Saturday, October 4, 2008

A man, a plan, a canal; Panama!



So, the famous canal. We thought we couldn´t really not visit it, and we´re glad we did. The best way to see it (according to the rough guide) is by boat, actually going through the lock system, ideally alongside an ocean-going ship, and that´s exactly what we did today. Above is a photo of me, in one of the locks. It´s actually the first of the miraflores locks, which raises the ships 8 metres above sea level. At the Pacific end, the Puente de las Americas (Bridge of the Americas) spans the canal mouth (photo below).



The ships that transit the canal are pretty huge; this one´s around 33 metres wide. It´s actually about 8 inches short of the maximum width that can fit through the locks!





Behind Rachel in the photo above you can see the rainforest through which the canal cuts. Below you can see what the walls of the locks look like from the bottom. The maximum elevation above sea level of the canal is 26 metres, through three locks from the Pacific end.





Unexpectedly, we spotted this crocodile near the canal mouth. He´s chomping on a huge fish!



Bonus points for anyone who spotted that this post´s title is a palindrome!

Rob

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there! Sounds like you're having great fun. All of your envious relatives (Uncle Jerry Parle, Aunt Jane and Alice) in London say hello via me(Alice). We were shown your blog by Greg and Liz when they came down to visit us. Have fun for us on your travels!
Love your London rellies
Uncle Jerry, aunt Jane and your cousin Alice

Rob Parle and Rachel Smith said...

Hi Alice, thanks for the comment. We`re having lots of fun and will keep everyone up-dated! Love Rob and Rachel

Anonymous said...

Hi Rachel and Rob
Glad you are having an obviously great time, keep it up!
Nanna is desperate to say hello
Love from all at Bretby XXX