AWESOME IN THE TRUE SENSE OF THE WORD: If there’s a word that gets overuse and misused these days, it’s “awesome”. This powerful word has fallen victim to daily use describing such simple things as a new pair of jeans or a haircut. What a shame.
Today’s transit of the world famous Panama Canal, however, lived up to the word’s true meaning. It did indeed “inspire me with awe”.
We awoke early in the morning to make our way to the ship’s bow to watch our entry into the Gatun Lock at the Caribbean Sea entrance to the canal. Our ship, the ms Westerdam, has the maximum allowable width (106 feet) and close to the maximum allowable length (965 feet) to transit the locks of the canal. Captain Peter Harris admits that each transit adds a few grey hairs to his head.
Panama pilots have boarded the ship along with handlers who attach lines from the ship to two giant locomotives “mules” that keep the ship aligned in the lock and pull us up to the lock gates.
When we arrive at the bow it is crowded with anxious passengers. This is what they’ve been waiting for…the highlight of our cruise. We look back at the forward decks above us and see more passengers standing cheek by jowl on every available inch of railing.
Slowly our ship is raised lock by lock until we sail out into Gatun Lake, one of the world’s largest man-made lakes. The view of the nearby jungle is impressive, while the heat of the sun is oppressive. We’re about 400 miles north of the equator, so no wonder.
Holland America has recruited a canal interpreter who makes frequent announcements as we pass points of interest along our route, like the Gaillard Cut, which is the narrowest part of the canal. It extends almost 10 miles and was excavated through rock and hard clay of the continental divide. Some 30,000 people died in the construction of the canal, more than the population of Fort Erie or Port Colborne. Wow…awesome!
Once through the cut, we face the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks as we decent to the deep water of the Pacific Ocean. We are greeted by incredible views of the Bridge of the Americas which links North and South America, an impressive view of the Panama City skyline as well as an up-close look at the city’s bustling international port.
As you might expect, many of our Niagara passengers are quick to compare the Panama to their “hometown” Welland Canal. One went so far as to be “under-whelmed” by Panama’s engineering.
While the Welland Canal has played an important role in marine commerce and it bypasses the world famous Niagara Falls, the Panama Canal links two oceans and shortened travel between America’s two coasts by some 100,000 miles. That is, shall I say it again… “awesome”?
Let me demonstrate: more than 957,000 ships have transited the Panama Canal since it was first open in 1914, 
carrying more than seven billion tons of cargo. Savings to shipping and ultimately to consumers are enormous, and entire trade areas and industries have been developed as a result of its opening.
Let’s close with a couple of fast facts. According to our canal interpreter, ships must pre-pay their tolls in cash. The highest toll ever paid exceeded $300,000 for a large cruise ship and the lowest toll paid was 36 cent paid by Richard Halliburton in 1928 when he took 10 days to swim the length of the canal. Again…awesome!
I’ll opt for the Lido Deck pool, please.
