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| The new high-rise Panama City dwarfs the old Casco Viejo (colorful Biodiversity Museum in the foreground) |
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| We were down in the lock on a boat just the day before this! |
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| View from our hotel of a ship heading toward the canal |
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| Old church ruin |
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I’d mentioned in a previous post that we served as line handlers
on a boat transiting the Panama Canal from the Caribbean to the Pacific. Since
we ended up in Panama City, we decided to spend a few days to see the sights. The
first impression is of height – this place is jam-packed with skyscrapers. Our interactions
with those were limited to watching them pass by the taxi windows, preferring old
and quaint to tall and glassy. We stayed at a Country Inn & Suites,
recommended by friends because of its canal-side location so one can watch the
ships beginning or ending their transits. The Bridge of the Americas, which
arches over the canal, was visible from our window. The first day we caught an
Uber up to the Miraflores Locks to complete our bilateral perspective – one day
looking up from the canal to the visitor center, and the next looking down from
the visitor center to the canal. The exhibits were terrific with all kinds of
information about the digging of the canal. There were innumerable delays and
hassles and heartbreaks, such as the deaths of so many workers, particularly of
tropical diseases before they got the mosquito infestation under control (as
under control as is feasible in a tropical jungle, that is). However, the
construction also resulted in innovations required to physically complete the
task. We also learned about the running of the canal through history, and about
the new locks built to accommodate megaships that had opened just six months
prior to our visit. The next day we visited Casco Viejo, the old city. Situated
along the bay, we shifted our attention between the impressive views and the
spectacular old buildings. Some have seen better days, while others have been
beautifully renovated. We strolled the narrow streets, stopped at a cute little
restaurant for a cold drink to ward off heat stroke, toured some fantastically ornate
churches (one exhibiting an enormous nativity scene of an entire little
village, complete with lights), and bought a mola (the traditional decorative fabric
work made by the Guna Yalas of the San Blas islands) from a couple of Guna Yala
women in the marketplace (for half the price it cost us to get a mola while
actually in the San Blas). Later, we ventured into the modern sector of the
city to the Multiplex Pacific Mall, as modern a mall as you’ll find in the
states, to catch a movie. The theater was really nice, with stadium seating
steep enough that you had no problem seeing over the person in front, and you
got to choose your seats (no random seating here!). We finished our visit by
taking the Panama Canal Railway back to Colón. Winding through the jungle and
alongside the canal, we rode in comfort in elegant car, sometimes stepping out
onto an open platform to get pictures. A lovely way to end a couple of fun
days.
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| Ornate altar |
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| Us on a balconey in Casco Viejo with the modern city in the distance |
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| The Casco Viejo marketplace |
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| Beautiful stone building |
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| Elegant Panama Canal Railway car |
