Jill's pre-dawn shot of the entrance to the Gatun Locks. Note the arrow at the front indicating which side to enter.

We were in the Gatun locks by about 6:15 and made the transit through three chambers to Gatun Lake fairly smoothly, entering the lake about 7:45.

Looking east from the lock entrance is this view of sunrise over a misty jungle. It's one of my favorite shots from the canal transit, even though it's not of the canal.

Looking behind us as we enter the locks, we see our much larger sister ship, the Zuiderdam, making her entry through the channel from Limon Bay. She was to follow us for much of the cruise.

The second lock chamber has drained into the first (note the water level on the adjacent lock) and with the lock doors now open, we proceed into the second chamber. Once the doors close behind us, the third chamber, ahead of us, will drain into the second until both are at the same level.

The rising sun peers through dark clouds. Those clouds were to follow us all day.

The water in the second and third chambers has nearly equalized.The doors will open shortly, and then we'll move into the third and final lock chamber, which will raise us to the level of the lake.

The doors on the last lock chamber have opened, and we're now on Gatun Lake, 85 feet above sea level.

We moored there for a while, and everyone having the same idea, made the mad dash to breakfast in the Lido. Long lines.

Tried to update the journal on the laptop, but found ourselves nodding off. So decided it was nap time, even though it wasn't yet 10 o'clock. After a good nap, downloaded the pictures from the morning's transit and sent an email to everyone.

Then back up on deck to watch the rest of the canal crossing. The ship was moving by then, making good time through Gatun Lake, passing islands of dense tropical vegetation.

Moving through Gatun Lake. You don't see any shorelines on the lake because it's man-made, formed by the damming of the Chagres River less than a hundred years ago.

This was an interesting little island, with a manicured lawn and a small hut. A picnic site, perhaps?

Sailing along Gatun Lake.

We were on the Sky Deck before we reached Gamboa, where the canal narrows to one-way traffic. Spent the rest of the afternoon pretty much in that same spot on the Sky Deck, enjoying the scenery and watching our progress through the twisting passage.

Jill on the Sky Deck, standing next to The Bag, which held bottled water, sunscreen, bug spray, and cameras.

Mark in the same place, as we sail toward Gamboa.

Had a couple of mai-tais during the afternoon, as well as plenty of water.

Marks grabs a couple of Mai-Tais at the makeshift bar on the Sky Deck.

Watched the path of a thunderstorm that kind of paralleled our passage to the east.

A freighter passes us at Gamboa, having come through the cut in other direction.

Work continues on the canal. Here, the canal is being widened to increase visibility around the sharp curve ahead.

We stopped at Gamboa, waiting for this last freighter from the Pacific side to exit the Cut. From here to Pedro Miguel, the Cut is too narrow for large ships to pass; the traffic is one-way. Ours was the first ship of the southbound group that day.

We enter the Gaillard Cut, the narrowest part of the crossing.

After sailing under the Centennial Bridge and passing through the Culebra Cut (now called the Gaillard Cut) at the continental divide, we arrived at the Pedro Miguel locks, which dropped us to the level of Miraflores Lake.

Ship pilots use these signs as an aid to navigation. Line up the vertical bars and your ship is precisely where it should be.

Lots of things in this picture. The Cut makes a lazy S turn as it approaches the continental divide and the Centennial Bridge, while a dredger works to remove the silt from the bottom.

In what Jill termed the "Tonka Toys" picture, we see excavation along the canal on a very large scale.

The hill on the left was called 'Gold Hill' during canal construction. This was the deepest part of the cut.

Probably our best shot of the Centennial Bridge, a modern cable-stayed structure. Don't know what centennial it is named for, as the centennial of the completion of the canal won't be until 2013.

Approaching the Pedro Miguel Locks, with Miraflores Lake in the background and the Miraflores Locks just visible on the far shore.

A close-up shot of the water from the Pedro Miguel lock chamber flowing into Miraflores Lake. Note the double doors, a safety feature to prevent draining the Cut should a ship ever damage the near set of gates.

In this view, looking backward, we see three ships approaching the Pedro Miguel locks, including the Zuiderdam. Note the Centennial Bridge in the near distance.

Mom and Dad watch from the railing of the Sky Deck as we approach the Miraflores Locks. Rain clouds approach from the east.

On the other side of the small lake was the Miraflores Locks to the Pacific Ocean, although there's quite a ways to go from the locks until one is at sea.

A shot of the bow as the ship edges into the first of two lock chambers at Miraflores. Note the number of people on the rail. Compare this with the next photo.

The rain started at the Miraflores locks, driving many to seek shelter under an awning or inside. Not us.

The rain caught up with us, clearing the forward rail and making the deck glisten. By the way, the big green thing in the foreground is the roof of the fitness center, which sits atop the Bridge and below the Crow's Nest, which is one deck below us.

I don't know what the building is used for, but hundreds of people gathered on 4 balconies to wave at the passing ships, despite the rain.

The last gate opens. We are now at the level of the Pacific ocean. Time: about 4:00 p.m.

The channel to the Pacific makes a curve to the right. In the distance we can see the cranes of the Port of Panama City and the Bridge of the Americas.

Passed by the port of Panama City on our left before crossing under the Bridge of the Americas. By then the rain had stopped and the railing was full again.

A closer look at the cranes. The vertical arm swings down into a horizontal position once a ship is docked, and crane hoists move along the arm to load or unload containers. At least, that's my guess.

Arguably our best shot of the Bridge of the Americas. I say that because we took dozens of shots of the bridge, so many that we got tired of looking at them when weeding out the keepers from the non-keepers.

A close-up of the bridge as we prepare to sail under it. Jill and I had nearly identical shots of this subject. This one is hers, owing to slightly better color.

Numerous small boats are moored in the channel (possibly waiting their turn for a canal transit), the skyline of Panama City rising up in the distance.

From there we sailed around the islands and causeway of Fuerte Amador and anchored in Panama City Bay, but we had gone below by then. Downloaded several hundred pictures from the afternoon, and decided to just relax for a while. The ship was having a barbecue on the Lido deck from 5:30 to 7:30 which we opted for instead of dinner in the dining room. Before dinner, we had a little cocktail party of our own, opening the salmon pate that Jill brought with her, and having that with crackers and the free bottle of champagne we got in the suite. Mom and Dad helped us finish off the champagne.

The barbecue was tasty, and more so because it was earlier in the evening. We came to the conclusion that we were all exhausted from standing on deck all day, or most of the day since before dawn, so we called it a night despite the early hour.