THE PANAMA CANAL: AN ENGINEERING MARVEL
One of the most remarkable documentaries I’ve seen was on American Experience on PBS several years ago. Simply called “Panama Canal”, I found it riveting, never thinking I would see the canal up close and in person one day. When we visited Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, a couple years ago, I began to understand more clearly the mechanics of using water and gravity to lift and lower large ships in locks, and fell in love with the huge freighters.
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| This replica of a lock gate is in the museum at the Miraflores Lock Visitor Center. | Watching one of the big ships enter the lock, preparing to descend to sea level. |
We were lucky – we happened to be in Panama City on one of the days the partial transit tour is available (they don’t run daily). After making a reservation with Panama Marine Adventures (www.pmatours.net), we prepared for our canal tour with a trip to the modern visitor center at the Miraflores locks (the lock closest to Panama City). Once again, watching the huge ships rise and fall in the locks captivated me – and it was fun to watch Pat and Becky study the process.
So we were excited when we boarded the Pacific Queen early one hot morning. I can’t recommend this tour highly enough; there is nothing I would have changed. For $115, we spent half a day on their comfortable tour boat (air-conditioned inside, with plenty of outdoor space both covered and open) with a fantastic, bilingual tour guide (English and Spanish) to fill us in on the history, engineering and stories of the canal. Lunch was included (and delicious), and after the ride north through two sets of locks (three lifts) to Gatun Lake (the highest point of the canal), we had a quick, air-conditioned bus ride back to Panama City. It was a great experience.
If you’d like to see a slide show of my photos from the tour, here is a little video (a couple minutes long).
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For me, this was eye opening. As in, we don't always appreciate what we have in our own backyards. I lived 45 years in Minneapolis where we have locks on the Mississippi River. It never would have occurred to me to take visitors to see them let alone go through them. Although I have been through one of them in a canoe. THAT was exciting!
ReplyDeleteWell, Linda, I don't know... maybe you need a little bit of engineering interest to really get into locks and how they work, but it seems like everyone I've seen anywhere near a lock with a big ship in it is fascinated. I'll bet your visitors would have been, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can only imagine going through in a canoe! :)
Thanks for the slide show. It was awesome.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago we went through about a dozen locks in the Trent-Severin waterway (look for Peterborough, Ontario,Canada) in a houseboat, and it was a blast. I piloted the boat through the locks, since nobody else in our party had any boating experience to speak of.
Certainly nothing on the scale of the Panama Canal, but a trip we really enjoyed.
There's just something about a vessel being lifted by that water....
I've gone through locks on the Tennessee River on a small boat when young and on the Delta Queen when older, when the DQ was still plying the waters. It was an amazing ride.
ReplyDeleteJust missed you in the canal and at Casco Viejo. We were there a week before. This is one of the best blogs on the web.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the classy job and continue to have fun!
We are part time RVers.
Very interesting slide show - I enjoyed it. The Panama Canal has always fascinated me but I don't suppose I'll ever see it in person. It's nice to see it through your eyes.
ReplyDeleteWe stay at an Ill. state park where you can watch the big barges and other boats lock through...Dennis has to go watch every time we are there...it is fascinating, those locks.
ReplyDeleteVery cool...hoping to see it within the next 10 months or so!
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Thanks for bringing back pleasant memories of the Canal. Both our full- and partial-transits were on big ships; I'd love to do the same trip on a small boat that is dwarfed by the locks for a different perspective.
ReplyDeleteThat is really interesting, looks like u are having a GREAT time!!
ReplyDeleteWow! Great post. I have always wanted to go through the canal. Loved the slide show.
ReplyDeleteI was in Panama a few years back and was able to go under the locks at Miraflores and see how all the mechanisms worked.
ReplyDeleteA true marvel, even with the 1913 technology. Sometimes simple is the best way.
Awesome slide show. Probably as close as I'll ever get to the Panama Canal - I think!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I haven't been through the Panama Canal, I have been on a canal boat in the UK, where you open and close the locks yourself as you travel the canals. Fabulous experience! If you haven't read "Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough, I highly recommend it. I found his writing about the PC absolutely riveting. We had it as an audiobook. What an amazing story! I had no idea.
ReplyDeleteJust finished reading (for the second time) The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough. If you haven't read it, it's wonderful. But I think everything he writes is wonderful.
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ReplyDeleteIts a great experience. I was lucky enough to go through in a sailing yacht as a line handler and spend the night on Gatun lake with Howler monkey's for company. They also have a Full day transit for $160pp. For those on a budget you could do a city tour with a trip to the Miraflores locks visitor centre. You can get more info on both at www.panamatravelunlimited.com
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