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Published: June 14th 2023
We don't want to confuse anyone.... we returned from Panama about two months ago and are behind on publishing this missive.
In the beginning, we really did not intend to go to Panama, and we bet that sounds funny. After all, when you are planning your trip, you are busy gathering all the information about where you are going and what you hope to do while you are there. When we were booking our flights to South America on Copa Airlines (which is not a great airline), we discovered Panama City was a hub and they would allow you to stop for up to a week (in Panama, not the airport) without additional cost. Kind of the same deal when you fly Icelandic Air and can stay in Iceland for a while before proceeding to Europe or North America. We decided we could not turn down the opportunity to stop by for a few nights especially since our layover would have been 15 hours. Anything more than about six hours in an airport is somewhat tortuous, so why not spend a few days in Panama? We landed on staying four nights. Okay, why not seven nights? Well, after about six
weeks of travel, we were ready to head home.
When most folks think about Panama, they think of the great Panama Canal, one of the great engineering feats of the modern world. It is 51 miles in length with the current ability to allow a ship that is 1200 feet in length to travel its water. The history of its construction is interesting, as it was fraught with mistakes and a large loss of life. Originally started by the French, the project was abandoned as its architect wanted a sea-level canal like the Suez Canal he built in Egypt. Only problem is that that would never work in Panama due the geography and the weather.
In 1903, the United States negotiated a deal with Columbia (who at that time claimed Panama), but they refused to sign it, so the U.S. used a different tactic with President Roosevelt actively supporting the separation of Panama with Columbia. He then signed a treaty with the new Panamanian government and there you have it, instant permission to get to work on the canal.
Completed in 1914, the key to success was in utilizing locks and the ability to literally “flood” the
Wonderful fresh fish
Khadija and MJ split this fine repast....area that would be the canal as opposed to the failed French approach of just digging the canal. It proved to be a great decision, with the project completed two years ahead of schedule.
Of course, we had to go have a look at the canal and the locks, which were located not too far from our hotel. The Miraflores Locks Visitors Center provided us with a great way to learn more about the history of the canal along with all the facts about this wonder of transportation. The center has a IMAX theater showing a film about the history, construction and the newer locks. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, it was a very informative show, leaving us with quite a bit of knowledge.
It is our norm to generally stay in the center of town, so we have easy walking to restaurants and museums. On this occasion we found a hotel out of town across the street from the canal. We wanted to see ships gliding down the canal from our hotel and we did. If you select this location, be aware that there was a new leg of the canal built which allows even larger ships to
Monkey Island
Geoffrey's Tamarin travel. The hotel is across from the old leg and not used often but enough to keep us entertained. We were thrilled to learn that our hotel was only a $4 Uber ride into old town. We took advantage of this more than once.
Panama City is a city of contrasts. The main downtown is much larger than we were expecting, plus bright and shining with glitzy new skyscrapers and modern architecture. Panama City is well known as a banking center around the world. During the drug trade of Manuel Noriega, it was a city of money laundering. Banking rules became very liberal in 1971 so … who knows what is going on in all of those banks these days, but we can assure you this town is full of money. We enjoyed the hop on hop off bus so we could take in an overview of this city and see all the growth. There are parts of the city which speak more to abject poverty, like most big cities, especially in Central and South America. We enjoy taking a trip on a hop on hop off bus early in our visit to a new city as it gives
a great overview and helps you focus on where you’d like to use your remaining time. We have noticed in recent times the price has skyrocketed from the first one we took in 2008 in Dubai.
Old Town is as you would expect full of vibrant colors with gothic Spanish Colonial architecture, city squares and a host of restaurants, offering a wide variety of fare. Plenty of seafood to be found as well. Shops selling the traditional tourist stuff, art galleries abound and more than a few stores selling Panama hats. The high-end hat stores charge a lot of money for their products. Old Town is heavily patrolled to ensure the safety of the tourists, partially because you can literally walk one block over and into a very poor section of the city.
A few days before our arrival in Panama City we realized acquaintances would be in town the same time we were, and we decided to see if they had time for dinner. Last year when we were in Malta at the Travelers Century Club, we met Ed and Khadija and we were excited they had time to meet us for dinner. We arranged to meet
at Fonda Lo Que Hay restaurant recommended by Suzanne who is another TCC member and had been in Panama City a couple of weeks before us. More on that to come…..
For us travel is always enhanced if we can observe wildlife in their natural habitat so it was a must for us to visit Gatun Lake on a small boat which would take us to Monkey Island, which is a little patch of land in the middle of the canal. During the tour, we heard about how the landscape and the water changed with the building of the canal and how the wildlife evolved around it. We were able to see a couple of species of monkeys, including the Geoffryoy’s tamarin, the white faced monkey and the mantled howler monkey. In honesty we were told we saw the white faced monkey but he was very high in the tree and we’re uncertain about that one. It was enjoyable being out in the Panama Canal in this small boat and able to get close to container ships and other vessels.
So anyway, we are sitting on the boat waiting for everyone to arrive and who do we see
comeing down the boardwalk? You guess it, Ed and Khadija! We had independently booked ourselves on the same boat without knowing it. We weren’t having dinner with them until the next night so this was a pleasant surprise. One of the highlights of this trip is that we spent time with a fellow Traveler Century Club member and got to know them a bit better.
Panama City was pleasantly surprising as we'd never given it much thought. It is easy to wander the streets. While we were there we learned more that Panama has to offer and we may head back in the future to see some of the off the beaten path sites.
Where we stayed:
Holiday Inn Panama Canal
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Pleasing Panama City
Enjoyed reading this well-written piece about your time in Panama City! I wouldn't have expected it to be as modern as some of your photos show. We did a partial transit of the old canal way back in the early 80's, so it was interesting to hear about the new portion of the canal being built.Great you were able to meet up with other TCC members!