I was invited yesterday to go to the other side of the country (which isn't a very long distance away due to the fact that Panama is an isthmus) to visit the new extension of the famous canal. The old canal, which is still used, is not wide or deep enough to accommodate the modern supertankers so it was decided that they would open another parallel canal to the existing one. This has the added benefit of increasing the overall traffic through the canal(s) which will bring a significant increase to the income the state gains from the canal.
Ships are booked in approximately seven years in advance to pass through the canal and they pay according to the value of their cargo. It is a gargantuan operation and the money earned from this enterprise contributes greatly to the National Domestic Product of Panama. In fact, if it weren't for the canal, I suspect the country would go broke in a matter of months.
Two years ago when I was here I saw the new lock gates that had been designed and built in Italy and assembled here. they are each bigger than the pitch in Croke Park! The trip yesterday was to see them functioning but...
Strikes here mean that everything stops. Large crowds hold their demonstrations on the streets of cities - as you might expect. What is a little bit different in Central and South America, is that they also block main roads by placing barricades on them. These barricades are supervised/ protected/ guarded depending on your point of view. Travelling when there is a strike is just not possible - and is extremely unwise. It looks like the visit to the lock gates will have to wait until another day.
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