The Panama Canal celebrates 100 years of service in 2014.  On a trip across the continent, we see first hand some of the results of that monumental construction project.

Control building on the Pacific side of the continent.

We rise before the sun, launch our kayak, paddle to the dinghy dock, catch a cab and we are soon comfortably relaxed in the club car waiting for the train to depart.

The Pacific side of the canal is familiar from a short excursion aboard Kalliope and from living here for about three months.  The salt water on either end of the canal consists of shoals that extend out from the shore and of canals dug at sea level to carry ships through these shoals and some distance into the interior where the first set of locks is located.

A ship passing through the shoal area as it leaves the Pacific for the Canal.

Deb and Gregg want to see more of the Canal and do not plan to pass through with Kalliope, so we take the train along a route that roughly parallels the Canal.  The Panama RR dates from 1855 though most of the route was relocated many times.  Note that the RR and Canal run south from Colon on the Caribbean to Balboa on the Gulf of Panama, an extension of the Pacific Ocean.  The trip across the continent at this point is about 45 miles or about two hours long.

We find Gatun Lake to be very inviting with wide expanses
 of calm bays dotted with islands covered with lush vegetation.

A great deal of heavy equipment is moored or working on
 Gatun Lake to maintain the depth and width of the
 passage through the lake and keep the buoys and other
aids to navigation in good working order.

The construction of the expanded lock system is currently one and one half billion U.S. dollars over budget and the private contractors are negotiating with the government of Panama to determine if the work will stop on January 25, 2014 or the government will certify payment.

Lock gates to be installed in the canal expansion project.

The historic tome "Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough enhances our understanding and appreciation of the canal and the changes it brought to this former Columbian provence.

The rolling stock on the Panamanian RR is comfortable
and attractive.  This is a must-see on your Panamanian
vacation.

We cross to the Caribbean by train and return by bus arriving in Balboa by eleven a.m. and wondering what projects to tackle in the afternoon.