Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Panama

Delightful - what surprise, we find that we love it here!

A tour of Mierflores on the Panama Canal. Wow what a feat of engineering.
I have always wanted to come here, ever since we left Uganda, and Mum and Dad said that we would return there, through the Panama Canal.
And now I'm here, 52 years later.



The gates in photos above are still working, over a hundred years after they were built. In 2016 two new lanes were built allowing the canal to take super tankers and vessels. We watched a tanker pass through the two gates at Mierflores. Boats have to be lifted 26 metres in irder to get them over the ismuth.
The first attempt by the French was based on the Suez Canal design. But the French hadn't considered the nature of the topography or the fact that they were trying to build over basalt and a fault line.
The second attempt was made by the USA and the design was based around a lock system that allowed the ships to be lifted and then lowered through the canal system. It takes approximately eight hours for a ship to be able to pass through the entire system, ie from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean or vice versa.
At the Pacific side (Mierflores) there are two gates, then a large man-made lake which snakes through hills until you reach the highest point where there is one gate. At the Atlantic side there are three more gates. The old design uses an enormous quantity of water to operate. The gates are hydronically operated. On each side of the vessel; two on each side and one on each side at the back are electronic "mules". These mules do not pull the boat through, merely prevent the vessel from touching the sides. A Panamanian pilot is required by regulation and he directs the boat on its entire journey through the canal. Boats are charged a toll for utilising the canal and this is based on tonnage.
The record for the least tonnage was, Richard Bonnington (I think), who was duly weighed and charged the princely sum of .36 cents. Of course he had to have a pilot accompany him through the canal. He also had escorts with revolvers in case there were crocodiles. It took him eight days to swim it, stopping at night.
The electricity for the whole canal operation all comes from a thermal power station built in the area.
The history of the construction and final ownership of the canal is astounding. The canal really has been the catalyst for Panama to become one of the most economically wealthy and pollitically stable country in all of Latin America.
The Panamanians are very proud of their struggle to gain independence from Spain, France, Columbia and USA, who either governed Panama or owned the entire canal - 80 kilometers long by 16 kilometers wide. The width kept expanding with the Americans, especially during WW1 and WW2. Many treaties were made with the different authorities, and over time and with people power these treaties were slowly reversed. The Panamanians recognise that people from all over the world were involved in this mega project and with this in mind believe this canal belongs to the world.
Two dictatorships in Panama have altered the political destiny for this country. After the brutal dictatorship of Noriega and after the USA stepped into capture him, Panamainians voted for a democracy, where no leader can be elected in succession. The term of office is for five years. They also disbanded their army.
Panama City had two old centres. The first was built in the early 1500's by the Spanish. The Spanish burned this to the ground, when the city became an undefendable target for pirates seeking to steal the gold from them coming in from Peru.
The second city, a walled city called Casco, is a UNESCO World Heritage area. Totally unique in that the foundations are protected by law, but as an owner you can choose any kind of architectural style as long as the records show that the building had at some time been that style.

First old city.


This one is for Zalea. The founder of Jazz Latin America.






As you can see there are examples od American, Jamaican, Spanish, French architectures.
And finally, we stayed in a newly renovated apartment hotel, Las Clemantinas. We had a bedroom with bathroom, huge living/dining room, kitchen and balcony overlooking the street.



Last night as we returned to our apartment, we heard a church service happening. We looked outside to see a loudspeaker set up in the street, the squatters from the building next door sitting in rows of plastic chairs. Hymns were sung, a sermon preached, prayers said and a reading from the bible, just on the street.
Now we are waiting in the airport lounge for our flight to Athens. We have had the best time in Central America. It is many thanks to the very kind people we have met, that we say goodbye to these amazing countries.

1 comment:

  1. I have been reading of your adventures with fascination. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it and to a country, countries, I will never get to.

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