Aramo Panama City

... Working in pairs, locomotives move on rails and keep the vessels in position within the locks chambers. Depending on its size, a vessel can require assistance from four to eight locomotives.<br><br>Ships pay between 200,000 and 300,000 to cross the canal. Although the canal operates 24 hour per day, most ships pass during daylight hours on rotation cycle. Both ends of the canal accept in-coming ships during the morning. These ships ...

... a minute of pushing and rocking, the car lurched backwards a few feet- a good thing because we were stuck anymore, but a bad thing because now we were pretty much dead center in the river. <br><br>Lucini took over driving- THANK GOD- and somehow got us out of the river and onto the other side. So at this point we had won half the battle..now all we had to do was get back across(oh, did I mention that there was no cell service?? minor detail). Anyways ...

... led through the streets by a very fast walking man at night to find our hostel. We arrived to a large building with crazy art and lots of other traverlers. This place was a far cry from what we had been used to. It even had a movie room, a beautiful view across the bay to the city lights, and free internet if you were willing to wait around long enough for a computer to open up. <br><br>The first full day the boat hunt commenced. We went to the ...

... it a night. Abit of a waste of a day, but I spent no money, and I have to kill time until my flight!<br><br>18th August<br>Up early to check out of the hostel by 11am. Chucked my bags in storage but decided to head out to the airport after a quick lunch. My flights not until about 945pm, but I will just get out there early, listen to my i-pod, study some spanish and lazy around the air conditioned terminal! A few hours sitting in the terminal isnt going to kill me, and Ive ...

... deck, where we were fortunate enough to see a container ship going through the lock. It was amazing to see the ship rising and falling, as the water levels changed, and the boat started its 8hr transit time. The building of the canal was a great achievement for Panama, and meant that ships no longer needed to sail around the southern tip of S America. It is used predominantly by the USA and Asia as well as Chile and is a major source of ...

... Saw the canal thing, ate good food, met some more cool people but look forward to leaving this city. Web will be leaving in the morning for a four hour bus ride to catch our sailboat and off to sail through the San Blast Islands which are supposed to be unbelievable for the next four or five days. Will be island hoping, snorkeling and will end up in Colombia where scuba lessons and exploring await.

... fortress like in its security. There are many Americans here, some decked out in their jungle garb- with all their camera gear it looks like they just got back from a bird watching trip.. or maybe they haven't left yet. The staff is friendly and after checking in we arranged for a trip this Friday to visit an Embera village in the rainforest. I don't have all the specifics of the trip yet but everyone says it's a wonderful experience. The view from ...

Hi, As usual I see that Sid wrote a few lines, and then gave up! I will try to update you a little bit. I am sure that most Edmontonians probably already heard about Evelyn &amp; Isaac's wedding, so I won't spend too long it. Needless to say it was spectacular, from a Hollywood setting! The hospitality was amazing and as always Michelle and Sam were the perfect hosts. What was delightful is that Evelyn's family are also more than gracious ...

... in the morning, then again this afternoon. Strange that we should run into her again in such a big city, but I truly believe that we met her for a reason. We have encountered many, many kind people who have really helped and been good to us, I´m really grateful for our good fortune so far and it's just a matter of keeping a good head and making smart decisions to keep it that way. To top off our exciting day, before heading home to our hostel we noticed ...