Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE BIG DITCH
Erroneously nicknamed
The Big Ditch
, the 77km canal eschews straight lines as it weaves
its way from the Pacific to the Caribbean or Atlantic entrance, which is actually 42km
to the west, on account of Panama's eel-like shape. British politician and historian James
Bryce dubbed the waterway “the greatest liberty Man has ever taken with nature”, though
ironically it has resulted in a symbiotic relationship between the two: the canal's constant
thirst for water to feed the locks is highly dependent on the preservation of the adjacent
national parks to protect the water catchment area.
The vast
lock chambers
measure 304.8m by 33.53m, affording colossal Panamax vessels
a mere 0.6m of leeway either side, yet they function in much the same way as they did
when they were first used. Once the gates are closed, these vast vessels are kept aligned by
cables attached to pairs of electric locomotives known as mules (
mulas
). The huge tunnel-
like culverts then kick in with phenomenal efficiency, taking only eight minutes to fill the
giant chamber with the equivalent of 43 Olympic swimming pools.
Tolls
for ships are calculated depending on type of vessel, and size and type of cargo.
The average toll for the largest vessels is $126,000 for the 8-10-hour transit but the costs
don't stop there, since up to three tugboats are also required for the more difficult stages
of the operation at a cost of up to $13,000 per boat, not to mention the obligatory canal
pilot. Once the
canal expansion
programme is complete, these costs are set to rocket. It is
no wonder then that annual profits are well in excess of $1 billion. Yet for all the sums, the
canal still represents a major saving in time and money for ships that would otherwise have
to travel 15,000km round the treacherous seas of Cape Horn.
Miraflores Locks
A mere fifteen minutes from downtown Panama City along the Avenida Omar Torrijos are
the
Miraflores Locks (Esclusas de Miraflores)
, where the four-storey
Centro de Visitantes
de Miraflores
provides a prime location for observing the canal in action. Marking the Pacif-
ic entrance to the waterway, the locks raise or lower vessels 16.5m between sea level and the
artificial Lago Miraflores in two stages, a process best appreciated from the visitor centre's
observation deck.
Centro de Visitantes Miraflores
Daily 9am-5pm, including holidays • $8 museum and viewing decks, $5 lower viewing deck only • 276
8617,
pancanal.com
• Take any Gamboa or Paraíso bus from the
Albrook
terminal to the Miraflores stop, or
it's $8-10 by taxi
The
Centro de Visitantes Miraflores
houses an informative introductory museum on the
canal's history and workings as well as an
observation deck
only metres from the locks. Op-
