We could not fly non-stop from Mexico City to Rio de Janeiro so rather than make a quick flight connection we decided to stay for a week in Panama City. We’ve been here before, but that was 2011 and we thought a return visit would be interesting.
Panama City is a dynamic capital city where glass-and-steel skyscrapers rise directly alongside lush tropical rainforests, colonial historic quarters, and the Pacific entrance of the world’s most famous shipping channel. It serves as Central America’s premier financial and logistics hub while preserving a distinct Caribbean and Latin vibe. The Panama Canal is the defining feature of the country and at the Miraflores Locks on the city’s edge you can watch giant cargo ships and cruise liners raised and lowered inside the lock chambers, as they traverse between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Our apartment was across the street from the Cinta Costera, a waterfront parkway that wraps around Panama Bay. It provides green space, biking and walking tracks right beneath the financial district’s glittering skyscrapers. We definitely enjoyed our morning walks along the seafront and joining the locals on a Sunday bike ride when the roads were closed to vehicular traffic. (click on any photo to enlarge)
The Panama Canal is without a doubt the most famous landmark in this country. Its an 82-kilometer (51-mile) artificial waterway across the Isthmus of Panama connecting the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) with the Pacific Ocean. Opened in 1914, it revolutionized global maritime trade by allowing ships to bypass the long, treacherous voyage around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America, cutting travel distance by roughly 8,000 nautical miles. The Panama Canal is not a sea-level canal like Suez. Instead, it functions as a freshwater bridge. The continental divide in Panama rises high above sea level, so engineers flooded an inland river valley to create Gatun Lake, an artificial reservoir sitting 26 m (85 ft) above sea level. Ships are lifted up to lake level on one side, traverse across the lake and through the artificial canyon known as the Culebra Cut, and are lowered back down to sea level on the other side.
During our previous visit to Panama in 2011 we toured the Miraflores Locks visitor center and were fascinated as a large ship passed right in front of us in the locks. This time we signed up for a boat tour that actually took us through the 3 locks from the Pacific side, through the Culebra Cut and on to the town of Gamboa. Our tour began at 7am and finished in Gamboa around 1pm. The boat we were on followed behind a large tanker ship that did not take up the entire length of the lock. The whole process is incredibly slow because the tanker is slowly nudged in by tug boats, then connected by steel cables to electric rail cars (mules) on either side of the canal. The ship moves forward under its own power and the mules keep the ship centered in the locks, with only inches to spare on either side. It really is an engineering marvel seeing it up close. The transit cost for a large container ship can be up to USD $1 million but during water shortages or to book a priority spot the cost can skyrocket to USD $4 million. The record price paid was USD $5 million by a Chinese company for an expedited transit. It sounds outrageous but would cost much more than this to take the ship all the way around the bottom of South America. We booked our tour through Viator who used Panama Marine Adventures as the operator. The tour cost USD $165 each, expensive but for an 6 hour tour that included breakfast and lunch it was worth it to experience going through the locks.
This is the tanker ship we will follow through the locks
.
Casco Viejo is Panama City’s historic colonial district, founded in 1673. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring brick streets, Spanish and French colonial architecture, vibrant plazas and boutique hotels. The road between our apartment and Casco Viejo was closed on a Sunday, as were many roads in the historic district, so we rented bicycles and enjoyed a relaxing tour around the city. We went early in the morning before it got busy with families enjoying a Sunday afternoon in town. We thought the area was really pretty and loved all the colonial buildings. The bicycle rental cost USD $20 each for a full day rental with Panama Bike Rental.
Our apartment building had a good gym on the 12th floor with great views out over Panama Bay. Nice to have a gym with a view for a change.
Overall, our week in Panama was pretty relaxing. We saw a few things we had not seen before, enjoyed the waterfront pathway and the gym in our building. We also had some time to do a little more travel planning. We seem to be moving rather quickly around South America and squeezing in a lot of sights so its taking more research hours than usual for us.
Next up, our first visit to Brazil and Rio de Janeiro…..
.
.