BY JOHN JAWORSKI
Since the Panama Canal's opening almost 100 years ago, a
million ships have passed through the mighty locks.
The canal, a man-made marvel, remains one of the most vital
trade routes in the world, and a popular cruise for those
seeking relaxation and adventure.
My wife and I boarded the plane in Toronto to fly to San
Juan, Puerto Rico, to board the Sun Princess for our 11-day
journey through the Panama Canal.
This Caribbean cruise took us to St. Thomas, Barbados, Aruba
and Dominica.
One of our scheduled stops was to be in Gartagena, South
America. On approaching Gartagena, our captain informed us that
due to a city protest on the streets of the city, the stop over
was cancelled. We were told for the safety of the passengers we
were to stay an extra day at sea.
Now the most interesting part of out journey was about to
begin, entering the Panama Canal.
Initial efforts started in 1880, it took 34 years before
opening in Aug. 14, 1914.
Together the French and Americans spent $639 million. Could
you imagine the cost in today's dollars?
An estimated 800,000 people worked on the construction and
more than 30,000 lives were lost. The 50 miles across the
isthmus were among the hardest ever won by human ingenuity.
At 7 am, we started to enter the first phase of the Panama
Canal, entering the Gatun Locks, a series of three locks to
raise the ship.
Next to us, in the other lock, was a large freighter which
was carrying at least 1,000 piggy-back containers. It had to be
five stories high.
After leaving the locks, we had to wait over an hour for
clearance to proceed.
The eight hours was a very scenic journey. We passed barges
dredging the canal - an ongoing task to keep the silt from
building up in the canal.
Just past Panama City, we crossed under the Bridge of
Americas connecting North America and South America.
When the bridge was completed in 1962, it was a key part of
the Pan America Highway.
On leaving the canal, our final locks were Mira Flora and
Petro Miguel, a drop of 85 feet. Then we were out on the
Pacific Ocean.
We had one more day at sea, then we had a stopover at
Puntarenas in Costa Rica. On the final day, we docked at Puerto
Caldera.
Buses were waiting to take us to the airport.
After an hour drive we came to Costa Rica airport. It was
very, very small. We boarded the plane to Miami, made our
connection and returned to Toronto.
For those who are interested in taking the Panama Canal cruise, I recommend taking the complete trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
John Jaworski is a Sudbury writer who enjoys travelling.