Rashel Abroad: Panama Canal

Esclusas del Canal de Panamá

The Panama Canal locks is one of the most successful achievements in engineering and has been for more than a century a passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. If you are thinking of traveling to Panama, this place is the most interesting and important travel destination in the country.

The best way to do it is, of course, traveling on a cruise ship and enjoy the adventure of experiencing on first hand how the canal works. Although this was not part of my trip, I wished it would've.

What is interesting about the canal is how before this invention, ships had to sail for two weeks (over 9,000 miles), surrounding the whole continent, to get to the other side, and now it can be done in just 8 hours by creating artificial lakes above mountains.

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For visitors, the building has three levels to observe the ships passing through the canal. Those levels are what they call "esclusas". In there, captains can monitor the status of their ships and the administration secures the passage.

Then there is the visitor center of Agua Clara, where they have an impressive panoramic view of the artificial Gatun Lake, where the ships get prepared. There are many restaurants, and a museum with Panamanian history.

View from the Agua Clara Visitor Center

As a main point of interest for global commerce, this destination is undeniably an amazing experience. You will be astonished by the amount of work it takes and how the heavy locks open up and close.