Panama: April 2016

We arrived. Hi Panama city.

We had a bit of a glitch getting out of Colombia. We knew the rules to enter Panama, which included: proof of $500 USD and a ticket out of the country. Javier printed out our credit card statement and a schedule of the bus we were planning on taking to get to Costa Rica. At the Medellin airport, they asked for proof of our departure from Panama. Javier showed the printout, but because we hadn’t actually purchased the tickets (which we had to buy in person, in Panama), it was not acceptable. We left the counter and tried to use the airport wifi to book something. FYI, the airport wifi at Medellin airport is absolutely useless unless you want to Facebook. You cannot search the web, and just about every app is useless. But never fear, you can still post those all important status updates! Good job Medellin. It is a good thing we went to the airport early. The intention was to watch a Barcelona game, but we ended up using every minute to try and purchase a ticket. There was even talk of taking the shuttle back to the hostel just to get wifi. Instead, Javier asked some ladies at a shop to use their computer, which they allowed, for a fee of course. We purchased the most outrageously expensive tickets from Panama to Costa Rica expecting to take advantage of that ever famous 24 hr cancellation as soon as we arrived. Thank you, Expedia. After checking in again, we had to stand in another line to receive a refund. We were charged a tax when purchasing our airfare that should only be applied to nationals. The amount wasn’t just a couple bucks either, we ended up with so many Columbian Pesos, we had to exchange them. Good thing they use USD in Panama!

Jackie in Panama

We are loving this new flying business. I do not miss the bus, not at all. The Panama airport is a healthy $30 taxi ride from the city center. There’s another airport closer, but apparently, it doesn’t get used…ever. On our way to the hotel, Javier asked our driver about the Panama Papers, aye yai yai!! Boy did he get an earful. I meanwhile, completely zoned out. We dropped our stuff and had Peruvian food for lunch/dinner. It was very okay. After a brief walk around the neighborhood we retreated back to the comforts of our nice air-conditioned hotel. 

Museum of the Panama Canal

The next morning we walked the streets of Panama. I know there’s a really nice area in this city, we just never found it. On the drive in, you could see the beautiful, expensive, high-rises along the water. It looked like Miami, but we didn’t go there. Instead, we took a short metro ride and walked a street with absolutely no other tourists. The local people were out selling fruits, souvenirs, junk, anything they could on the street. Some of the men played what looked like checkers, while sitting on crates in the middle of the street. We were properly overheated when we arrived to the Canal Museum, our destination. We were greeted by a blast of cold air, which felt like heaven compared to the sticky inferno we just walked through. The museum was really good. The first couple floors were a mix of English and Spanish, with the last floor completely in Spanish. I don’t know why they did it this way. There’s so much history that is missed if you can’t understand Spanish. It was like watching a movie and two-thirds of the way through the language changes, and you miss the ending. No one would make a movie like that. Why would someone make a museum like that??? I tried to follow as much as I could, but after a while, my brain started hurting. I think this was the first museum we’ve been to where I had to wait for Javier. Again, the museum was really well done. Definitely one of the better ones we’ve encountered.

Panamanians.

By the time we left we were very hungry and walked into the first place we passed. It was a bistro, with American prices. Fine, we were hungry. On the walk back we saw several buildings in various states of deterioration. The facades were intact, more or less, but the roofs and outer walls were destroyed. It gave the impression that the area was once quite nice and upscale, but only small remnants of that time remain. On the way back, we couldn’t remember our stop. We actually got off at the right place but took the wrong exit, which put us right in front of a lovely little church. We didn’t realize yet that we were at the right stop, so we decided to just walk towards home. On the way we passed by a Carl’s Jr. Uh-oh. And whaddayaknow? It was right around the corner from our hotel! We utilized the hotel gym before rewarding ourselves with a delicious Carl’s Jr dinner. You know your food options have not been that great when Carl’s Jr is that delicious. 

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Bus Terminal. Panama

We were off to the canal! The sole reason for our trip. There are signs all over the place: “Panama: more than a canal!” Well, we didn’t get that memo, so after seeing the canal, we had planned on taking off to Costa Rica. The metro stop for the canal is the same as the central bus station, so after purchasing our overnight bus from Panama to Costa Rica, we hopped on a local bus to the canal.

I love locks! I remember living in Seattle and going up to Ballard and spending the better part of the day watching the boats pass through the locks (and the salmon climb the ladder.) Watching the locks from the Miraflores lookout was such a treat. We went to the top and pushed our way to the rail. From our vantage point, we could see both locks.

Canal de Panamá. Miraflores locks.

We were in luck. About 5 minutes after we arrived, a couple sail boats had entered the lock followed by what they call a “Panamax.” This is the largest ship that can fit in the lock today (they are currently building larger locks at a different location.) When a panamax enters the lock, they have 2 ft of leeway on either side. A tugboat helps the ship enter the lock. Once it’s close enough, it is tethered to four pulley cars- two on each side, on tracks. The pulley cars help guide the ship all the way into and through the locks. It’s pretty magnificent. We watched the panamax make its way through, as well as another large ship. The second ship was closer to us, and we could see the ship workers waving and taking video of us while we all took pictures and video of them. The Miraflores locks also has its own museum as well as a short 3D video. After a while the information was a bit repetitive, but again, very well done. What a spectacular day!!

Pano of the Miraflores Locks.

The traffic in Panama City could rival that of LA in terms of frustration and hours spent trying to get from point A to point B. We FINALLY arrived back at the station, had a quick snack, and piled into the metro to get home- this time we didn’t get lost. 

We spent the next day blogging, relaxing, and just trying to stay cool until our 11pm (16 hour) bus ride. Boooo!!! Costa Rica, here we come!!

To see more Pictures of Panama, click HERE.

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