7 interesting facts you should know about the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is one of the most important engineering works in the world, the symbolic heart of the country and one of its greatest tourist attractions.

Today, this global icon is within reach of travelers from all over the continent and the planet thanks to Copa Airlines' extensive air connections with Panama City , a strategic hub that makes it easy to reach the isthmus from dozens of international destinations.

Beyond its logistical and commercial function, the canal invites visitors to discover it as a unique cultural, historical, and visual experience , where oceans, cultures, and human stories converge in just a few kilometers.

There are many interesting facts surrounding the Panama Canal , with stories full of unexpected characters, amazing landscapes, and technical achievements that forever transformed the world map.

1. The Panamanian origin of the famous Murphy's Law

Few phrases have traveled the world as widely as Murphy's Law : "If something can go wrong, it will." What very few people know is that its creator , the American aerospace engineer Edward Aloysius Murphy , was born in Panama .

Murphy was born on January 11, 1918, in the Panama Canal Zone , in a historical context marked by the American presence in the interoceanic region . Years later, his career would focus on critical safety systems and high-precision testing, especially in the aerospace field.

From those experiences emerged the famous law that bears his name, a pragmatic reflection on human error and the need to design fail-safe systems .

2. When Paul Gauguin was a worker on the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal also holds stories that seem straight out of a novel. One of the most surprising features the French painter Paul Gauguin , a key figure in Impressionism and modern art .

In 1887, at the age of 39 and in search of the tropical landscapes that would define his work, Gauguin arrived in Panama between April and June . His ultimate goal was to travel to Martinique , but a lack of money led him to make an unexpected decision: to enlist as a laborer in the French phase of the canal's construction .

For two intense weeks, the artist worked in torrential rain, faced the extreme tropical climate, and ended up contracting malaria . Although his time on the project was brief, this experience left a mark on his life and his worldview.

3. A place where the sun defies the cardinal points

One of the most fascinating phenomena of the Panama Canal has nothing to do with locks or ships, but with the sky . From the canal, it's possible to observe the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean in Panama City and the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean in the city of Colón .

This apparent geographical contradiction is explained by the shape of the isthmus —similar to an S— and by the short distance that separates both cities : barely 80 kilometers .

Thanks to this unique orientation, Panama offers an almost poetic experience: watching the sun rise over one ocean and set over another on the same day . For travelers and photographers, this detail makes the canal a truly unique natural setting.

4. Panama Canal: A French dream made real by the USA.

The history of the Panama Canal is also a story of perseverance . It all began in 1880, when the Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps , famous for having successfully directed the construction of the Suez Canal in Egypt, decided to undertake the titanic task of uniting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Panama .

However, the project was soon struck by a lethal combination: tropical diseases, enormous technical difficulties, and a financial crisis that ultimately sank the company. In 1893, Lesseps's company declared bankruptcy, leaving the dream unfinished.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States took up the challenge again under the leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt . With a massive investment of resources, medical advances, and innovative solutions, the project was finally completed.

On August 15, 1914, the SS Ancon made the first official voyage , marking a turning point in the history of world trade.

Stopover in Panama City (3 days / 2 nights)

5. Ships cross the Panama Canal in less than half a day

On average, a ship takes between 8 and 10 hours to cross the Panama Canal completely . The process begins with waiting at the entrance, followed by passing through the locks that raise and lower the vessels using only gravity and fresh water.

On the Atlantic side are the Gatun Locks, while on the Pacific side are the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks. This system allows ships to overcome the difference in elevation and navigate across the isthmus.

The impact is colossal: by using the canal, ships avoid going around South America, saving nearly 8,000 miles of navigation, time and fuel .

6. The Panama Canal is always open

Since 1963, the Panama Canal has operated without interruption . On May 12 of that year, the lighting system was installed, allowing nighttime operations to begin and transforming it into an interoceanic waterway active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year .

Thanks to this lighting, ships from all over the world can transit even in the middle of the night , maintaining a constant flow of global trade.

Behind this uninterrupted operation is an impressive team of people: around 10,000 plant employees work to ensure that the channel operates accurately and safely at all times.

7. Do you want to see how they work?

Unlike many industrial infrastructures, the Panama Canal allows visitors to observe its operation up close . Two visitor centers offer privileged views of daily operations.

The most popular is the Miraflores Visitor Center , famous for its spacious terraces from where you can watch ships cross the locks just a few meters away.

At the Atlantic entrance, in Colón , is the Gatun Locks Visitor Center , which allows you to appreciate the largest lock in the canal , with three levels that raise and lower enormous ships.

These spaces transform the channel into an educational, visual and exciting experience , accessible to travelers of all ages.

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