Seen this before?…..It´s a palendrome (sp….?). Same thing front words and backwords. Panama Canal. Yesterday we went through the Panama Canal. What a fantastic trip!
Basically, the canal is used so that ships don´t need to go all the way around South America to get to the other side. We went from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean through the Panama Canal. A land mass was removed to create the passage. I am not an engineering buff or a history buff, but even I was amazed at the concept of this and the workings of the canal. This was definitely the highlight of the trip.
We were up at 7:30 am to watch the ship go through the first lock. We went through one end of the canal and were deposited into Lake Gatun. As you might guess, the elevation of the lake is different from the ocean on either side, and so the ship had to be dropped and elevated in order to continue it´s journey once outside of the canal, thus the need for the lock system. In total we went through 6 locks in and out of the canal. There are several things about the canal that are fascinating to me. The scenery through is beautiful. But, the mechanics of it are incredible…not to mention the history and the sheer expanse of it. The other interesting thing is the coordination of countries in developing this and keepìng it going.
The French started this puppy in the late 1800s. Then, it was a coordinated effort with the United States in the lead. In 1999 it was turned over to the country of Panama to maintain. They are now in process of expanding the canal so that larger ships can pass through. Currently, our ship is one of the widest that can pass through at 100 feet. Pretty big stuff!
There is also a german crane being used and Japanese electric trains made by Mitsubishi being used to help the ships through the locks. What a great effort.
The most money that was paid to go through the canal by a ship was the Queen Elizabeth II paying $99,000 and the least was by some swimmer, whose name I can´t recall, that swam the length of the canal and paid 38 cents. So, you can imagine what a staple of the Panama economy this is.
I had the great fortune to be right in the front of the ship wedged between two stinky men to see us exit the canal and get a view of the lock system at work first hand. Essentially what happens is the ship goes through a series of compartments that have different water levels. Each compartment fills or empties in order to meet the level of the next compartment. All of this is done by gravity…pretty amazing. This was, by far, one of the most interesting days we have had.
Today, we are in Colon, Panama. Again, I am amazed at the poverty that is evident as we walk through the streets. I am also amazed that the internet service here is better than on the ship….a third world country. Who knew?!
Also, an update on the illness on the ship. Apparently, it´s not the Norovirus, but just a GI issue. But, who really knows? Also, the person that was taken off the ship had appendicitus. So, not the GI issue. We also had a death on board the ship a few days ago. We think the person had a heart attack. But, again, who knows. This led us to a discussion about how they handle this sort of thing on the ship. Apparently, there is a morgue in the bottom of the ship. YUK!…but, good to know.
Just an FYI..if something happens to me on the trip, just spread my ashes over the wine country in France. I can sip wine into eternity!
Until the next connection…….
Travel With Betsy 
January 15, 2013 at 8:38 pm |
Me too on the sip wine thing!