During our entire transit from the Pacific to the Atlantic, we used about 52 million gallons of fresh water from Gatun Lake. As the entire lock system was gravity fed by water from Gatun Lake, created by damming the Chagres River, and all was from rainwater, we felt quite lucky to have not had any rain during the entire day. When the third and last chamber was finally drained, and the final lock doors slowly opened and we looked out for the first time at the Caribbean, it was like a picture out of a storybook.
Dusk had arrived as we left the Gatun Locks and headed toward Cristobal. It took us one hour to make the trip. Before turning into the old French Canal where the Panama Canal Yacht Club was located, the PCA launch came alongside to pick up our advisor. If there was any scary part in our entire day, it was each time the PCA launch came alongside. As the sides of the launch came to the top of our stanchions, it was very difficult to fend off and in the process one of our stanchions was slightly bent. We arrived at the Panama Canal Yacht Club around 7 p.m. Ray and Eileen headed immediately back to the Balboa Yacht Club. John and Brad left Monday morning. We spent three days at the Panama Canal Yacht Club. While at the club, we made a quick taxi trip into Colon to replenish supplies. Colon was still a ghetto, not changed much from the Colon during the Canal construction days.
Thursday we departed for the Chagres River, 10 miles southeast of Colon and in the opposite direction from the San Blas Islands. On the promontory overlooking the entrance to the river, parts of Fort San Lorenzo dating from the 1600�s could still be seen. Once pass the narrow entrance, we traveled 5 miles up the river before anchoring. We spent 2 peaceful days anchored in the river observing and listening to the monkeys and birds in the surrounding forest and enjoying, for a change, the smell of fresh river water. On Friday we tried out our new outboard motor traveling by dinghy first up one of the small tributaries and then afterwards heading up the Chagres River toward Gatun Dam. We hiked along the old railroad ties used to transport supplies during the building of the dam. While on the hike we observed colonies of leaf-cutting ants and were entertained by all the little leaves �marching� toward their respective holes. |
