We first visited Panama Viejo which is the ruins of the original Panama City. The city was founded in 1519 by conquistador Pedro Arias de Avila and later sacked by the pirate Henry Morgan in 1671. Since most of the city was made of wood, there are few structures remaining, including the Cathedral Tower and portions of the bishops house. Panama Viejo was a clerical city as well as a trading center. A story is told that a solid gold alter was saved by a priest painting it black. It was more likely saved because Henry Morgan already had lots of riches from Peru. After Morgan burned the city to the ground, he gave a donation to the priest for the poor.
Next we toured Casco Viejo - the older part of Panama City, San Felipe District. It is an area with beautiful architecture, undergoing restoration. This area has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The rest of the day was spent at the Panama Canal Miraflores Locks and Visitor Center. Miraflores is the first set of locks you encounter when entering the Panama Canal from the Pacific. The Visitor Center has lots of information on the history of the canal, the use of water in Panama, the operation of the canal, the role of the canal in global commerce, and the expansion project underway. The expansion consists in the construction of two new sets of locks - one on the Pacific and one on the Atlantic side of the Canal. Each lock will have three chambers. Two navigation channels will also be widened and deepened.
The lock chambers are 33.53 meters (110 ft) wide by 320.0 meters (1050 ft) long, with a usable length of 304.8 meters (1000 ft). The largest ships accommodated come very close to the edges of the chambers. The two stage Miraflores locks lift the ships 16.5 m (54 ft). Find out more about the Panama Canal Locks.
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