Panama Update #41
September 2, 2008
The last two days have been quite busy and I have not had access to a computer. Our alarm went off at 4:00 AM on Sunday (two days ago). Nikki had to be at the dock for the research vessle by 5:00 AM. I was going with her for the first day when their boat went through the canal, and then planned to return at the end of the day with 3 others by taxi from Colon, from the Atlantic side of the canal. We arrived there on time, but Nikki realized she had forgot her hiking boots. It was critical that she had them for the activities she would be doing over the next two weeks. We borrowed a truck to drive back to our dorm room. We got there fine, but on the way back took a wrong turn and went over the Bridge of Americas by mistake. It was still dark and we were mixed up in the jungle on the other side, but called someone for directions. It was the first time I had crossed this bridge, which links the two continents. I thought is was interesting that I would be on both sides of that bridge on the same day I would be in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. We made it back to the ship on time. The ship slept 11 people, 5 crew members, and had a kitchen, dining room, a couple of outdoor decks, and a research room for storing samples. Nikki had a roommate from the Kuna Yala region. She would act as a translator and guide for the group of scientists. A boat going through the canal has to have an appointment and then has to wait for instructions on when they can proceed. The boat we were on was relatively small, so we had to wait until a bigger ship was going through that fit with us in the locks. We waited in the water by the Bridge of the Americas until finally we started on our journey through the canal at about 10:00 AM. Since we were late being called to the first locks, by the time we got to the entrance point for the 3rd and last set of locks, it was already about 2:30 PM. It normally takes about 8 hours to go all the way through the canal. We thought we would have a chance to go through, but the ship received word that we would not be able to pass through until the next day. So I and the 3 others had to unexpectedly stay on the ship for Sunday night. I had no change of clothes, toothbrush or other supplies, and it would be my first time sleeping on a boat. It was a calm, starry night on the water and for the most part a pleasant experience. They didn't have bunk space for us, so I slept on a mat on the floor of Nikki's room. The cabins are small but we all squeezed in. The next day they finally called the boat through the last lock at about 2:30 PM, so we ended up waiting for about 24 hours. When we reached Colon, the four of us caught a train back to Panama City which only takes one hour. It was a beatiful, air conditioned train ride through the canal and jungle for $22. It is the oldest transcontinental train in the Americas, from 1855, before the US had a transcontinental train. It was so valuable when it opened at that time, that it became the highest traded stock on the New York Stock exchange for a few years.
The experience of going through the canal was more meaningful then I could have imagined. It was traveling through a place that people from all over the world have gone through for over 100 years. It is truly a gathering place of the people of the world.
