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Published: March 31st 2019
Nocturnal Monkeys
on the morning walkStarted the day at the Melia Panama Canal with Howler Monkeys greeting us at sunrise. Did sound right creepy and I was glad we knew about them ahead of time. Mike went with Beny, one of the tour guides, a nature expert, on an early-morning walk to look for birds and animals. Mike was also trying out his new camera. He got a picture of the Nocturnal Monkey and several birds. Beny has a camera with a lens that's about a foot long and also knew what he was looking for/at.
• Howler monkeys: look like a double chin but the hyoid bone, what becomes in men the adam’s apple, huge, just to amplify the sound. Low calorie, high fiber diet of green leaf. Rather than marking their territory, they howl to avoid fighting. All about energy, weigh 10-12 pounds. 1-3 dominant males and 7-15 females, each have one baby per year, starting in January. Super quiet, not going to attack you. Wake up early in the morning.
After breakfast, we wandered the grounds a bit--it's a gorgeous complex.
We packed up to head back to Panama City and, after lunch, headed to the New Locks
Visitor Center. Arrived there just in time to watch as one of the Panamax Container Carriers go through the first lock. Focus is on the expansion of the Canal because it represents the future of Panama. Expansion is not new; the US began in the late 1930s to expand—knew the canal would be too small for newer military boats and began but then resources were diverted to WWII. After WWII, containers were invented and by 1972 the use of the canal shifted from mainly military to mainly commercial. In less than 30 years, the Canal was running out of capacity for the new container ships that were being built. When Panama got the Canal back in 2000, they already knew that their biggest challenge was to expand the Canal to keep up with world trade. How did that happen? Ordered numerous studies, in 2006, chose the one they thought the most practical. Since the Canal is an asset of the country, it would be decided by referendum. A major marketing campaign, explaining the need to everyone and the benefits. October 26, 2006, over 76% approved the expansion. The current president had voted ‘no’ and then was in office when it
New Locks
Huge container ship was inaugurated. Canal expansion began 9/3/07 with the blasting Pariso(?) Hill and the construction began. They don’t use the term ‘expansion’ of the Panama Canal because that makes people think they physically changed the Original but they built a new set of locks so that’s called the New Locks Project. A set of five different projects, put out for bid. Over 30 contractors worked over 9 years, including a consortium of 4 countries to build the new locks.
• Since expansion (2016), has served over 5000 ships. The locks are already too small—there are ships that are bigger now. There was a 9 year gap between building and opening. There is also the issue of logistics to consider—those huge ships may never come down here. The largest they can accommodate here is over 14000 containers; there are now ships that can carry 18000.
• Big differences: gates, how the ships are kept centered, and the recycling process. Still gravity, no pumps. Costs 10 times that to go around South America, not counting the emissions that are saved.
• Atlantic side, new locks are on the East bank, Pacific on the West (availability of land) but just alike. Three steps; each step
New Locks gates
slide or roll rather than swinging open and closed. You can see the recycling pools in the background
is 1400 feet long, 180 feet wide. Can accommodate a ship no longer than 1200 feet long and 160 wide. Neopanamax are the ships that are too large to fit in the old one, mostly container ships, then LNG and LPG usually come from the Gulf to Asia, bulk car containers.
• The water is recycled, 36% is reused; the rest is flushed out to the ocean.
• Tolls are the same, based on size. $60some for a 20 foot container, $57. 12000 containers that s $684,000 for the containers, not considering extra services, tug boats, etc.
• Some were saying that Panama was too small, couldn’t run the Canal but they made the original Canal more efficient and changed history again and made the new expanded locks. Not about bigger ships but the cargo size. Biggest project in little Panama’s 110 year history. Made them appreciate how, 100 years ago, they could design the original canal.
• Beny’s grandfather was one who didn’t believe Panama could handle so he voted no, thinking they’d lose a lot of money. But after it started, he was impressed.
The guides 'added' a driving tour and narration of the facilities that were originally American
Naval base and Canal homes--the Panama Zone.
• Margarita Town (silver), Rainbow City (silver), and Gatun (gold), parts of the Canal Zone from when it was American Canal Zone. Each was self-sufficient: sports team and facilities, church, trash collection, etc. now mainly owned by Canal employees, retirees, and their value is rising. Each has everything but at a different standard. No private property originally. Everyone was assigned a house based on their position in the company and the number of children you had. Everything was controlled by the government. Created a rivalry between the Atlantic and Pacific residents. Even today, when the Zonians get together in Florida, the room is still split by the side you lived on. More rain on the Atlantic side than the Pacific side. One of the biggest changes from the US to here was raising the houses at least 8’ above the ground to keep the mosquitoes and termites away from the houses.
• The Canal Zone was internal to the country but a little bit of America here. Governor was usually a retired Army General. Most of the people who came to work in the Zone were from the south and the Caribbean. Split
the housing, etc., racially. The Canal Workers Union were very close to the unions Obama worked with in Chicago. Big party when Obama won.
We passed the Bridge of the Atlantic again, the newest bridge over the Canal:
• The Bridge of the Atlantic is almost completed; it’s the longest bridge over the Canal, 2.8 miles, over 360 million (not yet done).
• Cable steel bridge with the longest distance between the two main towers, 1050 feet. Built to connect lower coast of Colon and help 60,000 people who have been taking the ferry system to get across. To help make up for the space taken up by the canal expansion.
• Not named for anyone. Lots of people had suggested names; the ACP said, nope, naming it Bridge of the Atlantic.
• The parts were made on site, included building the road to connect to the bridge. Built from each side and met in the middle.
• The new bridge they’re planning to build on the Pacific side, including train, has been awarded to a Chinese firm, will most likely be a toll bridge.
We proceeded to the Colon train platform--not a station, just a platform
at this end of the line. It's a single-track train between Colon and Panama City. Had a lovely ride back across the continent in the domed car, visiting with two of our fellow travelers. We were the last train into the Panama City station and the place was anxious to shut down when we arrived. The bus was waiting for us (it had driven back across, carrying our luggage, and dropped the luggage off at the hotel to be delivered to our rooms), took us to the Crowne Plaza for our last dinner and the night. Most of us were leaving, some fairly early, to return home the next morning.
After dinner, we enjoyed a demonstration of traditional Panamanian formal dancing, in costume. The dresses were very ornate (and expensive) and the dances were lovely.
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