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Serbia

After sailing a short while we found ourselves entering the first of a number of locks where by the level of the water will be raised or lowered depending on your direction on the Danube River.

The area will be referred to as The Iron Gates. The area a gorge on the river Danube. It forms part of the boundary between Serbia , to the south, and Romania, north. In the broad sense it encompasses a route of 83 miles in the narrow sense it only encompasses the last barrier on this route, just beyond the Romanian city of Orșova, that contains two hydroelectric dams, with two power stations, Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station and Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power Station.

As you can see we are sharing a lock with another river going vessel too.

It is fascinating watching the huge gate in the distance closing more and more in each frame of the following photos.

Now that the lock is closed water is flushed into this area raising our vessel and others in the area to the level of the lake that we will be sailing in a few minutes.

The lock has just disappeared under the water and we are about to proceed to the next set of locks some distance away.

As you can see we have also gone through a second set of locks and are about to proceed into a man made lake area.

In the 1960's the former Yugoslavia, now part of Serbia and Romania cooperated on a joint venture that raised the level of the Danube with a series of Hydroelectric dams called the Iron Gates. The Danube is now placid between the Iron Gates, the long gorge is now underwater. This part is known as Iron Gate 2 as we are sailing from the Black Sea back toward Budapest in reverse of the normal trips. .

Numerous homes and second homes have been build along the banks of the newly formed lake on the Danube River.

Great reflections in the water.

We have now arrived at Gate 1 of the Iron Gates. The construction of the joint Romanian-Yugoslavian mega project commenced in 1964. In 1972 the Iron Gate I Dam was opened, followed by Iron Gate II Dam, in 1984, along with two hydroelectric power stations, two sluices and navigation locks for shipping.

We are now looking at the Aft or rear of the ship that is now inside a lock being raised or flooded.

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