Day one or rather night one (the passage for us started later than intended) was not hard , with a few scary moments.  The canal looks huge and mysterious at night, things are happening all around in dim lights, big ship in front, small ship to our port (we are tied up to it) and a smaller yacht to our starboard.  A menacing looking tug boat spinning water with its huge propellers behind us as if there was not enough confusion.

 

We hired two professional line handlers – a very wise choice.  These local guys were working fast and knew exactly what to do and when.  Some tough situations were avoided thanks to them.