Visiting the Panama Canal | One of the world's greatest shortcuts

The Panama Canal, often referred to as the world's greatest shortcut, is an engineering feat that connects two mighty oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic. Built in the beginning of the 20th century, the Panama Canal cuts through the narrowest part of Central America through thick rainforests and rivers in Panama. The history and construction of this man-made marvel holds its own share of hurdles and ingenuity, which makes its existence all the more fascinating!

The French and the first attempt at building the Panama Canal

The French were the first to come at the idea of building a canal to connect the two oceans, and thereby cut down travel time by about 3 weeks. Without a canal, voyages with ships required them to travel all around South America which was long, expensive and dangerous. On the other hand, the ocean floor was piling up with shipwrecks from not-so-successful voyages. Commissioned by the French government, Frenchmen Ferdinand de Lesseps set out to explore the perfect route to develop the canal that would be destined to forever change the fate of seafaring. Lesseps was already known in the canal business as the creator of the Suez Canal in Egypt. But Panama was no desert! Having found the narrowest strip of Central America, the challenge lied in having to cut through dense forests and gushing rivers. Efforts would require them to move earth, and at the time the largest moving of earth by volume than ever done in history. Nevertheless, the French initiated work on the canal. What they didn't account for was the immensely tormenting weather and environmental conditions (unidentified diseases like Yellow fever and Malaria) that they would have to battle. Eventually, they had to abandon work, by the end of which about 20,000 workers are claimed to have lost their lives to diseases and tough working conditions. 

Ships waiting their turn to cross the Panama canal

The Americans and the second successful attempt at building the canal

At the turn of the 20th century, the Americans were intently eyeing the development of world affairs in the region and were growing keen on solidifying their control over the oceans. The French defeat at building the canal, gave them the perfect opportunity to try their luck at constructing that piece of dream passage. Sent in to devise a strategy for the canal, American engineer John F. Stevens came up with the proposition to use the power of the Chagres river to their benefit - a crucial lesson learnt from the mistakes of the French. Stevens had a simple idea - use the current of the Chagres to move ships within the canal. Simple but ingenious! Thus, enters the story of locks!

The Miraflores Locks

What are locks in a canal? Locks are simply gates with controlled opening and closing, that allows water pressure to be raised or lowered as necessary and (most importantly) on demand. Imagine a canal (which is a strip of open water) with several locks. Once a ship enters the first section of the locks, the gates would close. Simple gravity and opening of valves would allow water to gush in to the gates, thus raising the ship. The ship would then move to the second section of the locks, where the process would  repeat and the ship would get further lowered. This would be done another 1 or 2 more times to achieve the level of the ocean where the ship is entering in to. The awesomeness of the locks lies in their simplicity - no digital or advanced technology needed, just let gravity and water do their jobs! Today the Panama Canal has 5 sets of locks distributed across the isthmus.

Ships passing through the Panama Canal

With the locks situation sorted and the Chagres tamed, the next advances were made swiftly. What also helped was the pioneering research of physician and sanitation expert, William C. Gorgas, who identified mosquitoes as the causes for Yellow Fever and Malaria. Developments in the direction of abating transmission meant that workers were not sick or dying anymore. These achievements paved the way in finally accomplishing the creation of the waterway, known today as the Panama Canal. 

Elated visitors cheering the passing of ships through the canal - an everyday story

The Panama Canal today

The Panama Canal is a busy seaport with ships crossing its waters all day and night long - its a 24h operation. When moving from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, ships have to enter the Miraflores Locks - the first locks on the southern end of the canal. Passing Miraflores, ships arrive at the Pedro Miguel Locks from which they move onto Rio (river) Chagres, and then enters the artificial Gatun Lake. In the lake, ships move towards the final sets of locks - the Gatun Locks. Parallel to the Gatun Locks are the larger Agua Clara Locks (for bigger vessels). By passing through them, ships make it through to the Atlantic from where they continue their onward voyage. A complete passage requires about 8-10 hours per ship, including all formal affairs. Ships in the canal are guided by 'mules' which are little vehicles (usually 6) that guide the ship through the narrow canal. This is necessary as passing through the canal requires immense precision in maneuvering, and has no room for errors. To give an idea, at times the ships only have about 1 foot on either sides when making the passage! Skilled Panamanian sailors remain on board to ensure safety and smooth passing. You don't want to mess it up here!

An EUKOR (company that ships cars) cargo ship exiting the Miraflores locks

Visiting the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is best visited from the Miraflores Locks and Visitors' Centre which is only 14 km away from Panama City. Ubers and local taxis drive in visitors all day long. The Visitors' Centre screens a 3D movie on the history and construction of the canal, narrated by the one and only Morgan Freeman! Following the movie, visitors can watch ships making the passage from the viewing deck right at the banks of the canal. Cheering, waving and orchestrated 'Hola!' are commonplace! The response is returned from those on deck the passing ship. The canal ships almost every type of cargo -  materials for building homes and offices, to raw materials needed to produce food, to gasoline, and passenger cruise ships - if it's legit cargo, it gets shipped! It's a fun affair (at most times), but even more bewildering is the mammoth construction that changed worldwide shipping and travel forever!

Some fun facts about the Panama Canal

• The first voyage through the canal went rather unnoticed as World War I broke out the same day the canal was opened in August 1914.
• To remain competitive and in business, the Panama Canal underwent a further expansion phase where a parallel but much wider canal (the Cocoli Locks) was opened in 2016 which allowed the passage of larger and more modern ships. This expansion required moving more earth, surpassing amounts moved during the first canal construction.
• The Panama Canal was controlled by the Americans until as recently as 1999, after which the operations and controls were fully handed over to Panama.
• The incomes and revenues generated from the Panama Canal contributes to about 3% of the country's GDP.