February 16 , 2024 - February 28, 2024 - Our Eight-Day Tour of Panama

Bob and Ronnie arrived in Pinellas Park, Florida, on February 16th so we could have a visit before we all left on an eight-day trip to the country of Panama.

After reading my blog about all the stuff I have been fixing here in Florida they bought me this T-shirt. Cool! I LOVE it!

To hopefully make this blog all make sense, here is an overview of the tour. The green "2" is where we begin and the red "1" is where we end. Each "2" denotes number of nights in that place.

DAY 1:

We left Pinellas Park at 2 a.m. Monday morning for the drive to the Miami airport to catch our flight to Panama City, Panama, that afternoon. We arrived at the airport plenty early. It was $25.00 per day to park! The internet site said $17.00.

After arriving inside, printing out our boarding passes, and checking our luggage, we proceeded to the gate listed on the boarding passes. We leisurely spent time there. We needed to eat something so we bought breakfast sandwiches, which were really awful. While walking around I decided to check the electronic board to verify our flight time and gate. To my surprise the electronic board indicated that our flight would be departing from a totally different concourse than the one printed on our boarding passes. I immediately double checked with a nearby American Airlines agent and he told me our boarding passes were indeed wrong. We needed to be at the other concourse. It was a pretty good walk from "E Concourse" to "D Concourse" but fortunately we had plenty of time. The flight took off on time and was uneventful.

When we arrived in Panama it was 95 degrees with 50% humidity. This is winter weather down there. Upon exiting the terminal to get a taxi to the hotel we were bombarded by "hawkers and helpers". I signaled I wanted a cab for four. Two guys took our luggage and headed outside. As soon as the taxi was loaded they wanted a tip and would not leave until we gave them one. I gave them $5.00. We didn't need their help but we got anyway. Giving them a tip was the only way to get rid of them and for the taxi to leave. (They have this all choreographed.) The taxi ride was $50.00 for the four of us to the "Westin Panama Hotel". The hotel staff checked us in and let us in our rooms early, which was a blessing. We were beat after having been up since 1:30 a.m.

After relaxing for a couple of hours we had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Several of us ordered the "Panamanian Sancocho", a chicken soup which is a national Panamanian dish. The serving was large and it was delicious. The price was reasonable as well. Here Bob and Ronnie are "digging in".

After dinner we had a welcome meeting with our tour guide, Jorge. We immediately learned that there were only ten on this tour, normally there would be forty. We were surprised Caravan didn't cancel the tour due to the low number. We are glad they didn't. Jorge referred to us thereafter as his "VIP Group".

Day 2 

We had breakfast at the hotel and then proceeded by bus to the ruins of Panama Viejo (Old Panama), the first European settlement on the Pacific. It was founded by the Spanish in 1519. The city served as a gateway for gold coming from the Inca Empire to Europe. I climbed the tower of the old church to get the view. It is amazing this tower is still standing. We learned that for the mortar for the bricks they used pine needles as a binder, which were plentiful. There is a lot of clay and limestone in the area so most buildings back then were made of brick and stone.

We drove along Panama City's Bayfront to see the city's modern skyline. It surprised me to learn that Panama City has the 15th most skyscrapers of any city in the world. I really didn't expect that at all. It is quite a business, banking, and commercial hub.

This skyscraper is well-known for its unique architecture and can be seen from several directions.

After a nice lunch at the coffee shop next to the hotel, the bus took us to the Canal’s "Miraflores Locks". Before arriving there I did not know that there are parallel locks with three chambers in each. The locks lower, or raise, the ships a total of eighty-five feet. The locks are filled by water from Gatun Lake which was created to provide water for the locks by damming the Chagres River. No pumps are used. The current drought has lowered the lake level significantly, thus affecting the operation of the locks. We were very lucky to see three large ships going through the locks because now, due to the drought, they only let twenty-four ships through per day. Prior to the drought they let thirty-six ships through per day.

Here are a series of pictures showing ships coming into the first lock in front of us. The first picture is a private catamaran. They paid about $400.00 to go through the locks and must wait until there is room to go in the lock with a larger ship. Larger ships pay up to a half a million dollars to go through the locks based on their cargo.

This is a tugboat entering the lock. A tugboat accompanies every ship the entire fifty-one mile length of the canal, helping to guide it.

 

This is the first ship we watched as it moved into the first lock in front of us.

This picture shows the six-foot thick steel "V" shaped gates as they open to let the water out to lower the ships for entry into the second lock.

The next picture is of the ship totally lowered in the lock in front of us as it proceeds into the next lock. You can only see the top of the wheel house and red exhaust pipe housing at this point. 

The ships are pulled through the locks by electric trains called "Mules". The silver locomotive in the picture is one of four used - one on each corner, front and back. 

 
As I said there are parallel locks. While we were there we got to see another ship begin its journey through the far lock.

In this picture you can barely see the crane pillars sticking up on the first ship in the lock in front of us because the lock has been opened and the water let out. The blue and white ship in the other lock was moving into position. It was much larger and took up the entire lock.

We didn't have time to watch the blue ship lowered.

The locks were built to accommodate the largest ship in the world at the time - the "Titantic". Times have changed. This is a picture of the "Titantic" in relation to current cruise ships.

Due to the dramatic increase in size of cargo and cruise ships, it was necessary to build a larger set of locks to accommodate them. The new locks are parallel to the Miraflores Locks. We could not see the new locks from our vantage point but, over the trees, we could see part of a ship going through it. (Yellow bridge with red containers on board.)

It was really hot standing in the sun watching the lock process but it was well worth it to see these enormous locks in action. We were also lucky with the weather - no rain. 

After the locks we watched an IMAX movie about the building of the canal. The original locks are two sets of three parallel locks raising or lowering ships eighty-five feet. The Canal is fifty-one miles long. Upon entering the Canal each ship is taken over by a Panamanian pilot. No exceptions. It costs up to $500,000 for a ship to go through the canal. The cost is based on the amount of cargo. Pleasure boats are not allowed in any part of the canal except to pass through. Tourist and fishing boats must all have special permits to even be in the canal.

Panama makes six billion dollars per year in fees off the Canal. The Canal was started by the French but the company went bankrupt. The U.S. took over under Teddy Roosevelt. The U.S. occupied ten miles on each side of the canal which was needed for security, for homes, schools, golf courses, etc. for the American workers who lived there. Panamanians working in this U.S. controlled area had to have a special pass, much like a passport, to enter. There is still a lot of animosity about the U.S. takeover and occupation of this area. It is sad that while so many people live in shanties there are hundreds of homes and buildings that the Americans left that the Panamanians will not occupy and are letting rot.

Before dinner we were treated to a program of various Latin dances performed by a young couple. Each dance had different costumes.

Panama has a population of about 4.5 million. Panama City has a population of about 860,000. It is a major financial center with many international companies and banks with offices there.

It is crazy but there are virtually no traffic lights in Panama City, only a few stops signs for side streets. We learned you just push your way into traffic. It works with very little horn honking I might add. Jorge said people just use common sense to drive there! (And nerves of steel in my opinion.) There is a lot of traffic all the time.

There are virtually no American cars in Panama. Most are from Japan and Korea. Old American school buses from the 1980s are used for public transportation. The drivers might own them because each one is painted differently and they are often decked out with chrome exhaust pipes up the back, etc. Pictures were hard to get off our bus. I heard the public buses are free but I couldn't verify that.

Panama has no national health insurance and no welfare. If you don't work you don't eat. While the downtown area is very modern and clean, the rest of the city is not. There are piles of trash everywhere and litter along all the streets. Jorge said this is a cultural thing. No one cares about litter.

Here are a couple of pictures of housing outside of the downtown area. There are lots of street vendors along the major roads mostly selling produce.

Embera tribe:

To visit the Embera Indian tribe, "Embera-Quera", we had to take a narrow wooden boat ride down the river to a canal.

To reach the village from the river we had to go down a narrow canal which was barely large enough for the boat to get through. The canal is the only access to the village. The tribe has to periodically hand dig the canal to keep it navigable.

There are seventy-one members in this tribe of all ages. There are twenty such communities in Panama. This tribe started with only six members who came to Panama to flee from various hostile political groups in Columbia.

The tribe greeted us and played music for us as we entered the village.

Joanna, who spoke English quite well, along with our guide, Jorge, explained to us how the village operated. 

While we were sitting there a Toucan landed on the rail behind us. Quite a treat to see one that close. He flew up in the tree and the kids tried to entice him down with bananas but he didn't bite.

The tribe members performed tribal dances for us, which were quite entertaining.

They made us lunch which was fried fish and fried plantain served in a banana leaf. Very tasty.

They have their own grade school up to sixth grade with a teacher provided by the government. He/she comes there everyday the same way we did - through the canal. After sixth grade the students go to a nearby high school. All children in public schools in Panama have to wear uniforms and the tribal children do as well. They keep their own language but are taught Spanish. Here is a picture of a couple of huts. All generations live together in one hut.

Their biggest fear living in the jungle is not jaguars, etc., but venomous snakes. The tribe supports itself with tourists and the sale of wood cravings and woven baskets. Beautiful items. We bought a sloth carved out of KOA Wood. He is about eight inches long.

They cannot live without connection to the outside world for goods and services. They have an internet site and have a generator that runs from 6 to 10 pm daily to meet their needs.

Almost the entire village danced a final Mamba and got most of us up to dance with them. My partner was about twelve and she loved to twirl. LOL. Beautiful people.

Fort San Lorenzo.

Fort San Lorenzo is on the Atlantic side of the canal, or as they call it "The Carribean Sea". On the drive to the fort we crossed the Atlantic Bridge, it is one of three bridges over the Panama Canal. These are the walls of the original fort built by the Spaniards in the 1500s.

Fort San Lorenzo - Portobello Y San Lorenzo is a UNESCO site. The government is building a Visitor Center which has to be two miles away by UNESCO rules.

This is a strategic location where the Chagres River, which was dammed to make Gatun Lake to supply water for the operation of the locks, flows into the Atlantic - Caribbean Sea. A very strategic site with very treacherous waters.

Info:

Interestingly you rarely see an American made car or truck in Panama. Almost all are Japanese and Korean. Ten percent of agricultural land is sugarcane. Panamanian rum is a big source of income, along with a lot of citrus. They have only grown coffee since only 1950s and their coffee is now great. They have large cattle, pig, and chicken farms. The country has lots of metals to mine. There is fishing of all kind. They have no oil. It is all imported from Mexico. The price of gasoline is the same as in the Midwest. Their main staple is bananas and plantain.

We next stayed at the "Gamboa Rainforest Resort at the Panama Canal". It is located in the middle of the canal near the town of Gamboa. They let all the houses built for American workers be taken over by termites and remain empty. The reason is the builders of the resort leased the property and didn't care about the houses because of the expense of maintaining them. Really a shame. You will notice our names on the Post-It note in the window. This was for our seat assignment which changed daily to give everyone different views.

The resort was built in 1999. It was estimated to cost twenty million but cost forty million. The lobby has huge windows overlooking the rain forest and Chagres River basin. There are life-size Sandhill Cranes hanging from the lobby ceiling. Interestingly the Sandhill Crane is not one of the 970 species of birds in Panama. These were a gift.

The rooms are connected to the lobby and restaurant by a series of ramps taking you down to the different floors. There were no elevators. We were on level two so we had lots of ramp walking each day to and from the lobby on level four.

The resort offered a night ride to look for animals. We spotted a sloth way up in the top of a tree, a Caracara bird, turtles, Caimans (alligators), and a Capybara family. Capybara are huge rodents which live by the water. They are very aggressive and can weigh up to seventy pounds. This is a picture of a momma, poppa, and baby.

Each room had a balcony with a hammock overlooking the rainforest. I had to try it out. Unfortunately the only way I could get out was to roll out on to the floor! It wasn't pretty.

The balcony was a great place to sit and listen to the awakening of the many birds and monkeys each morning. Sounds I had never heard before.

Day 4

We got up early to take a boat trip down the Chagres River looking for birds and monkeys. We saw many different birds. I don't remember any of the names. It was hard to take their pictures with my phone camera.

We saw white faced monkeys and Capuchin Monkeys but they were too far away for pictures. Panama has 970 species of birds. The only country in the world with more is Columbia.

We then went to the rainforest frog center. There are thousands of species of frogs in the rain forest. I was surprised at how small they are. The largest ones were only about an inch long. Some red, some spotted. They were hard to see until they moved.

From there we walked to the Orchid Nursery. There are 2000 species of orchids in Panama. They had about 75 in the nursery but few were blooming this time of year. I don't think this was an Orchid but it was a cool plant. One picture is with seeds and one is without.

From there we walked to the Sloth rehabilitation area. There were about six sloths who laid around in low tree perches. Sloths sleep up to twenty hours per day and only relieve themselves once per week due to their slow metabolism. They must climb down the tree to do their business on the ground, then back up. They are aggressive so there was no possibility of me holding one as I had hoped. Their predators are Jaguars, etc. They live up to fifteen years in the wild and up to thirty years in captivity. Their young stay with them for two years. They are hard to spot high up in the trees. The Sloths in the center have blankets which they find comforting. Here is a video of the docent uncovering one.

He would immediately cover himself back up. Here is another picture of one just laying around.

Back at the resort we enjoyed seeing the original town library furnishings from the 1930s. Here are some pictures. What craftsmanship back then. The leather on the couches is original.

In  the afternoon we paid $45.00 each to take the gondola up to the top of the nearest peak. Once at the top of the gondola ride you then walked up ramps about ten stories to the lookout above. Here are some pictures at the top. We even caught a freighter in the Canal while up there.

Day 5

We took a boat ride through the most scenic portion of the Canal looking for monkeys. We saw several cargo ships which is amazing since they only let twenty-four a day through. All of the ships are piloted by Panamanian Pilots through the entire Canal and all have a tugboat guiding them along.

This ship had mechanical problems and was anchored on the side of the Canal. Our guide said it had been there for about four weeks awaiting parts. They have to pay a large fee everyday for being anchored there. He said it is costing the company a fortune.

We saw several monkeys but again, they were hard to take pictures of with a phone camera.

We also saw a Caiman with his mouth open laying by the shore. We were told when they do that they are cooling themselves.

We next took a short walk on jungle trail with a guide explaining all of the rainforest fauna. Here is a picture of the tree that inspired camouflage clothing, etc. 

We then got back on the bus and drove by the laboratories of the "Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute". The Smithsonian has had a presence in Panama since the Canal was built. Only scientists have access to the mountain area behind the institute and they have to were special shoes when they go in to not contaminate the forest.

From there we headed to our next hotel, "Westin Playa Resort". An all-inclusive resort. The first all-inclusive we have ever stayed at. To get there we drove across another of the three bridges over the Canal, The Centennial Bridge, at the "Gillard Cut". Here is a picture after crossing it.

Day 6:

Nothing was scheduled on Day 6, just a day to enjoy the ocean and the resort. It didn't take me long to fall asleep in a lounger down by the beach. The hotel, the pools, the beach, and the ocean view with a number of freighters waiting to enter the Canal, were all great.

The resort was all-inclusive meaning all drinks and meals were included. We downed a few Margaritas and other adult beverages while enjoying the resort. While we were sitting watching the sun go down this little fellow came around to greet us. He didn't find any food so he moved on pretty quickly.

Day 7

We left in the early afternoon for the last night of the tour at the "Intercontinental Miramar Hotel" in downtown Panama City. On the way there we encountered a number of detours due to a huge parade that would be winding its way through the city that afternoon. Here are a couple of pictures of some floats we saw lining up for the parade.

After arriving at the hotel we had time to relax before enjoying a show of Panamanian dances and dance outfits. We had front row seats. The folks danced to the music provided by a live band.

Here are a couple of videos I took, along with a few pictures, of the different outfits which are hand made.

After the dancers performed two "dragons" appeared and danced a tribal dance.

After the entertainment the group had a final dinner in the hotel where we said "Goodbye" to our wonderful tour director, Jorge. His next tour started the next day with twenty-four in the group. He said tourist numbers have just not come back since the pandemic. He is worried about the future of the company and the entire industry.

We had heard that for the finale of the parade there was going to be fireworks just outside our hotel. Sure enough there was a magnificent show around 8 pm. We were on the 10th floor facing the ocean and had a marvelous view.

The fireworks went on forever and we had a birds eye view.  Once the fireworks ended the parade floats turned their lights off and made their way past our hotel.

Once the floats had all moved out another huge fireworks display started on the other side of the harbor. What a fantastic way to end our tour of Panama!

The night time lights of the skyscrapers from our hotel were awesome. Here is a view looking in each direction.

Day 8

The Caravan bus took us to the airport. We had a very quick and easy check-in through security. Interestingly, we had to go through security a second time at the gate. This was a first time we encountered that. While on the passenger boarding bridge I looked out the window at our plane and saw this.

To me it clearly appeared that the back wing was dented in at the fuselage. I looked from a couple of different angles. Kelly said it was the reflection. I'll let you decide.

The flight back to Miami was two hours and forty minutes in the air. Upon deplaning we had to go through Customs and the line was long. We wove back and forth in a queue, much like waiting for a ride in a theme park. I must say they were well-prepared for the large number of people entering the country. The line progressed smoothly. By the time we got through customs and to the carousel to retrieve our luggage it had all been set off to the side. We quickly retrieved it and headed for the parking garage.

Once in the parking garage we had to figure out how to find the car. I had written down on my phone that we were on "Level One, space E13". As we exited the terminal there were no signs to guide us nor to tell us where we were. All the posts had a big letter "D" on them, which I finally figured out was for "Dolphin Garage". It took us a while to figure out that we were on the ground level. We went up to Level One and after stepping off the elevator still had no idea in which direction to go to find the car.

I asked a nearby valet parking attendant where section "E" was. At first he had no idea, but then he told me it was all the way at the other end of the garage and to the left. In the meantime Bob had pulled out his keys and hit the "Panic" button. We heard the car horn honk and headed in that direction. We found the car in space "E13".

Kelly and I walked back to the elevator to put the parking ticket in and pay. When we did that it read "Faulty Ticket" and spit the ticket back out. Of course. Luckily there was a "Help" button on the machine. We pressed it and an attendant answered. He told us it was not a problem. Just proceed to the main gate. This proved frustrating because throughout most of the parking garage there were no signs directing you to the exit. I never encountered that in a parking garage before. We just winged it until we found an exit sign. We were hoping that was the exit to the "main gate". There was only one booth with an attendant so we headed there since we knew the other kiosks weren't going to read our parking ticket. The attendant scanned in our ticket, it again read "Faulty Ticket", but she took our credit card, and the gate opened. Whew! We then drove back to Pinellas Park, arriving at 2:30 a.m. A LONG DAY! We all immediately went to bed.

The next day we just relaxed. That evening Bob and Ronnie treated us to a great dinner at "Johnnies Restaurant" in Clearwater. We went to dinner early so we could leave there and go to Clearwater Beach to catch the sunset. Kelly and I had never been to Clearwater Beach before. We soon realized it is mostly for the younger crowd. The whole area was quite crowded and we had to drive around the parking lot a couple of times to find a spot and the n wait for a guy to pull out.

Here is a picture of Bob and Ronnie enjoying the sunset.

Nearby a gentleman had a guitar and amplifier. He was playing and singing religious songs. He had a good voice and Bob and Ronnie really enjoyed his music. It made for a nice ending to their trip.

Early on the 28th they headed back to Perryville. We had a great tour and a great visit with old friends.