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Panama
By Coqui Viajero
What a nice surprise it was to visit Panama for the first time. From San Juan its only a two and a half hour non-stop flight on Copa Airlines. We found a very reasonable package advertised by A&A Tours in the Sunday Travel Section of El Nuevo Dia. You can book the tour with any local travel agent.
Panama is very strategically located with Panama City on the Pacific coast, the San Blas Islands inhabited by the Kuna Indians on the Caribbean side – and the incredible Panama Canal connecting the two oceans.
The people are friendly, happy, caring – very similar to us Puerto Ricans with their love of music, dancing and always ready to have a good time. The only difference is that in Panama, they put the word ‘pues’ at the end of a sentence while here we’d use the expression ‘ay bendito’.
The people are especially friendly to Puerto Ricans – Gilberto Santa Rosa is a superstar in Panama and every concert he gives is instantly sold out. He is practically an adopted Panamanian and there is always lots of gossip about him and the goings on at his mansion in Herrera province – but also great admiration for his contributions to many charitable works. His records are sold on every corner – and when they learn that you are Puerto Rican, they assume that you are a friend of Gilbertito…
Panana City
Although it’s a good place to base yourself for a trip to Panama – the sprawling capitol city is good for a day of sightseeing – but isn’t a great attraction in itself.
But, the cost of living is very low – so it’s a great place to escape for the weekend and enjoy fantastic prices at hotels, restaurants, discos, concerts and other activities. They use the US Dollar, except for some coins called ‘Balboa’ which are used for small local purchases.
A trip in a taxi to almost any part of the city is only a few dollars. There are restaurants of every type including Japanese, Chinese (like everywhere), Argentine and what really caught my attention – a Brazilian ‘Rodizio’. Of particular note is a chain of ‘Nicos’ cafeterias which seem to be everywhere and have fast, cheap, good local food.
At the Brazilian ‘Churrasqueria Rodizio’ – for only $15 per person, they served fifteen different cuts of meat – served by waiters carrying the roasted meat on a spit and carving it right at your table. They give you two ‘signs’ – green for ‘serve me more’ and red for ‘stop, I’ve had enough’ – but the food seems to keep coming no matter. They also have a salad bar – but I suspect that most customers ignore it and leave for home with ‘sky high’ cholesterol levels. Oh well, its vacation!
Of particular interest in Panama city is the section called ‘El Panama Antiguo’ which bears some resemblance to Old San Juan but has not been very well preserved. There are still many building in ruins and others inhabited by vagrants.
This really gives you an appreciation our own Old San Juan is due to the efforts of Don Ricardo Alegria to restore the old city to the romantic, mystical and magical place that we all love. The government of Panama is using Old san Juan as a model to restore ‘El Panama Antiguo’ so little by little it is being restored and gentrified.
So for now, heed the advice of taxi drivers and visit in the daytime, since the old city is just next to a slum called ‘El Chorrillo’ which everyone agrees can be dangerous at night (its also a section with several gay bars listed – so do your homework before visiting). It’s a little bit like taking a wrong turn in Old San Juan and ending up in ‘La Perla’ – although personally, I feel more secure in Old San Juan than Old Panama City…. So go during the day… and enjoy a glimpse into unrestored history.
San Blas Islands
We took the opportunity to take an excursion from Panama City to the San Blas islands on the Caribbean side of the country. A short 20 minute plane ride brought us to a deserted island airport where our guide waited for us in canoes for the trip to our island resort.
The resort is run by an indigenous family on their own island of “Ukuptupu” where they live and run a rustic lodge. The Kuna family doesn’t like to be referred to as ‘Indians’ since they associate this word with Christopher Columbus who they don’t think very highly of…
The facilities of the ‘hotel’ consist of ‘rooms’ made out of bamboo partitions with two mattresses on platforms, a towel and a small table. Its really more like camping out – with your neighbors just inches away through a flimsy partition. The bathrooms are communal outhouses on platforms over the ocean… and the ‘shower’ consists of a barrel of water with a half-coconut to help douse yourself.
The only rule on the island is ‘this side of the island is for swimming – the other side is the bathroom’…. Advice you’ll want to follow…
As rustic as it sound, my friend and I were prepared for the experience and were happy to put up with the inconveniences for one night. It was a great experience. There was also a group of Japanese tourists , some young Panamanian students who were studying eco-tourism and a few Americans (who didn’t seem so prepared for a night with so much ‘nature’). During the night, the student group combined with some other guests and locals from neighboring islands to have a grand party until the generator gave out at about 2am.
The stay with the Kuna was marvelous. The following day, we woke up early, had a cup of coffee and returned by canoe to the island with the tiny runway for our return trip to Panama City – with a great view of the canal all along the way.
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is one of the great engineering marvels of the Americas. Connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific, the canal carries enough cargo to generate more than $135 million in tolls as the ships pass through. While everyone knows the history of the canal – it was interesting to learn an ecological fact about the canal. In Panama, it rains for almost nine months out of the year. The canal relies on this period from April to mid-December to generate the water needed to move the ships through the canal and insure adequate water to constantly raise and lower the ships through the numerous locks.
Gamboa Rainforest
We also took an excursion to visit the five star Gamboa Rainforest Resort – just a half hour drive along the canal. This an easy trip for those who want to experience ecotourism without much effort. The main attraction here is a cable-car ride to the top of the mountain rainforest where it rained ‘cats and dogs’. Some of the tourists complained since we had to wait for the downpour to end before continuing…. But after all, it is a rainforest! To me, it wasn’t as impressive as El Yunque – but the cable car ride was great! The resort has a series of ecological exhibits – the most impressive of which was a guided tour that shows the evolution of local butterflies from larvae to caterpillar to butterfly.
Gay Scene
On this trip, we were so busy exploring that we never made it out to any of the gay bars. In the city, they seemed to be rather far apart – with no real gay area. The most popular at the moment seems to be in a suburb that you will need a taxi to get to… but remember, taxis are very cheap. Its listed variously as ‘Boy Bar’, ‘Box’, or ‘Garage’ – but to us, it seemed a bit far after running around all day – especially since we didn’t know the area. Its in an area called Tumba Muerto – which seems to be an area with lots of car dealerships, fast food restaurants, etc. A friend seems to think that this is the fabulous disco featured in the movie “The Tailor of Panama’ – but I’ll have to check it out next time…. If you go… let us know how it was…
