About Me
- Marina Ehrman
- Panama, Panama, Panama
- Greetings from Panama! My name is Marina Ehrman and I have been a professional tour guide and promoter for Panama Tourism and Travel Company since 2005. I love what I do and am proud to share what my country has to offer. It is filled with endless leisure and commercial attractions, friendly happy people who open their doors to all visitors. Panama is a country of incomparable natural beauty with a variety of tourist attractions, beautiful beaches in the Pacific and Caribbean. The tropical climate year round with its diversified flora, fauna and indigenous groups make it one of the most important of Ecotourism in Latin America. I invite you to know our country’s history, culture and also enjoy the cuisine, folklore and traditions that only a place in the world can provide………Panama! Contact me and I’ll organize your visit and will be happy to welcome you in Panama. For more information on Panama, follow my Facebook page and my blog. Visit www.panamatourismtravel.com
Who came up with the idea of building the waterway?
The dream of creating a canal through the Isthmus of Panama which would unite the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, dates back to the 16th century.
The idea could have been born when Vasco Nuñez de Balboa crossed the isthmus in 1513 and discovered that only a narrow stretch separated the oceans. The Emperor Charles V, who developed the notion that a natural path was not available, began the efforts to build a passageway.
Panama Hat History
"Panama Hat" a name that does not make any sense. If this hat is from Ecuador, why is it called Panama Hat? Well, here is why....
In 1835, Manuel Alfaro, a very wise businessman from Spain, settled in Montecristi where he found his pot of gold. His goal became to export the "Montecristis", another name used at that time for the finest "Sombreros de Paja Toquilla" that came from this little town in the province of Manabi. Manuel Alfaro was able to find a very effective and organized system that produced hundres of thousands of Panama Hats to satisfy the ongoing and growing demand of these masterpieces across the world.
The production in the Manabi province was not enough to satisfy demand. Therefore, the city of Cuenca located in the province of Azuay, took action and created a hat factory in 1836. Eventually, in addition to the factory, a hat workshop was built in the same city where trade and manufacturing took place.
By 1845 another wise business character join the Panama Hat industry, Don Bartolome Serrano, an Ecuadorian citizen from the town of Azogues. Serrano developed competition by producing large quantities of hats in the region of the Azuay province. However, the finests Panama Hats ever made have come and will always come from Montecristi the city where the finest weavers live until today.
Panama Hats took off in production in the middle of the 19th century. On the other hand, the world was excited about the colossal project assigned to Ferdinand de Lesseps, which will unify the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, "The Panama Canal".
For the construction of this amazing project, Panama Hats were crucial. The enviorment where the construction crew of the Panama Canal work was hot and humid. Sunny days made Panama Hats a daily must wear head gear and some of the finest woven hats could even hold water to refresh these hard workers digging out tons of earth.
Theodore Roosevelt fell in love of these hats while visiting the construction of the Canal in 1906. His picture wearing a fine "Panama Hat" appeared in The New York Times and the world then mistaken the origin of this noble Ecuadorian handcraft. There was nothing people could do at that time to correct this now traditional name of "Panama Hats" and its amazing history. The world knew the "Sombrero de Paja Toquilla" for the name of its shipping point, Panama and not from its country of origin, Ecuador.
Expansion plan and the New Panamax
As early as the 1930s, new locks were proposed for the Panama Canal to ease congestion and to allow larger ships to pass. The project was abandoned in 1942.
On October 22, 2006, the Panama Canal Authority (with the support of the Electoral Tribunal) held a referendum for Panamanian citizens to vote on the Panama Canal expansion project. The expansion was approved by a wide margin, with support from about 78% of the electorate. It is estimated that the project will be completed by 2014 and will cost $5.3 billion; this sum is expected to be recovered within 11 years.
The plans to build bigger locks have led to the creation of "New Panamax", based on new lock dimensions of 1,400 ft (427 m), beam 180 ft (55 m) and depth 60 ft (18.3 m). Naval architects and civil engineers are already taking into account these dimensions for container ships. The world's largest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas, has almost New Panamax dimensions but her height may prevent her passing under the Bridge of the Americas even at low tide.
After this expansion, the Panama Canal will be able to handle vessels of cargo capacity up to 13,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU); currently, it can only handle vessels up to about 5,000 TEU. A third set of locks—1,400 ft (426.72 m) long, 180 ft (54.86 m) wide, with a draft of 60 ft (18.29 m)—will supplement the two existing sets.
However, even before the revised dimensions were announced, the Maersk E-class—like the Emma Maersk, the future Maersk Triple E Class, as well as many large tankers (ULCCs) and some bulk carriers (VLOCs)—will not be able to pass through even the new, much larger locks. The Maersk E and Triple E Class are too wide for even the new locks.
Several ports, including the ports of New York, Norfolk, and Baltimore, all in the northeastern US, have already increased their depth to at least 50 feet (15 m) to accommodate these changes, and the Port of Miami has recently approved doing the same in a project known as the "Deep Dredge" and will be the closest deep water port to the Panama Canal in the US. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is planning to raise the clearance of the Bayonne Bridge to 215 feet (66 m), at a cost of $1 billion, to allow New Panamax ships to reach container port facilities in New Jersey.
Post-Panamax Ships
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Post-Panamax or over-Panamax denote ships larger than Panamax that do not fit in the canal, such as supertankers and the largest modern container ships. The "largest oil tanker in the world"—whichever ship held the title at the time—has not been able to transit the Panama Canal at least since the Idemitsu Maru was launched in the 1960s; she was about 150,000 deadweight tons. U.S. Navy supercarriers are also in the post-Panamax class; the Nimitz class aircraft carriers are 1,092 ft (332.84 m) long overall with a beam of 134 ft (40.84 m), while the flight deck is 252 ft (76.81 m) wide.
Panamax and New Panamax
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The allowable size is limited by the width and length of the available lock chambers, by the depth of the water in the canal and by the height of the Bridge of the Americas. Ships that do not fall within the Panamax-sizes are called Post Panamax. The limits have influenced those constructing cargo ships, giving clear parameters for ships destined to traverse the Panama Canal.
"Panamax" has been in effect since the opening of the canal in 1914. In 2009 the Canal management published the "New Panamax", that will be in effect when the third lane of locks, larger than the current two, are operational from 2014.
The increasing prevalence of vessels of the maximum size is a problem for the canal as a Panamax ship is a tight fit that requires precise control of the vessel in the locks, possibly resulting in longer lock time, and requiring that these ships transit in daylight. Because the largest ships traveling in opposite directions cannot pass safely within the Gaillard Cut, the canal effectively operates an alternating one-way system for these ships.
Teodoro Roosevelt visit during the Panama Canal construction
The 26th U.S. president, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, was the first president to visit a foreign country. His enthusiasm for the Panama Canal project led him to see it for himself in November 1906.
In anticipation of his visit Panamanians and Zonians alike went into overdrive to make the place presentable. David McCullough writes in his seminal book, Path Between the Seas:,
Advanced preparations involved the efforts of thousands of people. . . . streets were scrubbed, houses were painted or whitewashed, flags were hung from windows and balconies. Programs were printed, schoolchildren were rehearsed in patriotic airs. The Republic of Panama declared his day of arrival a national day of “joy and exalted enthusiasm” and instructed the populace to behave, since “all thinkers, sociologists and philosophers of the universe [will] have their eyes upon us in penetrating scrutiny.”
At Ancon, construction of a big three-story frame hotel called the Tivoli, a structure begun the year before but still far from finished, rushed ahead with all speed as soon as Stevens learned of the visit. One wing of the building was finished and furnished in six weeks.
Once Roosevelt arrived he was not the most obliging to his hosts. At one point he pulled Dr. William Gorgas into his carriage then slipped out the other side with him for an impromptu inspection of Ancon Hospital. Later he would report their medical accomplishments were astounding.
The President toured the bay in a tug boat and then popped in for a surprise visit and lunch at an employee mess hall instead of showing up for the luncheon in his honor at the Tivoli. He took the site-seeing train to Culebra Cut where he walked the railway ties. He was continuously pointing out the things he wanted to see and demanded to see them, even going so far as to inquire of black workers if they had any complaints. In his enthusiasm he inspected everything from dam sites, to steam shovels, to kitchens, to military troops. Teddy’s secret service men frantically scurried around trying to keep up as he dashed around the Canal Zone. Standing at the back of the train, he waved his hat and flashed his toothy smile at the children lined up to wave flags as he passed.
After his whirlwind three-day visit everyone complained of exhaustion. As for Teddy, his only regret was that he didn’t have time to explore Panama’s tropical forest. He wrote in a letter to his son Kermit,
All my old enthusiasm for natural history seemed revived, and I would have given a good deal to have stayed and tried to collect specimens
Panama Canal Locks Gates
The gates which separate the chambers in each flight of locks must hold back a considerable weight of water, and must be both reliable and strong enough to withstand accidents, as the failure of a gate could unleash a catastrophic flood of water downstream.
These gates are of enormous size, ranging from 47 to 82 ft (14.33 to 24.99 m) high, depending on position, and are 7 ft (2.13 m) thick; the tallest gates are required at Miraflores, due to the large tidal range there. The heaviest leaves weigh 662 t (730 short tons; 652 long tons); the hinges themselves each weigh 16.7 t (36,817 lb). Each gate has two leaves, 65 ft (19.81 m) wide, which close to a V shape with the point upstream; this arrangement has the effect that the force of water from the higher side pushes the ends of the gates together firmly. The gates can only be opened when, in the operating cycle, water level on both sides is equal.
The original gate machinery consisted of a huge drive wheel, powered by an electric motor, to which was attached a connecting rod, which in turn attached to the middle of the gate. These mechanisms were replaced with hydraulic struts beginning in January 1998, after 84 years of service. The gates are hollow and buoyant, much like the hull of a ship, and are so well balanced that two 19 kW (25 hp) motors are enough to move each gate leaf; if one motor fails, the other can still operate the gate at reduced speed.
Each chamber also contains a pair of auxiliary gates which can be used to divide the chamber in two; this is designed to allow for the transit of smaller vessels — such as canal tugs — without using the full quantity of water. They were originally incorporated because the overwhelming majority of all ships of the early 1900s were less than 600 ft (183 m) in length, and would therefore not need the full length of the lock chamber. Nowadays these gates are rarely used; instead, small boats such as tour boats, tugs, and yachts are passed in groups.
Panama Canal Locks Dimensions
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Each lock is 33.53 meters (110 feet) wide by 304.8 meters (1,000 feet) long
The maximum dimensions of ships that can transit the Canal are: 32.3 meters (106 feet) in beam; 294.3 meters (965 feet) long (depending on the type of vessel); and 12 meters (39.5 feet) of draft (depth reach) in Tropical Fresh Water.
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Who made the commemorative Gaillard plaque?
The bronze sculpture of the Gaillard plaque was the work of the notable american
artist James Earl Fraser in 1927. It was manufactured by Kuntz Foundry of New
York. On February 4th, 1928 the plaque was dedicated to the memory of Colonel
David DuBoise and was placed on Contractor's Hill. It was removed from
Contractor's Hill, due to the cut widening project and relocated at the steps of
the Administration Building. The plaque was a gift from the Gaillard
family.
The Panama Canal tugboat fleet
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