After leaving our ship, we went by bus to the San Lorenzo Fort. Here we saw the ruins of the fort which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fort was built by the Spanish around 1590 to stop entry into the Chagres River. The blocks were made from cut coral and the fort was fortified with lots of cannons.
However two different pirates were able to get by the fort. In fact, Henry Morgan in 1671 was able to set the fort ablaze, led his men up the Chagres River, and went on to ransack the original Panama City. For over 100 years the fort was used as a prison then in 1848 it was briefly a campground for prospectors during the gold rush. In the 1980’s UNESCO restored the fort to its present condition. It is an excellent example of 1600-1700 Spanish military construction.
Ruins at San Lorenzo Ft. Notice the Chagres River and the Caribbean in the background.
Posing in one of the watch towers.
Frank is lighting his lighter. What can I say?
After viewing the fort, we boarded our bus to go the 50 miles to Panama City. On the way we saw some interesting sites from the bus.
This bus is called a Red Devil. They are old school buses from the U.S. that are wildly painted and are available for charter trips and used in Panama City as transportation.
On a busy highway near Panama City we saw vendors selling snacks to motorists in traffic. What a way to make a living!
We stopped for lunch at the Allbrook Mall outside of Panama City. The mall was thriving with lots of shoppers, not like our dying malls here in the U.S.
After some free time for shopping, those who wanted went with our guide Kenny to take a subway ride and then caught a Red Devil bus to meet back with our tour bus in Panama City. Of course, I didn’t want to miss out. Frank opted to stay with the bus.
The subway opened about two years ago and was modern, clean and very efficient. The ride on the Red Devil was unforgettable. Loud latin music was blaring with a music video on the large screen monitor. Scantily clad big hipped dancers were really shaking their butts to the rhythm. The fare was 50 cents so the busses are used for the working people.
After getting off the subway, we walked several blocks, then boarded the Red Devil pictured above.
What an experience! We were really immersed in the life of the real city folks! Can you see those almost naked ladies?
Here’s our group at a restaurant near our hotel for our Farewell Dinner. What great food and great group to explore Panama.!
Posing with our bus driver Benny. He was our driver for most of the trip and even transferred us for our early morning flight back to Newark on Jan. 29th. Benny was the best!
Here Frank is enjoying his breakfast on our flight. Thanks to our friend Andy’s vouchers, we flew in business class. It was a first for us. Frank is feeling very upper crust!
Descending into Newark, we flew over New York and the Statue of Liberty. Almost home, Frank!
All in all, our trip to Panama was great. I had originally thought that seeing the Panama Canal would be boring and that the country would be a lot like Peru. It was definitely interesting and very different. I highly recommend this O.A.T. tour if you are interested in seeing the Panama Canal because you will see the seventh wonder of the modern world and a whole lot more.
As soon as I woke up, I could feel our ship moving. Scheduled to go through the locks at 6, I didn’t want to miss anything. A tug boat pulled along side of the Discovery and a pilot hopped on board. A pilot must accompany the captain going through the locks. Notice the big ship ahead of us was the “O’Dori”.
The tanker “O’Dori” entered the lock first.
It was a slow process. On the big cargo ship, metal cables attached to train engines on both sides hooked to the boat to keep it centered. Since we were entering on the Pacific side, the two sets of locks would raise our boat 85 feet to the level of Lake Gatun. The first set are the Miraflores Locks and then the Pedro Miguel Locks.
When the gates closed you could see there were actually two gates in case one would fail. Next the water level started to rise.
This is the Miraflores Locks Visitors Center that we visited on Friday taken from the our ship. The observation deck we were on was at the top floor.
This is our captain. He was steering on this wheel which was on the right side of the ship while we were in the locks.
Our captain at the helm as we were leaving the first set of locks.
The gates were closing when we entered the middle lock. Notice the water level is the same.
We passed through the Culebra Cut. It is an artificial valley cut through the Continental Divide. Culebra is the name of the mountain ridge it cuts through linking Gatun Lake to the Gulf of Panama.
We dropped anchor in Gatun Lake where we docked for the night. Then it was time for some fun. I am getting ready to kayak. Right up my alley!
I was in the yellow kayak with Dean. It was his first time kayaking; he was a quick learner.
We also went out on the zodiacs looking for wild life. Frank is on the left and our tour guide Kenny on the right. We spotted monkeys, three toed sloths, toucans, and parrots. One of the groups even saw a crocodile. What a way to experience the Panama Canal!
The next morning, we went by zodiac to the Agua Clara Visitor’s Center. This is one of the new wider locks on the Atlantic side. We got to see a ship going through the lock. Instead of using two engines to stabilize the ship, tug boats maneuvered the ship. There are three holding tanks for water, so it can be used again. About 40% of the water is recycled.
Here a Carnival cruise ship going through the Aqua Clara locks. Notice the retention ponds on the left.
After touring the Agua Clara locks, the M/S Discovery made it’s way to the Gatun Locks, which would bring us out to the Carribean.
Here a crew member is releasing the rope that kept our boat centered in the lock. There was a worker on top of the lock who pulled it back up.
A pelican followed us as our boat left the last set of locks into the Carribean.
Coming out of the canal channel we passed under the Atlantic Bridge. The bridge opened in August of 2019 and is the third bridge over the canal.
Our ship docked in Shelter Bay Marina for the night. We then took a nature walk with our cruise director Joshua. We saw a group of Capuchin monkeys.
We also watched a parade of leafcutter ants carrying leaf pieces to their underground nest. Leaf cutters are the only insect to farm their own food, a fungus which grows on the decaying leaves. Can you find them them on the curb?
After our walk, we had time to relax until our Captain’s Farewell dinner. We were scheduled to disembark after breakfast the next day.
Frank posing with the cook( right) and her assistant in the gallery.
Uh, oh . Look what we saw on our galley tour!
Our tour group of 22 with our tour leader Kenny and the captain and crew of the M/S Discovery. Can you find Frank and me?
What a great way to experience the Panama Canal on the M/S Discovery! O.A.T. is the only tour company that stays inside the canal for a night. We saw and did so many interesting things. I now know why the canal is considered one of the seven wonders of the modern world!
We boarded our bus early for a 45 minute bus ride to the Panama Rain Forest Discovery Center. We had to take a much smaller bus in order to drive on the narrow roads inside the center. The thick growth of the rainforest is home to 10% of the world’s birds, colorful butterflies and other insects , monkeys, sloths and crocodiles.
This is the walkway in the rainforest. Thick vegetation surrounded the path.
I saw several blue morpho butterflies but they change directions so quickly they were impossible to photograph.
We saw a group of Howler monkeys in a tree, . This too was a picture from the internet. They make a sound like a roaring lion. It scared me to death the first time I heard one.
This one is my picture of a howler monkey!
I climbed 120 steps up a tower to see above the canopy. The view was amazing!
View from the top of the tower.
Going back down the staircase was easier.
We headed back to our hotel, ate lunch and were off again. This time to the Miraflores Locks Visitors Center. We watched a documentary in the IMAX theater on the building of the Panama Canal.
France began work on a canal in 1881 but stopped because of engineering problems and so many of the workers dying. The U.S. took over the project in 1904 and the canal open in 1914. This was the biggest and most difficult engineering project ever done. The health problems of yellow fever and malaria had to be addressed. A doctor figured out that mosquitoes were causing malaria. Getting rid of every last mosquito solved the problem.
Digging a sea level canal through the thick jungle was an overwhelming task. The expression “Another Day, Another Dollar” comes from the canal construction workers who were supposedly paid a dollar a day.
Finally an engineer came up with the idea of damming the Chagres River, forming Lake Gatun. Then locks were made on the Carribean and the Pacific sides to bring ships up and down from the 80 foot level of the lake. This idea meant a lot less digging and blasting to make the canal.
It takes about 11-12 hours to pass through the canal. The America Society of Civil Engineers has cited the canal as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Another wider lock was opened in 2016 to accommodate bigger ships. It only has one lane so the direction of the ships going through the canal changes on a set schedule.
From the observation deck at the Visitor’s Center we could watch ships pass through the locks. At the classic Miraflores Lock there are two channels. One for going north and one going south.
On Saturday, we toured the area around Clayton. This is the administration building for the canal which is now run by Panamanian government.
We ate lunch in a cafeteria in the canal zone area. Here Frank is enjoying an ice cream come with Dean.
We stopped at a Nature Center along the Causeway outside the city to see their frog exhibit. Then we went to the marina where we were tendered to our ship that was our base for the next three nights crossing through the canal.
Part of our group on their way to board the M/S Discovery. Our ship- the M/S Discovery
Once we were all aboard, we got assigned our rooms. We had to attend a safety orientation and then were introduced to the crew.
Our cabin was small with just enough room to squeeze out and around the bed. Guess who got the narrow side?
We then tendered to the pier on Taboga Island. It is known as the “Island of Flowers” because of the many colorful flowers that flourish here. Our cruise director Joshua led us on a walking tour. The artist Paul Gauguin once visited the island and afterward began adding bright colors to his paintings.
Here I am on Taboga Island. This island served as a retreat for the canal workers for over thirty years.
When we got back on board our boat, strong winds made it rock back and forth. Although I quickly took a Bonine, I felt sick when it was time for dinner. A staff member got me a Coke and chicken soup while the rest of our group enjoyed the Captain’s Welcome Dinner. I felt much better when we anchored for the night. We were scheduled to go through the Pacific entrance of the canal at 6 am. Time to call it a day. Don’t want to miss any of the action through the locks!
This morning we took an hour and a half bus ride to Corotu pier. There our group donned life jackets and embarked in dugout canoes for the Embera Drua Village which was about a 45 minute ride south on the Chagres River. The settlement of about a 100 people is one of Panama’s seven indigenous tribes. They hold onto their traditional way of life and customs that have been carried on for generations.
The Emberas have allowed tourism since the midninties. About 90% of the children remain in the village as adults. The tribe originally was located along another river but had to relocate to their present site in 70’s because their land was turned into a National Park.
Our group divided in three boats to travel to the village. When we arrived we were greeted by colorfully clad villagers. Our guide said then when we leave, these clothes will come off!We were greeted by music from this band. Andrea welcomed our group to her village and spoke to us about their customs and traditions. She was fluent in Spanish so Kenny, our tour guide, translated her words to English. She is showing us the typical men’s attire using this young man as a model.
Andrea would like to teach in the village. She has her teaching degree, but the government requires that you must complete four years of teaching called an entitlement at an assigned school in order to be certified. Even though there is a teacher shortage, she has been waiting for over four years for an assignment. She is not allowed to teach in the village until she has her certification.
The government requires that all lessons are taught in Spanish. The students enter school speaking their native tongue. As a result, the older children talk to each other in Spanish when they are playing. They are also required to wear the official school uniforms. It is sad to think that these requirements in time may undermine the tribe’s efforts to preserve their way of life.
Children were gathered around the roofed pavilion where we were seated. I had to laugh. They were having fun playing wheelbarrow in spite of the damp, muddy ground from the light rain. Kids are kids anywhere!The villagers prepared us lunch. It was a piece of fried fish and fried plantains wrapped in a palm leaf with watermelon or pineapple for dessert. The fish was quite tasty, but messy to eat. No napkins for this meal!Frank and I smiled with full tummies! This was NOT Frank’s typical lunch of a baloney sandwich and chips.
Our travel company has a foundation that is set up to help people around the world where they have tours. The Grand Circle Foundation provided funds for improvements to the village. The Panama government requires the village to have a school. Just recently the foundation paid for the construction of a two room block building to house the teachers. They are employed by the government and come Monday morning and stay until Friday afternoon. The school year is from March to December. Their “summer” vacation is January and February. The foundation also built restrooms for the tourists.
Here is one of the classrooms of the school built by the government. There were two, one for the lower grades and one for the higher grades up to eighth. This is the block housing for the teachers built by the G.C. Foundation. . One of the housing units of the villageThis was my view as we traveled in the canoes back to the Corotu pier to our bus. This is the Holiday Inn, at Clayton, where we stayed for three nights. Clayton is a town within the canal zone which was a five mile stip on both sides of the canal that the US controlled until the canal was turned over to Panama in 1997. Many of the buildings have typical U.S. base architecture. Our hotel is on the south side of the canal directly behind the Miraflores Locks.
After we returned from the village, we had free time to relax before walking to a nearby restaurant for supper. We had a lot to share with our fellow travelers, but the locals were so loud we had to shout to each other. In spite of that challenge, we all felt that our trip to the Embera village was one we would never forget.
On Monday morning, we checked out of the Panama Central Hotel and went on a walking tour of El Chorillo, a subdivision of the city often considered “off limits” to tourists. It is the neighborhood that was bombed when the U.S. invaded Panama on Dec. 20th, 1989 because dictator Noriega’s headquarters was there. Noriega escaped the bombing but finally surrendered a few weeks later. We were given a tour by Victor, a local Panamanian, who is trying to improve the neighborhood. We walked through the streets and got to talk to Mario, a man who lost his wife and other family members during the U.S. invasion.
Walking along a street in El Chorillo, a poor area of Panama City. Another picture of housing in El Chorillo
We stopped at a community pavilion. I got to play dominoes with others from our group just like the locals.
Mario, the man on the left, shared what he remembered of the Operation Just Cause when he was young. He did concede that during Noriega’s regime he feared for his life to walk the streets at night, but that he feels safe now.
After our tour of the neighborhood we boarded our bus where we were shown a documentary on Operation Just Cause done by the British Broadcasting Company. It gave the other side of Just Cause. We don’t often hear about what led up to the military strike or the number of civilian casualties. From the film, the US was definitely portrayed as the aggressor. It was thought provoking to see the Panamanian side of an issue.
On our hour and a half bus ride to Chitre, a small town on the Azuero Peninsula west of Panama City, we saw this truck. Wonder how the horse felt about his breezy ride?
Our bus driver Benny spotted something moving in the trees as we drove toward Chitre. He stopped, backed up, and this is what we saw. A whole group of howler monkeys were in the tree. It was unusual to see them in the countryside since they normally live in the rainforests and tend to stick in the higher canopies.
This howler monkey was crossing the highway using the electric lines. We saw three of them cross, two with their babies on their backs.
After checking into the Cubita Hotel, those of us who wanted to go to a local bar for a drink reboarded the bus. Of course, I couldn’t miss this opportunity to taste the local beer, called Aztec. It was a light beer and quite tasty. Frank opted to rest in our room. Our group ate dinner on the patio of our hotel. It was still light and the temperatures were in the 70’s, much more comfortable than the daytime. After our meal, we were entertained by this local dancer who performed a “devil dance”. When the Spanish conquered this area, they told stories of the devil to scare the people to convert to Catholicism. The dances are still performed today for festivals, parades and special occasions.
On Tuesday morning, we headed to a local artisan who makes elaborate masks out of painted paper-mache for the devil dancers, parades and festivals. I thought this was going to be boring, but it turned out to be quite fascinating. Two guys from our group even joined in making clay molds which make the base to apply the three layers of glued paper strips. After the paper-mache dries, the mask is then cut in half, removed from the mold, rejoined, and then painted. The masks were varied but were true works of art. A mask can cost over $400 depending on the design and details.
One of the masks on displayFrank trying on a mask. Scary, isn’t he?Kathleen, a petite gal in our group, dressed up as a devil dancer. She even clacked castanets like the performer we saw last night. Our group attracted the local police force when we were at the mask shop. Although trouble usually finds me, I was NOT in trouble this time. Frank and I are posing with the local police chief and his assistant.
Our tour company, OAT, specializes in a “Day in the Life” which means activities with the local folks. After the mask making demonstration we headed to our home hosted lunch.
First we stopped at a small town square. We were broken into groups of 4 or 5, given $5 and were instructed to go shopping at the market for the items we needed to make the food for our home hosted lunch. My group was assigned tomatoes and peppers. Luckily Aimee in our group spoke Spanish so we had our items quickly, but we were not the first group back or the ones with the most change. Maybe next time.
Frank and I were given the task of peeling and cutting plantains. Miguel from our group fried them in oil, then we smashed them into cakes and they were fried again. They were crunchy and bland. Frank was not very excited about the meal. Can you see our fried plantains? What, no meat and potatoes? After our meal, Belkis and her husband Willia showed us how they make polleras in their home. Polleras are the traditional Panamanian dresses which are white with a full two tiered skirt with hand embroidery like the women we saw at the hotel restaurant. It takes up to two years to complete and costs from hundreds to $8,000. I did not order one. In the picture Diana is trying on a traditional blouse and skirt. Next we stopped to see a local traditional dance school performance. This little guy was the dance school’s instructor. He was really good!Of course, audience participation followed their dancing. I think I could have used a few lessons!On our way back to Panama City on Wednesday, we stopped at La Pintada for a pinat’o or painted hat demonstration. This is artisan Reinaldo Quiros. He showed us how he makes his hats from five different plants and swamp mud. UNESCO has added these hats to their intangible cultural heritage list. The pinat’o is not a Panama hat; they are made in Ecuador. A lot of folks from our group purchased hats which ranged from $40-$150 . They were beautiful!Right outside the hat shop, a motorcycle pulled up with a cooler of ice cream. Frank got a two scoop ice cream cone for 75 cents. What a bargain!
Our next stop was to our hotel in Clayton, the Holiday Inn. The Miraflores locks are directly in front of the hotel. Kenny took us on an orientation walk near the hotel. We finished the day with a buffet dinner at our hotel. We spent the next three nights here as our base for more exploring. As you can see, Panama is much more than just the canal.
Frank and I headed to Panama City to start our tour of Panama with Overseas Adventure Travel, O.A.T. Of course snow was in the forecast for today. Yesterday I received an email from United saying that we could reschedule our flight without a fee. After spending quite a long time on the phone and checking the forecast, I decided to change our flight to a red eye leaving at 11:59 pm and arriving at 5:20 am. (Of course, our original flight was delayed but was not canceled. Figures!)
A driver met us at the Panama City airport to transfer us to our hotel. We checked into our room by 6:30, ate breakfast and attended the first meeting of our group at 8am. What a way to start our tour!
Kenny Weeks is our tour guide. He is a native Panamanian. He speaks English without an accent because he grew up in the canal zone and his teachers were Americans. He will be with us throughout our entire tour.
After our introductory meeting, we were scheduled for a bus tour of Panama City. Even though we hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep on the plane, we decided to go on the tour. Panama City is the capital of Panama. It has a population of 900,000. Located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, it is the political, banking and commercial center for the country.
This is one of the modern office buildings in Panama City.
We headed for Panama Viejo, Old Panama. This first settlement was founded in 1510 by a Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Davila. From here expeditions went to conquer the Incas in Peru. It was also through this port that gold and silver was taken and sent back to Spain.
Old Panama was added to the UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997; many of the ruins were undergoing restoration. In 1671, a pirate named Henry Morgan and his men attacked, looted, and burned the city. It was rebuilt in 1673 but in a new locationabout five miles southwest of the first one.
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Returning from Old Panama, we had lunch at a restaurant near our hotel. The Central Hotel Panama is located in Casco Viejo or Old Quarter. This is the where Panama City was relocated in 1673 after the first settlement was destroyed. It was built on a pennisula where walls could be built around it. It was designated as World Heritage Site in 1997. There are strict laws that prohibit changing the original style of the buildings in this area.
The Panama Canal museum is on the left and part of our hotel is on the right. In the foreground is the Plaza of Independence.
This is an arch inside the remains of the Society of Jesus Convent. These stands are selling Mola, a traditional textile craft that uses brightly colored fabric to make patterns and shapes. On our walking tour we saw this young lady. The young man was taking her picture. We assumed she was dressed for her Quinceanera, the celebration for a girl’s fifteenth birthday to mark her entry into young womanhood. Frank and I ate dinner at our hotel, These ladies came in wearing the traditional Panamanian dresses called a polleras. I asked it I could take their picture, then they motioned for me to join in the next picture. I pointed to my shorts and shook my head. Don’t you like their solution?
Our hotel at night taken from the plaza.
Frank and I were really exhausted when our heads hit the pillow that night. We couldn’t believe that we made it through the whole day. It was a tiring, but a good start on our tour of Panama.
