|
10.01.2026 - 17.01.2026 |
|
The Panama Canal is often called the eighth wonder of the world!
And rightly so, because the project was one of the greatest and most
elaborate masterpieces of engineering in living memory.
Before the canal was built, the shortest sea route from the east coast
to the west coast of North America led around South America and the
treacherous Cape Horn.
The canal reduced the sea route, for example from New York to San
Francisco, from 25,000 to approximately 10,000 kilometers.
At a ship speed of 15 knots, this saving of 15,000 kilometers equates to
a reduction in travel time of about three weeks. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Today we embark on a very special experience: a partial transit of the
Panama Canal.
We travel from the port in Gamboa, across Lake Gatun to the Pedro Miguel
Locks, cross Lake Miraflores to the Miraflores Locks, and end our
journey in Panama City. |
 |
 |
|
When a container ship enters the locks of the Panama Canal, it has
extremely little room.
Locomotives on both sides pull the ship between the concrete walls.
Instead of three weeks, the journey through the 80-kilometer-long canal
takes just eight to ten hours.
A large container ship pays around 600,000 to 800,000 US dollars for the
passage.
That sounds like a lot, but the three-week journey around Cape Horn
would cost three times as much. |
 |
 |
|
Miraflores locks |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Watch Video |
|
|
|
Besucherzähler Homepage |
