Panama.... it's hot!
Arrived in Panama early and met at airport by pre arranged taxi transfer. At our hotel by 11am, luckily got into our room straight away. Did I mention it's hot?
28-29 C and that was to prove continuous day and night, lovely though as it's our first consistent heat for our trip.
Our hotel is in the district of Casco Viejo, the old part of town, and wow... the buildings are all old colonial type from the 1600/1700's. Some in use whilst others just the shell, although facades have been reinforced/propped up and stabilised by the owners or the government. The area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997 , since then serious refurbishment has got underway but prior to that it was largely empty and gangs ruled the area. The area is now hotels, restaurants, cafe's, ice cream shops and souvenir shops (ie Panama hats), and lots of construction. But not overpowering of any facet and is a stunning and scenic area to be in.
This was a bit of luck as we had been booked in a different area of the city but had made a last minute change based on location.
Spent the afternoon exploring the old town, it's a great area. In 5 to 10 years time we are guessing it will be "the" place to be, just still a few gaps at this stage. A pressing priority after 7 weeks travelling was haircuts, yes Noel's lustrous locks included. Whilst Caro termed her trim as "it'll do till I get home" Noel was treated to the full 5 star treatment by the barber of panama, a humorous chap who was quick to scold if questioned. Not quite the same as the quick run over with the razor at home😎 We probably did pretty well given none of the staff spoke English, and another client or a workman on the street outside were called upon to translate what they could.
Can ships climb stairs?
Saturday was Panama canal day! First stop the museum on main square....
This museum covered the background and early construction period by the French in the 1880's, until they ran out of money and men. The USA then took over the project, (1904) a few steps ahead as they were able to combat the Yellow Fever and Malaria that had killed so many (thousands) in earlier times. So it was finished (1914) but in USA control/ownership. Transferred back into Panama ownership on 31 December 1999. The canal is now the major earner for the country, with additional locks opened in 2016 to cater for modern mega-ships and doubling capacity.
In the afternoon we taxied to Miraflores Locks (the original part) to see it all in action. Fairly slow action but it was pretty cool to see. For Noel ... the exciting conclusion to his year 9 school project! Viewed some massive container ships going through, very impressive being so close. The ship crew members photographing the watching crowds, as the crowds photographed them.
Also witness to a massive thunderstorm, which appears to be a daily afternoon occurrence once inland slightly, as it is the wet season....and it happened every afternoon that we were there!! Although other days we could only hear the performance in the distance.
These boots are made for walking...
Sunday morning was free walking tour day of the old town area that we were in. Did we say it's hot? Not the original town site but it was established here in 1673 for positional defense when pirates became active in the area. They were attracted by the gold and precious metals that the Spanish were extracting from South America, and then transporting overland across the narrow Panamian Isthmus to their waiting Galleons. It didn't take the pirates long to work out the prime pickings available
So the town was established with accompanying church's, elegant buildings etc. Once the canal was completed the new city became established further along the coast and away from the established modern American quarter near the canal. The old town located between the two became abandoned to slums and gangs, as per our opening description.
During the afternoon we walked from Casco Viejo old town to the new city part, ie under the skyline so famous for Panama, along a seaside walk/cycle trail, around 4km. So many highrises, casino's etc. Had lunch at a food court and back home. Being Sunday the walkway area was humming with lots of locals out enjoying their time.
If you go down to the woods today...
After saying no more early starts we organised one ourselves! A 6.15am pickup for a tour of Soberania National Park (a rain forest park), we were the only ones on the tour led by an enthusiastic guide Miguel. The drive to the park took about 45 minutes... but this was halfway across the country, no wonder this was the logical crossing point for foot and later canal.
The early start meant we did see lots of life, ably pointed out by Miguel, as we walked a 5km trail. If we had done it solo we probably would have been oblivious! Spotted were a sloth (sleeping of course), howler monkeys (they make a racket, almost scary, particularly after Miguel called them out... bit like stag roaring), frogs (including one poisonous, very!), lizards, a tarantula, couple of large rodent type animals (Tamandua and a large guinea pig type called Cavidae),a squirrel, a crocodile (at a distance), butterflies plus lots of birds including 3 types of Toucan and some bittern types (which got Miguel very excited as he seldom sees this rare variety). All up a great excursion and a nice excursion outside of the city, at the same time seeing a little more of the canal, as the park entrance is beside Lake Gatun which the ships traverse between locks. This is the highest point of the canal at 26masl.
An afternoon of relaxing and forward planning, before heading for a bit more old town exploring and another of the nearby rooftop bars for sundowners!
Hill views, bike rides and packing
Our final day in Panama, in reality probably a day more than required but we had been caught out by a change in flight dates we had not initially been notified of. However we filled in the day splendidly...
Caught a taxi to nearby hill base, Ancon Hill, and walked up. It was hot, in case that hasn't been mentioned. Once you pass around 40masl the humidity just ramps up! (Sweaty!!!) Hill is only about 200m high but as it is the only one in city it gives a great overview of area, city, old town, canal, port and Bridge of the Americas which spans the canal.
Once back down we negotiated with another taxi driver (normally get ride for 1/2 their initial offer ... with the resulting fare we understand to be about 2x the locals rate!). They have no meter, but supposedly a rate card based on zones... we are yet to see one.
This ride took us to the Amador Causeway, quite close ie walking distance but that safety issue through the route takes over. The causeway was formed by the spoil from canal works and links the mainland to 3 small islands. Now quite upmarket and the causeway and it's footpaths/cycle lanes is very smart and scenic.
We hired a couple of bikes and rode to the end. Lunched on ice creams and then returned via a visit to a Smithsonian research base which has a public display area with animal viewing. Turtles, starfish, frogs, iguana, raccoons and a sloth (once again, sleeping) all spotted.
Dropped bikes, taxi back the short distance to Casco Viejo then an early meal before our now well practiced pack in preparation for our early departure...another one after we were advised our flight times were changed late notice (after we gloatingly said we had the last behind us!).
In overall summary it has been a fascinating stop. The canal museum had given great details on not only the canal construction but the various phases of political history throughout. The 60's thru to 1990s friction between Panama and the USA, including unnecessary physical violence and repercussions made interesting reading.
It is a real shame the city is disjointed from a tourism viewpoint, with taxi rides the only realistic method of moving through the "bad" areas. And those taxi rides in themselves being adventure tourism as you have to negotiate the fare... in a foreign language.
Although we had initially been sceptical of the constant warnings, it was obvious to see how poor the neighbouring El Chorilla areas are. Very threatening looking, although there was a police, army presence. The taxi drivers would auto lock the doors as we entered! No doubt you could walk through during daylight... but we aren't that intrepid, it was by far the worst we have seen to date. Tourism police presence within Casco Viejo was high and it subsequently felt quite safe although we did witness one, homeless and very distraught, chap being evicted from the zone. There was still a local population but it was small, any sign of noise and the police seemed to appear.
So farewell to Panama, an enjoyable stay if somewhat frustrating from the viewpoint of those of us who enjoy exploring by walking and biking.
