Colón, Panama

Today we docked at Colon, then were bussed to the visitors’ center for the Panama Canal at Miraflores Lock. We saw ships pass through the canal and enjoyed the museum explaining the construction of this massive project that saves about 8000 miles on a ship’s passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. Originally attempted by the French in the 1870’s, the canal was finally constructed by an American company in 1904. Workers were largely from Barbados and other Caribbean Islands. In both French and American attempts to build the canal, over 30,000 workers died from malaria, yellow fever and accidents. Roughly one-third of the revenue generated in Panama is created by this canal. The fare for a small sailboat is about $800, while that for a large container ship can be $900,000. After Miraflores we went to the Clara Agua lock to see the larger locks built from 2007 to 2015 to allow the largest container ships and petroleum tankers to pass through the canal. On the way back to our ship the driver spotted a howler monkey high in a tree over the road. We were able to photograph this young male howling to attract a mate.Read more