It's a long way from Buenos Aires to our home on the Canadian prairies, at least 15 hours of flight time, not counting hours in airports. Panama City is the perfect place to rest up and learn a bit of history in the process. Of course, there is a lot to see and do in the country of Panama, but two full days stopover was just right to learn about two important pieces of history in Panama City - the old town and the Panama Canal.
We stayed at a hotel very near the Panama Tocumen International Airport, easy access for our early morning flight and also easy access to Panama City's modern, convenient, and cheap metro system.
Let's talk about that metro for a minute. It has two lines - Line 1 was opened in 2014 and Line 2 was opened in 2019 with the extension to the airport opened in 2023, so it's all very new. It's part of a "National Master Plan" to improve transportation. It's clean (no food or drink is allowed) and well-marked. And it costs all of 50 cents (US) to ride both lines. It's a perfect way to navigate a city of about one million (two million in the urban area) in a rather spread-out space.
The country of Panama is an interesting shape. It's long and narrow and sits almost horizontally at the southern tip of Central America, bordering Columbia to the southeast, Costa Rica to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. This shape and location is important to know, as you will see.
Casco Antiguo or Casco Viejo (Old Town)
We spent a morning strolling around old town, or Casco Antiguo (also known as Casco Viejo) which sits on a peninsula looking out to the Pacific Ocean. The old town dates to 1673 and was named a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site in1997. It's full of cobble stone streets, elaborate or quaint churches, refurbished mansions, museums, classic (and classy) hotels, stone ruins, monuments, water views, and restaurants (it's considered the gastronomy centre of Panama City) - and many 'instagramable' photo ops. Old town has an interesting history, including several massive fires and a pirate attack (the original Panama was decimated in 1671). We could certainly have taken more time to learn about and tour the structures here.
Here's a walking map of Casco Antiguo pointing out eight churches, eight plazas, and eight museums in one small area.
By the way, getting off the metro at the nearest station to Casco Antiguo, 5 de Mayo, gives you a nice one kilometre walk down the pedestrian Av Central through an old, busy, traditional neighbourhood full of locals and lined with small stores, cafes, and street sellers. We loved the walk and the lunch at a traditional cafeteria, but most travellers seemed to take taxis or Ubers from the station to Casco Antiguo.
The centrepiece church in Casco Antiguo is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Panama City at Plaza Mayor. The Spanish colonial-style construction began in 1688, over a hundred years before completion.
The Iglesia San Jose dates to the 1600's and is much plainer on the outside and not as restored as some other churches in the old town, but it is known for it's beautiful golden altar (actually mahogany covered in gold leaf and paint). It has some guestionable folklore attached that you might like to look up relating to saving the altar from a pirate attack.
We thought one of the most beautiful churches in old town was Iglesia de San Francisco de Asis in Plaza Bolivar. The current design, including the gorgeous domed belltower, dates to the early 1900's. We especially liked the blue tint in the chapel. The restoration has an interesting story, worth researching.
The American Trade Hotel is one of several luxury hotels in old town and sits on Herrera Plaza. It's a restored 1917 building and is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. We enjoyed their coffee shop, Tiempos, for coffee and a break from the heat and humidity. And, as we say, luxury hotels have good bathrooms.
Here are a few of the eight plazas: Santa Ana Plaza, Herrera Plaza, Carlos Quinta Small Plaza, Independence Plaza (also known as Plaza de la Catedral or Plaza Mayor) and Panama Canal Monument Plaza.
One of the most noteworty ruins in Panama City is in Casco Antiguo, the Iglesia de Santo Domingo and it's Arco Chato (or flat arch), dating to 1678 and considered a wonder of architecture as it withstood several centuries which included two significant fires that devastated the old town area in 1737and 1756. In 2003, the arch finally collapsed due to wear and lack of maintenance but was later reconstructed. The original arch was famous because no metal was used to support it.
Walking around the old town gives you a superb view of the 'new' Panama City across the bay, a stark contrast to ruins and buildings dating to the 1600's.
Here are just some of the refurbished buildings and streets:
A walk around Casco Antiguo is worth at least half a day, but much more time could be spent touring churches and museums, learning about monuments, and engaging in some fine dining.
The Panama Canal
But my main reason for visiting Panama City was to learn about the Panama Canal which had a huge impact on Panama's future. My interest was piqued when I read an historical fiction novel, The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez, which, after visiting Panama, I must say is a good representation of the politics and consequences involved (it wasn't all good). I highly recommend this book as an engaging way to learn the canal's history and how the building of the canal affected everyone from fishermen to doctors, completely disrupting life as they knew it.
After spending the morning in Casco Antiguo, we hailed a Uber to take us to the Miraflores Locks, one of six sets of locks that make up the 80 kilometre canal (the canal is actually made up of a combination of canal, locks, and lakes) and which rise and lower using water gravity to allow ships to pass through, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Our visit started with an IMAX show that provided us some history and put us right in the middle of construction (with 3D glasses). We then spent time on an observation deck where we waited for a cargo ship, the Rosalia, to pass through, giving us a great demonstration of the locks at work. It takes a ship up to 10 hours to traverse the 80 kilometre canal (but, prior to the canal, it would take a couple of months for a cargo ship to sail around South America). The locks are built so tightly that barely metres exist between the ship and the wall of the locks. The ships are thus taken over by an experienced captain who manouvers them through the locks, and the ships themselves are tethered to what are called 'mules' (named after the original mules that served this purpose years ago) on each side of the lock. In the picture, you can see the Rosalia being guided by several mechanical 'mules' through the locks. The process was most interesting. About 30 ships pass through the canal daily.
On our second day in Panama City, we returned to Casco Antiguo to tour the Panama Canal Musem. The musem is set in a refurbished building in Plaza Mayor and was once the most luxurious hotel in Panama City. For years after serving as a hotel, the building was the headquarters for canal builders, first the French and later the Americans, before being used as public offices. Restoration work took six years, and the non-profit museum opened in 1997.
The buildling of the Panama Canal all seems rather complicated on so many levels, and I don't claim to understand it. The museum provided an elaborate review (almost too indepth to absorb) starting with prehistoric times to explain how the landmass of Panama came to be, necessary to understand not only why a canal was built and the difficulty building it, but also the disruption of ancient grounds and ecology. Although the idea to build a canal dates to the 1500's, the displays then detailed the first attempts by the French to build a canal in the late 1800's which would be a major trade route, cutting shipping costs and time and thus ensuring greater financial outcomes. However, the French lost financing due to engineering issues and due to over 20,000 lives being lost. The Americans resumed work on the project in 1904, and the canal opened in 1914; but the takeover was not straightforward, and there were many politics and disagreements involved.
Although the Americans were instrumental in minimizing yellow fever and malaria, over 5,000 more lives were lost during the American construction due to disease or dangerous work conditions (some estimate up to 30,000 lives were lost in total). As well, there were many inequalities in status (such as pay and living accommodations) depending on race and citizenship. The museum provided a good overview of the social issues created (who and how they were affected) by the building of the canal.
America continued to have control of the Panama Canal and this, too, was obviously contentious. The Canal was not just an economic boost, but ownership gave the United States easier access to both oceans if they wanted to use their naval power, and not to forget significant control in the country of Panama. President Carter, in 1977, negotiated a transfer of power of the canal to Panama, to be completed by 1999, a move that, again, was both supported and criticized. On February 1, 1978, President Carter gave an indepth Address to the Nation which details the negotiations. It's worth a read for content and eloquence. He ends by commenting about having "the strength and wisdom to do what is right for us and what is fair to others". The negotiations were considered one of the most significent accomplishments of President Carter's presidency.
Today, Panama receives several billion dollars per year revenue from the Canal, and I imagine much debate and scrutiny has gone into how this revenue is being spent and who is benefitting.
So, the building of the Panama Canal was not straightforward, it seems, at any time or in any aspect. It's a fantastic work of engineering to behold and also a fantastic history lesson into all the elements (political, social, personal, economic) that go into a project that had such a bearing on the world and was considered the largest and most difficult project to that date.
Again, if you don't want to do a deep dive into reams (there is an abundance from all viewpoints) of material online, Cristina Henriquez' novel The Great Divide is a valuable and engaging historical fiction that tells the story well.
After travelling for three weeks, we were a little anxious to get home, but we were definitely happy that we stopped in Panama City for a layover - some rest with a bit of history thrown in. What could be better?
And that ends our South American adventure to Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Panama City. What a time it was! We are back at home on the Canadian prairies, and it snowed four inches last night and 'it's still coming down', as we say.
I wonder where we will go next?
Thanks for reading.
So very much to take in, in your short visit!