Visiting the Panama Canal from Panama City - 7-25-2012

Panama Canal 

Want to satisfy everyone at home who'll ask "did you visit the canal while in Panama?" Want to bask in the glory of human achievement? If so, then visit the Panama Canal. Two separate superpowers (19th century France and 20th century America), poured unfathomable amounts of money and lives into their effort to link Atlantic and Pacific. It is indeed one hell of an engineering feat, and getting out there and back from Panama City can be half the fun. The end of this article tells you how to get out there a couple different ways.


The nearest set of canal locks to Panama City are in nearby Miraflores, about 10 miles north of Panama City. First, I cabbed from my hostel to Albrook Bus Terminal for $6.00. All city bus routes in Panama City end at Albrook, and all buses leaving Panama City start there too. Traffic was awful; the 15 mile ride to Albrook took one hour. I did get to see a lot of Panama City, though. the cab driver dodged main thoroughfare traffic by ducking into working class neighborhoods hidden in hills. Back on the main road to Albrook, we passed ghettos and favelas, as well as American style strip malls anchored by recognizable chains like Office Depot.

Finally, we arrive at Albrook bus terminal. Albrook is a one-stop location from which passengers can grab buses leaving Panama City for other locales and grab buses that run routes through Panama City. Ticket windows line one side of the terminal from which customers can purchase tickets for intra-city trips. Buses that run routes within Panama City can be boarded by walking out to the main street. The new orange Metro Buses list their destinations on electronic signs on the bus' front. The diablo rojos, or red devil buses, usually have the neighborhood their route originates in painted on the front windshield. The red devils are heavily decorated (and heavily dilapidated) old US school buses pressed into service as public transportation. Most of these buses run incomprehensible routes through the city, but some run routes connecting Panama City to other places as well. A bus from Albrook to the locks at Miraflores costs $0.35 and takes about half an hour. You'll want to take the bus to Gamboa -- Miraflores is on the way. Pay upon disembarking from the bus.

Red devil drivers routinely pack their buses so heavily that people have to stand shoulder to shoulder in the aisle. My bus is no different. I ask the woman next to me if Miraflores is far and she gestures that it is. She also gestures to say she will let me know when we arrive. Sure enough, she touches my arm half an hour later and says "Aqui," as we pull up to a sign that says "Miraflores, home of the Panama Canal." I thank her and disembark. I cross the highway and follow the signs to the Visitor Center. It's about a 15 minute walk from the bus stop, partially uphill, that also passes a dammed river. Finally, I reach the Visitor Center. Prices for non-Panamanians are $8 for adults and $5 for students and retirees. It's three dollars cheaper if you want to skip the museum and theater and only see the observation decks. I came this far, so I pony up $8 and walk inside.





Container Ship at Panama Canal

Straight ahead is the lobby and past that, the first floor observation decks where throngs of people watch ships pass by. Just behind the observation decks is a small snack bar that sells hamburgers, hot dogs and similar fast food. The canal is busiest from 8AM until 11AM, and again from 3PM until 6PM. On the left side of the lobby are two theaters, but both were closed during my visit. There is an additional theater outside and to the right of the observation decks. This theater shows a 10 minute informational movie covering the history of the isthmus of Panama, the failed French efforts to build a canal, the American success, the handover of the canal from the United States to Panama, and the $5.5 billion expansion that is set to finish in 2014.




Panama Canal Museum, Miraflores, Panama

Back in the Visitor Center, you'll find the museum on the right side of the lobby. The museum has four floors; enter the first floor from the ground floor of the Visitor Center. The first floor covers the history of the Panama Canal's construction. It has videos, interactive displays, and several scale models of the dredging ships and locomotives used during construction. The second floor contains displays and videos about the relationship between the canal and the local environment, including life-sized displays of various butterflies and other indigenous animals. The third and fourth floors were closed during my visit.


The Visitor Center is also multistory. The second floor contains additional observation decks and administrative offices. The third floor contains Miraflores Restaurant and Bar. For $20, you are treated to a sumptuous Panamanian style buffet and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the canal. The fourth floor also held a restaurant, it was closed during my visit.

Your Author at the Panama Canal, Miraflores, Panama

Partway through my visit, I watched a few ships come in. Watching massive tankers and container ships navigate the locks and dwarf the crowd of spectators is indeed humbling. A loudspeaker announces the nature of each ship passing through and its length. Throngs of people crowd together to snap pictures of loved ones in front of each passing ship. I finally find someone to take a few pictures of me, too, but the ship has passed by then. It's OK. It's still a good picture.


The ride back to Albrook was uneventful, but steamy, loud and bumpy. Again, $0.35 and half an hour gets you from Miraflores to Albrook. Back at Albrook, I ask a few folks where I can find a bus home. I find the Panama Viejo diablo rojo bus and get on. This ride took nearly 90 minutes and cost $0.25. All diablo rojo bus rides within Panama City cost only $0.25. This ride took so long because I was riding at the start of rush hour. Off-peak, the ride should take about 60 minutes.


Getting here:
There are a few ways to get here via cab or bus. First, you can try to catch a cab here from Panama City. Some drivers will refuse depending on traffic into and out of Panama City. If you do this, don't pay more than $10 for each leg of your trip. I caught a cab to Albrook for $6.00 and then a diablo rojo bus to Miraflores for $0.35. Diablo rojo bus rides from Albrook will cost $0.35 for each ride. Finally, you can take a bus from Panama City for $0.25 to Albrook and then take a $0.35 diablo rojo bus ride to Miraflores. If you take a bus from Panama City to Albrook, I recommend the orange Metro Buses for their relative comfort and their air conditioning. Pick one up most easily along the Via Espana or the waterfront expressway that runs along the Cinta Costera between Panama Viejo and Cascao Viejo.

Museo Nacional and My Frugality Leads To a Memorable Afternoon

I started my day at the Museo Nacional at Avenue Centrale & 2 and Calle 17. The bright ochre-colored fortress sits on an embankment facing downtown San Jose and used to house local military personnel. Costa Rica disbanded its army in 1948 after a rebel army led by Jose Figueres Ferrer successfully defeated government forces during the 1948 Costa Rican civil war. After his victory, Ferrer ruled Costa Rica for a year and a half, abolishing the military and overseeing the election of the Assembly that produced the Costa Rican Constitution of 1949.

One end of the museum courtyard offers a panorama of downtown San Jose and the surrounding hills. Aside from two rusting artillery pieces serving silent witnesses to a more violent past, the rest of the courtyard is a shady garden of indigenous trees and bushes, interspersed by a sugar gin and large rock spheres carved by Costa Rica's ancient inhabitants. Lining the courtyard is a covered, tiled walkway leading past several galleries, one displaying a reconstructed bedroom and living area from the country's colonial period, one displaying native gold artifacts, and one long gallery with exhibits tracing Costa Rica's political and social history from pre-Columbian days, to the present day. On the lowest level of the museum I found the butterfly garden, a lush enclosed area housing flowering trees, bushes and butterflies. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30AM to 4:30PM and on Sundays from 9:00AM to 4:30PM. It is closed on Mondays. Admission is $7 for foreigners.

From the Museo Nacional I walked west along Avenida Central to Calle 5 where I found the Museo de Oro, the Museum of Gold, at the bottom of some stairs. My guidebook said admission was $7, but the sign at the museum said $9. Taking time to think over this opulent expenditure, I overheard three women speaking in English about the museum. A mother and daughter were asking an American woman if the museum was worth $9. I sat down as the American woman described what was inside. I decided to keep my $9. The mother and daughter kept their money too.

The mother and daughter were from Eugene, Oregon. The daughter, a massage therapist and freelance editor, had traveled all through Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia and told us about the friendly people she met, the fine food she ate, and the wonderful experiences she had while traveling through that part of Asia. She happily recommended those countries for my next trip. The American woman was originally from Wisconsin but had been living in Honduras working on public health projects for two years with the Peace Corps and was staying one more year to work for USAID. She arrived in San Jose today for a seven day Costa Rican vacation and was in town alone until her friends arrived tonight. She also said she spent time in the Phillippines during her masters program and so I told her my heritage and how I have family there. We all chatted for maybe twenty minutes, then the mother and daughter bid us goodbye.

I introduced myself to the American woman, who introduced herself as Laura. She told me she hadn't seen all of the city so I asked if she would like to see some of it with me. She agreed and we were off. I retraced Friday's walk past Parque Morazan and Parque de Espana and then north along Calle 11 and around the back of Parque Simon Bolivar. Curious, we moved deeper into the area east and south of the Parque. As we followed quiet twisting side streets past large villas behind stone walls, we both agreed that the best part of vacation isn't going on tours, or visiting museums, but getting out and exploring the cities and towns on foot. We walked on and she told me about her work in Honduras, visiting remote jungle villages, and how much she enjoyed her two years in a small town near the Honduran-Salvadorian border. I talked a bit about my old work, how I just wanted to travel for a while, and the general uncertainty I have about what I should do with myself. Laura of course, wholeheartedly suggested two years in the Peace Corps.

We walked on towards Parque Nacional and the Museo de Arte y Diseno Contemporaneo, which I had visited the day before. Some Americans had climbed on the statue at the Parque Nacional and we had a good laugh at how rowdy they were acting. We headed back toward the Museo de Oro and then on to the Mercado Central, which I suggested for dinner. We cut our way through crowds on the Avenida Centrale and she talked about Honduras, its cities, and its fine people. The mercado was closed but we still enjoyed the walk, our conversation, and the company. She needed to get on a bus back to the airport to meet her friends so we walked to a soda a few blocks east of the bus station for dinner. Soda el Parque was quiet, with ample seating and good food. Over dinner we laughed about our respective college and masters program experiences, and our respective itineraries in the country. She suggested I visit Nicaragua. I told her I had been thinking about it. The afternoon light was fading quickly and Laura wanted to get on a bus before dark. We paid and I walked her to the bus stop. A warm hug and smile and she was gone. A nice stranger in a strange city.

I don't remember everything she and I talked about that afternoon, but I know we talked a lot, and laughed a lot and that I had a fine afternoon. And I suppose that is what is most worth remembering.