Panama Canal Visit

If you have a long airport layover, have you ever considered the opportunity to exit the airport and explore the transit destination? I had a long layover at PTY (12-hour layover), so my in-country partners picked me up and we headed to the Panama Canal (30-40 min from the airport). Keitshia & Christopher prepped me and said that the chance of seeing a vessel transit isn’t guaranteed, but LOOK! We’re so lucky to see 3 boats going through during our visit!

The Panama Canal is a 51-mile man-made waterway that connects the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. It connects 160 countries and 1700 ports around the globe. The Canal generates $15-16M each day from container ship transits.

🇵🇦 Panama Canal History:

In 1550, Spain’s King Charles had a vision to connect the two oceans. Mexico was surveyed as the first option to create a canal, but the topography wasn’t feasible, so Nicaragua was considered. They decided that this project was impossible. In the 1880s, the French attempted to engineer the canal in Nicaragua, but due to Nicaragua’s active volcanoes and being earthquake prone, moved the project to Panama (no volcanoes, earthquakes or tsunamis) and worked on it for 20 years. They were faced with financial troubles, malaria, yellow fever. After their unsuccessful attempt, the US approached Panama and said they could complete it and help them gain independence, in exchange for access to the Canal and to operate it within a Canal Zone. The Canal opened in 1914. After WWII, the US considered ceding the Canal to Panama, but due to the instability of the Cold War, they were concerned about the Soviets handling it, so the US stayed put and the Canal Zone continued to operate.

In 1964, a group of Panamanian students marched to the border of the Canal Zone to demand that the Panamanian flag be raised alongside the US flag outside of Balboa HS. The flag incident was met with resistance from the US military and the flag was torn. This led to 3-days of riots and 22 Panamanian students died and hundreds were injured. 4 Marines also died. After Martyrs’ Day, Panama severed ties to the US.

Starting with President Johnson, each administration sought the right course to take with the Panama Canal. In 1977, President Carter signed two treaties to hand over the Canal. From 1977-1999, the US and Panamanian flags flew alongside each other and both countries worked on a smooth, careful transition. On December 31, 1999, the Panama Canal was turned over to Panama. If you have a long airport layover, time permitting, you might be able to enjoy a little sightseeing. Make sure you check out the distances from the airport to the area that you want to visit, the open times, and if the transit destination has travel requirements. Some countries require a visa.

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