The Panama Canal is a structure that we've all learned about in school. We've learned of the hardship and lives lost. A few weeks ago I personally had the opportunity to be aboard a cruise ship that was making a transit of the canal. Let me just say it was an amazing thing to witness.

The canal is made up of a system of locks. These locks use water to raise and lower the level of the ships in them. This allows the canal to actually "lift" the vessels above sea level and on to the next part of the canal system.

The canal is about four feet wider than most ocean-going vessels. That means the ship's captain and crew have two feet of wiggle room on either side of the concrete walls. The ship's position is maintained by a series of electric locomotives that keep the vessel from drifting in the canal.

The entire transit of the canal is about a nine-hour process. In this video, I'm only scratching the surface of the experience. You need to put a transit of the Panama Canal on your bucket list. You can thank me later.

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