Mrs. Lou P and I are on a short Panama Canal get-away.
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Here, the deepest part of the canal's "cut" at the continental divide, with the Pan-American Highway bridge beyond.
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Ummm..."locked" and loaded , looking down at sea level Pacific side beyond.
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The tour guide said that, although gates get removed for servicing, these are the original 100 year old riveted steel gates. Titanic era stuff...still in 24/7 mission critical operation. Pretty amazing...
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Ugly tanker at our backs fills the lock to within inches. Note the cars called "mules" at the sides that guide the ship precisely through.
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We saw the openings to new channels going to wider locks, ready to start operation next April for a much needed canal upgrade, but the continental dive cut will remain a bottle neck allowing only one way traffic for the biggest ships.
Ahh...blue Pacific water, to match a worry free watch I enjoy for a trip like this.
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