Panama City is not. Although it is a fascinating place. Never have I seen somewhere that has allowed the hunger for newer, bigger developments to bring almost total dilapidation to the rest of the city. Every inch of space within 50m of the sea is crammed full of the highest shiny high-rise buildings, but continue further afield and broken pavements, crumbling buildings and high-density slums await.
Everywhere you look, there is new high-rise being constructed. The ones that already stand seem empty - especially at night, where a 2,000-person building might have six or seven lights on. The locals tell me that a lot of these buildings are used for money laundering. You build a building, pretend you have residents and bank the "rental" money each month.
Anyway, there are two main things to do in the area, visit the beautiful islands of the San Blas archipelago and see the Panama Canal. I headed out to see the canal with Anick from Canada and arrived to see a huge container ship entering the Miraflores locks.
It is difficult to comprehend the scale of the Panama canal or the ships that pass through it. A couple of interesting facts:
- the canal is so important that most ships in the world are built to the size specifications of its locks
- 4% of EVERYTHING traded in the world passes through the canal
- ships are charged by weight, the average charge being $30,000
This might seem steep but it is a snip compared to fuel and wages for a whole crew traversing South America. The highest sum paid to date was $330,000 by the Disney cruise ship in 2008. The lowest? $0.36, by American adventurer Richard Halliburton, who swam through!
Next day it was off to the San Blas islands! There are hundreds of islands, which are owned and run by the indigenous Kuna people. Myself and Jono went to Ina's Place, a small white-sand dot of an island with a few huts, lots of palm trees and ladies rubbing sun cream into eachother's skin*
*Your experience may differ.
The price to stay there included three meals a day. The food was whatever was available on that particular day. The first day we had lobster for dinner, the second it was crab claws. Of the six other guests, only two liked lobster - it was a tough task, but myself and Jono were required to finish off three plates of lobster each*
*Once again, your experience may differ.
We went for a snorkeling trip to Islas Estrella (star) and Perro (dog). Just offshore was a small shipwreck covered in colourful coral. Diving down I was surrounded by tropical fish all whizzing about their daily business - it was pretty spectacular. That was until I sat on some kind of stinging coral...the bumpy boat ride back was less enjoyable than the trip out.
Back at Panama city I visited the old town, which is in the process of some serious restoration efforts. The area is full of lovely colonial buildings but, after it was forgotten about for a century, it became a pretty big slum - as people kicked in the doors and occupied the huge buildings. As colonial cities go, I'd give it 6.5/10.
The last thing I did was to visit the Metropolitan National Park, a huge area of protected rainforest just 2km from the city centre. Myself, Estela and Jono headed out in search of sloths, which are apparently abundant in the area. We started a two hour hike and powered into the forest. After about 15 minutes, the heavens opened and we were forced to take cover. Estela went for the solid option of hiding under a metal sign, whereas I went for the quick option of a large leaf. Jono "Bear Grylls" Moorhead set about constructing himself a small house from various leaves. After 15 minutes I admitted it was much better than my shelter and joined him under a small extension he'd constructed.
I'm heading up North to see some of the Panamanian countryside. There is also the bonus of getting away from the 40 degree heat, which is a bit draining when you try to do anything other then lie in a hammock. Here are some more pics.
This arch could be why the Panama canal was built in Panama (the alternative was Nicaragua). Legend says that the planners saw this arch and decided that the fact that it was still standing proved the absence of major earthquakes in the region. Ironically it collapsed in 2003.
Plaza de la Independencia, where Panama declared its Independence from Colombia in 1903.
Miraflores locks.
The ass-end of a huge ship.
There are hundreds of these stores around. At some point I am going to see if I can legally buy a gun. Don't worry mum, I'm not really going to buy one.
One morning we planned to swim to the next island. We drank a bottle of rum instead.
The view from the hill in the national park. It was worth getting wet for.
Your pictures are beautiful. Tell me something about locals. Are they friendly?
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the pics :) The locals are relly friendly! They are much more "Westernised" than people I met in some of the South American countries that I visited. Really open and happy people :)
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