Panama City and the Panama Canal, Panama

---

Bienvenido a Panama

Along the narrow isthmus bridging the Americas, the wildlife and terrain of two continents melt to form the striking contrasts of Panama. Ocean, forest, mountain and jungle set the stage for countless adventures. You can go whale-watching along the craggy Pacific coast, snorkel around tiny islands in the Caribbean or surf good breaks off either coast. If you have had enough of the heat, escape to the highlands and go rafting down class-five rapids, hike through cloud forests or bathe in crisp mountain streams. Panama's jungles are some of the least explored areas in the world. You can visit indigenous villages, marvel at some of the country's 940 bird species or wake at sunrise to the view of both oceans at your feet. Panama's diversity doesn't end in the countryside. With immigrants from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and all over the Americas, Panama City encapsulates the "melting pot" ideal better than any other city in Central America. You can sample cuisine from across the globe then dance till dawn at one of dozens of nightclubs - Central America's best. Charming highland towns, crumbling seaside fortresses and old-world festivals straight out of Seville all lie within a day's travel of one another. With so much to offer, you might be surprised to discover how easy it is to slip away from the crowds and experience Panama's treasures on your own. This is perhaps one of the country's most enticing features, and one that surely won't last forever.

Intro to Panama City

A modern, thriving center for international banking and trade, Panama City has a diverse population and a cosmopolitan air. Its colonial district, a rundown neighborhood reminiscent of Havana, lies crumbling on the edge of the sea. Wherever you find yourself in the city, you're probably not far from a wide variety of restaurants, and the nightlife here is the best in Central America.

History

Panama City was founded in 1519 on the site of an indigena fishing village by the Spanish governor Pedro Arias de Avila (Pedrarias) not long after Balboa first saw the Pacific. The Spanish settlement quickly became an important center of government and church authority. Gold and other plunder from the Pacific Spanish colonies passed through here along El Camino Real and the Sendero Las Cruces, across the isthmus to the Caribbean. This treasure made Panama City the target of many attacks over the year. In 1671 the city was ransacked and destroyed by the English pirate Henry Morgan, leaving only the stone ruins of Panama Viejo. Three years later, the city was reestablished about 8 kilometers to the southwest in the area known as Casco Antiguo (ancient compound). The Spanish believed that the new site, on a small peninsula, would be easier to defend. With shallow seas flanking the city on three sides and a newly constructed moat protecting the land side, Nueva Panama - as it was initially called - was never successfully attacked again. The overland trade route, however, was attacked repeatedly, and the principal Caribbean port at Portobelo was destroyed. In 1746 the Spanish stoped using the route all together, and Panama City subsequently declined in importance. Panama returned to prominence when the Panama Railroad was completed and gold seekers on their way to California flooded across the isthmus by train. Panama declared its independence from Colombia on November 3, 1903 in Panama City's Parque de la Independencia; the city became the capital of the new nation. Since the Panama Canal was completed in 1914, the city has grown as a center for international business and trade.

Our Experience

While busing from La Fortuna to San Jose, Joe and I made the big decision to continue busing south from San Jose to Panama City, Panama. The guidebook said it was a 15 hour bus ride. For me, this is no big deal. I can sleep anytime and anywhere. For Joe, this was huge! He cannot sleep anytime and anywhere. But, for the sake of making the remainder of our trip leisurely, Joe decided to suck it up and take the looooong bus ride.

Joe's Note: I can sleep almost anywhere provided I can lie down. Otherwise, I'm not sleeping. Unfortunately, I generally cannot lie down on public transportation. Ugh.

We arrived in Panama City around 5PM and took a taxi from the bus stop to the Tica Bus office. Tica Bus operates capital city-to-capital city buses throughout Central America. For $23, Tica Bus would take us from San Jose, Costa Rica to Panama City, Panama. The bus for Panama City departed at 10PM that evening. We left the Tica Bus office and headed out to run some errands. Apparently, you need to show fiscal solvency when you enter Panama (that meant we needed to have the equivalent of $300 USD). So, we hit up an ATM... grabbed dinner at Taco Bell, and spent the next few hours relaxing in an internet cafe. Then we headed back to the Tica Bus office to catch our transnational bus. Before boarding, we bought some drinks and snacks at a local shop, because we heard the bus wasn't going to stop until 11AM the next day. At 10PM, we were all boarded and the bus departed. I wisely brought lots of warm clothing on board with me. These luxury greyhound buses definitely have AC... and they aren't afraid to use it. I had: socks, pants, tank top, long sleeve shirt, sweater, jacket, and my towel with me. Thanks to all those layers, I managed to stay relatively warm. The towel also made a great pillow! Joe used his own body heat and mind-over-matter will power to stay warm.

The bus ride was long. Including stops, the bus ride actually lasted 17 hours. Joe and I both slept for the first leg of the journey (from about 12PM until 5AM). A little after 5AM, we arrived at the Costa Rica-Panama border. The border didn't open until 6AM. Bleck. So, we waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually, it opened. This was definitely our worst border crossing. At least our bus got their early, because by the time the border opened long lines had already formed. We made it through everything relatively quickly... considering the number of people and the number of stops and checks we had to pass through. We even had to buy a $5 tourist card and $1 "stamp" to enter Panama. We finally made it back on the bus around 7:30AM. I promptly went back to sleep... and with the exception of waking up a couple of times to eat and drink (and our one big stop at a rest area), I slept the entire way to Panama City. I've found that sleeping on long bus rides makes them go by much more quickly! Joe, of course, was awake for the rest of the way to Panama City.

Joe's Note: I was actually awake for a lot of the night leg of our journey. Ugh. It's also interesting to note here that Lila is the exact opposite of me in this department. She cannot NOT go to sleep on public transportation (especially buses). I pretty sure that if she were on a bus for 24 hours, she could sleep for 23.8 of those hours. The remaining 0.2 hours would be spent drinking water and using the bathroom. I have therefore denoted her sleeping ability as her superpower.

We arrived in Panama City around 4PM local time. Joe woke me up just in time to see a view of the Pacific Ocean from a bridge we were traversing over the Panama Canal. We had a hostel picked out, but at the bus terminal a lady offered us a free ride to a local hotel. After talking with her for a bit, we were able to negotiate a price similar to the one offered by the hostel we were originally planning to stay at... so we accepted her offer (along with the free terminal-to-hotel transportation). Soon, a minivan collected us and took us to Hotel Texas. For only $15USD we've got a hotel room with A/C, satellite TV (although the color is a bit off), and a private bathroom with hot water. This is some serious luxury!

After checking in to the hotel, we grabbed a much needed "real meal" at a nearby restaurant and then went on a quick walk down to the water. After investigating the area, we headed back up to our hotel to find an internet cafe. We found one, but after about 20 minutes the power went off... so we left. Unfortunately, the power didn't just go out in the internet cafe... the whole block (including our hotel) was black. The surrounding blocks, however, were brightly lit. We decided it wouldn't be much fun to hang out in a dark hotel room with no power (and, most importantly, no AC) so we decided to have a second dinner in a cafe across from our block (so we could see when the power came back on). I had a hot chocolate and Joe had a ham and cheese sandwich and a beer. After about 45 minutes the power was back on. Exhausted... we went back to our hotel room, showered, and slept!

The next morning we slept in. (Remember... Joe didn't sleep much on the bus.) Once we were up and moving, we decided to walk to Casco Antiguo (translated: Old Quarter) - the old part of Panama City - and have a nice splurge of a lunch. Our guidebook recommended a restaurant where a 5 course lunch cost $10 USD. We walked all the way from our hotel to Casco Antiguo (about 35 mins.), but couldn't locate the restaurant. Joe, however, found a visor in a souvenir shop and the lady at the register pointed us towards another similar restaurant a few blocks away. When we walked in the place looked pretty fancy and was totally empty! I asked if we could see a menu, but they lady said the didn't have one. This sort of agreed with what our guidebook had said... that meals tend to be fixed and you just eat the courses they give you. Well, we just shrugged at eat other and sat down. It is a little unnerving eating a meal when you don't know its cost... and it is extremely unnerving eating a very fancy meal without knowing its cost. The meal began with bread and dipping sauce... then we had appetizers: fish fillet and shrimp ceviche... then we had a green salad with mustard dressing... then we had two strange cold mixtures (kinda like a pasta salad, but made with something besides pasta - one had lots of guac in it)... then we had a plate of octopus (which Joe loved and I disliked)... then we had some shrimp (with their heads still attached!)... and... after all that... we had the main course: rice, pieces of steak, chicken kabobs, and fish... and... finally... we had dessert: some strange berries with pits covered in a liquor-esque kind of syrup. Whew. By the end, we were stuffed and scared! How much were we going to have to pay? Fortunately, it wasn't too bad. We got all that delicious food presented splendidly for only $36.80 including tax and tip! Amazing, huh? Although it was more than we wanted to spend for lunch, it was definitely a steal for the excellent food and nice ambiance.

After our ridiculous lunch, we were going to head to the buses to see the Miraflores Locks (of the Panama Canal), but Joe wasn't feeling 100%. So, I wisely decided we should take the afternoon off and relax. And, we did. We rested in our room with wonderful AC from 3PM until 7PM. Then we went out for supper at an Italian joint and got a large Hawaiian pizza. After dinner, we took a cab across town to a bookstore and each bought a new book for the last leg of our trip. From there, we walked to a nearby internet cafe. After spending a couple of hours catching up on our blog, we cabbed back to our hotel, showered, and slept.

The next morning we decided to have lunch downtown and decide what to do from there. We took a cab back to the place we used the internet the night before and had lunch at Wendy's. It was absolutely delicious! We consulted our guidebook in Wendy's and decided to go back to Casco Antiguo and visit the Panama Canal Museum and then take a bus to Miraflores Locks (the Panama Canal locks nearest the Pacific Ocean). The Museum, as it turned out, was an excellent idea. We both got audio guides in English and spent well over two hours pouring over the Canal Museum's exhibits. First, we walked through the entire history of the trans-isthmus corridor from mule route to railroad to canal. Then we saw other canal and Panamanian artifacts/exhibits including an interesting audio-discussion on the benefits of Panama's use of US currency.

After visiting the Canal Museum we took one last walk around Casco Antiguo. From there, we could see all the ships waiting to enter canal waters as well as the famous Bridge of the Americas that crosses the Pacific-side canal channel. From Casco Antiguo, we cabbed to the bus terminal for buses to the Miraflores Locks.

The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is one of the world's most significant waterways, truly an engineering marvel, stretching 80 kilometers from Panama City on the Pacific to Colon on the Atlantic side, cutting right through the Continental Divide. Nearly 14,000 ships pass through the canal each year. Ships worldwide are built with the dimensions of the Panama Canal's locks in mind: 305 meters long and 33.5 meters wide. Ships pay according to their weight, with the average fee around US $30,000. The highest amount paid was around US $200,000 paid in 2001 by the 90,000-ton French cruise ship Infinity; the lowest amount was US $0.36, paid in 1928 by Richard Halliburton, who swam through. The canal has three sets of double locks: Miraflores and Pedro Miguel Locks on the Pacific side and Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side. Between the locks, ships pass through a huge artificial lake, Lago Gatun, created by the Gatun Dam across the Rio Chagres (when created, they were the largest dam and largest artificial lake on Earth), and the Gaillard Cut, a 14 kilometer cut through the rock and shale of the isthumian mountains. A staggering 52 million gallons of fresh water is released to the ocean with the passage of each ship. Construction was an extreme challenge: in the wet climate the loose soil was subject to horrendous landslides even after the canal opened. The more you learn about the Panama Canal, both in terms of the monumental construction project and the associated political intrigues, the more interesting it becomes.

Our Experience

All went according to plan and 30 minutes. later we were standing at the entrance to the Miraflores Locks. Interestingly, the entrance isn't especially tourist friendly. I guess most people visit the canal as part of a tour group. From the bus stop and entrance sign, Joe and I walked past lots of canal equipment and machinery. We passed a guard working a booth and a small road entrance. I thought we must have found the back door, but he motioned us through. Eventually, the road led us to the visitor's center. The Miraflores visitor center is nice. Quite nice. We each bought an $8 ticket that got us entrance to the center plus admission to a small exhibition and movie about the canal. Of course, the first thing we did once we were inside the building was head to the fourth floor observation deck to get our first good view of the canal locks. The fourth floor observation deck is entirely open air and has a commanding view of the locks, the channel towards the Pacific, and the channel towards the interior. Although we couldn't see the Pacific from the observation deck (the canal turned), we could see Miraflores Lake and the San Miguel Locks (in the distance) towards the interior. It was great! But......... there were no ships. Not a single ship in sight. And, we had timed our visit according to the lock's "busiest hours." Hum. So, after staring at the empty locks for a bit we heard an announcement for the English-language presentation of the information video, so we decided to check that out. The theater was quite nice, but the video was - in short - short (only 10 minutes). After the video ended we noticed a ship was making its way across Miraflores Lake towards the Miraflores Locks. But unfortunately, it was beginning to rain and the covered observation deck on the second floor was already full of poncho-clad tourists. So, Joe and I decided to splurge a bit and headed for the very elegant visitor center restaurant on the 3rd floor with views of the locks. The buffet was $18.00 USD per person, so we opted to each order a soup from the menu (< $6.00 USD per person) and watch the ship pass through the locks. It was a huge, grey, closed-cargo ocean liner. As it slowly traversed the locks, we were able to get a close look at the massive vessel. It's crew appeared to be predominently Asian and there were Asian symbols on the side of the ship, but the name was also in English, and it flew a Panamanian flag. It was truly impressive!

After the first ship passed, the rain let up and more ships started to come through the San Miguel Locks, cross Miraflores Lake and enter the Miraflores Locks in front of us. All of the locks on the Panama Canal have two lanes. I used to think that one lane was for incoming vessels and the other was for outbound vessels. However, this is not the case. The two lanes can operate in opposite directions or they can both operate in the same direction. Apparently, most ships make the approx. 8 hour journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean (or visa versa) via the Panama Canal during daylight hours. This means that the two lanes of the Miraflores Locks generally move ships into the canal in the early/mid morning and out of the canal during the mid/late afternoon. The canal, however, is open 24/7. Given the amount of traffic and the operating hours, both Joe and I were surprised to arrive at the canal around 3:30PM and not see a single ship on either side waiting to enter the lock. But, by the time we left Miraflores Locks around 6PM there was a steady stream of gigantic ships moving from canal waters out towards the Pacific Ocean via the Miraflores Locks.

I wish I could adequately describe the magnitude of the locks. They are incredible. In my opinion, the experience of standing by and watching ships traverse the Panama Canal via the Miraflores Locks was worth the entire trip.

Joe's Note: Lila summed is up nicely. The Panama Canal is truly truly amazing.

Back to Panama City

After watching ships for a few hours, we left the locks and went back to the bus stop. After about 40 minutes a bus finally came a whisked us back to Panama City's main bus terminal. From there, we took a cab out to Isla Flamenco for dinner. Our guidebook said it was a lively club/restaurant area somewhat like Disneyland (minus the kids). What we saw wasn't exactly that. Either we were there on a bad night, or they were doing some serious remodeling. However, Isla Flamenco has a fantastic view of the entire area (downtown Panama City, Casco Antiguo, Bridge of the Americas, boats waiting to enter the canal, and the Pacific Ocean) and by the time we arrived there it was quite dark so we were able to see the entire scene in the twinkling lights of civilization. And, to make the atmosphere even more dramatic, there was a slight breeze and a fantastic display of heat-lightening over the Pacific. Despite the relatively dead nightlife, Joe insisted we stay and simply enjoy the night itself. And, I'm glad he did. We ate at a nice Italian restaurant and I had a glass of wine. After dinner, we cabbed back to our hotel.

Joe's Note: I was sooooo looking forward to this pirate themed bar that the book mentioned, but the whole area looked like it was under constructioned. So much for Disneyland minus the kids and the old people. Like Lila said though, it still turned out very nicely, and we enjoyed a great evening with a great view.

The next morning we got up and took a cab all the way across town to the ruins of Panama Viejo. The ruins of Panama Viejo were fantastic... especially when compared to the ruins of Leon Viejo. We spent a couple of hours exploring the ruins and visiting a small artesians market nearby. After walking the length of the complex, I spotted an Esso gas station and asked Joe to take a picture of me next to the Esso sign (because ExxonMobil is the topic of my MAIB in-leu-of-thesis-project). I think we must have drawn some attention doing this, because a tourist police officer approached us. We told him we were about to head into town for lunch, and he insisted on flagging a cab for us. It was a little odd but quite nice. Maybe we were in a bad area and didn't know it?

After catching our tourist-police-officer-hailed-cab, we ate lunch. The first place we tried wasn't so great so we went to the next place our book recommended. It was a seafood/everything-else joint called La Cascada with a menu the size of China. I better let Joe explain this one since I think he'd trade his first-born for the opportunity to go back...

Joe's Note: ... and maybe my second-born. Let me put it this way: if there were a place like this anywhere in the vicinity of Gainesville, I'd weigh 800 pounds. Everything on the menu sounded amazing, and there were literally hundreds upon hundreds of items (the menu really was as big as China; it would put a combined force of Red Lobster, Outback, Sonny's, and KFC to shame. Easily). It was the first menu I've ever seen where I had to stop and get my bearings before deciding what I wanted. This place had it all. Everything from chicken to seafood to beef and back around again nine times. This was only the beginning. Not only did they have a ridiculous menu, the prices were amazing. So much seafood and steak for under $10. Way under $10. Lila got a fried shrimp plate, and I got a garlic seafood sampler plate. When the food came out, the real value of this place sank in. For less than $20 total, we both had one of the biggest and highest quality seafood meals I had ever experienced. I could barely finish JUST my seafood (my seafood also came with fries, a baked potato, bread, and salad). Then I looked around, and saw that everyone's plate was like that. Every meal in this place was as big as the freaking canal we had seen the previous day. Every. Single. Meal. And it gets even better: for every meal on the menu, you have to option to DOUBLE it for a reasonable price. I could've gotten over four pounds of amazing seafood for about $16. This is actually what I had originally tried to do. I'm almost disappointed our waitress talked me out of it; it would've been funny seeing my face when two servers had to bring out my meal that would've covered the entire four-person booth. If we had discovered this place earlier, I never would have left.

After lunch we walked/cabbed to our hotel, packed up, checked out, and cabbed to the main bus terminal. Thanks to our fellow cab passenger, we had no problem finding the ticket window we needed. (Central Americans are, on the whole, extremely... EXTREMELY helpful.

Side Note: So, I know I railed on the guys in Te'goose, but I should also say that Joe and I think Central Americans are the best: bar none. They are so, so, so helpful. In America or Europe if you are lost or confused people rarely notice. Here, the moment we step off a bus/train or look the least bit lost or confused someone always, always assists us. Sometimes, they literally bend over backwards. It is amazing. And, like that Southern hospitality we all know and love, Central Americans always greet you (whether formally or in passing) with a kind hello/how-are-you/good-day/etc. It is absolutely wonderful. Aside from my being occassionally noticed in a friendly but sometimes pushing-flattery-to-its-limits way, Joe and I have felt 110% safe and secure. We would recommend these countries and their people to anyone.

Joe's Note: Yeah it's really pretty amazing. I've been floored at how many times we've just been standing around waiting for what we hope is the right bus, and someone has come around and just asked where we were heading. Many times we've been in the wrong place, and the people have really helped us out.

After being kindly helped to our ticket window, we bought tickets for Las Tablas. We had to wait for a bit, but soon we were on our bus and outta town!

Up Next...

Reverse! Now we're heading slowly back towards San Jose, Costa Rica. Our first stop, Las Tablas, Panama.

---