PANAMA- MIRAFLORES LOCK

Wednesday 17 January 2007

Usual morning routine and ask at the desk for postage..informed that Panama doesn't have mailboxs- most places that sell postcards don't have stamps and all business is done at the post office. Today we have a big bus for a full day journey- Don't get a seat to myself as there are no empty seats. Cross the Bridge of the Americas and head toward the Atlantic side of the canal- Stop at Madden dam a water reserve to run the locks when the dry season hits. (More on Mechanics of Canal Later) Then we enter a tropical forest reserve and stop at a rusty cannon that marks the trail throught the jungle that the conquistadors used to move Inca gold from Peru over to the Caribean side of the peninsula. Guide painted a vivid picture of 4 feet tall Spaniards in armor using donkeys to haul through the jungle infested with insects etc. Then over to watch the dredges at work and get a look at what what the new canal expansion will be like. Found that the reason the Pedro Miguel lock is in two parts is because of a ground fault. and then drove over to a resort hotel in the Gamboa reserve where we also get to see how the Chagres river was diverted to supply the Canal. Got to see a couple of ships pass and the train we'll be taking back from Colon in 2 days. A quick stopat the 'French Cemetery"- got its name from the fact that these people died usually of didease during the time the French were trying to build the cana. Estimated deaths were 50,000. One cross equals 100 bodies. l Next stop is the Miraflores ('look at the flowers') Lock which has a 4 story building with a large exhibit to explain the Canal and the Lock system and an observation deck right next to the canal on the top floor. All goes well as the first ship headed to the Pacific arrives at 4pm it is an Old Renaissance Cruise ship renamed the Regatta and even on the top floor (5th) can't see over the top of it. An amazing sight- followed by dinner in the Miraflores restaurant with good food and able to watch more ship traffic- runs like clockwork. Back at the hotel at seven so we can get an early start in am. Tomorrow we are scheduled to go through the canal on our private yatch- alledged to have belonged to Al Capone during his rum running days. Its an antique oak ship and we were told that we will be in the Miraflores lock at 0900 and the Pedro Miguel lock at 0930. All the locks have web cams on them but I don't know the web page. But if any of you want to see the ship I'm on- you've got the facts. We leave the hotel at 0700 and will bisembark in Colon to stay there overnight (baggage going by bus) and we'll return to PC by train the day after that. More Later.