engineering marvel

March 11th. No question about it, the Panama Canal, one of the greatest engineering feats in history! Transforming global trade by connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The idea of a canal through Panama dates back to the 16th century when Spanish explorers sought a shortcut for their treasure-laden ships. In the late 19th century, the French, led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, the mastermind behind the Suez Canal, attempted construction but were defeated by tropical diseases, land slides and financial collapse. The United States took over the in 1904, with advanced engineering, improved sanitation and massive disease control efforts to combat yellow fever and malaria, managed to reduce deaths dramatically. Although, at the time of completion an estimated 28,000 people had died. After a decade of relentless work, the canal was completed in 1914, significantly reducing travel time for ships.

miraflores locks

Miraflores is one of the three lock systems of the Panama Canal. Located near Panama City, these locks raise and lower ships 54 feet (16.5 meters) in two steps, and we were lucky to witness a ship passing through. From the upper observation deck, we watched as the water slowly drained, the massive gates swung open with ease, and the electric “mules”—small locomotives running on rail tracks—guided the ship forward with four taut ropes, keeping it perfectly aligned.

Seeing the lock system in action was fascinating—a unique and educational experience for all of us. Charley was especially captivated by the mechanics, from the towering hollow iron gates to the controlled flow of water visibly lowering the vessel. It was incredible to see how much of the original 100-year-old infrastructure is still fully operational today. The canal’s reliance on gravity-fed water movement rather than pumps is a testament to the brilliant engineering that has kept this system running for over a century.

lock expansion

The new, larger locks have since been built to accommodate the growing size of modern cargo ships known as Neo-Panamax vessels. While the original locks took about ten years to build, the new locks, which include the Agua Clara Locks on the Atlantic side and the Cocolí Locks on the Pacific side, also took nearly a decade. From 2007 to 2016, costing a hefty $5 billion!! But a necessary investment to keep up with global shipping demands. Now with wider and deeper channels, the new canal can handle ships carrying nearly three times the cargo. This has had a huge impact on global trade, allowing more efficient shipping routes and reducing costs of moving goods between Asia, the Americas, and Europe.

We didn’t see the larger locks. This image is borrowed, to give an idea of just how these mega ships carrying a staggering 13,000 shipping containers passing through the canal.

That night we free camped with two other couples we’d bumped into in a sports complex carpark. They are also shipping their trucks to Cartegena. Thanks to other travellers posting safe places to camp on iOverlander, we all landed here. Ana & Michi are from Germany, travelling in their truck ‘Emma’, who was also built by Frank from Fuss Mobile who built Bruce. This is the first time we have met another Fuss built truck. Angelo and Ana, from Switzerland & Spain are in their lovely Mercedes Sprinter. Over a cold beer we worked out the 2′ degrees of separation, of having been just a few days behind them in various places and meeting the same people.

Vehicle inspection

March 12th. Up at five, driving by six, the next morning we drove together to a the Vehicle Inspection location to have or truck papers verified against the VIN numbers. We had to arrive by 6am and get in line for a number to come back at 8am to take our place in the line up. Then return at 2pm to a different location to collect the stamped paperwork for shipping.

The location was in a lower-income neighbourhood, on the side of the highway. Simple painted concrete apartment buildings. Outside, pipes release gray water straight from the walls, pouring into open drains beside the children’s play area. Really made our kids appreciate what we have back home.

Yet at 8 a.m. mum’s emerged, ready for work, with their children all neatly dressed in crisp school uniforms & polished shoes. Books and lunch bags in hand.

A Brush with Security at the canal

That afternoon, we began making our way east toward the port in Colón to drop off the truck for shipping. Just after crossing the Atlantic Bridge, we turned off to see if we could get a good view of the Agua Clara Locks. Other travelers had mentioned a viewpoint, so we pulled in, set up the drone, cracked a beer, and sat back to watch a cruise ship pass through.

After about an hour, we started driving back along the water on a dirt road when a couple more ships cruised by. Curious, we stopped to watch. Moments later, a small speedboat approached, signaling for us to stay inside the truck. A security vehicle followed, and soon two uniformed men walked up—one in U.S. military attire, the other Panama Port Security. Uh oh. We had a feeling we weren’t supposed to be there and had even joked earlier about how lax the security seemed.

They were calm but firm, asking for our passports, taking photos, and questioning us about why we were there. After a bit of a scolding, they escorted us back to the main road. Googling later, we learned that the ship we had stopped to watch was a heavily armed support and supply vessel for U.S. Navy submarines, escorted by the U.S. Coast Guard. No wonder they weren’t too happy about our presence.

The next day, a friend back home sent me a message out of the blue:

“Just watching some news articles about people getting detained because of all the strife in the USA. Hopefully, you’re well past any U.S.-controlled areas. Be careful and knowledgeable before entering any of those regions—people have been detained for ‘incorrect’ paperwork, I assume. Have a wonderful day!!”

I guess we were lucky not to have created a whole lot of trouble for ourselves…