PANAMA: A DAY TRIP

 March 17, 2022

We are not ones to sit around the airport in a foreign country for hours on end waiting for our next flight. Our flight to Quito included an 8 hour 52 minute layover in Panama City, and that meant we had plenty of time for an excursion.

The four of us were met by our pre-arranged guide as we exited the airport at about 10:00 AM, and he drove for over an hour to a dock in a lake area that is part of the canal system. Honestly, I didn't think it wasn't the best way to start the day as we had already been sitting in LAX and then on the plane for hours and had eaten only a small breakfast on the plane since leaving LAX the night before. 

There was one highlight on the drive, however--a stop at a little convenience store where Geneil bought dim sum dumplings to share and we all got Cokes. The dumplings were divine, and the Coke/caffeine was much appreciated. Unfortunately, it would be the only food we bought all day until we returned to the airport, which was a significant negative for us as we were looking forward to eating in one of the restaurants recommended to us by a friend who lived for several years in Panama City.

Anyway, we boarded a boat like the one below that could have seated twelve or more passengers. It had a nice canopy for shade, and the temperature was very pleasant. 

The Panama Canal stretches 51 miles across the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and creating a man-made division of North and South America. It was started in 1881 by France, but progress was halted by engineering issues and a high worker mortality rate. In 1904 (23 years later!) the United States started work on the canal and was able to finish construction in ten years. 

Part of the project was creating a huge artificial lake 85 feet above sea level that has been named Gatun Lake. This reduced the amount of excavation work needed.

Map from Wikipedia

We sped across Gatun Lake for what seemed like a long time before we got to Monkey Island, which is a series of hills that became islands when the area was flooded to make the lake. The islands were lush and tropical--just gorgeous.

One of the first exciting finds was this snail kite (photos by Bob):

But what we wanted to see (or at least I did) was monkeys. Our boat driver was a master at monkey calls, but we weren't seeing any monkeys. By this time we had caught up to other boats and at least one had spotted some small monkeys leaping around in a tree, but they didn't get very close. A little later we finally saw a lone black howler monkey hanging by its tail, partially blocked from view by large leaves. Can you see him in there in the left photo? These were taken with my cell phone and represent the best view I got.

Bob did much better with his huge lens when we spotted another howler.

Unfortunately, we didn't see any more monkeys. By this time it was at least 12:00 or even 1:00, and our guide said that it was probably the monkeys' nap time. The monkey viewing was meh, but the scenery was WOW!  

We made the long journey back to the dock, and then another long journey by car back to Panama City. The guide did stop once to show Bob another bird:

This beauty was worth stopping for--a slaty-tailed trogon--but he needs to wash his face.

I  think we spent way too much time driving and boating to Monkey Island. By the time we were at our next stop, the Miralores Locks, it was mid-afternoon. We took an elevator up to the viewing area, where we would have a good view of huge ships coming down the canal and then progressing through the locks. 

A cargo ship we saw earlier in Gatun Lake gives a good idea of the loads the ships carry.

Below is the view from the observation deck at Miraflores Lock, one of three locks on the canal. Ships have to hang out in Gatun Lake to wait their turn. Note the high water level in the channel.

Looking the other direction, you can see that the water in this part of the channel is much lower.

Looking straight across the locks from the observation deck shows the dramatic shift in water level.

It was incredible to see how tightly the ship fit in the canal. Ships are built to maximum size to fit through the locks and are towed by the vehicles you see at the side. It looks like there is about 1/2" clearance on each side. The video shows the gates opening to let the ship move through.

We learned that every ship that comes through the canal is navigated by a special Canal Captain, of which there are about 250. It costs the average ship $600,000 to pass through the canal, but saves them not only time, but fuel, labor, insurance, and other costs they would incur going around South America.  I was surprised to learn that only about thirty ships go through the canal each day, and there are just five or six cruise ships a week that pass through. Basically half of the day is reserved for ships going one direction, and the other half of the day is for ships going the other direction.

Check out the height of the water in the photo above, then see the height in the video below. The lock lifts or lowers vessels 54 feet, depending on which direction they are traveling.

We were at Miraflores Locks for about an hour-and-a-half, and during that time just one ship passed through the locks. 

It was time to get going. The plan was to stop in Old Town and then get dinner before returning to the airport, but the traffic was very heavy and everything was taking longer than planned. We stopped at the main square of Old Town for about five minutes, just long enough to take a few pictures and whet my appetite for more.

We were pretty hungry by now, so we hopped back in the car and set off to find a place to eat.

Our guide started talking about a nice restaurant, then downgraded that to a take-out place, then downgraded that to the food court of a grocery store, then downgraded that to . . . nothing. It turned out that there was just not enough time to stop for dinner, and so we ended up going straight to the airport.

We found a food court in the airport where I had roast chicken and potatoes and everyone else had something different.  Don't plan on a good meal at the Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. To say I was underwhelmed would be an overstatement. Such a disappointment.

Photo from here

After we finished eating we waited well over an hour to board our flight. (We really could have stopped en route to the airport to eat somewhere.) The airport was very crowded and we had a hard time finding a place to sit anywhere, much less at our own gate. It was so hot and muggy that it was a relief to finally board the plane. Once we took off, it was less than a two-hour flight to Quito.

Although Bob was happy with the drive, boat ride, and bits of animal sightings, I wish we could go back and redo our time in Panama. The locks are an essential destination, of course, but I would scrap the four or five hours going to Monkey Island and spend them in Old Town and eating a good Panamanian meal. Nevertheless, I'm thrilled that we got out of the awful airport and had a day of adventure, regardless of the problems. We just needed more time to fit everything in, and I think our guide should have foreseen some of the complications we experienced.

READING  

I read Panama by Eric Zencey at least a dozen years ago, but it has stuck with me. The novel is set in the late 19th century during the time France was attempting to build the Panama Canal. An American woman goes missing, her disappearance linked to French involvement in Panama, and another American goes looking for her. 

I saved this quote from the novel: ". . . his questions branched as confusingly as lines of descent in a village of polygamists until he was no longer exactly sure what had begat what and where anything was related." Great writing, isn't it?

I have decided that now that I've been to Panama, I need to read it again.