Panama Canal

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Transit of the Panama Canal



Bill and I are about to host a little wine and cheese party in our stateroom to celebrate crossing from the Pacific to the Atlantic through the Panama Canal. Nancy and her sister Sharon are going to join us as well as the twins, Sharen and Karen and their two sisters, Margaret and Judy. The transit took 8 hours even though the total distance is only about 58 miles. This is a much different canal than the Suez. The Suez has no locks and is about 110 miles long through desert at sea level the whole way. Here it is necessary for a ship to enter and leave 6 separate locks; three on one side of Gatun Lake and three on the other. Gatun is a huge man-made lake made when the Chagres River was dammed at the time the canal was begun in 1904. Gatun Lake is about 78 feet above sea level. While the Suez is in a dry desert, the Panama Canal cuts through a very hot, humid jungle. I feel a little wilted today.



I’ve over heard several folks on board complaining that Jimmy Carter “gave” the Panama Canal away. That sentiment is consistent with my sense that a good majority of the guests on board are conservative Republicans. When we gathered in one of the bars to watch the Presidential debate last night, most of the supportive noise making came from Romney supporters. One lady from Bellevue asked me if I was for Romney or Obama. I said “Obama, of course.” She replied, “So I suppose you voted for Carter.” I told her I had voted for Carter and Clinton and that my all time favorite vote was for George McGovern. At that she fled.



What little history I know of Panama and the canal indicates that the United States was actively involved in causing Panama to break away from Colombia in order to get control over building and administering the canal project. It was a very successful venture to be sure, but eventually turning it over to the sovereign nation in which it is located seems like the right thing to do. As I remember my uncle, Col. Alton Thogersen was Air Force base commander in Panama in 1977 when President Carter came to Panama to begin the transition process. Now the Panamanians are busy building a huge addition to the canal to allow much larger ships to transit. They seem to be doing a good job running the place on their own, something we should congratulate them for, not criticize our own president for giving them the chance.

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