Here is a random question: How many of you have visited local landmarks/sites of interest? Let’s take Van Dusen Botanical Garden as an example. How many of us living here in Vancouver have visited it? In my case, well, here, here and here. I am sure some a lot of people haven’t done so because, in a way, we take it for granted or because we might not find it as interesting as, say, tourist. Well, something similar happened to me. When I was living in Panama, I visited the Panama Canal only once and that was when I was 10 or so years old. Ever since, I had absolutely no interest in revisiting it. To me, it is just a pond with murky water where large boats go through from one ocean to another. Of course, that was my perspective of somebody living there/used to live there; for somebody who has never seen it will certainly have a different perspective…
Miraflores Visitor Centre. Sorry, this is the “best” picture of the bunch. Others might not be as good…
In this case, my parents’ friends had a keen interest in visiting it. After all, they are not from Panama and it was their first visit. Since I was taking care of them, that meant I was tagging along. So, without futher ado…
A boat just entering the locks.
Passing through the locks…
After the boats align itself to the locks (thanks to tugboats), they are then “pulled” by these.
After the boat crosses the locks, it closes and refills with water.
Almost done crossing the locks…
Done!
Finally, some wacky facts of the Panama Canal:
- There are three sets of locks: Gatún, Perdo Miguel and Miraflores.
- There was a referendum for a third set of locks was passed not long ago.
- It officially opened in August 15, 1914. Yes, it is almost 100 years old!
- Highest fare paid so far? US$331,200, paid by the Disney Magic.
- Lowest fare? 36 cents by Richard Haliburton who swimmed it.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
An amazing waterway. You are right about landmarks. During my years on the ships, I floated through the canal so many times, it became a routine.
But looking at the images, I want to go back and actually experience the transit again. The moneys changing hand are incredible, aren’t they?
Wow! Very, very cool. I know I try and get out to my local landmarks/sights on a fairly regular basis, if for not other reason than it’s so easy to forget what beauty is in our own backyard.
I love the little tow vehicles. I think it’s time for a trip!!
Holy….that is *narrow*.
any digging on any accidents / mishaps with the locks / canal? ;p
Jessica, not that many, as far as I know. A scratch or two, may be, like what happened to the new ferry to Victoria, which was “scratched” while crossing the Panama Canal. Oh, now that you mention “narrow”, these ships are called Panamax ships, which were built based on the dimensions of the locks. I think the clear distance is about a metre (or less) each side. Since navigation here is so tricky, the captain must surrender control of the ship while cruising the Canal to a certified pilot – this pilot is the one who actually navigates it through the Canal and the locks with the aid of the tug boats and those trains. (I know this because the Panama Canal is part of the Social Studies curriculum in Panama…!)
@Jessica. Once one of the captains on a cruise ship I worked on, banged a ship into the lock at maybe 1 Knot, it was unreal. So much damage.
I can remember having to do a school report on this when I was like twelve years old.
crazy! i would love to see that but maybe i’ll swim it like that guy. haha.
true that we rarely see our own tourist attractions. i’ve been to most (yep, van dusen as well) but only because i worked in the tourism industry. every april they hand out “passports” to employees and you have to go to a bunch of different tourist attractions to collect stamps (it’s free entry for you + 1). if you get enough, you get a free pass to all the attractions. fun program.
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