Seminary in Panama: Size does matter... and ... Arraijan

I have been off the air a little over the past few days. Firstly, I was in a place where the internet connection was very hit-and-miss, and then, on my return to the seminary, there was so much to do getting ready for class that I didn't have much time. I am also having back trouble which is making sleep difficult - hopefully that will pass soon.

The weekend was great!!! I did lots of the tourist things which was very nice. I can't believe that I have been here for three weeks already - time is just flying by. On Saturday I was brought on a visit to the Panama Canal, to the Old City of Panama (Casco Viejo), and also to the ruins of the original city (Panamá Viejo); on Sunday I was brought to visit a place called La Chorrera - where the Augustinians are in the process of opening a new parish.

Rather than put up one very long post I am going to spread the weekend's events out over the next few days in the hope that it will be more interesting that way.

First of all - if you know nothing about Panama you are still likely to have heard of its famous Canal. This is the waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans by means of one of the thinnest land masses of the Americas. I was unaware that this year actually marks 100 years of the Canal's inauguration when the SS Ancón (named after the hill overlooking Panama City) sailed through the three enourmous locks (Reclusas). Since then well over a million ships and boats of all shapes and sizes have made the journey which not only saves money in fuel and crew costs, but also avoids the stormy seas around Tierra de Fuego to the south of Argentina. The millionth ship sailed through the Canal in 2010.

The history of the Canal is fascinating and I am only going to give a very abridged version of it here - Mr. Google will be only too happy to help you if you want more. I had the advantage of a lovel museum and visitors' centre and also a running commentary as the ship passed.

The original idea for the building of the Canal goes back a lot further than 100 years. The Spanish Conquistadores (Conquerors) of the 16th century had already recognised the basic idea that the two oceans could be connected and that this would be good for trade and would open up the world. It was not, however, until 1880 that the French first began to make inroads when they made the original attempt to build the Canal. However, diseases such as malaryia and yellow fever meant that so many died in the attempt to build the Canal that the attempt was abandoned - it also proved prohibitively expensive.

It was not until the independence of Panamá, in 1903, that negotiations were opened with the USA that finally led to the construction of the Canal which was opened in 1914. In 1999, on the 31st of December, at 12 noon, the Canal finally passed into Panamanian hands and since then it has been run, very successfully, by the Panama Canal Company which is currently expanding the Canal by building more locks to add to the three that already exist. This work is necessary because the size of modern ships is so much bigger than that envisioned by the engineers involved in the initial construction.

The Canal is 80km long and it takes approximately 24 hours to pass completely from one ocean to the other - passing through the locks takes about 8 or 10 hours in total. There are three locks which raise and lower transiting ships to the appropriate level so that they can continue their voyage. There is a waiting list of over a year to pass through the canal. Ships that do so pay according to their tonnage.

I am not going in to the engineering details of the project - they are available on the internet for those who are interested - and they are worth looking at. I am not generally interested in machinery and that sort of stuf but I found it fascinating. Instead, I thought it might be nice to share some curious bits of information with you, and some photos that you will find at the end of this post. The photos really don't show the incredible nature of the journey that the ships go through - to do that you would either need to see the whole process or to watch a video (I understand that there are lots of these on the web).

Panama Hat: the famous Panama Hat doesn't come from Panama at all, but from Ecuador (the town of Montecristi in the Province of Manabí). The hat, woven from a type of fine grass, rose to fame in the context of the building of the Canal because, apart from the fact that it is very light, and provides good shade (two important factors in a country with so much sun), it is also waterproof and can be used as a drinking vessel - simply upturn the hat and fill it with water and drink. The amazing thing about the hats is that after having drunk your water the hat will retain its original shape.

Size Matters: many of the ships that use the Canal are huge - they practically fill the whole Canal. There are often only inches to spare on both sides of the ship as it makes its way through. In the case of my visit the ship that passed had 24inches (30cm) to spare on each side - nothing, I'm sure you will agree, in the context of such a huge vessel. To ensure it doesn't crash its movement is controlled by the locomotives that you can see in the photographs that manipulate its progress.

Flag of Convenience: Panama has the largest registered fleet of merchant ships in the world. This is not as a result of the amount it produces but has to do with the Canal. Panamanian ships pass through the Canal at a discounted rate which is why the Panamanian Flag is the flag of convenience of so many ships.

North American Colony: During the 85 years when the USA ran the Canal the area surrounding it was an American colony - North American money, schools, institutions, police force, army - everything. This meant that the recovery of the running of the Canal was not just of financial interest to the Panamanians but also had a lot to do with soverignty. From the year 2000 they own the Canal and the American colony no longer exists. Of course, many of the buildings still exist and a lot of the are given over to different State institutions and international bodies.

Arraijan: Pronounced (Are - rai - han) is an area close to the Canal. Under the Americans it was an area that contained a lot of the government offices. There was a large notice that began "AT RIGHT HAND..." and then went on to list the offices that were in that area. The Panamanians have preserved the first words of that notice in the word Arraijan which is now the name for a residential area which occupies the spot. There are other words like this here - Cuarra (pronounced "quarra" is the name of the 25c coin - Quarter!!!) is another.

Anyway, hope that gives you a flavour of the Canal, and maybe even a taste to look up some more. Here are some photos but, as I said above, you really need to see the video to appreciate the magnitude of what happens.