What direction does a boat travel that goes from the pacific to the Atlantic Ocean throughthe canal?

A ship sails southeast when traveling through the Panama Canal from the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean. Although the Pacific Ocean is west of the Atlantic Ocean in Central America, at Panama the Caribbean Sea arm of the Atlantic is to the north, and the Pacific to the south. Canal builders took advantage of natural lakes and valleys, so the actual orientation of the canal is NW to SE. Going from the Pacific to the Atlantic, ships travel to the northwest.