Thursday, January 11, 2024

Fuerte Amador, Panama

The famous Panama Canal is a 51 mile waterway that connects the Atlantic to the Pacific so ships can travel across the globe without having to go around the Cape of South America. The canal first opened in 1904, built by America after a failed earlier French attempt . We’re checking off a bucket list item today, passing through the canal, going through the old side, the Gatineau locks westbound. It is a fascinating slow deliberate multi-step process taking all day to get to the Pacific Ocean side.

Electric Locomotives, known as mules, help guide the ship through the old canal and up into the three locks. The new larger canal, finished in 2016, uses a more modern system, but still the very effective lock process. It can accommodate much larger container ships but cruise ships go thru the old canal.

The canal is now owned and operated by the Panamanian government, following a transfer from the USA for $1 in 1999.