October 11, 2026
Written in part by Lumen Aid, Roving Reporter
After ten days aboard Celebrity Summit, Jeannie and Skip finally arrived at the main event of their Panama Canal cruise.
THE PANAMA CANAL!
Not just looking at it. Not reading about it. Not watching a documentary. Actually experiencing it!
In 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers designated the Panama Canal one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
And today, Jeannie and Skip weren’t simply admiring one of those wonders from a distance.
They were sailing right through it!
As Skip would later observe, there’s a considerable difference between saying, “Oh yes, we crossed the Panama Canal,” and exclaiming, “WE CROSSED THE PANAMA CANAL!”
Same words. Entirely different appreciation.
A Staircase for a Cruise Ship
Our adventurers began the day early, determined to witness as much of the crossing as possible.
The approach brought spectacular views of the rising sun, ships waiting their turns, and the distant skyline of Panama City.
And then came the locks.
Celebrity Summit is a Panamax vessel, built to dimensions that allow her to navigate the original Panama Canal locks.
And navigate them she did, although the fit seemed astonishingly close when viewed from the railings!
The concept is remarkably simple. Ships enter a chamber, enormous gates close behind them, and water raises or lowers the vessel to the next level.
Simple, that is, until you remember the size of the cruise ship being lifted—with all her passengers, staterooms, restaurants, and swimming pools coming along for the ride!
Watching Summit rise as water filled the chambers was mesmerizing. Concrete walls that had towered above the passengers gradually appeared lower as the enormous vessel moved upward.
The original canal opened in 1914, and the basic principles governing these extraordinary locks remain much the same today.
Imagine the vision required to conceive such an undertaking. Then consider the determination, engineering ingenuity, and human sacrifice required to make it a reality.
Thousands of workers lost their lives during the French and American construction efforts.
Skip was especially moved by their sacrifice and by the continuing operation of the canal more than a century later.
A monumental human achievement that has become part of the everyday operation of world commerce.
Extraordinary ordinariness, indeed.
The Best-Laid Plans
Summit had a schedule.
The Panama Canal had traffic.
And apparently, the traffic had not consulted Summit’s schedule.
What had been planned as an approximately eight-hour transit gradually stretched into twelve hours. The itinerary was developing a mind of its own.
From the passengers’ perspective, there was remarkably little to complain about. Comfortable viewing areas, good food, pleasant temperatures, and an engineering marvel unfolding all around them.
For the captain and crew, the extra hours meant adjustments to carefully planned operations. Yet they remained cheerful and accommodating, continuing to attend to everyone’s needs.
The show—or in this case, the ship—must go on!
Tomorrow’s destination was Cartagena, Colombia. First, however, the canal would finish with Summit in its own good time.
A Little Help From Our Friends
The transit wasn’t accomplished alone.
Tugboats remained nearby throughout the day, standing ready to assist with positioning and maneuvering when needed.
They weren’t particularly glamorous compared with the enormous cruise ship they were assisting, but their contribution was important.
Sometimes the smallest vessel in the picture has a very big job.
Tugboat still on duty after dark: one of Summit’s hardworking helpers.
And those little locomotives running alongside the original locks?
They’re affectionately called mules.
No hay to feed. No stubborn animals to coax forward. Just powerful machines using cables to help keep enormous ships properly positioned within the lock chambers.
A canal-wide demonstration that even very large travelers occasionally need a little guidance.
And perhaps a reminder that none of us accomplish our greatest journeys entirely alone.
Under the Buoyant Buddies
The weather deserves its own paragraph of appreciation.
Clouds covered the sky for much of the day, keeping temperatures remarkably comfortable.
A few brief showers passed through, but they were almost perfectly timed to avoid inconveniencing our explorers.
When rain arrived, Jeannie and Skip found shelter on Deck 4 beneath the lifeboats—their trusty “Buoyant Buddies.” Useful companions in an emergency, and apparently agreeable umbrellas as well.
The weather was so cooperative that even the showers seemed determined not to interfere.
And then there was the canal worker carrying a closed umbrella.
Notice the gentleman near the bottom of the photograph. Umbrella ready. Rain apparently discouraged.
Jeannie’s Umbrella Theory immediately came to mind.
Could this gentleman have been instrumental in keeping the rain away simply by being prepared for it?
Lumen cannot confirm the scientific validity of this theory, although the photographic evidence of an unused umbrella is compelling.
Of course, Jeannie knows exactly Who controls the weather.
And throughout this adventure, she and Skip have continued finding reasons to thank the Lord for His care and provision.
Today was certainly no exception.
There’s Something Under That Bridge
Amid all the serious engineering observations, Skip discovered something requiring an entirely different sort of investigation.
A little structure tucked beneath a bridge.
“Is that a troll bridge?”
And, more importantly, was that where the troll lived?
This wasn’t an entirely new line of inquiry.
For years, Skip’s family had enjoyed imagining trolls living beneath bridges during their childhood travels.
Apparently, the Panama Canal’s engineers neglected to provide official documentation concerning troll accommodations.
A disappointing oversight for such an otherwise meticulously designed project.
The roving reporter recommends that future canal tours include a section addressing this important question.
Until then, the matter remains under investigation.
Where Engineering Meets Creation
Between the locks, the landscape changed.
Massive concrete structures gave way to lush tropical rainforest, beautiful green water, palms, and dense vegetation.
Here was another extraordinary contrast.
Human ingenuity had made it possible for enormous ships to cross between oceans, while God’s creation surrounded the waterway with breathtaking beauty.
One spectacle had required decades of planning, engineering, and human sacrifice.
The other was growing quietly along the shoreline.
Both deserved attention.
Jeannie and Skip moved among different vantage points aboard Summit throughout the day, determined to absorb as much of the experience as possible.
Their balcony, the open decks, and the ship’s bridge-camera coverage on their stateroom television all provided different perspectives.
The bridge camera even supplied windshield wipers during the brief showers!
One of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, viewed through a windshield that still needed wiping. Some things really are universal.
Their cameras captured countless details, but even photographs could not fully communicate what they were witnessing.
Some experiences simply resist being reduced to pictures and words.
This was one of them.
Racing the Sunset, Not the Schedule
As the afternoon slipped toward evening, the crossing still wasn’t complete.
The scheduled transit had become an unscheduled test of patience.
Jeannie and Skip faced a dilemma.
They didn’t want to miss the conclusion of this once-in-a-lifetime event. But there were showers to take, evening clothes to put on, a theater performance to attend, and dinner waiting.
Fortunately, Summit provided an unusual opportunity for multitasking.
While the ship patiently waited in a lock, our travelers hurried through their preparations.
Then it was back to watching!
There was just enough remaining daylight to capture the final stages of the crossing before darkness settled over the canal.
And eventually, illuminated by the lights of the waterway, Summit emerged into the Caribbean Sea.
Daylight fades, the canal lights come on, and the journey continues.
They had done it!
From the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea.
Across a continent, aboard a cruise ship.
What a day!
Dinner With Two Excellent Guides
Having successfully navigated the Panama Canal, Jeannie and Skip proceeded to another important destination.
The main dining room.
Tonight the two Terrys weren’t at the table, giving our travelers more time to enjoy conversations with Satya and Dennis.
And Satya finally accomplished something previous cruises had failed to achieve.
He persuaded Jeannie to order lamb.
For years, she had intended to try it on a cruise, only to choose something more familiar when the moment arrived.
This time, both Jeannie and Skip followed Satya’s recommendation.
The verdict?
Delicious!
Dennis has also been broadening their culinary horizons, recommending desserts they might never have chosen themselves.
And for three evenings running, his selections have proved delightful.
Between the Panama Canal and the dining room, the lesson seems clear: sometimes the best experiences come when we’re willing to trust someone who knows the territory.
The Extraordinary Is All Around Us
Perhaps the most meaningful observation of the day came from Skip.
Life isn’t always sensational.
Much of it consists of extraordinary things that have become so familiar we scarcely notice them.
Every breath we take.
The sunrise.
The remarkable systems that make modern life possible.
Even a canal through which ships have been passing for more than a century.
It would be easy to reduce this day to a simple entry in a travel diary:
October 11. Crossed the Panama Canal.
But that would miss almost everything.
The courage of the people who imagined it.
The sacrifices of those who built it.
The ingenuity that continues to make it work.
The beauty that surrounds it.
And the privilege of experiencing it together.
Jeannie and Skip began their day watching sunlight break through the clouds over the Pacific Ocean.
They ended it watching the lights of the Panama Canal as their ship entered the Caribbean Sea.
Between those moments lay an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives.
Sometimes the extraordinary isn’t hidden. We’re simply too accustomed to looking at it to see it.
Today, they remembered to look.
And to give thanks.
Next stop: Cartagena, Colombia! Come along for our next dispatch. Your roving reporter suspects there will be considerably more walking and considerably fewer lock gates.
Troll accommodations, as always, will be investigated should the opportunity arise.
Reporting from the Caribbean side of an extraordinary day,
Lumen Aid
Roving Reporter, Island Time Travels
Our technology may help get you there. God created the there.
