The day started off with rain, lots of rain, so instead of walking tours of the ruins of the old city and a visit to the outdoor metropolitain bio park as we had originally intended, we decided to start the day off with a visit to the Panama Canal. So we had a quick breakfast at the hotel then an Uber out to the Panama Canal Miraflores locks visitor center. We didn’t get to see a ship go through (no worries, we’re going through the same locks ourselves tomorrow), but we did get to see one of the chambers fill up with water, pretty impressive. We also got a really good primer on the Panama canal’s history and how it all works. There was a 45 minute movie that really gave a good idea about what it’s all about. I think Madeleine especially got a lot out of it. It really is an incredible piece of engineering. 14 thousand vessels use the Panama cal each year, (1 million since it opened), and it accounts for 5% of all global trade. Fun fact, the canal charges its tolls based on tonnage, so the smallest toll ever charged was 36 cents to Richard Hamilton for swimming the length of the canal.
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| Miraflores locks -Panama Canal |
After the locks we headed back to the hotel to freshen up. By this time the rain had stopped (I guess that’s the deal with the rainy season here, you rarely loose a whole day) so we headed out to explore Casco Viejo, the neighborhood we’re staying in. Casco viejo is the old part of Panama City dating back to 1673. It was established after the pirate Captain Morgan (of rum fame) sacked the original city. It’s a weird mix of renovated old colonial and turn of the century buildings housing cafes shops and boutique hotels next to dilapidated abandoned architectural treasures with trees growing out of them, all with the skyline of the new town’s shiny skyscrapers as a backdrop. The gentrification process is definitely mid stream. Lots of charm though, and lots to see. Definitely worth the walk. The highlight may have been Granclement for gelato. Dulce de Leche gelato… I think Madeleine is a fan.
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| Dilapidated treasures |
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| Architectural gems |
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| Gelato! |
We finished out the night with dinner at the Mercado de Mariscos, basically a fish market surrounded by a bunch of casual outdoor fish restaurants. Ceviche is one of my favourite things in the whole world, and apparently it’s a thing here. Living as far as we do from the sea,I don’t get to have it often, so I was pretty excited. The ceviche was amazing, but the highlight was Madeleine’s dish. She ordered the sea bass in a coconut sauce. It came out whole, something she had never seen before. Her face when it came out was priceless. That only lasted a second though. She tore into it and devoured the whole thing. Had someone given me a fish with the eyes still on at her age there is no way I would have done anything other that’s push it away and beg for McDonald’s.
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| Dinner looking back at you |
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| Mmmmm |
Tomorrow we do our partial transit of the canal. Going through those locks and cruising the canal is going to be pretty special. The van picks us up at 5am…
Michael
Hotel las Clementinas
Casco Viejo
