The Cut

After passing through the Gaillard [Culebra] Cut we saw the first indications of the construction of the new canal. It is to the East and parallel with the Gatun Locks and follows the same established channel through the Lake. The channel is being dredged and upgraded all along the way. After passing under the Millennium Bridge it crosses to the west side and will follow a new “approach” channel through the Cut to a new set of locks parallel to the Miraflores Locks. The construction we saw there was of Water Re-utilization Basins [I think there will be 3 sets of 3 at each lock, Atlantic and Pacific] to ensure that the new locks do not cause any disruption of the existing locks. They will perform the same gravity-run raising and lowering that we saw in the old locks. You can see how massive the first effort must have been as these are being cut in the same manner. I can’t imagine how much more concrete they will take. This new “third’ lane will accommodate longer and wider ships.
After clearing the last of the Miraflores Locks we could see the tops of the Panama City high-rises. As we cruised along side the causeway the magnitude of this modern city became evident. Hundreds of radical modern skyscrapers spread along the 20km Pacific coast. At the end of the causeway, shortly before it reaches the tiny islands it connects to the mainland there is and odd bit of Architecture. From a great distance it appears as a multicolored mound maybe 30-40 feet high. Soon a roofline appears but it floats above the mound as if unattached. White girders project from the front suggesting an entrance. Panels/walls [?] appear in red, yellow and black. Some are curved and repeated, others flat and almost hidden. The mound remains a mound and someone says “Frank Gehry?’ I think, “of course!” Then I reconsider, as it is truly a jumble; there is no beauty. It appears as if a hurricane or perhaps, more fancifully, a tornado lifted several diverse structures into its spout rearranged them into one large lump and dropped it with purpose on the causeway. I can find no reference in the literature at hand and will have to check on it when I have more reliable [and less expensive] Internet access. Considering the architectural vocabulary of Panama City it is not unlikely that they wo