San Blas Archipelago and Panama Canal

Shopping on Kuna Island, San Blas
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MONDAY - Jan 7 - San Blas Archipelago, Panama

We anchored off Kuna Island around 11 am and caught a tender to one of the 365 islands of this archipelago just off the Panama coast ( only about 50 are inhabited). I learned that the Kuna people prize their autonomy which was won with the help of the U.S. in 1952. The island where we stopped is very flat and is covered with grass covered living quarters. Though the island is very tiny, there are 2000 people living here according to one inhabitant. It appears that these people’s livelihood comes from their crafts which they sell to the tourists that stop here on their way to the Panama Canal.

...the crafts which they sell to the tourists that stop here on their way to the Panama Canal

One of our purchases
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The indigenous Kuna people are dressed in traditional costumes of bright colors with most women wearing nose rings and brightly colored leg wrappings made of small beads. As we walked down the small mud paths, it seemed like most every house had handcrafted items including intricate appliqued mola designs hanging for sale. There were many cute children who added to the family income by posing for pictures for $1 each (They were calling out “pictures, pictures”). They pose with puppies, kittens, bright colored birds and small monkeys. We took a few pictures this way and also bought some brightly detailed shirts and wall hangings. One wall hanging is of the Royal Clipper in Kuna Yala 2008. This is the first time the Royal Clipper has been here and will only be back later this week on her way back to Barbados with the Swedish group that has chartered the entire ship.

Our view as we stepped off the tender
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It is amazing to me that so many people are on this tiny island which seems so defenseless against the elements. It seems that one bad storm could wipe out the island and all it’s inhabitants.

We set sail again at 4 pm and start our journey to the Atlantic side entry to the Panama Canal. The afternoon and evening were spent socializing with some of the very nice people we have met on our trip and for dinner we sat with a couple fro`m New Jersey ( who have the cabin across from us) and the couple from North Carolina that we ate with the first night.

Shells for sale
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TUESDAY - Jan 8 - Panama Canal crossing

We awoke early as we were anchored just off Cristobal, Panama which is the the Atlantic side entrance to the Panama Canal. We approached and entered the first of the three locks of Galun Lock at 7:30 am. The other side of the canal was occupied by a large cruise ship, the ms Volendam (Holland America Line). Watching the electric locomotives which are attached to the ship in front an rear on both sides to keep the ship properly aligned in the lock was fascinating. Perhaps about 15-20 ACP (Panama Canal Authority) workers had boarded our ship prior to our passage. They are the ones responsible for the placement of the cables among other things. I was surprised at the relatively short amount of time it took to pass through the first three locks, approximately an hour and 15 minutes. Since we were near the bow of the ship, we were able to watch the ACP workers and Gary talked to one for a short while and the worker seemed pleased to answer our questions, one of which was how much each lock raised the ship to which he replied 28 feet.

Living at sea level
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We took many pictures of the process. Many people on the other ship were taking pictures of the Royal Clipper. This is a beautiful ship and it’s too bad that the weather turned bad yesterday so we were unable to have the “photo opportunity” in which the two tenders are loaded with the guests and then circle the ship while it is under full sail.

The main activity today was watching the progress through the Panama Canal either from the Sun Deck or the Bridge on top or from our balcony off our room. Once we made it through the Gatun Locks (which raised us a total of 85 feet) and into the huge Gatun Lake, we enjoyed the peaceful trip from the port side of the ship from our balcony. Once past the lake and about halfway across Panama, we entered the steep Gaillard Cut which crosses the Continental Divide on our way westward.

Bright colors of San Blas
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Before we came to the remaining locks that would lower us to the level of the Pacific Ocean, we came to the Centennial Bridge ( I’ve also seen it called the Millenium Bridge though that is not the correct name) which is a striking cable-stayed bridge that was completed in 2004 and named after Panama’s centennial which occurred in late 2003. It is only the second major road crossing of the Panama Canal and was built to ease congestion on the Bridge of the Americas and to replace it as the carrier of the Pan-American Highway.

Smile for the camera!
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We headed to the bridge of the ship to view the Centennial Bridge and get some pictures. I held my breath as our tall masts passed underneath the bridge by mere feet. Afterwards, I realized that the two tallest masts on the ship had been lowered a bit as they were hinged. Shortly after we passed the bridge, we entered the next lock which is the Pedro Miguel Lock. As we now needed to come to the level of the Pacific Ocean, these final locks lowered us down. The Pedro Miguel Lock took us down 30 feet to the level of Miraflores Lake. After we crossed this final lake, we entered the final two locks of the Miraflores Locks where we descended another 52 feet. By this time, it was mid-afternoon and though I was enjoying the progress through the canal, I also was feeling very sad that our wonderful trip aboard the Royal Clipper was coming to an end.

The artwork of the Royal Clipper which we purchased
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As we came near to Panama City, we passed beneath the Bridge of the Americas. This picturesque bridge opened in 1962 and was the first major road crossing of the Panama Canal other than the two smaller swinging bridges at the Gatun Lock structure and the other one at the Miraflores Locks. I remember learning about this bridge when I was in school. This bridge is a compression arch suspended-deck design (yes, I looked it up :-) and is 5,425 feet long.

Once we were in the Pacific Ocean we turned south around the lighthouse and into the bay where the port of entry is located and dropped anchor for the night. The water is quite shallow in Panama Bay and gets much shallower the closer you get to Panama City (this was used as a natural barrier against enemies in the past) so we needed to take the tender when it was time to disembark in the morning.

The street in Kuna Island, San Blas
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WEDNESDAY - Jan 9 - Panama City, Panama (& home)

We took an early tender off the Royal Clipper around 8 a.m. and said a fond farewell to friends and the fantastic clipper ship ( here’s hoping we can do this again someday in the future ). As our plane was leaving in the late afternoon today to head home, we had signed up for the “Panama City tour” which would end at the airport (with our luggage) at 1 p.m. There were many on the Royal Clipper who had signed up to do the same thing so we had great company.

Living at sea level on Kuna Island
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( I will post a few pictures from the Panama City tour in the next day or so)