Where Waters End
Much water has flowed down many rivers since I left on this trip. Some of these waterflows I have had the joy of seeing first hand.
I have spent a relatively large amount of time in the mountainous parts of Panama and Costa Rica - partly to escape the heat, but mostly because these regions are beautiful and have lush nature and wonderful hikes to offer. And these tree-covered mountains are the main source of water for both countries - so rivers and rivulets abound.
Deforestration, especially in these mountainous regions, is a big problem for water supplies, but the governments are powerless or lack the will to do anything about it because, as the locals say with an resigned shrug: ”it’s business”. The world spinns around the same axis in all countries it seems.
More than once on my hikes, the course of a river I have been following has taken an unexpected turn as, suddenly, the water has nowhere to go but straight down, tens of metres, roaring into the jungle below.
Waterfalls have come in all shapes and sizes,
next to some of them I have swum,
but mostly I have just admired them from a prudent distance.
On this trip, I saved my favourite water for last!
As many of you will know, I have a great fondness for all things marine heritage related - especially, but not limited to, tall ships. So am I really going to be in Panama and miss out on the canal? Most certainly not!
I was lucky, since the tour boats usually do just part of the canal. There is a full ocean to ocean, Panama City to Colon, Pacific to Atlantic tour of the canal only once a month. And that happened to be two days before my return flight later today. Destiny beckoned.
To recap, the 82 kilometre long Panama Canal was built 1904-1914 by the US, roughly based on an earlier French blueprint. The French effort some decades earlier ended in 20.000 dead - mostly from malaria and yellow fever. By the time the second effort was made, it had been discovered that these were mosquito borne disease and measures had been taken. Impressive rurals in the Panama Canal head quarters (by William B. van Ingen) show some scenes from the building the canal in the early 20th century.
The Panama Canal remains one of the largest and most impressive feats of engineering ever undertaken.
The US continued to control the canal and surrounding zone until, after increasing pressure from the Panamanian people and protests leading to a few deaths, a treaty was signed, which provided for handover to Panama. After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, in 1999, the canal was taken over by the Panamanian government. It is now managed and operated by the government-owned Panama Canal Authority. The gringos certainly did not leave willingly or with good grace - as shown in the street art below. No wonder, since the canal is or major political, military - and financial - interest.
Since being handed over to Panama, the canal has been a pivotal source of income in the country and it has made Panama city the wealthiest city in Central America.
But since 1914 the world of shipping has changed. Most notably, freight ships are much larger now than before. The old canal docks are unable to accommodate the new monsters. In the image below on the right is a ship that barely fits into the old canal - on the left the ”slightly” larger modern version.
Also the capacity of the canal started to be fully used and shipping was increasing. All those plastic toys from China to the East Coast need to come through somehow.
Something had to be done, and after a nation-wide vote on the issue, it was decided to expand the canal. The expansion opened in 2016. The image below is shot from the old canal showing one of the new monster ships sailing up the parallel new canal. A floating city of containers.
Just when the new locks were finally finished and all should have been hunky dory, a new problem ensued.
The canal runs on fresh water. The water originates mostly from the mighty river Chagres, which was dammed in 1914 to create what was, at the time, the biggest artificial lake in the world, the lake Gatun. When crossing the late, what appear to be islands are, in fact, the tops of the mountains of the former valley that is the bottom of lake Gatun.
The canal runs on fresh water. The water originates mostly from the mighty river Chagres, which was dammed in 1914 to create what was, at the time, the biggest artificial lake in the world, the lake Gatun. When crossing the late, what appear to be islands are, in fact, the tops of the mountains of the former valley that is the bottom of lake Gatun.
A rather incredible 200 million litres of fresh water are needed for each vessle that passes through the old canal. And this fresh water runs straight into the sea. The new locks do have water storage tanks, which recycle around 60% of the water - but not all.
So the total consumption of water has increased greatly with the new, wider canal. However, with the rise in temperature in Panama during the last ten years, unpredictable rain patterns and increasing deforestration, there is less water than before.
So the Panama canal may very well be running on empty. Western press has picked up on this earlier this year, after the canal authorities issued preliminary data on the subject. Here’s one article on the subject, in case you’re interested:
But so far, it’s still business as usual in the canal. So off through the canal I went. Through three sets of locks, which have one to three chambers each. Water elevators if you like, on which our fortunes and our ship rose or fell. From Panama City and the Pacific we rose a total of 26 metres during the first two locks to lake Gatun and fell back those same 26 metres to sea level in the three chambers of the last Gatun lock into the Caribbean.
We shared the lock with a freight ship - the good ship Sti Battery. Sti Battery was as big as the old locks would accommodate - leaving just 75 centimetres of space on either side of the ship. Squeaky tight.
To make sure the ship remains exactly in the middle and does not scrape on the sides of the chambers and get damaged, little locomotives (weighing over 50 tons each) on rails attach sturdy cables to the ship from both sides.
These cables ensure that the ship stays dead centre as the locomotives drag it into the narrow chambers. No room for error, this is a very precise and professional undertaking.
During the 10-or-so hours it took to pass through the Panama Canal, I spent time chatting to the staff. It turned out one of my mates, Rico, was the ship’s engineer.
He gave me a grand tour of the engine room - where he insisted he take a photo of me next to one of the two engines. Detroit Engines from the 70’s - big brothers of the engine of ”my” tall ship.
Going through the canal was a beautiful way to end this trip. We sailed out at 6.15 am with the sun rising over the Pacific and ended up just in time to see the sun set into the Caribbean. And the locks were even more impressive than I had imagined.
However all good things come to an end; the canal and this trip. Later today I leave for the airport and back home to Finland. Prophetically, the one freight ship that overtook us during our trip through the canal was the Baltic Winter. I can try to run away from it, but it always catches up on me.
So long and thanks for being along on the ride.
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