 2015 鈥� or later if a current dispute between the country and the builders is not resolved soon.
However, you don鈥檛 have to wait until 2015 or 2016 to see this engineering wonder that I know is on a lot of 鈥渂ucket lists鈥� as a must-make cruise.
Back in 1914, it cost close to $400 million to unlock a route that would save many days and 8,000 miles of travel for ships travelling from New York to California.
The last time I travelled the canal was in 2010, on board Holland America鈥檚 Zuiderdam. The ship headed into the locks about 7:30 a.m. on the Atlantic side, sailing out the Pacific side late that afternoon.
I was also luckier than most, having been invited to spend the day on the bridge by Captain Christopher Turner, who described navigating the Canal this way: 鈥淭hink about it as Disney鈥檚 Jungle Cruise in real life.鈥�
Looking into the rain forest from the shore, I felt that if I ventured into it I would quickly swallowed up. On the other hand, the forest offered some incredible beauty. The guayacan trees turn yellow for just one week and throughout the cruise we could spot them at many points along the shore.
My good fortune continued as Captain Norman Werner, a retired Panama Canal pilot of 22 years, was also on the bridge. He showed me where he fished for bass and pointed out huts along the way where small boaters took cover from the sudden downpours.
Just as we passed the Chargres River that supplies the water needed to fill the locks, the Panama Railway was crossing the river鈥檚 bridge with a train loaded with locals and tourists. The train travels from one end of the Canal to the other, connecting the cities of Colon (east) and Panama City (west).
The cruise lines have experienced commentators who join the ship upon entering the Canal and keep up a running commentary the entire journey.
At one point in Eight Mile Cut, I felt I could jump off and almost walk ashore 鈥� we were that close.
The locks are fascinating. They lift a ship up (and down) 26 metres through a series of locks at both ends. Electric mini-locomotives called 鈥渕ules鈥� pull the ship along, inches from the lock鈥檚 concrete walls.
While you can visit ports you might not otherwise visit in both the Atlantic and Pacific, one of my wishes is to spend more time in Costa Rica being so close.
Many cruise lines offer a variety of journeys through the locks with Princess and Holland America the most active 鈥� lots of trips from Southern Californian to South Florida. During the Alaska season, longer journeys continue north to Vancouver and Seattle for the start of the Alaska cruise season. You can even make a partial transit with Princess.
One piece of advice: Take binoculars and find a spot on the ship where you can spend the day taking in everything this engineering wonder and its landscape has to offer.
