Due to breathtaking endless stretches of beautiful beaches, phenomenal cliff walks, and 300 plus days a year of sun, the Costa del Sol provides a perfect get away all seasons of the year.

The Costa del Sol can roughly be divided into the eastern section and the western. The eastern section is the area lying to the east of Malaga City and runs for 54 kilometers, covering 200 meter high cliffs and runs all the way to the Nerja with the spectacular Nerja Caves where dance and music festivals are hosted within the natural caverns.

The Western section makes up the 100 km to the west of Malaga city until the border with the Cadiz province. More developed than the eastern portion, it is this western part that attracts the bulk of holiday traffic, being home to the Malaga airport and the central highway, N340, that runs along the coast.

One of the biggest draws to this coastal region is specialized tourism, and amongst this field golfing stands out proudly as the leader of the sports. There are dozens of courses across the Costa del Sol, but the Miraflores Golf course is arguably the gem in the glistening crown. In beautiful grounds with 18 challenging holes, it is situated in between the main tourist towns of Fuengirola and Marbella. The Miraflores Golf club offers not just the course but also an academy fully equipped with a driving range, a restaurant with nightly entertainment and day time bar where drinks, snacks, and full meals are served.

This is just one of the many golf courses in the Costa del Sol area and there is really something for every level and every taste. For example the Baviera golf club in the eastern part of the coast is suitable for every playing level and provides its players with spectacular views over the sea and mountains whilst they hit their way around the 18 hole, 72 par course.

Alternatively, in the west, you may wish to check out the Guadalhorce Golf Club, where the course starts off in beautiful parkland only to return to more traditional elevated greens for the 9 holes back to club house. This course is famed for its family friendly atmosphere, and offers in addition to the golf course, paddling pools, swimming pools, and tennis courts. Malaga Parador del Golf was founded in 1925 making it the veteran of the areas golf course, also a 72 par.

It is the western part of the Costa Del Sol that provides the most accommodation options and resorts with the towns of Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Marbella, and Estopona being very popular. But one must be aware when booking a holiday that there are many different types of accommodation to cater for many different tastes, and booking the wrong hotel can spell holiday disaster; for this reason it is very important to research well the hotel you are considering and specifically pay attention to customer reviews, and the facilities listed: a hotel with 5 bars and a disco will not be appropriate for a family holiday, just as a hotel with bingo twice a week won’t be right for students. In terms of the types of accommodation themselves they range from budget hostels, to self catering apartments to 5 start casino hotels, and the prices range equally. For a golfing holiday it is worthwhile to book through a dedicated golf holiday site or agent.

Gaizka Pujana

The Panama Canal does more than link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Between a unique environment shaped by the canal, two coasts mere hours apart, and a history that combines indigenous, American and European influences, Panama’s unique mixture reaches its fullest expression around the Canal itself, but also makes itself known throughout the country. The watchword is diversity. Panama probably contains the most densely packed variety of environments, people, and visual attractions in the world. There are few places where you can visit two oceans in a day without ever getting on a plane. Here are five things that make Panama and the Panama Canal an unforgettable travel destination.

Miraflores Locks: The Miraflores Locks are the defining feature of the Panama Canal. They are used to raise and lower massive ships in transit from one ocean to the other. The locks are so essential to global shipping that vessels are built to fit the locks’ dimensions almost exactly – these are called the Panamax class. It really is amazing to watch titanic vessels clear the locks with extreme precision, leaving just a few inches of clearance on either side.

Fishing on Lake Gatun: Lake Gatun is an essential part of the canal system. It not only provides passage, but serves as a massive reservoir of water for lock operations. It’s a man-made wonder, dotted with islands that used to be hills, before damming and canal construction made the lake what it is today. But Gatun isn’t just pretty; it has some of the world’s finest fishing, including numerous peacock bass. It’s probably the only place in the world where you can fish at a lake while huge cruise ships drift by.

Fort San Lorenzo: Built in the late 16th Century, Fort San Lorenzo has a storied, bloody history. The fort was built by the Spanish, raided by Sir Francis Drake, captured by Henry Morgan in his bloody sack of Old Panama and used by the Spanish again as a fort and a prison, before finally falling to ruins. A tour of the area is practically mandatory, because you’d be hard-pressed to walk along the same trails as so many famous – and infamous – historical figures.

The Gamboa Rainforest: Gamboa used to be a bustling town, built up in the titanic effort to build the Panama Canal. Now it’s chiefly known for its nature resort, where tourists can explore the Panamanian rainforest from canopy level by aerial tram. The dense rainforest is filled with toucans, howler monkeys and hundreds of other species. This is one of the most practical opportunities to explore the rainforest ecology available.

Panama City: Begin or end your trip with Panama City, one of the most exciting cultural centers in the Americas. This unique cultural blend is very friendly to Americans – in fact, many Americans retire here. The US dollar is accepted currency and there’s always something to do by day or night. It’s not all about urban fun, however; visit the Metropolitan Park to see tapir, puma, alligators and other tropical species just minutes away.

Lori Snow

What makes real estate in Panama attractive are the various activities that it allows you do while in the country. In fact, one visit to the country would make you think about investing in a Panama property. With a nice Panama property, you will even enjoy the city more.

Going to Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal

Whether you have a Panama property or just visiting one of the most important places to see is the Panama Canal. Aside from its being a passage for voyage today, Panama Canal is very historic and is quite an attraction both for residents and tourists.

If you have invested in real estate in Panama and live in the city, the Miraflores Locks is only about 15 minutes away from you. You get to enjoy the museum and also the visitor’s center.

Viewing Your Investment in Real Estate in Panama from Cerro Ancon

The Cerro Ancon is a very tall hill where you get an overlooking view of Panama. So, you get a chance to view your Panama property from above. But aside from that, one thing you will immediately notice is the Panama flag on top of the hill. Cerro Ancon, of course, boasts of the wide array of bird and insect life.

While the hill is a bit out of the way, it will be worth visiting. You get to enjoy how your investment in real estate in Panama is a part of the landscape. A part of the sites to see is the bunker that dates back from the World War II.

Of course, several administrative offices are also at the base of the hill. The Panamanian Supreme Court is there. And the former American hospital is there to specialize in oncology.

The Panama History Museum and the City Hall of Panama

Well, if it’s your first time to visit Panama you might want to take a good look of the city hall’s unique architecture. Of course, if you are planning to invest in real estate in Panama you would get a chance to do this again and again. If you have a Panama property, you might be passing by the building every time you go out.

The museum is small but if you are interested in real estate in Panama you might as well get to know more of the city. The museum has several paintings and artifacts in display. Knowing the city history will make you appreciate real estate in Panama more.

Seeing the Real Estate in Panama from Isla Taboga

You can reach the Isla Taboga just an hour or so away from your Panama property. Through a ferry ride you can go to the island and get to enjoy the evening sunset there. You also get to see the second oldest church in the area of the Western Hemisphere.

Nevertheless, the other important highlight is really the ride to and from the real estate in Panama you are eyeing and enjoying at the moment. During the ride, you will enjoy more than an hour of sightseeing. You will see Puente de las Americas. And you will also enjoy the view of the city where your Panama property is.

Laurie Cooper

The country of Panama holds a unique strategic geographic location, and it has tried its best throughout the ages to exploit this to the full. From the time of the Portobello fairs to the first transisthmian railroad to the present waterway, often considered to be the eighth wonder of the world.

A canal linking the Atlantic with the Pacific oceans had been a dream since the first Spanish colonizations. In fact it was Charles V of Spain who first envisaged a shortcut through the Panamanian jungle to ease the difficult crossing. So in 1524 he ordered a survey of the land. However what inspired the king initially was not so much the possibilities for trade, so much as how to bring back to Spain with least difficulty the hoards of treasure recently discovered in Peru. Unfortunately for him, earth-moving techniques were to need major improvement before his idea could be undertaken.

It was not until 1826 when the United States started investigating a treaty with South American countries to “protect the companies intending to open a communication system between both oceans”, that the building of a canal attracted worldwide interest, with France, England and the United States looking for locations and means to avoid the long, difficult and dangerous voyage around Cape Horn. The first attempt at this was the construction of the Transisthmian Railroad in 1855, which eliminated about 8,000 miles from the journey.

The first attempt at a canal was in 1854 by a multinational expedition comprising the United States, France, England and New Granada. But the impenetrability of the jungle was to take its toll and the attempt failed with many resultant deaths. But not to be daunted in this most crucial endeavor, in 1878 the French obtained a concession from Colombia to build a waterway. Yet again, after seven years of fighting disease and other jungle problems, the attempt was to fail with yellow fever, malaria and various plagues holding sway. This project, with the idea of building a level canal, was ultimately abandoned at the turn of the century.

Eventually the creation of a canal was to become a military imperative for the United States who commenced (fruitless) negotiations with Colombia in 1902. Finally, Panama declared its independence from Colombia in 1903 and the project went ahead.  The monumental construction took 10 years to complete at a cost of $387 million.

The Panama Canal is 50 miles in length running from northwest to southeast. About 8 hours is needed for a typical vessel to transit the canal, whilst being lifted gradually to a height of 85 feet through three sets of locks – the Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores.

Operating the gigantic locks consumes vast amounts of fresh water. For every ship passing along the waterway, around 52 million gallons of water flows into the locks then out to sea. This comes from the Gatun and Madden lakes. The lock gates, themselves engineering wonders, consist of pairs of towering leaves from 47 to 82 feet high, 65 feet wide and 7 feet thick. Their weight is from 400 to 700 tons, yet each can be opened or closed in 2 minutes, powered by electric motors.

To navigate the canal, a ship’s captain must relinquish responsibility for his vessel to a Panama Canal Pilot. Currently over 250 pilots steer over 14,000 ships through the canal each year. The total time spent in the canal is around a full day. Navigating through the canal is not cheap for vessels, averaging several 10s of thousands of dollars, depending upon the size of vessel and its contents. However, whatever the toll, it is typically ten times what it would have cost to navigate around Cape Horn.

The Panama Canal Commission welcomes visitors at the Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side of the Isthmus seven days a week, from 9am to 5pm. Ships passing through the locks can be viewed from a pavilion where commentators provide an English and Spanish-language commentary, giving all the details of the canal including the amazing statistics. From yachts and small crafts through to container vessels, huge cruise liners and even small submarines, the Panama Canal is truly an international crossing point.

Chris Sims

The first Christmas I ever spent away from home was on a trip through South America. It was my first Christmas on the road, but not my last.

That first Christmas eve on the road occurred while I was staying with friends of friends in Miraflores, an upscale suburb of Lima, Peru. It was a delightful place to catch my breath on a rather off, off road adventure where basic comfort was often a luxury. But there in Miraflores, the home was commodious and elegant. Beds were large with good mattresses and meals were convened with the ringing of a little silver bell which beckoned the staff from the kitchen.

It was warm that first Christmas on the road, as seasons are reversed with the USA, and everyone in Miraflores was outside celebrating on Christmas eve. I remember that at midnight fireworks went off as far as the eye could see and the tropical landscape was illuminated in bright spurts of various colors. I was in a foreign country but it did not feel strange. My hosts, however, sensing that I might be homesick gave me a Christmas present I will always remember, allowing me to call my family to say happy holidays.

My second Christmas away from home was in Merida, Mexico. A little older, I was with a romantic interest traveling through Mexico. On Christmas eve I was treated to a horse and buggy ride to see this tropical center of the State of Yucatan. The colonial and historic aspects of Merida made for a most pleasant and interesting ride through the charming, lamp-lit cobblestone streets which were lined with palm trees.

Both of those Christmas holidays were wonderful, and ones I won’t forget.

But equally memorable and wonderful was the Christmas I spent on Sanibel Island, Florida.

The Christmas lights, the decorations on every building and seemingly on every palm tree, the good cheer of all the people visiting, the great purchases possible both pre and post the holiday and the ability to walk and bike and develop a tan when everyone back home was digging out their cars from under a major snow fall has kept that vacation fresh in my mind after all these years. It was magic in the making, and remains so in the memory of it.

And, when contrasted, the Sanibel Christmas was truly a familiar Christmas given the relative ease of vacationing in America—- where neither language nor monetary denominations needed translation.

Have your own Christmas on the road this year on the Island of Sanibel. Rates are down making it more affordable than ever, bargains in buying are everywhere, and the holiday lights are bright against the star-filled tropical sky.

Sylvia Guarino

“The first thing you have to understand about the La Cala de Mijas property market is the area itself  Although La Cala de Mijas has maintained a level of real authentic Spanish charm, it has in some ways also taken on the feel of being quite international and cosmopolitan with many nationalities living side by side. La Cala de Mijas, often just referred to as La Cala, is a beautiful Spanish village, right at the heart of Mijas Costa, which has effortlessly stepped into the 21st century without losing any of its traditional fishing village charm. It has a lively, bustling town centre with a twice-weekly market, supermarkets, bars, restaurants and every amenity you could ever wish for. It’s perennially popular with increasing numbers of holidaymakers and is home to foreign residents from a range of different countries, including the UK and many other European countries. La Cala de Mijas is in a perfect position to enjoy an enormous range of leisure facilities. Active retirees particularly love the area for its great combination of easy-going traditional Spanish charm and the wide selection of sporting activities in and around La Cala. The area is famous for its wealth of competition standard golf courses, including the magnificent La Cala Hotel and Golf Course Resort which is the biggest golf complex in Spain and has three of its own courses. La Cala Resort also has a luxury golf hotel, an exclusive spa. In the hills just behind La Cala you can enjoy horse riding. Although if you simply enjoy a night of family entertainment watching the horses why not try the “Hipodromo del Costa del Sol”, which is situated just on the outskirts of La Cala village. One of the reasons that La Cala de Mijas is so popular is its versatility. Choose from beautiful, tranquil countryside, exquisite beaches or cosmopolitan towns, some within walking distance, most just a short drive away. There’s excellent road and public transport access from La Cala to all other parts of Mijas Costa and it’s just five minutes drive from cosmopolitan Fuengirola with its medieval castle, Blue Flag beaches and stylish shopping. A 10-minute drive into the hills behind La Cala takes you into some of the most picturesque countryside in the area where there are a variety of stables offering riding lessons and trekking, so that you can enjoy an invigorating canter in breathtaking surroundings.  All of this is truly wonderful and explains a lot about the area and why people want to be in La Cala but why not just choose nearby Miraflores or Calahonda, well the answer to that question is the village of La Cala hasn’t been overbuilt like the rest of Mijas Costa and you can walk to the Village and Beach and just generally has a relaxed feeling that you don’t get in such areas like Miraflores and La Cala and this is reflected in the property prices where a 3 bedroom apartment can be as much as €75,000 Euros more than nearby towns” Explained Susana.

So why the price differentials between La Cala and the other surrounding towns and Villages. Well in reality it’s about La Cala not being overbuilt the way the other towns are and the fact that La Cala in unique.

Anyone wishing to find more about the current state of the La Cala de Mijas property market or require information about Spanish property should contact Spanish Hot Properties.

Susana Suspenda

Imagine for a moment taking surf lessons in the morning and learning Spanish in the afternoon. This is actually a real possibility when you attend a Spanish school in Lima. Combining an intellectual pursuit such as studying a language with a fitness activity such as surfing works both your mind and body while on “vacation”.

Some people might not think “Lima” when they hear the word “surf,” but the fact is that the sport is very popular in this vibrant and historic city of 5 million. When you get to Miraflores, a seaside municipality where most tourists stay, don’t be shocked to see surfboard-toting beach-goers strolling amongst the lawyers, bankers, and other “suits”.

While expert surfers prefer to head out of the city for bigger waves at the famous beaches of Punta Rocas and Cerro Azul, beginners and intermediates are best served at the surfing schools right in Miraflores. These are located below Larcomar, an impressive shopping/restaurant/bar complex built into an ocean-side cliff that puts almost everything you want to do, other than surf, in one gorgeous area with stunning views.

A common program will consist of 20 hours of language class plus 3 to 5 surf lessons. When you learn Spanish in Peru, a typical class is only 4-7 students, a sharp contrast to the 30 or more classmates back home in (also considerably more expensive) Spanish 101. Then add to the mix cultural activities such as visiting pre-Inca archeological ruins, venturing out for a weekend in the jungle, or dancing salsa until 4 AM, odds are you will have trouble finding time to even e-mail anyone back home.

Peru is also well known for its affable population and colorful indigenous groups, whose customs you can experience at the many nearby festivals and whose crafts are perfect gifts for friends and family who stayed behind. Peruvian food is widely considered South America’s best, with the seafood appetizer “ceviche” gaining popularity worldwide. As American chef Jared Hucks put it, “Peru is such a beautiful country, rich in history and culture. The people here are very friendly and welcoming with a good vibe. The food is excellent and I admire the unique and wonderful flavors.”

Worried about prices? Fortunately the term “weak dollar” doesn’t make much sense in Lima, where you will pleasingly watch your money go far. Enjoy Peru’s famous seafood at a $5 lunch and get anywhere in Miraflores for a $2 cab fare. A private surf lesson will add about $15/hour. Throw in language courses at $170/week and a family stay (with breakfast and dinner) for $150/week and you see how inexpensive it is to experience a Spanish school in Lima.

With cheap prices, inviting culture, surf opportunities, and exciting nightlife, when you learn Spanish in Peru your education comes from all angles.

Ken Ingraham

The Panama Canal has been called “the big ditch”, “the bridge between two continents” and “the greatest shortcut in the world”.
One look at the immensity of the Panama Canal, and you will understand why a French company with a labor force of 10,000 men went bankrupt trying to excavate it. The project, while conceived in 1534 by Charles I of Spain, began in 1882 and ended seven years later in disaster with over 22,000 people dead from disease and pestilence.

The United States took over the assets of a French company in 1902 and began the process of finishing the canal.

It is a epic story, appreciated best by transiting the canal by ship, viewing what many historians say changed the face of the industrial world.

This 51 mile water tollway shaved over 7,900 nautical miles off the distance between New York and San Francisco.

Sailing the Panama Canal not only offers a rich detailed and fascinating history narrated by an on-board Canal historian; it is the natural beauty that surprises most of all – an ever changing panorama of jungle clad hills, shimmering Lake Gatun, the high arched span of the America’s Bridge, and of course the intricate workings of the locks and gates themselves.

As you approach the canal from the Atlantic you travel through 7.2 kilometers of dredged channel. Your ship then proceeds for a little over 11 kilometers slightly westward before reaching the Gatun Locks. Huge ocean liners are lifted, as if they were toys, 85 feet by three sets of locks, to the level of Gatun Lake. This lake resulted from damming the Chagres River and broaching the Continental Divide. This combined with the Gaillard Cut was a feat equal to digging a trench 10 feet deep by 55 feet wide from New York to California.

Passing through Gatun Lake to the mouth of the Gaillard Cut and down the 13 kilometer channel, you arrive at the Pedro Miguel Lock, which has a drop of 31 feet. This lock borders Miraflores Lake, about 55 feet above the level of the Pacific. Your ship continues about 2 kilometers through Miraflores Lake and reaches two Miraflores Locks. These locks lower your ship to Pacific tidewater levels. Leaving the Miraflores Locks you continue 4 kilometers to Balboa on the Gulf of Panama.

From the deck of your ship or your own private balcony, you’ll marvel as the locks open one into the other. The locks are double to allow one ship to be raised while another is being lowered. The lock chambers on the Panama Canal are 1000 feet long and 110 feet wide. Transit time through the canal is usually seven to eight hours. As a counterpoint, there is the natural wonder that surrounds the man-made one; a lush, virgin rain forest; impenetrable and inviolate, except for the canal. Imagine yourself watching the sun rise in the Atlantic and set in the Pacific. Visit Mayan ruins and colonial cities.

You can watch cliff divers plunge from dizzying heights or hike in a cloud forest where hummingbirds dart in greater numbers than crows back home.

Early in 2000 the United States turned over 100% control of the canal to Panama after jointly sharing its protection and control since 1977. The final cost of the canal US$336 million dollars which is less than the cost of the new cruise ships that pass through.

While transiting the canal is an incredible experience, remember your cruise, depending upon itinerary, will also take you to places like Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica; Cartegena, Columbia; Santa Cruz; Zihuatanejo and Hualtulco, Mexico or perhaps Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Oranjestad, Aruba or possibly Willemstad, Curacao and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

Engineered as carefully as the Canal itself, these cruises combine just the right number of exciting ports with long, leisurely days at sea. And no matter which direction you go, you’ll discover a remarkable collection of wonders, both natural and man-made.

Stay tuned, this year marks the start of a great expansion of the Panama Canal, another engineering marvel, but that is a whole other story…

Sid Kaplan

I

Day dawned crystalline blue and hot over the Gulf of Panama.  The sea’s surface assumed a silk sheen.  The Infinity, stretching 964.6 feet from bow to stern and rising 11 decks above the ocean, had already accepted its local pilot at 0645, and now thread its way through the eight-mile channel whose lush green, but narrowing banks inched closer to its hull.  Some 40 ships anchored in the distance awaited entry clearance, yet the Infinity itself, oblivious to them, continued its approach.  That approach had been to the Panama Canal, which would facilitate its continental cut from the Pacific to the Atlantic.  Lying only a short distance away, it stretched almost 500 years behind in origin.

As far back as 1517, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the first European to have reached the Pacific, had envisioned a pan-Central American canal which would have connected the two oceans, and 17 years later, Charles I of Spain had actually proposed one, specifically via water.  During Spain’s 300-year reign of the area, a rugged land trail, facilitating mule-train transport of gold from one coast to the other, had been hacked out of the jungle in Panama.

During the early-1800s, both the United States and the United Kingdom had continued to focus on the feasibility of such a water artery, although the then-envisioned route had traversed Nicaragua, and the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty had ensured its neutrality, regardless of its actual Central American location.

In 1846, Colombia, then one with Panama, had signed a treaty with the US to retain a potential canal’s neutrality and to guard against its capture by any other country, seeking to control this potentially important and lucrative passage.

This importance, and the seed of a “rail canal,” had been demonstrated in 1849, when an influx of gold rushers, destined for California, had sailed from the eastern part of the US to the Panamanian isthmus, crossed it by mule or foot, and continued up the west coast by sea.  The demand, prompting construction of the Trans-Panama Railroad, had, for the first time, connected Colon, on the east side, with Panama City, on the west side, when the $8 million project, undertaken by New York businessmen, had been completed in 1855.

The first serious attempt to construct a water passage across Panama, however, had taken place 23 years later, in 1878, when a French company, headed by Suez Canal Director Ferdinand De Lesseps, had secured the rights from Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte Wyse, who himself had received the original ones from Panama.  He had also bought control of the Panama Railroad for $20 million.

Actual digging, for a sea level canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, had begun in 1882, and thousands of French engineers and construction workers engaged in the project.  Conditions, however, had vastly differed from those encountered during the comparable Suez Canal project, entailing impenetrable jungles, flooding, excruciatingly high temperatures, humidity, cost escalations, controversy, corruption, inadequate preparation, crude tool and machinery usage, and malaria- and yellow fever-caused deaths.  After 24 years of effort and the unearthing of 76 million cubic yards, the company, now bankrupt, had succeeded in digging a canal less than ten miles in length.

Additional survey and analysis, conducted in 1886, had indicated that a continuous-level canal had not been feasible, and could only be successfully completed with a step-and-lock system, requiring ships to progressively in- or decrease height in water-contained chambers before sailing to the next level.

Reorganizing themselves as the New Panama Canal Company in 1894, the French accomplished little more, hoping instead to attract a secondary buyer in order to attain a profit from their franchise.

During that same year, US businessmen had attempted to commission their own canal across the isthmus—in this case, across Nicaragua; however, after rapidly depleting their finances, they had made little progress of their own.

Urgency, however, soon presented itself.  During the Spanish-American War of 1898, the battleship “Oregon,” required to reinforce the Atlantic fleet, had been forced to circumnavigate the South American continent by means of Cape Horn, a 13,000-mile distance, alerting Congress to the fact that a canal, reducing the route between San Francisco and Cuba to 4,600 miles, had been vital to its national defense.

During the following year, a commission surveyed potential tans-isthmus routes and continued to recommend the one through Nicaragua because of the reduced amount of required digging.  The partially completed route through Panama, however, had proven the more favorable choice after the French had offered it, along with the canal rights, property, and railroad, for $40 million.

President Roosevelt, granting permission to accept the offer in 1902, stipulated that Colombia cede permanent use of the Panama Canal Zone as a condition of the acceptance.  These land ownership and access issues had been fundamental to the resumption of the project.  Colombia, which had hitherto denied the United States the rights to build such a canal, had ultimately been eliminated as an obstacle when the Roosevelt-led revolution for Panamanian independence had succeeded, removing Colombian jurisdiction.  Officially recognizing the new Republic of Panama, Washington negotiated a treaty with it, enabling it to acquire control of the ten-mile strip of land for an initial $10 million and an annual $250,000 thereafter.

The Hay-Paunceforte Treaty, replacing the former Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, granted the US the sole right to build and operate a canal across Central America.

The United States assumed control of the French-initiated canal, but had neither an idea nor a plan as to how to proceed with it, and had been immediately plagued with the same topographical, engineering, and health obstacles with which the French team had contended.  Unlike the French, however, the Americans had applied a systematic approach to eradicating the malaria-carrying mosquitoes by removing the swamps and bush in which they had thrived and by substituting the seamless-level passage with a lock-and-step configuration.  The latter, which had  obviated the need for engineering solutions to the initial, single-level system, had been less expensive and required less time to build.

Colonel George W. Goethals, appointed by Roosevelt, became Project Manager, and he had subdivided the work into three areas:

1. Excavate the Gaillard Cut.
2. Bridge the Chagres River with a dam to create the Gatun Locks.
3. Construct the actual locks.

The Chagres River, particularly, had been perceived as an insurmountable obstacle: bordered by bottomless swamps, if often flooded, destroying everything in its path.  Its solution, and the key to the entire project, lay with plugging the river four miles from its Caribbean Sea inlet, in order to create a reservoir where the needed water supply for the series of locks could collect.  The region’s high humidity and surrounding rain forest further facilitated this solution by generating the rains which would then continually replenish the reservoir.

Employing more than 43,000 from the US, the British West Indies, Spain, and Italy, and unearthing some 211 million cubic yards of dirt, rock, and plant, the reinitiated Panama Canal project gained momentum, using dredges and steam shovels to remove earth, swamp, jungle, and bush amid torrential rain, saturating humidity, and sweltering heat conditions.

Gatun Lake, 23 miles long and 163 square miles in area, had covered almost half of the canal, making it one of the world’s largest man-made water bodies, while the dam which had created it had been 1.5 miles long and rose 85 feet above sea level.

Like the Chagres River, the Gaillard Cut had also proved a challenge.  Stretching more than nine miles and passing through solid rock across the Continental Divide, it had required more than 60 steam shovels depositing dirt into 150 trains running along a 75-mile track before reaching the dumpsite.  Mudslides in 1907 had redeposited half a million cubic yards of earth back into the cut, setting the project back by three months.

When completed, this portion of the canal, with a 300-foot width and 40-foot depth, cost $90 million alone.

The Panama Canal, stretching 50.72 miles from Limon Bay on the Atlantic to the Bay of Panama on the Pacific, had been completed in 1914 at a cost of $387 million, which had excluded the almost $300 million already expended by the French.  Some 25,000 had lost their lives during its construction.

The first full transit had occurred earlier in the year, on January 7, when the floating crane, “Alexander La Valley,” had plied the water passage, followed eight months later by the first official crossing, on August 15, of the passenger and cargo steamer, “S. S. Ancon,” which had sailed from one end to the other.  The date had marked the one-decade anniversary since the United States had assumed control of the French project.

Officially opened six years later, on July 12, 1920, by President Woodrow Wilson, the Panama Canal had toted its purpose as, “The land divided, the world united.”

Several improvements had been made throughout its almost 100-year history.  In 1935, for example, 22-square-mile Madden Lake, the result of the dam of the same name, had been completed across the Chagres River and east of the canal in order to store water for Gatun Lake.  The Miraflores Swing Bridge, completed seven years later, on May 20, 1942, had provided the first vehicular passage across the canal, and between 1954 and 1970, the Gaillard Cut had been widened from its original 300 feet to a current 500.  Its intermittently installed fluorescent lighting, on May 12, 1963, had permitted 24-hour canal operations for the first time.  Greater canal depth, attained after additional dredging in 1974, increased maximum ship draft to 39.5 feet.

Ownership, in accordance with the original agreement, had also changed.  Territorial jurisdiction of the Panama Canal Zone had been transferred to Panama in 1979, and 20 years later, on December 31, 1999, it had assumed control of the Panama Canal operation from the United States.

On October 22, 2006, authorization to construct a third set of locks, doubling its annual capacity, had been granted.

Transit fees vary according to weight and priority.  The lowest toll collected had been the 36 cents paid by Richard Haliburton in 1928 when he had swam the length of the canal during a ten-day period, while the highest had been the $313,000 paid by a ship in 2007.

The Panama Canal remains one of the world’s engineering triumphs, averaging 12,000 annual ships, which transit the Central American isthmus between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by means of three sets of dual-lane locks, Gatun Lake, the Gaillard Cut, and an 85-foot water level change, saving the 7,800 miles otherwise required by the continental circumnavigation.  Annual capacity is 27,000 transits.

II

At 0832, the 91,000-ton Infinity glided under the erector set-appearing Bridge of the Americas, which connects the east and west banks of the Panama Canal and forms an integral part of the Pan American Highway.  The old Navy base, sporting its three piers and collection of gray boats and ships, moved off the port side.

At 0847, the relatively minuscule tugboat, “Alianza,” approached the mighty cruise liner from the opposite direction, trailing its own white wake, and disgorged the canal pilot abreast of the tall monoliths representing Panama City.

Reinitiating movement, now at a snail’s pace, the ship passed an area of dredging, which represented the first stage of the canal’s widening project.

Inching toward the ever-narrowing canal, whose banks had been formed by a series of densely green hills, the Infinity trailed the “Maersk Dortmund,” a Valetta-registered containerized ship which had just slipped into the left of the Miraflores Locks’ two lanes.  The pyramid-shaped Centennial Bridge rose in the distance.

Moving at swimming speed past the bank-lined palm trees, the lumbering liner penetrated the lock with its bulbous bow, nudged by the Panama Canal tugboats snugly pressed against its stern.  Five Century electric locomotives, running on cog tracks laid atop the lock walls, resembled an awaiting armada, poised to take the ship to its next transit process, and moved within arm’s reach of deck 2.

The first line had been cast at 0927.  Firmly umbilicaled to the locomotives, which centered and guided the behemoth, it crept into its water cocoon under its own power, and the doors slowly closed behind it.  At 1,000 feet long, 110 feet wide, and 41 feet deep, the locks, then the largest structures ever built, are secured by riveted steel doors measuring 47 to 82 feet high, 65 feet wide, and seven feet in thickness.  Because of the Pacific’s high tides, the westernmost gates in the Miraflores Locks exceed 745 tons in weight, yet, paradoxically, require only 40-hp motors, recessed in the lock walls, to actuate them.  A second lock gate, positioned 50 feet from the first, ensures arrested travel.

Amid a deluge of water, the first lock, harnessing the power of gravity and fed by Miraflores Lake, gradually flooded, rendering the ship a massive, upward-moving elevator.

With the water level of the first, lower chamber now equal to that of the second, upper one, the two massive lock doors gradually swung open at 0950.

Appendaged like a spider to a web, the 91,000-ton vessel inched forward, albeit at a laborious pace, under autonomous power, connected to the gray locomotives by thick, black lines, their tracks within arm’s reach and arching upward to equal the height of the subsequent chamber.

When the ship had been safely cradled inside, the entry doors closed behind its stern at 1006.  An oil tanker, the “Asphalt Star,” awaited entry into the left lane.  Water, cascading into the chamber through 18-foot-diameter culverts at a three million gallon-per-minute rate, once again flooded the lock during a nine-minute process and raised the ship to a water level 54 feet higher than that of the Pacific from which it had entered.

After the laborious opening of the chamber doors, which had, until now, met in a V-configuration, the Infinity, sounding its blast, recommenced forward motion at 1051 in the concrete, rectangular chamber, moving toward, and equal in level to, Miraflores Lake, the smallest of the three in the Panama Canal system.

The “Asphalt Star” had intermittently slipped into the first of the two left lane chambers.

Exiting the passage, as if the ship had followed a fluid set of railroad tracks, the Infinity had successfully negotiated the first set of the eventual three locks, leaving behind a series of “steps” made of water.

Crossing the one-and-a-half mile lake, the ship once again slipped into the right of the two lanes forming the Pedro Miguel Locks, the tight, locomotive-connected lines ensuring adherence in the otherwise unattached chamber of the panamax-dimensioned cruiseliner, which ceased motion ahead of the massive lock doors at 1139.

The view through the large, circular portholes in my cabin on Continental Deck 2 resembled that of a train tunnel or coal mine, the black, granite wall of the chamber higher than the deck, permitting only a faint shaft of light to enter it and filter through the window.  Like a slow-moving elevator, the 3,000-person vessel inched up its shaft, devoid of any power or generator source other than the overwhelming barrage of water collecting and mounting under its keel.  Progressive ascent could be gauged by the outside light’s intensification.

At 1144, the bottom of the porthole had been parallel with the concrete-supported railroad tracks on which the cog locomotives had run, although the upward ascent had continued for another six minutes until the Infinity had been 31 feet higher than Miraflores Lake and 85 feet higher than the Pacific Ocean.

After the massive doors of the single, Pedro Miguel lock chamber had opened, the third facilitating the ship’s lift since it had entered the Panama Canal, it nudged itself out of its aquatic cocoon with its azipods at 1152.

As the ship moved past the concrete island and the two railroad tracks imbedded in it, it temporarily appeared like a train pulling out of a station, one of the cog locomotives passing in the opposite direction in order to usher the next vessel through the lock.  Clearing the island at 1205, the Infinity, baked by 90-degree temperatures, carved its path into the turquoise water, sandwiched between the dense, green banks.

Now penetrating the nine-mile-long, 500-foot-wide Gaillard Cut, which had originally been designated “Culebra Cut,” the Infinity sailed between Contractor’s Hill in the west and Gold Hill in the east.  The Centennial Bridge, opened in 2004 at a cost of $104 million and the second to span the canal, towered 264 feet above the water and marked the Continental Divide, passing overhead at 1216.  Rust-red, tan-brown, and charcoal-black rock, once sliced by primitive methods, passed off the port side, somehow emphasizing the obstacles presented by this area during the canal’s excavation.  Gamboa soon moved off the starboard side.

By early afternoon, billowing white and gray cumulous had collected in the sky.  Following the emerald green, buoy-lined channel, the Infinity thread its way through the Panamanian rain forest at a ten-knot steam speed beneath the searingly hot sun, entering the 163-square-mile Gatun Lake, which, prior to excavation, had been a mountain top.  Because of the “s” shape of Panama, the ship had sailed in a northwesterly direction toward the Caribbean.

Reducing its forward speed to a snail’s pace, the ship once again slipped into the first of Gatun Lock’s three chambers at 1541 in order to commence its 85-foot descent to the Caribbean Sea’s water level.  Cable-connected to the numerous electric locomotives, it had been pulled and aligned in the chamber before the steel gates had closed behind it, permitting water to be drained through its 18-foot-diameter culverts until the view through the Deck 2 portholes had been equivalent to a tunnel-resembling concrete wall when the cruise ship had reached its bottom ten minutes later.

The massive lock gates, slowly opening inward until they had been parallel to and an integral part of the chamber’s walls, permitted the behemoth to move forward toward the second chamber at 1555 before the process had been repeated.

Securely inside the third chamber at 1631, the ship descended by means of gravity-created waterpower for a final time during its Panama Canal transit, the opening lock doors unleashing a torrential flood into the Caribbean Sea after having used 26 million gallons for the three-step descent.

Initiating movement under autonomous power at 1656, the ship exited the lock.

Once it had cleared the center island, it had pursued a 010-degree heading at a six-knot crawl, following the seven-mile channel and passing the shipyards, docks, and fueling stations of the Port of Cristobal located on the eastern shore.  Deboarding its local pilot into the “Heron” pilot boat, it entered Limon Bay, threshold to the Caribbean Sea, exiting the breakwaters at 1753 and now maintaining a sprightly, 16-knot speed.

Having transited the Panama Canal in an easterly direction and having connected the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean during an eight-hour period, the Infinity, one of 44 ships to have done so that day, had shaved more than two weeks off of the comparable circumnavigation round the tip of South America.

Robert G. Waldvogel

There are places that through out our lives simply attract and make us want to go back, or at least when ever we find ourselves in the city in which they are located in, almost as if a visit to that particular city would not be complete without a stop over at that special corner. In what has been my life up and till this point there have been several such locales through out the world which I would gladly go back to; one of them being the “La Media Naranja” in Lima, Peru.

Of course there have been other places which I could add to this list I have already started with “La Media Naranja” (“The Half Orange” when translated in to English) such as “San Lorenzo” in Warsaw, a particular bar (the name of which I never remember, not far from my sister’s Parioli apartment) in Rome, Bar Bonni in Madrid, an Italian pizzeria in Brooklyn owned by a fellow Italian American and many others were I spent many an hour and dollar on a drink or more. With regards to “The Media Naranja”, or “The Half Orange” however this is a place which gets its name from a Spanish expression which I was told means that when a person, be it man or woman; is looking for his or her amorous partner, he or she is looking for his or her half orange. The saying being “I hope you find your half orange”, which is actually, though probably as a mere coincidence also repeated in Polish, with identical intensions.

Regarding however the place called the Half Orange, it is located in the part of Lima known as Miraflores and incidentally not far from where terrorists exploded a car bomb back in 92, which this place was spared from any damaging effects. As for the owner or in this case owners; they are a man from Brazil and his Peruvian wife, (whose names I forget) who managed to open this small but charming place, which comes decorated in a way that truly reflects the relaxed Brazilian mood.

From Brazil, one would definitely have to say is the mood of this place as it includes a drink called “pinga” which me a nondrinker at the time did not try but remember because of this word’s meaning in Spanish which is not as innocent as the one in Portuguese. I even remember on one occasion, a guy asking the Brazilian owner what a pinga was. This only to be asked if he did not know, which caused faces to turn red as this word really is a Spanish street slang for the male sexual organ but naturally all in good spirits as this customer was explained what kind of drink he would be getting if he in fact ordered a pinga, which he did. Regarding the rest of the menu; it basically limits itself to sandwiches, sodas, natural fruit juices, ice creams, cakes, and other tasty but simple snacks however this place is special because of the personality of its Brazilian owner.

This Brazilian man who upon many a time did he and I get in to arguments over subjects ranging from politics to football to Formula One, with us agreeing as often as we did not. Naturally, as a Brazilian; he like me was a football fan, who believed Brazilians to be the best in the sport we Italians are now world champions in. I even recall, a day in 92 on which I went to this place, hoarse from shouting after watching a world cup qualifier which Italy, while playing at home barely managed to tie against Switzerland and hearing him tell me that Italy had not done so well. Which of course was true but we did settle that perhaps we should wait to see if Italy and Brazil met again in the next world cup which they did with Italy loosing in the first ever final decided by penalties.

This man from Brazil, was what I would call a nice guy though he was one of those people who thought he knew everything, this a factor which made it hard for someone like me who really does know everything. All leading to our often arguing, though never with anger. We even played chess at times, him being on my level as he was able to beat me in 10 out of 19 games in what was our series which he ended up winning. Apart from football, we also talked about Formula One, with both of us totally agreeing that there was nobody like Ayrton Senna.

The Half Orange perhaps because of its small size did not really lend itself to dancing or parties but I will never forget the day on which the whole Brazilian woman’s volleyball team came over to celebrate their qualification to the Barcelona Olympics. This after having beaten Peru’s national team 3-0 and with moods high it could not have been anything else for these lovely talented ladies then the “Lambada”. This a dance which I had seen performed on TV but never the way I did on that day by these female volley players, who despite being very tall managed to move their bodies with such rhythm, which made me wonder if they danced better then they played their own sport. Out of all these ladies on this team one of them by the name of “Anna Moser” particularly caught my attention; for not only her moves on the makeshift dance floor but the way she handled herself against Peru in their match, in winning the most points for her team. That night, I must say was special, not so much even because I was or would become a volleyball fan afterwards but the way, these Brazilians celebrated with not only the owner but a well known (at least in Peru) female fan who had appeared many times on camera, during their match against Peru. She being much like the famous fan “Manolo” who follows the Spanish National football team; only she did so with the Brazilian women’s volleyball team though for my own I only knew her as the sexy one, who happened to be a regular at the Half Orange.

The Half Orange, was a place that had many things that made it different then other places I have taken a liking to; like the Halloween party which took place there. This a gala event which I attended, though not as creatively as its owner who via the help of a cape and make up transformed himself in to Dracula, while others followed suit.

The Half Orange though varied in this sense however was like the rest; in its also having that thing which I believe every place should have. It being the sort of place that gave the sensation of true amity, the moment one stepped in, which can only be created by a friendly atmosphere as the one that existed in the Half Orange. This the thing I sensed by how upset those who I had come to regard as friends were when I told them, first that I had had my camera stolen and that I was going to back to the states.

In this I must confess though that as pleasant as all these things were the real reason I never stopped going to The Half Orange was a young lady by the name of Melba, who worked as a waitress in this most interesting place, which was made beautiful by her. Melba was short, perhaps only152 cm in height with not so long natural jet black hair, and a face that really captured the beauty of her true nature which made her write me one of the loveliest love poems I have ever received telling me her hopes were for more love between us, “Mas amor entre nosotros” as she put it.

Melba, I could say was a girl who was simple in her ways but yet managed to pack a lot enthusiasm in to everything she did and though perhaps ours was not meant to be, she did introduce me to several things. One of them being, Latin music which I had never been a fan of but did develop a certain taste for; after hearing artists like Ricky Martin, Sasha, Locomia, and many others at her almost insistence.

It was also many a time that I went to The Half Orange and waited for Melba to get off work, after which we would go for walks to the beach, though in winter we limited ourselves to just that while in the summer we once went for a swim accompanied by her sister, Ariseli. Ariseli and Melba however despite being sisters did not really resemble each other all that much as Melba though not light skinned had noticeably less dark complexion then her almost Indian sister. Concerning who was the more attractive however; this I would have to say was a toss up between these two sisters, with Ariseli being one year younger at eighteen. As a footnote, I could add that I had never heard before I met Ariseli, of anybody having that as a name nor have I again.

Melba, however out of these two young ladies; whom I would form most intimate bonds with which were not always limited to the plutonic kind , was the one who would not only teach me to enjoy Latin American music in all its aspects that included dancing but raised my social conscious about matters concerning Peru. After which thanks to how much she told me about the poverty I imagine she came from; became interested in taking photographs of shantytowns in Peru. As a matter of fact it was with her in mind that I decided to help my American journalist friend Steven Miller, do a report on the kind of places I heard she lived in.

My intension being to let people see, not only the poverty which was known to all by then but how those people, at the end of it all were just that; human beings. Who as such had hopes and ambitions as did Melba, and were not merely to be treated as cases of charity but as those whose resources as people could be put to better use not only for themselves but society as a whole. I would even teach the basics of English to both Ariseli and Melba, naturally free of charge as in a way I was in love with them though I could never make up my mind between them.

I even remember, once Melba telling me while she and I were walking down the street, hand and hand as we always did that I should do likewise with her sister, who happened to be in our society. I really do not know why she asked this of me; not that I minded holding two lovely ladies; who also did not mind the same, perhaps Melba did not wish her dear sister to get lonely or feel jealous; not that with her looks she would ever need to. It strangely enough after that day set us on course to the kind of relationship known as a “ménage au trios”, as Ariseli and I lost our shyness with each other, perhaps what Melba had had in mind all along.

I though at times perhaps did not always respond to Melba the way, I should have which gave her the false impression I might add that I was angry with her but nothing could have been further from the truth, as my life was simply complicated then. This being something I explained, once after I failed to really say much to her, when I visited the Half Orange with Steven Miller, with whom I was discussing the possibility of introducing him to other Americans who were working for the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) in Peru.

I would go on to leave Peru at the start of 1993, in a move which unfortunately broke all contact between myself and these two most tender sisters; given that we did not even exchange address. This much to my regret; as I given the cheap flight I found to Miami was left with little time, even for these two who had been very special in my time in Lima. Melba, even making a most favorable impression on my Italian grandmother from Genoa, who would live out her days in Lima, Peru as my sister was there and took her care her till death finally came to her at the century mark.

In conclusion, I would say that I regret having lost contact with not only Melba but her sister Ariseli, for there was something magical in them that if I had been one to settle down; back then would have made me do so with one of them or perhaps both as maybe in them I had found my whole orange as opposed to just half of one.

Gianni Truvianni