Team Panama Canal!

It's Friday. We helped 5,425 people during the last 4 days and it was amazing having our family and friends here to help. Leona and the Lion's Club set up a tour for us at the Panama Canal and it was spectacular. We watched a couple of very large cargo ships pass through the canal gates at the Miraflores Lockes. We assembled in a theater room where we listened and asked questions to a knowledgeable presenter. Cargo ships pay $5,000 per 20 ft container which usually adds up to $90,000-$365,000 per ship to pass through the canal! Expansion of the canal will finish in 2014 which will also be the 100 year anniversary of its completion. Also fascinating was that 58% of the fresh watershed around the canal is used in passing the ships through the chambers in the 3 different lockes. 36% of the fresh water is used in generating electricity to run the canal, and 6% is used for human consumption! So water (rain) is crucial.

After the canal our group split up. Some went to the causeway by the canal, a place to eat (Bucaneros restaurant) and shop. Others waited in a torrential thunderstorm for a shuttle to Panama de Viejo (thanks Mary for your planning and Todd for negotiating with our driver David!) which was in the more developed part of Panama City, but with ruins of some of Panama's first stone structures. We did not have much time so we all spent money fast buying crafts from local artisians who make bags, purses, backpacks, jewelry, art, clothing, and many other very authentic Panamanian products. We then went to Casco Viejo which is Panama's old town with very narrow cobblestone streets and old structures mixed with renovated architecture. A scenic point of the village allowed us to see 360 degree views ranging from the old Panama city, across the ocean skyline, to a sharply contrasted view of Panama's modern business district lined with hundreds of skyscrapers. We also shopped in this quaint old town.

This evening the Lion's Club of La Chorrera graciously hosted our group for dinner and entertainment. We watched several dancers in very colorful costumes as they provided us with a taste of the traditional folklore dancing typical for Panama. The Mayor of La Chorrera joined us for dinner, awards and thanks were exchanged for a well done clinic, and we danced to Panamanian music until it was time to say our goodbyes. A touching point to the evening was when one of the volunteer youth leaders of the Lion's Club had tears in his eyes when he said, "We don't want you to leave!"

For my wife to be with me on this clinic has been a fantastic experience. She has enjoyed all the work and adventure. Although details change somewhat on every OneSight mission, the emotional connections we make are similar. It is a miracle of humanity coming together after hundreds of hours of preparation and execution to celebrate giving, loving, and life. Let's keep the miracles coming!

Huge thanks to all.
Chad Fellows - Team Panama 2009