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Last Friday we visited the wonder of engineering that has made this country famous the world over: the canal linking Atlantic to Pacific. In the Miraflores locks, where the visitors’ center and museum is located too, we saw one of those massive container-ships getting lowered the 30 meters difference between sea level and the artificial lake of Gatún.

Some canal facts:
- It is about 80 km long
- 14 000 ships pass through it every year
- It can take up to 24 hours for a vessel to go from Pacific to Atlantic or vice-versa, including waiting time
- It has only been under Panamanian control only since 1999. Before this, the Canal Zone had been managed by the United States of America.
- Ships pay according to their weight. The highest amount paid so far is over 200 000 USD
- The lowest was paid in 1928 by Richard Halliburton, who swam through the canal, taking 10 days to do so: 0.35 USD