Morning at the Panama Canal

Before exploring Panama’s countryside, we decided to visit MiraFlores Locks—the Panama Canal.
Like most things, you see it on the Discovery or History channel but there really is nothing like seeing it in person. It was impressive!
Not really knowing exactly when it opened, we arrived a little before 9 a.m. only for the guard to turn us away saying they didn’t officially open until 9 a.m. So we parked on the side of the road scanning the radio for an English music station for the 10-minute wait and then made our entrance.
The four-story-tall Visitors Center rests on a hilltop and offers fantastic exhibits on each floor as well as a movie telling of the history and future of the Canal that is shown in both English and Spanish.
On the fourth level, there is a huge outdoor deck where you can watch the ships carefully maneuver through the narrow waterway as a guide announces over the speaker system the specifics of each ship. We saw two tankers that morning, plus a luxury personal watercraft.
To do everything, it cost $16 total for the two of us. We ended up spending just over two hours there. Unfortunately, the Visitors Center's restaurant did not open until noon so we weren’t able to do the whole meal-overlooking-the-Canal thing.
If you are considering not seeing the Canal during a trip to Panama, I would reconsider. It’s one of those man-made wonders that really is amazing, especially considering the era in which it was built.