Panama: Atlantic meets Pacific

Why Panama?

If you are traveling to South America from the US, there is a high chance that you will travel via Panama City. This tiny central American country is famous for the Panama Canal (right from junior school geography days). The convergence of maritime trade has incubated many famous and infamous banking empires here. Add to it no visa requirement for Indians. So, this was the perfect recipe for a 24 hour stop over travel. 

Pull pull pull your ship gently down the Canal

Day 1 : Atlantic meets Pacific

We reached Panama City mid-morning and went straight to our hotel. One good thing for American travelers is that the local currency is still USD. So, no conversions and calculations required there. We used our Hyatt free nights and stayed at the Hyatt Downtown at the heart of the city. They were helpful in allowing us to check in early. (If you are travelers do get the Chase Hyatt, Marriott Cards- we have found hotel bookings in big cities very helpful with their rewards program).

We almost never order room service for meal, but, oh well there is always a first time for everything. We ordered fish tacos and Sopa de Pollo con Arroz (chicken soup with rice) – the latter being a healthy, filling and rejuvenating meal.

Tip: Order this soup or ajiaco (Colombian chicken soup with corn for kids and adults alike).

And then the mid-day rains lashed the hot and humid city as we relaxed and watched from our tower. And then just like it came out of nowhere, the rains were gone without a trace. A tropical Aloha!! We popped into an Uber and were on our way to see the famous Panama Canal at the Miraflores Locks. This 82 km artificial waterway connects the Atlantic to the Pacific. The construction started in 1881 culminating in opening of the canal in 1914. So, the canal has been operational for more years than our family’s age put together . There for us all it was a moment of a lifetime. Having read and heard so much- it was fascinating to watch ships inching their way across the oceans through the locks. We watched from the gallery and the sailors waived back. The kids were thrilled. There is also a little museum on the premises. It was fun to visit. It had models of old ships and even a little aquarium of native species.

Information: Expect delays in transit due to very heavy traffic.

While coming back, there was no Uber so we took a yellow Taxi to the hotel (USD 20).

Happy at the Locks

Day 2: Curtain Fall

The next day was all about quick breakfast, checkouts and hitting the airport to fly out to Medellin, Colombia. We were sad to go, excited for more as we were traveling to Colombia next. 

Information: For all animal lovers, you can take safari tours here and spend your day gazing at sloths and caimans among others. There was one available at the Hyatt concierge.

Note: The immigration in Panama City wasn’t our best experience. The lady had a very sour expression, hardly communicated and held onto our passports for quite a while.