Lamps from India
The Bridge of the Americas
Boats lined up and waiting to cross
Skyline
My favorite building in the new part
Now we start the "French Quarter" or
Casco photos
Panamá is a country of extremes, extrememely rich and poor, amazing looking houses next door to fixer uppers.
One side of the street you see the ocean.
Skyscrapers are on the other end.
This church...
... was the home of this altar
Here is the most recent constructed buildings towering over the old town.
On the way to the canals. The boats are still lined up.
Miraflores Locks
Guy crossing the door of the first lock filled with water waiting to receive a ship.
The ships lowering down in the Pedro Miguel locks further up river.
American yacht leaving the locks
Centennial Bridge which is where the Pan-American highway crosses.
Here come the ships, the mules (the electric locomotives) lined up for their arrival
A pelican also waits
Quick trip to the museum/interlude.
The red one is carrying oil
The black one is carrying grain.
Gates begin to open
A trained pilot takes over the ship to take in through the Canal. He is wearing a white shirt and can be seen in the middle top window.
A cargo carriers just released as the other one is still at a higher level in the Pedro Miguel Locks
Closeup of the mule. The lighting makes it look like a toy.
The pilot is now outside under the red ship's canopy monitoring its progress. The black ship's name dips below the edge.
Passing to the next lock.
The gates begin to close. Unfortunately the public part was closing and we had to leave before seeing the complete process. However, they say we were very fortunate to see two boats at one time.
From our perch, we could see the dust where they are constructing new locks. The new locks will recycle the water.
20 minutes away is the admin building for the canal. The alley of palm trees is the same width as the canal.
That evening we had supper at a place that showed the folk dances of the people of Panamá
