I was already woke up early and headed to the park near the hotel. A number of people were sleeping here. The difference between rich and poor is quite large. There was also much garbage on the street. It looks like people have no garbage bags or containers, although there are enough waste bins at the park. I bought a bottle of water in a small shop that just was open. Moreover, it is difficult in this part of town to find suitable shops, perhaps I did not look at the right places.

Back at the hotel I had breakfast and then I packed my camera. Just before 9 a.m., I was picked up by my guide Rubin. First he took me to the Miraflores Locks. This is the lock in the Panama Canal on the Atlantic side. Although we were pretty early, there was already a line of people. Fortunately there was already bought a ticket for me and it took only 10 minutes before I was allowed through security. I looked at the a ship containing LPG that went into the locks, which went quite smooth. The ship is pulled forward by so-called ‘mules’ into the lock. These are a type of trains that are bound to the ship with cables. These trains can also bridge the difference in height of 8 meters. Incidentally, the whole process produces an altitude difference of about 20 meters.

Because the ships get bigger and also the amount of ships increase, one already started in 2007 building a new lock. This is wider and longer. This way one hopes to be ready for the future here. On the Caribbean side, they are doing the same. It is a dry excavation and all the debris that is dumped in front of the coast, so that a country expansion arises. A number of buildings, which formerly stood close to the water, are now 50 to 100 meters more inland. On this created land roads has been extended (Balboa Avenue).

After watching the ships, I visited the museum in the visitor center. It explains how the Panama Canal is formed. The idea was already there when the Spaniards arrived here for the first time, but it took until 1880 before the French got a concession to carry out the work. They worked there 20 years, but they failed to do the job. Diseases, rain and financial problems forced the French to the stop the work at the end of the 19th century. In 1903 the Americans took over the work. In Exchange for the work they got the right to use land of 5 kilometers on either side of the channel. The Americans got the business done differently. To combat the diseases (jaundice and malaria) first in the cities the roads were paved, mainly because in the rainy season the mosquitoes that spread the diseases develop. There was also a hospital build and there was adequate food. Eventually the Canal opened in 1914 and in 2010 the 1 millionth ship went through the locks. The new locks should be ready in 2014, 100 years after the first lock opened.

After viewed a short movie (10 minutes), we drove back to the city. We drove parallel to the railway that is used to transport the containers, but where you, as a tourist, can go to Colon (second city of the country) in the morning and return at the end of the afternoon. This is only from Monday to Friday. The military base of Americans is now used for other purposes. On 31 December 1999 Panama this area was returned to Panama. Since that time there is a lot of work in progress to boost the country’s economy. That is also seen in the skyline of the city, which has been built in the last 15 years and is comprised mostly of skyscrapers.

We drove along the coast to the old Panama City. This is a city that was already there before the Spaniards came here, but in the end, is constructed as a trading post for the gold that, among other things, in Peru of the Indians was 'stolen'. By then only a few hundred people lived there. The city was eventually destroyed. By who is unclear, one story says by the inhabitants themselves to prevent the city came in the hands of the enemy, another story says that the enemy destroyed it. Now there are still some remnants and slowly, since 2001, to be refurbished. From the 22-meter high church tower there is a nice overview about the terrain and it is also a good viewpoint which was used to see the enemy prematurely if they arrived. I walked around the terrain and then we went to the other side of the city. Cayo Vieja was raised after the destruction of the old Panama City as a new town. A large portion is now falling down, but here also here one work hard on the refurbishment of the buildings. The presidential house is also situated here. In 1940 and 1950 this part of the city was booming. Here were the offices of the Panama Canal and the municipal administration, among others. Later, this portion of the city was left in disrepair, but now more and more companies settle here again. There are even plans to rebuild the old hotel, so that tourists can stay here again. After some walking around this portion of the city, we drove back to the hotel, where I arrived around 2 pm. I was just in my room to rest, when the Chambermaid wanted to clean the room, very annoying.

I went hiking on the boulevard, first in the direction of the business center, but there wasn't much to it. I went to the other way towards the fish market. Here was still plenty to do and I bought a bowl of mixed fish and ate it in the sun. Then I walked to the town where I was previously and walked around and drank a beer on a terrace (pretty pricey). Then around 5.30 p.m. I walked back again. Young people were busy in a cage with a panna tournament. I walked back to the hotel via the amphitheater and watched some TV before I went to eat. Then I went to bed.

Initial publication: 22 april 2012
Last update: 22 april 2012
© A. Heeroma