Panama Canal Day

1/10/26

Today was such an excellent day in all ways.  Flexibility is key.  And as with yesterday’s post, allowing the day to find its own rhythm is also key.  Also, this was the first day which was really a complete repeat of WC23.  Yes, but Cartegena was a repeat, you might be correcting me.  Yes, but we experienced it differently by doing a taxi tour instead of the HOHO.  Small change, big difference.  But with the Panama Canal Transit, you don’t really have the same flexibility to “switch it up”.  But nonetheless, I was committed to creating a unique experience for us and to share our 2026 experience differently than 2023.

Like 2023, I was up early to get a spot on Deck 15.  In 2023, we began the transit at 8am.  Today it was 6am.  So it was dark.  So no pics of the first bridge as we sailed under it.  But on the positive side, we got to see the canal all lit up.  In the 60’s, they added lights, which creates its own special character.

By 7am, the sun was up and we were just entering the first lock.  It was 10am by the time we finished so it was a big commitment manually creating a time lapse of photos.  Hope you enjoy that I organized them by "phase" of the process.

THE APPROACH:

IN THE FIRST TIER OF FIRST LOCK:

TIER 2

TIER 3

FREE AT LAST 😉

After the first set of locks, I decided to begin my “normal” schedule, which included a light breakfast and then working on the previous day’s blog.   It was a spicy one, but I guess you know that by now.  That took a while, along with dealing with some issues at a rental property we own.  The time flew by and a quick lunch was in order, followed by my daily workout.  Despite religiously working out and eating “mostly” reasonable, my weight shot up, so I’ll need to behave tomorrow.  It’s not the food, it’s the drink.  Maybe I’ll ask for a diet Hot Pants.

The treadmill overlooked the south side of the canal, but for most of my time in there, we were transiting the second complete set of locks. No pics of that but I was able to get pics of the most expensive portion of the canal to build due to massive rocks.

By now it’s 2pm and my first potential lull of the entire cruise.  My wife and I decided to play cards after a quick dip in the pool…..but then I ran into our Canadian friends by the pool.  It was another spirited conversation, which is awesome.  Regardless of where you stand on the ICE issue in Minnesota and the death of Ms. Good, it’s fascinating to watch how it unfolds as new information, new body cam, new opinions and new analysis become available.  Even though the internet is included in our package and I’m able to stay connected, actually staying connected is challenging on a cruise.  Our normal routine of watching the 7pm news isn’t happening.  Nor is the 10pm news.  So we just need to be more intentional about it, so we don’t completely lose touch while on the cruise…….not that it would be such a bad thing to take a break from all the negativity.

So now it’s 3:30 and we finally played some cards, but just 30 minutes.  My wife and I will often pass time with a game called Hand & Foot.  But more on that in a later post.  We headed to our stateroom for some quiet time and to get ready for dinner.   This was probably the most eclectic table we’ve sat at and the most fun.  It was just one of those groups that meshed.  We had liberals and conservatives, Asian, Canadian, British and American, Old and ….. Older.  We discussed careers, books, politics (gingerly), kids, cruising, marriage and other spirited topics.  My dinner was great, pork belly, a rare treat.  My lovely wife was not as thrilled with her choice and really didn’t eat.  It happens.  It’s an FWP, which if you’ve read by 2023 blog, you know that means First World Problem.  There are so many food options, she didn’t stay hungry long.  Not eating dinner gave her the opportunity to get a specialty ice cream dessert.

We went to the 7pm show, a production show, and I’m sorry to report I fell asleep again.  But we did have an interesting encounter before the show started.  We arrived a bit late so my wife and I couldn’t find 2 seats together.  No problem.  I sat next to a gentleman I vaguely remember from WC23 but wasn’t sure.  In fact, our only interaction on that cruise was when we shared a cab in Cartegena, almost exactly 3 years ago.   But I was right, we had met that day and now we were sitting side by side on PC26.  Low odds for sure.  Even lower odds I’d actually remember him. 

I sincerely hope you like the pics and the organization of our 2026 transit.  Tomorrow is Fuerte Amador and Panama City.  Plans are still forming but I think we’ll join our new Canadian and Utah friends for a taxi tour.  Till then……..