Panama City, Panama

Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama
After 5 days on the open sea it was pretty nice to get back to dry land and a huge, sprawling metropolis. We opted to stay in Casco Viejo, the more historic and picturesque part of Panama City which features a mix of architectural styles including colonial, art deco, french and caribbean. The Old City is currently undergoing an urban redevelopment program and so it wasn't unusual to see crumbling colonial ruins next to beautifully renovated and restored mansions. Needless to say that there's a massive, yawning devide between the rich and poor here too but regardless of that Casca Viejo is a wonderful place to stay.


The crumbling ruins of an ancient convent 'The Society of Jesus'


The beautifully restored buildings of Casco Viejo


Two local guys jamming


Panama City's massive skyscrapers seen from Casco Viejo

On our second day in Panama City, we took a taxi out to visit the Miraflores lock on the Panama Canal. The 77km canal was built in 1914 by the United States and joins the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and therefore saving shipping companies thousands of dollars and weeks of travel around what would otherwise be the South American continent. Cargo ships are charged by weight. The most expensive toll for canal passage was on May 16th 2008 for $331,200. The least expensive was 36 cents, payed by an American named Richard Halliburton who swam the canal in 1928.

Massive cargo ship entering the Panama Canal


Going through the Miraflores docks