From dreary Scottish mornings to steaming hot tropical nights. After 24 weary hours on the ‘Cheap Eye’ from London via Frankfurt and Santo Domingo, the sweltering heat of Panama City hit us like a ton of heated bricks. The thermal gear, so recently valued atop Ben Nevis, was immediately relegated to the very bottom of the bag.
Panama is a shipping gateway for the world; for us, it would also be the gateway to six glorious months in South America. But for most tourists and even locals there’s one main attraction here, a source of great love and national pride.
Aaaand this ol’ thing.
The eponymous canal cuts across the country a few k’s north of the city. An exhibition at the Miraflores Locks proclaims its notoriety from New York all the way to, er, Melboerne.
I freely confess I’d always thought, “OK, they dug a ditch. Good job, but a feat of modern engineering? Pahlese.” Maybe with less sass than that, but still. That attitude is immediately abandoned once you get a close up look at the scale of the thing. It’s absolutely massive. Huge doesn’t begin to describe it. My phone’s Panorama shot looks comically inept.
Yeaaaah.
In any case it’s extremely impressive. They’re also in the process of building more locks to increase its capacity. We spent a few hours at the visitor centre at Miraflores, packed with mostly locals. Sadly, despite our best efforts we failed to see a ship pass through the locks. Slow day on the canal; just our luck. Word is it’s quite a spectacle. Next time.
This waterway is partly (mostly even) why Panama is the richest country in central America. There’s money here. The Panama City CBD looks a bit like a mini Manhattan.
We steered well clear of it and anchored down in Casco Viejo – the old town. It’s a cool neighbourhood with massive churches, colonial buildings and colourful streets. The houses that aren’t carefully restored are charmingly run down. There’s fantastic street art everywhere. In other words, it’s the kind of neighbourhood Kate can’t take 2 steps in without taking a photo.
Plenty more here.
By day we wandered the streets and sought solace from the heat in a number of well aircon’d cafes. By evening, we sampled the excellent range of local food on offer. Fish tacos, patacones (fried plantains), arepas (tortilla-esque bread pockets). But the highlight was a simple meal we rustled up at the Mercado de Mariscos. Ceviche is raw fish that cooks by marinating in a potent mixture of citrus and spices. Dished up cold in a Styrofoam cup, it’s sharp, tart and extremely refreshing. And amazing.
Can’t remember a better $2 spent.
Our last task in Panama was attending the briefing for our island-hopping trip to Colombia. Our lovely guide Jessica threw a ton of information at us regarding the trip. To the crowd of mostly twenty-something backpackers she laboured on the point of thorough customs searches and severe penalties for drug possession. “If you do have any drugs, please do them tonight BEFORE we leave!”
Good advice – we returned to the ceviche stall for one last hit.
Cool Runnings 