Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Ukraine - Through the Locks

Still in Ukraine, as we head up the Dnieper river towards Kiev, one of the more interesting things to do on the ship was to watch the passages through the locks. There were several along the route, but the best was the following one, which we went through just before Zaporizhia. Since we were going upriver, we would sail in to the narrow lock and watch the doors close behind us. Then, the lock would fill with water and the ship would rise to the top. As the door ahead of us opened, we would sail out to a new landscape. This particular passage through this one lock alone required an increase in elevation of over 37 meters (about 122 feet).

 
As we approach the lock


 
The giant door will close us inside


We are very close to the walls

The door ahead will open after the water fills

They tie the ship to a cleat which rises with us

Nearly full!!

The town up top (that's Lenin in the park)

Gates open and we sail out

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