It was my 77x through the Canal but who is counting, right? As I say, every time through I see something new and this time was no exception. First off, one of our guests, Peggy Nathan, allowed me to read a diary she brought onboard from her grandparents who went on a cruise to Panama in 1913. This was one year, seven months before the canal was complete. Not only was the diary delightful to read there are old photographs of the family visiting the canal by train as it was still under construction. Now that is cool. I hope to use some of the excerpts from the diary in the upcoming Panama Canal book. Thanks Peggy!

Progress continues on the Third Set of locks that will increase the number and size of ships that can transit the Canal. Currently upon entering into Gatun Lake from the Atlantic side you can see the third lock chambers under construction. Look for the huge blue tin roof which covers the construction area.

All that was very interesting but that was not the something new I had seen. What was new on this trip? The water. Normally the water that fills the lake and fuels the locks is clear and clean. This time through it was opaque and brownish-red. The water that lapped along the shoreline in the Gallaird Cut looked like the Amazon. What was going on? In the entire history of the Canal it has only been closed three times; once due to a landslide, once in response to a military threat and most recently, December 10, 2010, it was closed due to too much rain! So much rain fell in such a short amount of time it was felt the locks could not operate properly so as a precautionary measure the Canal ceased operation for 24 hours. Almost a month later the lake water was still showing signs of the muddy run-off. Just another reminder Mother Nature is always in charge.