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The country of Panama holds a unique strategic geographic location
and it has tried its best throughout the ages to exploit this to the full. From the time of the Portobello fairs to the first transisthmian railroad to the present waterway
often considered to be the eighth wonder of the world.

A canal linking the Atlantic with the Pacific oceans had been a dream since the first Spanish colonizations. In fact it was Charles V of Spain who first envisaged a shortcut through the Panamanian jungle to ease the difficult crossing. So in 1524 he ordered a survey of the land. However what inspired the king initially was not so much the possibilities for trade
so much as how to bring back to Spain with least difficulty the hoards of treasure recently discovered in Peru. Unfortunately for him
earth-moving techniques were to need major improvement before his idea could be undertaken.

It was not until 1826 when the United States started investigating a treaty with South American countries to "protect the companies intending to open a communication system between both oceans"
that the building of a canal attracted worldwide interest
with France
England and the United States looking for locations and means to avoid the long
difficult and dangerous voyage around Cape Horn. The first attempt at this was the construction of the Transisthmian Railroad in 1855
which eliminated about 8
0
miles from the journey.

The first attempt at a canal was in 1854 by a multinational expedition comprising the United States
France
England and New Granada. But the impenetrability of the jungle was to take its toll and the attempt failed with many resultant deaths. But not to be daunted in this most crucial endeavor
in 1878 the French obtained a concession from Colombia to build a waterway. Yet again
after seven years of fighting disease and other jungle problems
the attempt was to fail with yellow fever
malaria and various plagues holding sway. This project
with the idea of building a level canal
was ultimately abandoned at the turn of the century.

Eventually the creation of a canal was to become a military imperative for the United States who commenced (fruitless) negotiations with Colombia in 1902. Finally
Panama declared its independence from Colombia in 1903 and the project went ahead. The monumental construction took 10 years to complete at a cost of $387 million.

The Panama Canal is 50 miles in length running from northwest to southeast. About 8 hours is needed for a typical vessel to transit the canal
whilst being lifted gradually to a height of 85 feet through three sets of locks – the Gatun
Pedro Miguel and Miraflores.

Operating the gigantic locks consumes vast amounts of fresh water. For every ship passing along the waterway
around 52 million gallons of water flows into the locks then out to sea. This comes from the Gatun and Madden lakes. The lock gates
themselves engineering wonders
consist of pairs of towering leaves from 47 to 82 feet high
65
feet wide and 7 feet thick. Their weight is from 400 to 700 tons
yet each can be opened or closed in 2 minutes
powered by electric motors.

To navigate the canal
a ship’s captain must relinquish responsibility for his vessel to a Panama Canal Pilot. Currently over 250 pilots steer over 14
0
ships through the canal each year. The total time spent in the canal is around a full day. Navigating through the canal is not cheap for vessels
averaging several 10s of thousands of dollars
depending upon the size of vessel and its contents. However
whatever the toll
it is typically ten times what it would have cost to navigate around Cape Horn.

The Panama Canal Commission welcomes visitors at the Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side of the Isthmus seven days a week
from 9am to 5pm. Ships passing through the locks can be viewed from a pavilion where commentators provide an English and Spanish-language commentary
giving all the details of the canal including the amazing statistics. From yachts and small crafts through to container vessels
huge cruise liners and even small submarines
the Panama Canal is truly an international crossing point.