Panama Canal Day 1

Today’s adventure took us across the isthmus on the Panama Canal Railway from the Caribbean Sea on the north to the Pacific Ocean on the south. Say what?? Look at a map. Panama is the only country in the Americas that can lay claim to this.

Back to the railroad. The “first” transcontinental railroad, the 50 mile long PCR, was built in the early 1850s by the US as a way to more easily get the mail & goods delivered from the east coast of the US to California. The railroad runs alongside the Canal that was built 50 years later.

Today there are 2 canals. The original one takes vessels up to 106’ wide x 965’ long, holding up to 4k containers. The new canal takes vessels up to 160’ wide x 1,400’ long, holding up to 13k containers. The average fee to go through the locks is $100k.

Twent-three rivers feed the PC waterway and the Continental Divide runs through it. One side receives 110” of rain annually while the other side receives up to 220” each year.

The “red right returning” rule of navigation prevails from the Caribbean side through the last lock at which point the rules are reversed.

What a fun day exploring Panama this way. Tomorrow we will go by ship. But before that, we had superb food & wine in The Restaurant before heading up to the pool deck to “go to the movies” — “Downton Abbey: A New Era” was shown on a really really large screen.