Cathy and I transit the Panama Canal. This crosses off another item on our bucket list. We combine this with some time touring the surprising Panama City.
Transit the Panama Canal
A bit of history. Over 100 years ago, the first ships went through the Panama Canal, and carved off thousands of miles of travel around the Cape Horn, to move between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. Between the failed French efforts and the subsequent successful American project, over 25,000 workers died and millions of tons of rock were moved to make the Canal a reality. The canal redefined global supply chains in the Americas, just as the Suez Canal did for Europe, Asia and Africa. The Canal also provided a military link between the US Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, of particular importance in rebuilding the US Pacific Fleet after Pearl Harbor. Today the Canal is owned and operated by Panama and has recently been upgraded to handle the world’s largest ships carrying as many as 14,000 containers.
The day before our transit, we visit the welcome center at the Pacific end of the Canal. There is a good view of the locks and we watch an excellent IMAX movie that schools us about canal history and engineering.
We are fortunate to be doing the transit at all. There is an extended drought in Central America and so the number of ships doing the daily transit is reduced from around 50 to less than 30. Many ships are at anchor for days and weeks waiting their turn. We pay the premium and go through without delay – probably explains why the added port fees for our cruise are so high.
Panama City
We spend some time walking around the Old Quarter of Panama City. We found this chocolate factory just off the main square. If you know us and chocolate, you know we found this place irresistable. History here goes back to the 1500’s. In contrast, we are surprised to see the modern skyline of the New City. Panama has leveraged its strategic position to become a major regional financial and corporate center. Quite a step up from its previous reputation as a money laundering dictatorship.
Our next blog will be about Aruba – stay tuned.
NOTE:
Cathy and I are cruising for 17 days on Holland America’s Oosterdam with a few days at the start in Santiago, Chile and a week at the end visiting friends in North Palm Beach and Jupiter in Florida.
A few years ago, we took a Celebrity cruise from Buenos Aries to Santiago and this trip continues our circuit of South America.
We have not spent a lot of time in Central America and the Caribbean. A few years ago, we did visit Cozumel and Belize, and you can read about that trip here.