Travel Zette

I was amazed transiting the Panama Canal in the year of the 100th anniversary that all continues to work as designed. There have only been a few improvements such as using electric power versus mule power to open the lock doors (each door weighs 750 tons). The water is all moved by gravity from Gatun Lake at 26 meters (85 feet) above sea level at the center of the canal. Water is released down from the upper lock to the lower lock and when level with the next lock, the gates open and the ship moves forward for the same process until reaching the respective upper or lower water to proceed. Gatun Lake, created for the Panama Canal is fed by the Chagres river and its smaller tributaries. Crossing the lake is 33 km and took about 2 hours.

The opening of the Panama Canal on 15 August 1914 was a great engineering accomplishment that changed the world of commerce. I was in Valparaiso a few months earlier and learned it had experienced a decline after the completion of the Panama Canal. Prior to the canal, ships had to go around the tip of South America and Valparaiso was the port they used from both directions. Once the canal opened, few ships went that far South. Two bridges have been built over the canal, the first was the Bridge of the Americas in 1962 at the Pacific entrance and the second in 2004 is the Centennial Bridge over the Culebra Cut (the narrowest part of the canal) about 15 km (9 miles) north.

The weather was about 84°F (27°C) with 80 percent humidity. This was not bad as we were moving but I often thought of what the workers had to endure in the early 20th century with no relief from the 24 hour heat and humidity. The full transit of the canal is about 77 meters (48 miles) and was an all day event having seen the sunrise over the Pacific (one of the few places this is possible). We entered about 6:00 am and exited around 4:00 pm. Interestingly, the canal is crossed from SE to NW (northbound) when entering from the Pacific and the exit in the Atlantic is actually further west than where you entered from the Pacific Ocean.

They are working around the clock to build a larger canal next to the current one to accommodate larger ships. For the past 100 years ships needing to use the Panama Canal could not be built wider than 33.5 meters (110 feet) to fit the canal. Today some ships barely have an inch on either side when in the locks. The new canal locks will be 55 meters wide to accommodate larger and longer ships. Traveling through the Panama Canal must have been a true wonder when it was completed in 1914 and is still a special experience today.