2008 January, Panama City, Panama

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The roads are good and driving standards are the best in Central America :)	we make good time at a fast pace	taking a low corner I scrape my right toe ... so slow down
	It's sweltering in Panama City	Carpet World Panama stylie
	We find a great Lebanese place ...
	The Canal (is it far ?)
another gratuitious bike shot on the way to the canal
per day : $3 - $4 million revenue with an average of 36 ships		It takes between 8-10 hrs to transit the canal, but ships spend an average of 24hrs including admin & waiting time

Construction began in 1880 by a French company, but over 20k men died due to tropical diseases & accidents & the company went bust.

After Panama ceded from Colombia, (1903), the USA bought the canal rights in 1904, along with the land parallel. It opened Aug 15th 1914

On Dec 31st 1999 Panama resumed full sovereign rights over the canal & land.

Each lock is 33.5m wide & 305m long, and work is planned to build 2 new parallel locks to increase this to 52m wide & 450m long

passage has to be booked 96hrs in advance & accompanied with payment - CASH only, although credit card is taken :) definitely no travellers or personal cheques :)		The lowest toll for transiting the canal was paid by Richard Halliburton who paid 36c to swim across the canal from Aug 14th to Aug 23rd 1928
		Sara at the helm
	we let the train catch up so that the driver can wave
	in the distance the big ships wait for their passage, with Casco Viejo in the foreground

Panama City bay

Central America is a top place to visit ride through, although the average wage is very low, at around $2 - $3 per day (from locals that we spoke to in Mexico, Guatemale, El Salvador & Nicaragua )