Floating Crane

The Titan Crane, among the largest floating cranes in the world was originally built by Germany in 1941, moved to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1948 and finally sold to Panama Canal and put into service in 1999. The Tital 'floating' crane is used to maintain the canal locks, the tip of the main boom towers 114m (374 ft) above the water and can lift 350 metric tons! Among the largest floating cranes in the world, "Titan" was built by Hitler's Germany and claimed by the Unites States as war booty. Tian entered service in Panama in 1999 after having served for 50 years in Long Beach, California. The crane can be floated into the locks on the Panama Canal and is used for heavy lifting required to maintain the doors of the locks of the canal. It is one of the strongest in the world.

The Titan was actually one of three built by the Germans. Of the other two, the British got one but lost it in a storm while towing it across the English Channel, and the Russians got the other, but no one seems to know whatever became of it. While in Long Beach, the Titan was known as either "Herman the German," or simply the"German Crane."

The heart of Mary is in the heart of Panama City

Panama City, like so many cities in Latin America, has many beautiful and historic churches. A few are well-known to tourists. One that is not so well-known is the Santuario Nacional del Corazon de Maria (National Shrine of the Heart of Mary) in the city's financial district, but off the major streets, unseen by many. Construction began in August 1947 and was finally complete two years later.

It is a beautiful church and certainly worth a visit.

Palo Seco: A Leprosarium

The Palo Seco Leper Asylum was established on April 1907. In 1904 the United States and the new Republic of Panama ratified the Panama Canal Treaty. By that treaty the United States became responsible for the public health of the Canal Zone. The United States sought this in order to effectively combat the diseases of yellow fever and malaria which had contributed greatly to the failure of the French to attempt to build the canal. The American doctors in 1904 discovered a group of 13 outcasts suffering from Hansen's disease (leprosy) were living precariously on a beach near Panama City. A financial arrangement was made whereby the United States would provide for the housing, food and care of any Panamanian lepers in exchange for 75 cents a day per patient.

At Palo Seco, health officials went to great lengths to minimize patients' contact with the outside world. Mail was sterilized with a hot iron before it left the settlement. Special currency, created by the Philadelphia mint, was used between 1919 and 1952 to keep money touched by Hansen's disease sufferers out of the hands of the uninfected. Most precautions were unnecessary. Fear of the disease has always been greater than the danger of contagion.

Palo Seco (the name means "Dry Stick" in Spanish) was an ocean-side 500 acre fruit farm six miles from Panama City. The fruit farm was isolated, and initially access was only by boat (even though it was part of the mainland). In order to be more homelike, the facility was built like a Panamanian village. It had a plaza with a chapel on one side and the dwelling houses on the other side of the plaza. Palo Seco was a wind swept quadrangle of nine buildings consisting of living quarters for single patients, each with a room to himself, married patients' apartments, and a building with a kitchen and two dining rooms, one for patients and one for employees. Next door was the administrative office, dental clinic, commissary and storerooms, a hospital to take care of those more seriously ill, and a clinic and treatment room. There was a laundry that could handle 200 pounds of laundry a day and a maintenance shop operated by patients. One of the most important components of the hospital was the recreation building where movies were shown and where patients hold dances and parties, play pool, and entertain friends.

As many as 150 patients lived at one time at Palo Seco. The lepers were allowed to eat at a mess the food prepared for them or to draw their ration uncooked and do their own cooking. If they wished to do any farming, implements and seeds were provided. The produce was purchased by the facility for the use of the colony. Similarly, they were allowed to raise chickens.

Today, Palo Seco sits more than half empty. Statues of saints stare at empty pews in the dusty chapel. Only eight Hansen's disease patients remain, joined by a handful of Alzheimers patients and physically disabled youth abandoned at hospitals by their parents.

Construction in Panama!

Skyline construction: In Panama City, the pace of construction is continuous and rapid. The skyline has changed dramatically in the last five years, stunningly in the last ten, and all but unbelievably to folks returning after fifteen years. Someone has to do the work and here we see them hard at it. They are the backbone of our city.

Condo canyons: Condos are rising all over Panama City as people from many nations seek a home in the capital of a rapidly expanding economy. Old residents don't always appreciate them, but they do add their own color and style to the city as do these in the Marbella neighborhood.

Tunner Mooted for Cinta Costera Expansion

A tunnel under Casco Viejo and leading to the Avenue De Los Poetas is the latest proposal for the third phase extension of the Cinta Costera.

The extension would then circle Chorrillo, before moving on to the Amador Causeway. The extension of the coastal strip in this area has drawn criticism for its potential impact on the historic Old Town. In presenting the city's road realignment, Federico Jose Suarez, MOP minister, said the bidders could submit different proposals. So far all the work on the Cinta Costera has been done by one company which was granted the $52 million no bid contract for the second phase, circling the Fish Market.

Panama Canal.

An excellent new video of the Panama Canal.