{"id":16279,"date":"2015-01-11T21:48:48","date_gmt":"2015-01-12T05:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/pointssummary\/?p=16279"},"modified":"2015-01-13T20:01:09","modified_gmt":"2015-01-14T04:01:09","slug":"the-sights-and-sounds-of-the-panama-canal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/pointssummary\/2015\/01\/11\/the-sights-and-sounds-of-the-panama-canal\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sights and Sounds of the Panama Canal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Panama Canal is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the modern world. The Panama Canal is a 48 mile international waterway which allows ships to pass between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. Shipping companies use the Panama Canal because it saves them 8000 miles instead of going around South America.<\/p>\n

Introduction to Panama City<\/a>
\nLAX Flagship Lounge at American Airlines Terminal 4<\/a>
\nAmerican Airlines MIA-PTY 737-800 Business Class<\/a>
\nMy Experience Renting a Car in Panama City<\/a>
\nAloft Panama City Hotel Review<\/a>
\nThe Sights and Sounds of the Panama Canal<\/a>
\nThe Sights and Sounds of Casco Viejo in Panama City<\/a>
\nPanama City Airport Tocumen Royal Saloon Airport VIP Lounge<\/a>
\nPanama City Airport Tocumen Airport Club Lounge<\/a>
\nAmerican Airlines PTY-MIA 737-800 Business Class<\/a><\/p>\n

I drove to the Panama Canal where I was greeted by a sign, \u201cBienvenidos al Canal de Panama\u201d (Welcome to The Panama Canal).<\/p>\n

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There was free parking on-site and go up the stairs to the Miraflores \u201cCentro de Visitantes\u201d (Visitors Center).<\/p>\n

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There is a huge price disparity for admission to the Panama Canal as non-residents are charged $15.00 USD while Panamanian residents are charged $3.00 USD. For children between 6 and 12 and students with valid ID, the non-resident (tourist) price is $10.00 USD whereas the residents (locals) price is $2.00 USD.<\/p>\n

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Note that the Panama Canal is open every day from 9:00am-4:30pm and I highly advise you to get there early before the rush of crowds. It wasn\u2019t that crowded when I went, but it slowly began to fill up once the afternoon rolled by. The Miraflores Visitors Center has an in-room theater showing the history of the Panama Canal.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s also an on-site museum where you can see some artifacts from the early stages of the Panama Canal construction.<\/p>\n

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Inside the Miraflores Visitors Center is an on-site restaurant called \u201cRestaurante Miraflores\u201d which is in a white tablecloth expensive fine dining setting. You can also dine at this restaurant if you don\u2019t want to bother with the crowds when watching the ships pass by the \u2018locks\u2019.<\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re hungry and want to go the inexpensive route, there\u2019s a snack bar outside called the Miraflores Caf\u00e9 where prices are reasonable. The food isn\u2019t that great though since it\u2019s hot dogs, fries, and hamburgers.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s a two part video of a Japanese Ship passing by a set of Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal. The process is wicked cool.<\/p>\n