Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish used the isthmus as a transit point
for shipping plundered gold between Peru and Spain. The main route was the famous
cobblestoned Camino Real (King's Hwy), which linked Panamá to Portobelo, and served
as the only road across the isthmus for hundreds of years. In the 1700s, however, the
route was abandoned in favor of shipping gold around Cape Horn owing to repeated pir-
ate attacks, the most famous of which was Captain Henry Morgan's sacking of Panamá
Viejo in 1671.
As early as 1524, King Charles V of Spain had ordered a survey to determine the feas-
ibility of constructing a trans-isthmian water route. But it wasn't until the 1880s that any
country dared to undertake the momentous project of carving a trench through these
dense jungles and mountains. The first canal attempt came from a French team led by
Ferdinand-Marie de Lesseps, bolstered by his prior success building the Suez Canal.
Sadly, the French team grossly underestimated the difficulties and some 22,000 work-
ers died during the construction attempt. Most lives were lost to yellow fever and mal-
aria, which led to the establishment of an enormous quarantine on Isla Taboga. It was not
yet known that mosquitoes were the disease vector.
Several decades later, the Americans learned from the mistakes of the French and suc-
ceeded in completing the canal in 1914. Today, the waterway rests firmly in the hands of
the Panamanian government, and the face of the canal is rapidly changing as an ambi-
tious expansion is made.
AROUND PANAMA CITY
No visit to Panama City would be complete without taking a day trip to its famous water-
way - though just remember that the Canal Zone is much, much more than just the canal.
The rainforest surrounding the canal is easily accessed and one of the best places to view
a variety of Central American wildlife.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Panama Canal
One of the world's greatest artificial marvels, the canal stretches 80km from Panama City
on the Pacific side to Colón on the Atlantic side, cutting right through the continental di-
vide. Around 13,000 vessels pass through the canal each year and ships worldwide are
built with the dimensions of the Panama Canal's locks (305m long and 33.5m wide) in
mind. In 2010 the canal brought in US$2 billion in revenue.
