Canal's locks. Note the water elevation difference.
Tall slender buildings with curious tops
Tall and thin.
Too obvious.
These guys paid $750 to come through the canal.
A strngely named supermarket. As one of the gang said, 'If it's mini, it's not super'
Locks open when levels are equal. These gates were installed 95 years ago and have been in constant use.
Painted buses are everywhere.
I took a cab to the Panama Canal today. It's almost a requirement that any engineer who comes to Panama must see the canal. It actually had a remarkable history. First proposed 500 years ago, but deemed impossible, it was reconsidered many times during the intervening years but always shelved. Finally France attempted the project somewhere around the 1870's. They spent 20 years fighting landslides, yellow fever and malaria before finally giving up. At the turn of the century the USA was planning to cut a canal through Nicaragua. Before they began they were approached by the French who offered the Americans a great deal on the old construction equipment and other project infrastructure. The project was completed on August 15, 1914. It is the main reason Panama City is such a thriving city and the country of Panama so advanced. Had the canal been built through Nicaragua perhaps Managua would today be a thriving metropolis instead of a backwater third-world shanty town.
I noticed a startling aspect of Panama City yesterday. Nearly all of its hundreds of skyscrapers are obviously phallic. Look at the photos above and see if you don't agree. It must be a result of the Latin machismo.
I took a cab to the Panama Canal today. It's almost a requirement that any engineer who comes to Panama must see the canal. It actually had a remarkable history. First proposed 500 years ago, but deemed impossible, it was reconsidered many times during the intervening years but always shelved. Finally France attempted the project somewhere around the 1870's. They spent 20 years fighting landslides, yellow fever and malaria before finally giving up. At the turn of the century the USA was planning to cut a canal through Nicaragua. Before they began they were approached by the French who offered the Americans a great deal on the old construction equipment and other project infrastructure. The project was completed on August 15, 1914. It is the main reason Panama City is such a thriving city and the country of Panama so advanced. Had the canal been built through Nicaragua perhaps Managua would today be a thriving metropolis instead of a backwater third-world shanty town.
I noticed a startling aspect of Panama City yesterday. Nearly all of its hundreds of skyscrapers are obviously phallic. Look at the photos above and see if you don't agree. It must be a result of the Latin machismo.
1 comment:
The Nicaraguan route was going to follow what is today's border with Costa Rica. It would have been two canals linking up with Lake Nicaragua in the middle--- a very doable project. Thankfully they didn't do it as the lake has fresh water sharks that surely would have been wiped out.
No comment on the building observations. Perhaps you've been traveling too long?
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