We woke up at 5:00 to do my 4 laps around the ship. I was there in time to see us approaching the entrance to the canal. We got to see the start of the old French attempt at the canal.
After a quick breakfast, we return to the deck for pictures and watch the whole operation. We were given info to follow along with what was going on. It was fascinating.
When we finished the three lift locks, we were 26 meters above sea level on Lake Gatun. Info says there was a river valley that crossed Panama that was dammed up and created this very large lake. The locks are flooded by gravity release from the lake, and then from lock to lock. You would think they would run out of water, but no, during the rainy season they have to release additional water to lower the lake.