Panama Canal

I looked forward to seeing the Panama Canal, but never thought I would be as impressed as I was. Perhaps it's because we had a "Speaker Series" that we had been following onboard, and it covered the history of the canal, the people involved, how many died from yellow fever and the physical difficulties of building such a feat, and the technical challenges that the engineers needed to overcome.

The canal was completed not quite 100 years ago (1914) and it's amazing to see it now, how it works, how it was built with limited machinery and technology, and how little it's changed from its opening day.

When you first see the Bridge of the Americas, you realize that the bridge connected the north to the south, and the canal connected the east to the west. So much history concentrated in this area!

Can you believe the size of ship that can go through? What about a container ship loaded 13 across?
We spent most of the day on deck going from one end of the ship to the next, seeing what it's like to enter the locks, rushing back to see what it's like to exit the locks, and being totally amazed with the "mules", these little vehicles that are attached to the ship to guide the ship and ensure it stays centered.

It is interesting to transit the canal completely to really get a good idea of the magnitude of the project and the engineering wizardry that allows ships both big and small to cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic, or vice versa. It truly is a visionary wonder of the world.

One of the speakers, Willie Friar, a woman who worked at the Panama Canal Commission Office of Public Affairs for 28 years, also spoke to us about the Kuna people of the San Blas Islands, the Islands being part of Panama. The wonderful Kuna women make their living selling molahs. These handcrafted art pieces are painstakingly sewn by all the women of the Islands, from the very young to the very old, and they look very much like appliqued quilts.

This is what tacky tourists look like: beer in one hand, camera hanging from the neck, binoculars and battery-operated fan at the ready!