The Panama Canal is the man-made waterway that allows ships to travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean across Central America. While you may think that traveling through the canal is a quick, straight shot from east to west, you would be mistaken.
In reality, the Panama Canal zigs and zags its way across Panama at an angle. Ships move through the canal in either a southeast or northwest direction and each transit takes about 8 to 10 hours.
