Bahía de Manzanillo

We arrived at Colon, Panama this morning. We had breakfast onboard at Mamsen’s, then disembarked for our 9:30 excursion through the old Panama City. We hoped on a bus for an hour. That’s how long it takes to get from the Atlantic Ocean side in Panama to the Pacific Ocean side, overland.

Panama is a much more prosperous country than Columbia was. In Columbia there was trash, and piles of it, littering every single road. There was very little of that in Panama. Another difference is that in Columbia, almost everyone got around on scooters. I saw a family of 4 on a scooter. The small child stood in front of the father, who was driving. The mother sitting behind the man was holding a baby. In Panama, I saw few motorcycles/scooters. The better paved roads had many cars. I saw Toyota, Mazda, Kia and a few Chevys. All in reasonably good shape.

Our guide, Maria explained that Panama makes money by moving goods, whether that would be overland, via train or over water via the Panama Canal. She also explained how there were/are 3 Panama Cities. The original city was burned to the ground by Invaders. Then it was rebuilt. That is the Old Panama City. Now a new, more modern Panama City is being constructed as an extension to the Old City. We toured the Old City which has old architecture and narrow cobblestone streets.

Driving is not for the faint of heart and I am not sure that being a passenger is either. Drivers more or less rely on the courtesy of other drivers. I saw cars driving straight past stop signs. Our guide explained that what is commonly called the Panama Hat is not. Teddy Roosevelt may have gotten his from someone in Panama but it was actually made in Ecuador. I did buy a ‘REAL’ Panama Hat. It is adorable and I will post a photo of me wearing it.

Our tour was cut short by a downpour after we had toured a church. We waited until it slowed down and made our way back to the center of town where we boarded our bus to return to the Atlantic Ocean side of Panama to board The Viking Neptune.

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