JOURNALS: Panama and the Panama Canal
I first passed Panama as a stopover while travelling to Peru from Guatemala. It was a sunny day and the views from the plane were stunning!
Transiting in Panama is smooth and easy - Panama airport is designed to be a hub for transits. When transiting, there is no need to go through immigration or another round of security (unless travelling to the US and then the security check is at the gate). When travelling through, you just need to head to the gate for your next flight! Flights from other parts to LATAM to Panama directly seem to be expensive, but COPA airlines has a free stopover program that lets you stay in Panama for a few days when using it as a stopover, and I was glad to be able to make use of it when heading back to SG as I needed to transit through to get to the US! I only spent 3 nights in Panama, which was the max I could do through the stopover program with a one way flight. If you use the stopover program with a return flight, you can stay for up to a week. Public transport via the metro is good! I was able to take the metro from the airport to 5 de mayo, and then take an uber from the station to the hostel - all in less than 5USD to get to my accomodation.
I didn’t expect to like Panama that much, but I really did! Maybe partially because of the lively hostel, maybe because part of Panama reminded me of Singapore. I stayed at Viajero, which was only recently opened - the building is old as it was previously a Selina hostel, but they are under new management as part of Viajero now. I was first greeted by Isaac who told me that he had spent 3 months in Singapore just earlier this year working in the shipping industry. He was incredibly friendly and showed me to my room and helped me when I accidentally got locked out of the safe - a great first start to my time in Panama haha.
Given that I had no pre-made plans, it was extremely helpful that the hostel had a whole host of activities! I started my experience in Panama with a walking tour organised by the hostel. Met others staying in the hostel including Anna, a biology teacher from Germany, with whom I spent my remaining few days haha. Learnt about Panama’s history and how it became independent from Greater Colombia with the support from the US. Did you know - Panama earns US$25 million a DAY from the Panama Canal! They also brought us to San Felipe market after the tour which became another highlight for me. I got essentially a caifan for 4USD with 1 huge fish + rice + potato + 1 plaintain. In San Felipe market, there is also a fruit juice store which their juices going at 1USD, including a lovely soursop drink.
My second day was focused mainly on visiting the Panama Canal. Do check online for the timings when ships will be passing through. Upon checking I realised that ships would only be passing after 130pm on the day, so I visited in the afternoon. It was hot and sweltering (bring sun protection!) but I managed to see 2 ships pass through. The workers on the ship came out and waved to us as well. In addition to the viewing gallery, I really enjoyed the IMAX movie that covered the history of the Panama Canal. I never realised exactly what creating the Panama Canal entailed, and the amount of digging and moving of earth it actually involved - what a crazy initiative when you think about it. The construction of the Panama Canal initially failed as workers were felled by malaria, and the initiative was only successful after they discovered this and were able to manage it. And did you know that the Panama Canal was further upgraded from 2007 - 2016, to accommodate the increasing size of ships in the shipping industry?
Panama is interesting. In some ways it reminds me of home with its proximity to the sea and the country’s involvement in shipping, as well as its international vibe and mix of races. I would love to visit Panama again to explore more of its nature areas and biodiversity. Aug - Mid Oct is the season for whales, would be great to go back then!
Note: if trying to arrange day trips in Panama, try to arrange it in advance. Unlike Guatemala where it was easier to arrange things on the spot, it took a while to get responses when whatsapping with travel agencies in Panama - they took a few days to respond.