• Panama is the only country where you can watch the sun rise in the Pacific and set in the Atlantic (cool)!
• Fabric is measured in yards, distance in kilometers. Fuel is measured in gallons, milk in liters. (And I was confused already by all those saints!)
• The US dollar and Panamanian dollar are interchangeable, you can use US coins in Panamanian vending machines. (Many thanks to Diet Coke for teaching me that fact.)
• Panama has no military, but they do have special forces to guard the President.
• The lowest toll ever paid to go through the canal was 36¢ for Richard Haliburton who swam through in 1928. He was accompanied by a man in a rowboat who used an oar to chase away crocodiles (or so the legend goes). He also nearly drowned due to the churning waters caused by the opening of the gates. No more swimmers after that.
• The first attempt at building a canal through Panama was in the 16th century. If early attempts had been successful (without locks) it would have caused drastic world climate changes including severe hurricanes from the west coast of Central America up to Canada and an ice cap over much of Europe – the result of altering the flow of the Gulf Stream.
Today is a quiet day at sea, I've done my gym time, no weird souvenirs on the ship. Tomorrow I'll see my first volcano. Stay tuned!!!
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