Panama City - More than a Canal

Leaving Cartegena was a bit sad, but leaving Colombia itself to fly to Panama was not. At the airport every inch of our bags was searched and inspected, both carry on luggage and then checked-through luggage, and then we had the quick body search. We were actually glad to be finished with Colombia, not because it was unsafe or we didn't like the place, but because of the lack of English being spoken. We haven't had an English conversation with anyone other than guides for a week. To get on the plane and even hear announcements in English was something of a treat, and we immediately started to relax. We were welcomed to Panama City on 5 separate occasions within the first hour, so we began our visit here with a very positive feeling.

Panama City is a city of contrasts between rich and poor, old and modern, and the Latin American 'Manana life' and the Western 'Tomorrow life'.It is so different from other cities in South America, mainly because it has so many skyscrapers. Most cities near the Andes are subject to volcanoes or earthquakes so they do not build high rise buildings, but because the land is stable here they actually have a great skyline. They call it Panhattan as a joke! Many are probably condominiums and hotels but there are also over 100 different foreign banks. So while skyscrapers are changing the horizon in one place, the historical city which was founded in 1673 is being restored in another, and pockets of third world poverty exist in another.

We visited the canal of course, at the Miraflores Locks, and it was fascinating. I would love to have seen a huge cruise ship going through but had to settle for an empty oil tanker going to Venezuela. Still the process would be the same. It was a huge ship which scraped through with about 1" to spare on either side. The history of the canal is set out beautifully in a museum and there is a video (in English Hooray!!) about how it was built. Our tour was interrupted by a mid afternoon electrical storm and we had to drive back to the hotel through flooded streets. A daily occurence at this time of the year.