The Mighty Panama Canal
The narrow, eel-like shape of the isthmus which is Panama, plus the layout of its network of roads, means that we will be passing through the capital city several times over the next few weeks, and no visitor can come here even once without taking in one of the 20th century’s greatest engineering achievements.
Of the several available ways to experience the mighty Panama Canal, the best is reputed to be to pass through the locks on what is known as a transit boat. Be prepared to commit a day to it though: the operation of the locks is a slow process made even slower by waiting for the larger ships to join the transit boat and pass through the locks together.
In the end we are on board for over five hours, travelling just one way by boat and the other by bus; we would strongly recommend other travellers do the same rather than a two-way boat transit which would involve far too much waiting time. Those five hours are filled with fascination though, watching the colossal operation which sees ships safely through this amazing passage.
Briefly, it works like this. Ships are guided very slowly along the canal towards the mouth of each lock by pilot boats, fore and aft and on each flank – then, as the ship approaches the first lock gate, the captain and crew have to surrender control and let canal staff board the ship and take over. This is the only place in the world where a ship’s captain is required to surrender control.
Next comes the remarkable sight of a series of odd looking heavy locomotives on a rack railway on the piers either side of the lock, being attached to the ship to guide the vessel slowly through the lock. Before coming here we hadn’t realised that the guide vehicles were land based rather than water borne, and it’s somehow mesmerising watching the shining silver hulks slowly pull the ship into and through the lock chamber.
As these powerful locomotives trundle forward (they cost around 2 million US dollars each, by the way), gently pulling the giant vessel through, the clearance either side of the ship between its hull and the lock walls, is often a matter of a few inches each side. It’s a fantastic sight to watch the whole major operation go through its various stages.
(Note – what we’ve described above is how the smaller locks work, though as you can see from the photographs these still involve some pretty large vessels despite being the smaller locks. The giant ships pass through different, larger locks, and are guided by pilot boats all the way through).
Construction of the canal has always represented a war between enterprise and environment, with some historians citing it as “the greatest liberty Man has taken with nature” and others proclaiming it the “greatest engineering achievement in history”. The Spanish conceived it but didn’t progress it beyond the drawing board, the French then commenced works but a combination of incompetence, misplaced funding and ignorance of tropical diseases brought about both financial collapse and a horrific death toll amongst workers.
Finally abandoned by the French in 1889 amid scandals of bribery and corruption which saw the project leader ultimately imprisoned, the project was relaunched by the Americans 14 years later. After considering but rejecting an alternative route through Nicaragua, the USA picked up where the French left off but with one fundamental difference: the concept of the locks system rather than the sea-level route with which the French had been obsessed and which had been a significant contributor to their failure.
The entire project was completed in just over 10 years, meaning that the first vessel through the locks made the historic journey just as WW1 was breaking out. Ensuring ongoing control of the Canal Zone, the USA operated the canal right up until the last day of the 20th century when operations were handed to Panama.
The history of Panama is inextricably linked with the Canal, including its very independence from Colombia, subjects we will most likely revisit in later posts. We have also not touched on the treatment of different classes of workers during the canal’s construction, another subject worthy of further commentary later.
Statistics regarding anything from cost to tonnage to amounts of spoil to volumes of water are all staggering, but perhaps the most intriguing is that almost all of the original elements are still in use today – the technology has survived more than a century of progress. But here’s just a few of those numbers….
56,000 workers employed during US construction period
22,000 workers died during the French period
205 million cubic metres of earth removed to create the canal
15,000 kilometres of sailing round the Cape saved by its creation for every single shipment
84 feet is the difference between sea level and the highest water level over the 51-mile course of the canal.
But let’s get contemporary with some numbers. The toll for transiting the canal is calculated by tonnage, with different rates for freight and passenger ships, and for empty (“ballast”) freight ships. The average fee for a container ship is between 250,000 and 300,000 US dollars per transit – and around 36-40 ships pass through, every day. The profit cheque handed over to the Panamanian Government in the financial year ended October 2022 was 2.3 billion USD, a more than significant contributor to the country’s GDP. That’s the American “billion”, too.
Our modest transit boat (canal fee 1600 dollars per transit) passes through the single chamber Pedro Miguel Lock and then the double chamber, and larger, Miraflores Locks, before heading out towards the Pacific. With one final, wonderful moment, we pass under the majestic and evocatively named Bridge Of The Americas.
Of course, construction of the canal cut the country of Panama in two, with the only means of access between the two halves being a series of ferries, right up until this colossal bridge was opened in 1962, some 48 years after the canal was completed. Nowadays there are three bridge crossings, but the Bridge Of The Americas, the first of the three, is spectacular enough to live up to its illustrious name.
Our other intended Panama Canal experience was the restored Panama railroad train which runs along the eastern bank of the canal through jungle and mountains from Panama City to Colon, but unfortunately we find that it is currently out of service – just like the Lezard Rouge train was in Tunisia earlier this year. Two major intended train journeys both thwarted by circumstance!
We finally disembark the transit boat just after 5.30pm and head back from the Flamenco Marina across the city to Casco Viejo, travelling by “uber” as the yellow taxis are not deemed to be totally safe for tourists. Apparently something like 1 in 5 yellow taxi journeys for visitors end in some form of crime against the passengers (robbed, overcharged, threats of dropping in unsafe areas unless extra fee is paid…and even the occasional kidnapping) and, as we’ve already chanced our arm and had two successful yellow cab rides, we feel we shouldn’t push our luck any further.
As it happens, the “uber” driver takes a route home which passes through one of the no-go areas for tourists….our mouths drop open and we fall silent as we watch the crumbling, lawless, dangerous streets roll by. Not sure even we have ever seen anything quite like this. We are stopped by the police as we leave the district – and once the officers see that the car is carrying two travellers and not “undesirables” trying to enter the tourist area, we are waved through.
Less than a block later, smartly dressed young things spill out of swanky bars and fill the streets with chatter and laughter. It’s inconceivable that these two scenes are less than 100 hundred metres apart, separated only by the thin line of police presence.
We have of course seen cultural clashes on our travels before. But never quite like this.
26 Comments
Monkey's Tale
I didn’t think I would be but I was so fascinated by Panama Canal. I wish we had taken a boat as well going to Miraflores lookout. The boat would have been wild! Maggie
Phil & Michaela
It was fascinating indeed, Maggie – even though it’s a very slow process.
Lookoom
Crossing the Canal by boat remains a dream. I didn’t have your patience and went straight to Miraflores which has a good museum on several floors to tell the incredible story of the Canal.
Phil & Michaela
I think that the museum which we went to (and took those photographs from) is the new location, it’s been moved from Miraflores to the main cathedral square in Casco Viejo. Very thorough and detailed museum. Miraflores viewing complex was actually closed this week as they’d had a small fire a few days before.
Lookoom
Thank you for the update.
Toonsarah
That sounds a fascinating experience. I never realised that ships are pulled through by locomotives, I assumed pilot boats or tugs! We in fact thought of Panama for next February but settled on just Colombia instead. I would have enjoyed this however.
Your journey back sounds fascinating in a very different way. I’ve been through a few slightly dodgy areas of cities when travelling (the worst was when we got lost in our hire car at night in Miami!) but never seen anything quite like you describe, and in such close proximity to a swanky area too.
Phil & Michaela
It’s a very odd thing to see, especially given how strong the warnings are for visitors to avoid the “wrong” areas. Looking forward to exploring more of the country on this trip, and will be very interested in your Colombia reports too, as it’s high on our list.
Mike and Kellye Hefner
This is an utterly fascinating experience. I have never seen more comprehensive material about the Panama Canal, though I’ve never really looked for it. What fun this must have been for you. It was a fun read for me having never seen the process of getting ships through the canal – and the unbelievable shipping costs! Be safe.
Phil & Michaela
It was fascinating, if a little time consuming!
Heyjude
I’m happy to read about Panama, but you have not convinced me to visit the country or the canal. A rather too close encounter in Namibia has put me off anywhere that has a dodgy reputation.
Phil & Michaela
Yes, it’s not for everyone…Panama City at least, though I think the rest of the country will be different. We did actually feel safe…but it’s restrictive when you’re in a city and not free to wander.
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers
Its an awesome experience. We went through on our own 42 sailboat in 2004. It was a highlight. A great read is The path Between the Seas.
Phil & Michaela
Hi guys – currently trying to absorb as much as possible about Panama’s history, but it’s so complex, corrupt and conniving that every time I think I’m getting somewhere a whole different “truth” emerges!
leightontravels
Very interesting, this is the first time I’ve read a piece about visiting the canal, so quite the eye-opener. Handsome bridges, fearsome machinery and the museum looks thoroughly absorbing. I bet it was hell-on-earth working on this back in the day. I like your t-shirt…. “strange days indeed”.
Phil & Michaela
There are some unbelievable facts surrounding working conditions, I may try and fit some into a later post.
Gilda Baxter
Crossing the Panama Canal has been on my travel wish list for ages. Thank you for describing it so well.
I am glad you managed to get back to the hotel safely.
WanderingCanadians
The Panama Canal is quite the engineering marvel. It’s pretty neat that you can go on a transit boat to get the full experience of passing through all the locks on this very long waterway.
grandmisadventures
This canal has always been such a fascinating feat of engineering and somewhere that has been firmly planted on my list since I was kid. Just the process of it getting from one point to the next is incredible and so intricately detailed. 🙂
Alison
It seems very much a land of haves and have nots. Better take no chances with taxis! Nice to see it nearly laid out by you, especially the locks.
wetanddustyroads
I like the idea of seeing the Panama Canal from a boat … and what a fascinating way in which these huge boats entering the canal – thanks for explaining this process with some wonderful photos!
Dave Ply
I don’t think the canal is officially one of the modern seven wonders, but it should be…
Phil & Michaela
I Googled that as it happens….it’s listed as one of the Seven Wonders Of The Industrial World, apparently! I didn’t previously know there as such a list!
Little Miss Traveller
What a fascinating account of travelling through the Panama Canal. I enjoyed reading it very much
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Marian…it’s definitely worth the experience
Annie Berger
Another compelling read of one of the world’s industrial wonders, Phil, with great photos accompanying your riveting descriptions. How tragic, though, learning about the horrific number of deaths in the canal’s construction. Steven and I saw the canal from Miraflores years ago but never actually set foot on the canal as you both were lucky enough to do.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Annie – yes it was a very cool thing to do!