JIM WE ARE HERE!!!
Crossed into Panama. It rained all day. Remember that cow. Well, it was like there was a herd of them. We were advised that after we passed thru the Ridge of Death they had a landslide from the rain.
We drove all the way to Panama City in the rain. Graham got stopped by the police. He was doing 90 kmh in a 40 kmh school zone (55mph in a 25mph). I couldn’t believe the officer let him go. What a story teller he is. Luckily, I was behind far enough that the officer didn’t get me.
Panama City is under major construction. It seems to be the financial center for Central America. We were advised that it is the main money laundering center for Central and South America.

What a sky line.

Traffic is crazy here. Pedestrians do not have the right away. Actually, they are just moving targets. Street signs mean nothing. Lights mean very little. Horns are a pass time. Boy, we are having fun now!!!!
We decided to take a tour of the city. We visited old town, and the original Panama City that was destroyed by Henry Morgan.
This is a photo from Ancon hill. It is the highest point in Panama City. Also, named after the first ship to cross thru the Panama Canal.

It is also where the main US military facilities were located. Much of it now houses private residences, government agencies, and the Panama Canal Authority.
We then went to the Panama Canal. What an engineering feat. Spain developed the concept, in the 1500s, of building a canal for trade and expansion. The French tried actually building in the 1890s. They failed and lost about 20,000 people in the process. This is their grave yard dedicated to the dead. Each marker represents 100 people.

Then it was to the canal. By the way, it was built by American ingenuity and opened in 1914. In 1977, after a nationalistic movement by the Panamanians, President Carter sign a treaty that returned the canal to Panama’s control in 1999. There are 3 locks. The first part of the day ships go from the Caribbean to the Pacific, and in the afternoon from the Pacific to the Caribbean. The boats are elevated by fresh water. All developed by the rains, only. We are talking about 40 million gallons of fresh water needed at each lock. The dam that holds fresh water in Gatun Lake.

Costs run from $200,000 to $300,000 for the large transport or cruise ship. Haliburrtonn swam it in 5 days at a cost of .36 cents in the 30s. Panama is now building another set of locks next to the original canal. The ships are as wide as the canal and pulled by small tractors with the assistance of the ship's power.

Looking towards the Caribbean from the Miraflores Locks.

Preparing to do what she was desgined to do.

About to be lowered.

It takes a ship 40 minutes to cross, however, they can wait up to 8 hours waiting their turn.

Next stop - Bogota, Colombia (November 17, 2009).