Now we are back in the front again. We are passing
by a building with a lot of people watching us.
It is pretty sunny now, so the water is prettier.
The Miraflores Locks consists of two locks, and we have
already passed through the first one at this time. We have already
been lowered once, and if you look at the right lane, you can see that this
lock will lower us more.
We are well into the lock now.
Now, we think the gray structure on the left at the end
of the lock is the Miraflores Swing Bridge. This was the first (1942)
car bridge across the canal.
We are right up to the gates. These gates are the
tallest and heaviest out of all the gates in the Panama Canal, because these
gates open up into the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean has extreme tide
fluctuations. The specifications: each gate is 25 meters high
and weighs 730 tons!
The white water in this picture is the fresh water from
our current lock being flushed into the Pacific.
A lot of water has drained away, and
now you can get a good look at these special gates.
We have passed into the Pacific and are on our way to
the Bridge of the Americas.
In the distance, you can see the Bridge
of the Americas. To the left is South America, and to the right is
Central America.
