Panama Canal

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8 p.m., August 14, 2008

Panama Canal


“My grandfather helped build the Panama Canal,” said Steph, as we stood on the 4th story balcony overlooking the Miraflores Lock. “He was quite upset when Jimmy Carter signed a treaty which ultimately turned Canal authority over to the Panamanians.”

On September 7, 1977, Jimmy Carter and Omar Torrijos signed the Neutrality Treaty, which basically handed the canal over to Panamanian control for free as long as Panama guaranteed neutrality of the canal and allowed the U.S. to return anytime.

Since I don’t travel to obtain historical knowledge, this bit of information didn’t really impress me. However, the idea that nearly 30,000 people died from malaria and other diseases while trying to build the canal seemed significant. After all, everyone gets sick, death and disease are tangible, and the cumulative death toll would be intolerable by today’s health standards.

For Jeopardy Junkies, I found this tidbit of information on Wikipedia. On May 16, 2008, Disney Magic cruise liner (measuring 964 feet) paid the most expensive canal passage toll at just over US$331,200. The least expensive toll was 36 cents to American adventurer Richard Halliburton, who swam the canal in 1928.

With each canal lock measuring 300m long, 24m high, and walls ranging in thickness from 3-15m “imagine how long it took the concrete to cure,” some visitor said. “They’re probably still curing.”

For someone who has never seen the Canal, this blog entry might be boring, but its difficult to express the magnitude of watching a U.S. Coast Guard vessel rise 54-ft as the canal lock floods, transporting the vessel from barely visible, with only the mast protruding above the lock wall, to full-view with the entire vessel 54-ft above sea level.

Although I’m not one for patience, a trip to the Miraflores Lock requires at least an hour to experience canal passage process details, such as lines being tossed overboard by sailors working to connect their vessels to mechanical mules, which resemble amusement park trams and are designed to pull vessels through flooded locks.

Basically, a trip to Panama without a visit to the Canal is like a ballgame without a 7th inning stretch. A Canal stop is mandatory.

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Photos

Canal Artwork
Painting of ship passing through Panama Canal.

Panama Canal - Miraflores Gate
Approximately 8 pm, the Miraflores Gate opened for a ship to pass from one Lock to another.