Panamania

Panamania is the theme for my trips to Panama. I’m not sure what it is about this country that I like so much but I cannot recommend it enough. And each time I visit (now twice), it’s always good times.

But, the topic of this post is, really, about how I finally saw the Panama Canal.

The first time to Panama, much like the second, was a very spontaneous visit. On my first visit back in November, Scott and Craig had already planned a trip there, and over some beers we were enjoying the weekend prior to their departure they invited me to come along. I whipped out the blackberry, was instantly doing a Kayak flight search (thanks to a very good app that actually works on blackberry, THANK YOU Kayak.com) and happily learned that flights from NYC were quite cheap. Fast forward, I book my flight mid week and arrived in Panama City that same Friday night. Just in time to take this little city by storm. I just have to say that the Panamanian people are the best. They are extremely friendly, which makes their country a great place to visit. Good music, good dancing, and some really great food (I live on ceviche when I’m there) also help the equation. On this particular trip, we also (after sampling much too much of what the city night had to offer us), prior to taking a jaunt to Bocas del Toro (HIGHLY recommended but too much to write about here today), decided that on our way to the flight, we should really take in the Panama Canal. Given my family’s business is in shipping and I grew up hearing about how important the Panama Canal is to world trade, I felt like it was something I really should see. So despite the miserable state that we were in (I was head-to-knee… in extremely rough shape), I insisted we head for the Miraflores Locks. When we arrived, after making a half hearted attempt to get in, but seeing a long line of tourists and no easy photo opps, we threw in the towel and headed for the local airport in search of the beach. The rest of the trip continued in much the same vein and so not surprisingly, I never did make it to the Panama Canal.

And so, the redux! On my second visit, the spontaneity factor was sort of similar. I’m getting restless. I need a fun destination. Flights to Colombia and other places on my To-Visit spreadsheet (see earlier post about colour coded travel planning) were booked. Where too? PANAMA! Now, on this visit, I was bound and determined to get to the Panama Canal. For some I’m sure this feat of engineering would be a tad boring (it involves watching the ships pass through at a snail’s pace and waiting for gravity to do its work to raise the ships to higher water levels). Luckily I was quite interested in and impressed by the whole process (esp. considering this was built almost 100 years ago! Very cool). But, then again, it didn’t hurt that we also had the cutest Panamanian guy explaining the whole thing in great excitement and detail. You’d think the guy built the locks himself. At any rate, somehow I managed to feel like I’d actually accomplished something by getting there, which is in itself quite funny. So I’m happy to post this photo– tick that one off the freaking list.