Day 13: Panama City

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Today we were up very bright and early, so we could leave at 7:30 a.m. We were to head across the country (50 miles) from the Caribbean to the Atlantic, to visit Panama City. However, just as we were to leave, we found out that the highway we were to travel on was blocked by a protest. A neighbourhood somewhere in the area had been without any water for three days, and they were not about to put up with that any longer! They wanted some action - who wouldn‘t? So, by 8:00 a.m. we were playing bridge with another couple. We didn’t finally leave until about 9:30. This late start did mean that our tour became more of a ‘drive-by’ than a ‘get out and walk around’ kind of visit. Added to this, the rainy season has begun here, and it was absolutely pouring for quite a bit of the time. With the high temperatures, it reminded me very much of being in a sauna.

The first part of Panama city we saw was Panama Viejo -’Old Panama’- which was built in 1519 by the Spanish. This city was the base for their expeditions to conquer the Incas in South America. On a good day, it would have been very interesting to wander down the streets looking at all the ruins. Even my ’drive-by’ pictures didn’t turn out because of all the rain on the windows of the bus.

Unfortunately for this early city, Henry Morgan (many considered him a pirate, yet he was knighted in England because of all the loot he brought back and his attacks on the Spanish) destroyed the city in 1671. So, another Panama City was built. The new one , now called 'Colonial Panama City', was a walled city, designed to protect the inhabitants from future pirate attacks. Because of the interesting mix of historical architectural styles, it was designated a World Heritage Site in 2003. It was very interesting, however many of the buildings are still in the restoration stage which meant we could see the ’before’ and the ’after’ in many instances. The one good picture I did take was of the distinctive golden altar at St. Joseph Church. People in the church knew Henry Morgan was coming, so they buried it. It was one of the few things preserved from Old Panama. New Panama is very modern with lots of tall skyscrapers, highlighted by Donald Trump’s fancy new building (not yet complete). You all know what such cities look like. Enough said.

We then went to the Visitors Centre by the locks of the Canal. While somewhat interesting, we’d actually been through the locks the day before, so I could have done without this particular trip.

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