You Won't Believe What's Going on at the Panama Canal! - EP.382

I'm afraid over there it's rain. It's still 26 degrees. I'm not gonna put my you know liner on. It's gonna get wet if it comes to this. Oh look at that. Oh why? Oh why? We are right in the middle of the rain. Those drops are very large. They hit you very hard. Oh my god this is heavy. Yeah I'm already wet. Everywhere. And we're back to the highway. The busy highway. We're getting closer to Panama City. Uh-huh. So this is my plan for today. So the first thing I want to check out is the bridge and the canal because it's so legendary. I just have to see it right. And then we're going to meet Elisa because she'll be hosting me in Panama. So that's roughly the plan. Welcome to Panama City. We're still on the highway but we are very, very close to the Panama Canal. It was so hard to find a spot where I can film the bridge. Okay so I'm next to military base but I think guys said it's okay for me to film the bridge. All right so here we go. Uh-huh. Here there is. How's that? That's the best I could do for you. Nice engineering, hey? There she is. Right on time. Yeah that's good, that's good. Hello again. How was your day? You know this is the first time I've been here. Really? I was desperate. I couldn't find a viewpoint. I'm like where can I see the bridge? Right, well we just found out the military guys actually led us to bring bikes in so we can park them and we can have a picture with them and the bridge. So this is the plan now. We're moving the bikes and you cannot fly a drone here. Drone went like authorized zone. You cannot fly here which is very understandable but I thought I have a go and I failed. So yeah let's take a picture with the bike over there. All right. Hey Maria. Thank you so much for letting me put my camera. Gracias. How does it work? Because there are a lot of ships waiting over there but here it's just there's no one. Why is it so quiet? They're waiting for the time because they have a set up time, a schedule. They arrive and then they have to wait because this is like a public, I don't know what is in English, like a subasta. You know you pay for the time and you push for when you are going to cross the canal of Panama. And also from here, from one end to another and how long does it take? I think every ship takes six to eight hours to cross all the all the canal. Yes. And can they like pass each other at the canal or just one way, one, one way, another one? They have both ways and some locks but also they have to wait one and one. And also the lock, you know about the locks is, you know, the ship gets inside the lock and the water ups and down. Ah, so there are a few levels as well. Yes, that's why it takes a lot of time, every time because you have to up the ship and down the ship. I will show you in Miraflores and you can see how. Yeah, that would be fantastic. Okay, right. So this is so interesting. Six to eight hours it takes for a ship to cross and then they pass each other. I'm sorry, it's 80 kilometers. 80 kilometers long? 50 miles from the Atlantic to Pacific. 50 miles, that's why it takes so long. So there's a line of them over there, like right there on the horizon. You can see, you can see the ships lining up and waiting for the turn. So where are we going now? We are going to Miraflores to see the transit of the ships and maybe to Gatun to see one of the lakes and a forest, a rain forest. Let's go! Adios! And we meet again with the train. He goes around 65, 70 k's per hour. That's incredible, hey? They stack those containers on top of each other and there is an engine in between, of course. Sometimes few of them. Last time I saw this type of trains in Canada. Yeah, since then and actually ever. This is the second place where I see double stack trains. So much power, hey? That train was so cool. Right, and now here we are. So here we have a great explanation how it works. So the ships have to go through these locks. So they enter in the Pacific, then go level up, level up, level up, level up. And this is the level of the Largo Sea. Largo, sorry, sorry. So that's the lake. And Corte Culebra. Right, so there are two lakes which are higher than the Pacific and Caribbean Atlantic. And then they just go down, down, down, and down. And so we're seeing one of them. We are actually here already at the beginning of the Corte Culebra. This is what we see here. All right, let's keep going. Perfect, I'm ready. Right, and here we are at the little viewpoint, I guess, right? Like this is what we see here. So this is about halfway, right? We're about halfway. Yes, we're halfway to the Pacific. And this is 26 meters over the sea. Because we're in between the locks now. Yes, this is between the locks. We have a big ship! We have to film this! He's coming! Oh wow, he's got two of those, I don't know how we call those boats, patrol boats. I don't know but there are two involved. I know because there's two ships. This is crowded. Okay, here we go. The big ship is coming. So they don't really sail on their own. So there's like one at the front and the other one at the back is pushing this ship. And here you have that little train that just goes on the rail and keeps it to the left, to the right. Oh, they're waving to us! Yay! We got a wave! I don't know if I recorded it, but they were waving to us. I got a wave from the train driver, now I got a wave from the team. I wonder where they're from. So we're thinking this is a container ship, but empty. But we don't know. Maybe you guys know. We're guessing. We're not that good with ships. Look what's going on here! There's a ship that is behind that jetty, I guess. And there's two little rail trains are guiding both of the ships. Whoa! That is incredible! And you can't see it from the road. I had no idea there's another channel over there. That's insane! Yeah, see over there? Where is my finger? So yeah, there's over there, there's another channel. And one here, one there. Right, so now this one is getting to the narrow bit. See? It's very narrow. And this little boat is basically pushing it from the left to keep it straight on rail. Now we go through this man-made road to Flamingo, Iceland. I think that's how we call it. So the story with this road is, when they were digging the canal, they brought all the dirt, I mean not the dirt probably, but the rocks and aggregate, they brought it here to build this road. What a great job they did, eh? Oh my god, look how many boats! Oh wow! I didn't see that view behind me. I don't know if you can see it, but there's like a beautiful view of the Panama City downtown. Wow, wow, wow, wow! And look how nicely this road is done. Like any other road in Panama, it's just perfect. Perfect pavement, perfect paint, perfect curves. Very impressive how they build roads here in Panama. And this is it. We're on the other side. Wow, this is so charming! Look at this, so many boats and people enjoying their activities because it's Sunday. I have a little tourist train, there you go. So we did the loop around the island. It's a very small island, there's really not much there, except for activities and restaurants and that sort of stuff. We are planning to stop somewhere so I can take a picture because this is just insane. I mean, just that view of the downtown is incredible. I had no idea Panama City downtown is so spectacular. Truly, this is, I think, the most beautiful capital city in Central America, by far, in my opinion. I think we're gonna stop here. From here, I know we're gonna get closer to downtown, but this is the first time I see downtown, so I'm very impressed I have to share that with you. Okay, here we go. Wait, wait, look. Right, but now we're gonna get closer to downtown. Yes, are we going? We are going to the old city. We are going to cross this bridge. Yes, can we stop for a picture? On the right side, you will see the modern city, the buildings, the skyline, everything, and on the left, the old city, 18th, 19th century. Look at this view! This looks like New York, seriously, like Manhattan. I was not expecting that, and here we have the old town, and that looks like Venice. I am so impressed. Modern, old. Now we're going through the old town. Feels like Europe, but I guess, but I guess, well, it was built during colonial times, so no wonder it feels like Europe. You get a traffic, Sunday traffic, tourists everywhere. Imagine that! It's so calor! Yes, the humidity is on top. Oh, they were so nice. Okay, quickly, let's take a picture. Look at this, and now here we have this view. My goodness. So here we have old town, and here we have new town. Magic. Okay, it's time to go home. Oh, that's okay. We're nearly there. Adios! Adios! Traffic, big time, and now we're going through the heart of downtown. How dramatic. The rain is coming. Oh my god, your house is amazing. So you have one, two, three cars, one motorcycle, one scooter, two motorcycles, three motorcycles, three motorcycles. Of course, there's never enough. Okay, all BMW, I'm guessing. No, one. Oh, you've got a KTM. Yeah, and my bikes. Why not? I have so many toys. I don't have time to use all of them. Okay, here we go. Hello, doggies. Oh my god, who are you guys? Hello. I finally got this parcel all the way from Australia. It's from Rocky Creek Designs. These guys have been sponsoring me for a very long time, actually since the beginning of my trip. So let's see what they sent this time. Okay, so here we go. Looks like we have two pumps, probably different. So we're going to check it in a second. Then we have, those ziplocs are amazing. I love them so much. Sometimes I just lock my helmet on the bike with it, or I use it for the luggage. You know, I travel with this big bag behind me, and sometimes I have to go to the supermarket. So then I secure it with these guys, and I lost my ones. So this is brilliant. Now I can use it again. And what else we have? Tire gauge. Brilliant. This is a very good quality one. This one I do have, and I've been using for a long time. With this one, you can use it with your pump, you know? So you connect it together, and then as you pump, you know exactly how much pressure you're putting in. Brilliant. I think this connector is for that hose with air that it's like that. So that's a very good thing to have as well. And last not least, what's this? Oh wow, a proper helmet lock. Before I was just using these guys, and now I can use this. So cool. Okay, right, so now we have to compare those pumps. So this one, so this one, what's it called? Mini pump. This one is called mini pump. So I think this is the model up. I still use their old one. So this one you connect with this cable, and I already have this cable connected to my battery. So this is easy to use. Excellent. Pump number two. So this is Motopressor. But same scenario. You need that cable to connect it to your battery. Motopressor, Motopressor, both Motopressors. Same, same, but different, but still same. Maybe one is more powerful than other? I don't know. I have to read about it. So yeah, of course I'll be traveling with only one, and the other one I'll take home, and I keep it as a spare because you just never know when you need it. Thank you so much Rocky Creek Designs for your never-ending support. I love all the goodies. It means so much to me. Thank you. I just found out something very disgusting. So apparently it's very common here in Panama to have those mangoes that they nicely cut for you and you have them with salt, which I get, but then on top of that you add vinegar. I don't want to think about it. Hey guys, thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this, please do all the magic that helps the channel grow. Subscribe, leave a comment, and hit that notification bell so you don't miss on the next episode.