The highlight was a viewing of the NOVA film "A Man, A Plan, A Canal" based on McCullough's study of the history of the construction of the canal. What an engineering marvel! We learned:
* French effort in 1880 failed
* Roosevelt launched the project 1905, finished in 1914
* $350,000 - the largest government project up until that time (only government can build something like this)
* it was the "moon landing" of it's era
* it is 50 miles long - twice the length of the Suez Canal
* the building resulted in 5000 deaths
*most of the workers were from Barbados, paid $.10/hour
The evening program was a pianist, "divalicious" Amy Abler. She was a terrific musician, but it seems that musical talent isn't enough; she had to also do a lot of theatrics!
We're going to bed early, so that we can get up early and watch the ship pass through the Panama Canal.
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Location:En route to Panama
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