you know those days when everything is a bit off? i felt a bit like i was on a prize package from the price is right…with the theme being: wrong turn. it started off with me driving down some sketchy streets (i.e.–any street in colon) to the zona libre…..which is apparently closed on saturdays. sorry naldo. i then swung by the supermarket to pick up a yogurt drink and a banana. i think the supermarket there may be the only one in the americas to not sell bananas. i then drove to the canal (gatun locks). the trip should have taken 5min, but instead took closer to 1hr, because i kept taking wrong turns. i even ended up crossing the canal…..and drove out of the entire complex (i was following other cars….which i thought were going to visit the canal….but they just wanted to drive to the cities on the other side). i then drove back to the canal in search of the visitors center….and found myself on a dirt road on the banks of the canal….with a paved road right next to me….but barriers to prevent me from crossing onto it (…or more likely, to prevent other cars from driving into the canal….like i had done). so, i made my way to the other cars which were queued on the paved road next to the canal. turns out they were waiting for a ferry to cross back to the other side. i think they were confused….because i just went back the way i came, and crossed over the canal again on the grated road (i think they lift the road when ships pass by). so i’m finally on the right side of the canal….drive past the visitors center (accidentall) into a work area, and then come back and finally make it to the vistors center parking lot (which is not labeled).
of course, i walk in through the wrong entrance….take some wrong turns….but finally make it to the viewing dock. which is very cool. there’s a constant stream of huge boats going through the canal. i was also confused about the canal before….apparently boats are raised to the level of a man-made lake….travel on that lake to the other side….then are lowered back to ocean level. i need to learn more about it…like why didn’t they just make the river the same level as the oceans?
oh, and as i was leaving, i accidentally walked into a restricted area and loitered around there for about 5 minutes. (story continued on next gps point)