Panama Canal part 1

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The first timers must do is the Panama Canal. I checked with the concierge and the ship schedule today was from 10 am to 11:45 am and that was it. Only a few ships were coming through on Christmas Day so off I went to catch the end of the transit. Miraflores Locks is the closest transit section to Panama City.
 
These little guides make sure the ship doesn't touch the sides of the canals. The ship that was about to enter was only going to have 2 feet of clearance on each side. Some ships are even wider.
 The above ship from Malta was almost at the end of the transit. And the ship below was just beginning. Payment has to be made 72 hours in advance. No credit is issued and your ship can't just show up and expect passage. The ship below had paid but never made a reservation so it was put on hold for two days until a team could be secured. The ship below was carrying new cars from the Toyota factory in Japan.
 
The gates hold the water in and slowly realease the water to raise the ships height level so they can transit. Enough water had to be released to allow the ship to raise 27 feet.

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