FionaMG

With our time up we met as a group and headed back to the bus. 

One last look at some street art.






Naval hero.  Admiral Jose Padilla.

We walked through the streets of the old city to reach our next stop.



Since Spain had conquered Colombia when Spain went through the period of the Inquisition so did Colombia.  Our next stop was at the Palace of the Inquisition.


Within these walls justice was served for various crimes including being accused of being a witch. 





Off with their heads!

It was quite a dark time in the history of Cartagena until residents had enough and stormed the Palace to end the inquisitions. 

At this point we were given some free time to explore on our own.






The Hard Rock Cafe.



This seemed like a good spot to sample a local beer.

I was impressed with how nice the old city is and how pleasant it was to walk around.

Colombia is open to many religions but the Catholic church played a distinct and primary role in the religious history of the nation.  

This is the Sanctuary of Saint Peter Claver that we saw from the fortress.


Admission is included in our tour.






Quite breathtaking inside.

Back on the bus we drive around the old city to reach our next stop.  The old city is very nice and I could easily see myself spending a day just here.

Back on the bus to soak up some the cool air coming down from the air conditioning vents we head into the old walled city.
Our guide provides some history of how this area has had numerous conquerors. 

Our next stop is at a market where we can do some shopping.



Our guide informs us vendors accept USD and most vendors will provide change in USD.   Prices are in Colombian dollars so some math is required but prices appeared typical for many goods.


This leads up to the top of the wall that protected the old city.

Like all good fortresses built nearly 500 years ago it has a series of internal passages and access corridors.



These were also used by soldiers as sleeping quarters.

You had better remembered the days password because in the dark corridors they couldn't recognize friend or foe so failing to respond with the correct password when challenged meant a knife.


They've updated the fortress with modern restrooms accessed through an old corridor.  It was kind of bizarre walking down an old passageway, turning the corner and walking into a modern, nicely appointed, well lit restroom.  

Day 13 - Cartagena, Colombia
I had few expectations for this day and it turned into a highlight port that I intend to revisit.

Today's excursion "Deluxe Cartagena & Fortress". 
Our first stop is at Castillo de San Felipe.  This old fortress built in 1536 was placed at a strategic point to protect the old walled city behind it.  It's cannons pointed towards land to deal with attackers approaching by foot.



This is a walking tour that at times was uphill, both ways.

While not hot by Colombia standards it was pretty hot and humid today and I was glad I brought water from the ship.

Modern Cartagena with a bridge to the old walled city in the foreground.

A church in the walled city in the distance our guide informs us we will visit later today.

The fortress is pretty massive.

What does it cost a for ship like Vision of the Seas to transit the Panama Canal?
Bill Benny admits he hasn't seen our bill but he can guestimate it pretty close.
Ship are charged based on capacity.  For cruise ships it's the number of berths regardless if they are being used or not.  For cargo ships it's based on their cargo capacity regardless of the amount of cargo actually being carried.  
Cruise ships pay $138 per berth.  To go through on a specific day they have to make a reservation.  This costs $35,000.  To go through in daylight hours also has a fee of $30,000.  The tugs come with a charge between $12,000 and $14,000.  The Panamanian sea men who come on board to handle the cables cost around $4,000.  Each cable on a locomotive has a $300 charge.  There are some other fees and charges that are pocket change in the bigger picture. 
Bill's guestimate for Vision is about $380,000.00.
Ship's are tagged with a new name when they transit.  We were N 29 Zulu.  Northbound, 29th ship of the day and zulu means preferential treatment (daytime reservation).
Remember the NCL Bliss that used the new locks last year?  They paid $880,000.00

One of my dilemmas as I thought about how to capture this day was where to go on the ship for the best pictures.  I captured the timelapse on my GoPro while I waited on deck 10 forward for the morning approach and the first set of locks.  However I didn't want to stay there the whole day guarding my GoPro. 
At the same time I really wanted a full transit timelapse so I cheated a little bit.
Vision of the Seas has a TV channel dedicated to the forward facing bridge camera.  It's channel 41 on the TV system.   Hmmm.  What if I used my other phone to capture a timelapse of channel 41?
The full transit in 21 seconds.
 

Looking back towards the locks in the distance you can see the new locks to the left and the original locks to the right.

New locks:

Original locks:

The third and final bridge over the Panama Canal is the Atlantic Bridge.  This bridge was completed August 2019.  

Bill Benny our guest commentator had suggested we keep an eye out on the port side after leaving the Gatun locks.  This small inlet to the left was the area to look out for.

This small canal that forks to the right is the only visibly remaining sign of the French effort of late 1800's.  

That was the original width they were planning to make the canal.  It's become overgrown a little and in their defense he pointed out that ships were not that big back at the time.  He doubts anyone involved with the design or building of the original canal would have any idea how big the ships that use the canal today have become.

With that we've been lowered from 85 feet above sea level and we are now in Caribbean Sea at the level of the Atlantic ocean.  The gates close behind us and get ready to do it all again for another ship.




From the aft looking towards the left you can see the new canal locks through the trees.

Yet another tanker was locking opposite us as we moved forward.




Finally back at sea level as we prepare to let go the cables from the locomotives another tanker is approaching heading South.  They were pumping the Southbound ships through at this point. 

Pictures don't do it justice.  I've taken a series of video clips that I plan to stitch together that will hopefully capture the day. 
Until I get that video put together here is a clip that should give you a better idea of what it's like to move between the lock chambers, how close the ship is to the walls of the lock and an up close look at the locomotives.
 

A tanker ship is now opposite us locking in the Southbound direction.

Another benefit of being down on deck 5 is the ability to move around and experience different areas of the process. Having cleared the lock chamber the gates behind us close and we get ready to repeat the process again.

The canal has its own fire department.

A Southbound container ship is locking opposite us.



As we are getting ready to drop the container ship was being lifted. The high walls of the containers created a reference point so you could see just how quickly it was lifted.



Soon enough it was on its way while we were now closer to the level of lock.

From deck 5 you really feel the canal, like you can reach out and touch it.  

Approaching the Gatun locks.

The men in a row boat get ready once again.

Bill Benny our commentator talks about the signal on the lock that was used in the days before radios.  It's still maintained and is in operation today. 
If the arrow is pointed straight up the lock is not ready, do not approach.  If the arrow is pointing towards the 2 o'clock position it means the locks are being prepared and should be ready in approximately 10 minutes.  If the arrow is horizontal and pointing to the right it means enter the right lock. In the position displayed here it means approach and tie up with the locomotives.  

Massive rubber wheels protect the corners of the locks.

To our right that orange tanker is progressing into the new locks.

We begin to move towards and line up with the lock wall.


Tugs push us towards the lock was so that locomotives on the port side can be connected.


With the locomotives connected on the port side and tugs pushing us on the starboard side we move forward.  The locomotives on the starboard side return from their last ship and get ready to send their cables to the ship.

On our left the Gatun Dam makes all of this possible.

The earthen dam is very wide.  It took a tremendous amount of earth removed from Culebra cut to build enough land over 90 feet tall to create the lake.  It is said that there is enough earth in the dam to build a wall 5 feet tall and 1 foot wide around the circumference of the planet at the equator.  

The concrete structure in the middle is simply the spillway that can be used to release excess water when required due to heavy rains.  

This is what keeps the lake at 85 feet above sea level.

To our right that orange ship we saw in the new locks on the Pacific side has reached the new locks here on the Atlantic side.

We will use the original Gatun locks. 


A Southbound tanker clears the locks and begins to make her way across Gatun Lake.

Our cruise across the Panama Canal continues as we sail through Gatun Lake.


A channel was created in sections of the lake.  The ship following behind us is seen here navigating the channel through the lake. 

It occurs to me before the lake was created this would have been the top of a hill that you could climb up, assuming you could make it through the dense jungle.

Through a clearing to starboard we could make out another bridge in the distance.

This section of the lake opens up and there were several ships at anchor waiting their turn to use the Gatun Locks around the corner.



Central America themed items for sale during the transit.

Once through the Culebra cut we enter an arm of Gatun Lake where it begins to widen.  




A railway runs along the canal that in places is visible.

At this point we are roughly halfway across Panama.  Screen capture from the MarineTraffic.com app:

While creating the man made Gatun Lake solved the largest span between the oceans it didn't quite reach all the way to the Pacific.  The 8.75 mile gap required another solution - digging.  Enter the Culebra Cut, also known as Gaillard Cut.  The volume of earth removed from this section of the canal is staggering.  

At one of the narrowest spots you can see the terracing of Gold Hill and Contractor's Hill from the original days of canal construction.

This area was known for its landslides dumping massive amounts of earth back into channel of the canal as it was being excavated.

While the effort to construct the entire canal is impressive the amount of effort to create the Culebra Cut is mind blowing.  Spoils removed from the cut were hauled away in train cars used in other areas of the canal or dumped in the jungles.  The earthen Gatun dam that creates Gatun Lake was created from this excavation.   

Tugs are always at the ready in case a ship suffers a breakdown or mechanical issue that could be devastating to canal operations.  If a ship lost propulsion or ran aground and closed the canal that would cost a fortune in lost revenue.  Consequently tugs always escort ships through the Culebra Cut and they are ready to spring into action should a ship start to get into trouble.


The canal is quite deep to accommodate the draft of the biggest ships that can use the canal so you can imagine how landslides were an issue over a hundred years ago and even to this day in places.

Looking at the vegetation and how thick the jungle is you can imagine what it would have been like when workers first arrived to begin working on the cut.

Efforts continue to ensure run off from the rainy season is managed in a controlled fashion.

With that we were now up to the level of Gatun Lake.  Moving around the ship I wanted to see how it looked from different areas around the ship.


Looking back from where we came it was clear how the original locks were augmented with the Pacific access channel for the new locks to the right.  In the case of the new locks there are still three steps but they are all done in one lock complex so they bypass Miraflores Lake.

The Solarium roof was once again open.


Next we pass under the Centennial Bridge.  

At this point I decided to move down to deck 5 to get a closer look at the lock.


Down here you get a much better feeling for just how tight a fit we are.  This spot near the control tower for the Pedro Miguel lock is the narrowest part of the original canal.  While the lock chambers are 110 feet wide, this section is 109 feet wide.  Our commentator Bill's last position with the Panama Canal Company was working in the control room at this lock.  Earlier in his time at the canal he was also a mule driver, something many canal workers did back in the day.  

Looking straight down.

It was really great to see the operation from this very close perspective.

A lock gate in the opposite lock.  These are called miter gates.


Close up look at the lock walls.


On the other side of the ship you could clearly see we were nearly up to the level of new Pacific access channel.