Day 7 – Colón, Panama

Tim and I would like to wish a very Merry Christmas to our family and friends. For us, Viking Sky is a perfect place to spend the holidays.

Merry Christmas!

Today, we docked in Colón, the entrance to the Panama Canal on the Atlantic side. As we walked off the ship, we were greeted by a group of local dancers.

Local Dancers

Tim and I had booked the included tour, “Fort San Lorenzo,” described as a visit to a “Sixteenth-Century Citadel and Modern Marvel”:

Journey through Panama’s past while touring a once-mighty fortress and witness a feat of modern engineering. You will visit the ruins of Fort San Lorenzo, a 16th-century Spanish citadel that sits at the mouth of the Chagres River, overlooking the Caribbean Sea and surrounded by 30,000 acres of protected rainforest. Learn about the fortress’s turbulent history from your guide as you explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site and admire striking views of your surroundings. Afterward, embark on a panoramic drive to view a section of the Panama Canal and hear about the history of this mighty feat of engineering. You will also learn more about its recent expansion project, one that has resulted in doubling the canal’s capacity and allowing supersized ships to pass through its waterways.

Fuerte de San Lorenzo, or Fort San Lorenzo, is an excellent example of military architecture built by the Spanish Crown between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. The fort’s location on a promontory overlooking the mouth of the Chagres River was part of a defensive system that protected Spain’s transatlantic trade in the New World. This fort was one of the terminals of the transcontinental route across the Isthmus of Panama.

Fort San Lorenzo

We toured the fort on our own after a brief introduction, and I especially admired the stone and brickwork.

Touring Fort Lorenzo

Fort Lorenzo's Strategic Location at the Mount of the Chagres River

Interesting Stone and Brickwork

Before and after leaving the fort, we passed a series of abandoned buildings that had been constructed as employee housing at Fort Sherman. Fort Sherman was a former military base built by the United States to protect the Panama Canal, and it was the primary defensive base for the Caribbean sector of the Canal.

Sad State of Buildings from Former Fort Sherman

Although I enjoyed the fort, I was most excited to visit our next destination, the Gatun Locks at the Panama Canal. Although our excursion didn’t include a stop at the visitor center, we did drive along the road that parallels the entrance to the original locks, as well as the locks themselves. We were also able to see the Gatun Dam, which is only visible from the road, not from the canal.

At the Gatun Locks

Gatun Dam as Viewed from the Road and the Gatun Lake

As a bonus, on our way back to Colón, our driver stopped the motorcoach on the Atlantic Bridge, which spans the canal at its northern end, and we had an outstanding view of the entrances to both sets of the Gatun Locks. The original locks were built in 1914, while the expanded locks were added in 2016 to handle the world’s increasingly larger ships. Viking Sky will pass through the original locks tomorrow.

View of Ships Exiting the Gatun Locks - The Expanded Locks Are on the Left,
and the Original Locks Are on the Right

When Tim and I returned to the ship, most passengers were still out on longer excursions. After lunch, I decided to take advantage of a mostly empty ship and did two loads of laundry. One of the nice things about Viking Ocean ships is the self-service launderettes, which are quite handy. What a way to celebrate Christmas!

This evening, Guest Lecturer Andrew Roberts concluded his trilogy on the history of the Panama Canal with “Panama Canal: Part 3 – The Panamanians.” We learned about the growing Panamanian dissent to the presence of the United States in their country and the way in which they took over the Panama Canal. I think we’re ready for our transit of the canal tomorrow.

Panama Canal: Part 3 – The Panamanians