Consultation before moving out of the second lock.
We were following a relatively large freighter - you can see that there is not alot of room on either side! The car on the lock to the right of the freighter is called a mule. There are two attached to each freighter on both sides. Mules ride on tracks and control the freighter's progress through each lock. When the locks were originally built, there was concern that the whole system would be out of commission if a large boat ever rammed a lock while tying up - there can be quite a bit of churning water especially on the uplocks. The mules were the solution to that potential problem.
Tied up to Cacique in the third Lock.
Leaving the third lock on the Pacific side at Pedro Miguel which is also the location of the Continental Divide. This area, and the Culebra cut, features prominently in the history of the Canal's construction as these were especially difficult areas with lots of slides. The story of the construction of the canal from the French attempt to the completion by the U.S. is remarkable. The consensus is that David McCullough's book is the definitive one.
Once the three Pacific Locks have been navigated, boats then have 27 miles of the Culebra Cut and Gatun Lake to travel until arriving at the three Atlantic Locks. The Culebra Cut is like a two way highway with its steady stream of boats. It seemed very strange to be so close to these huge freighters, as you generally provide them a wide berth on open water.
Consultation before moving out of the second lock.
We were following a relatively large freighter - you can see that there is not alot of room on either side! The car on the lock to the right of the freighter is called a mule. There are two attached to each freighter on both sides. Mules ride on tracks and control the freighter's progress through each lock. When the locks were originally built, there was concern that the whole system would be out of commission if a large boat ever rammed a lock while tying up - there can be quite a bit of churning water especially on the uplocks. The mules were the solution to that potential problem.
Tied up to Cacique in the third Lock.
Leaving the third lock on the Pacific side at Pedro Miguel which is also the location of the Continental Divide. This area, and the Culebra cut, features prominently in the history of the Canal's construction as these were especially difficult areas with lots of slides. The story of the construction of the canal from the French attempt to the completion by the U.S. is remarkable. The consensus is that David McCullough's book is the definitive one.
Once the three Pacific Locks have been navigated, boats then have 27 miles of the Culebra Cut and Gatun Lake to travel until arriving at the three Atlantic Locks. The Culebra Cut is like a two way highway with its steady stream of boats. It seemed very strange to be so close to these huge freighters, as you generally provide them a wide berth on open water.
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