Posted on by dhoch49

Disembark, San Lorenzo Fort, Panama City, Flight Home: 1.28-1.29.20

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.

2 Replies to “Disembark, San Lorenzo Fort, Panama City, Flight Home: 1.28-1.29.20”

  2. What a great ending to a great trip. Thanks for sharing and letting others enjoy your time in Panama. Great blogs! I liked the ‘upper crust’ of Frank!!

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