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Panama’s world famous cannel is well known, but the rest of the country is not yet developed for tourism. Right and left of the 80 km long water waterway one finds bays, green mountain rainforest and savannas; they all await discoverers. Lots of beautiful nature can be found in the National Parks. In the Parque nacional Volcán Barú at the border to Costa Rica one can marvel at the 3475 m volcano Barú. With some luck a famous Quetzal bird flies by.
Panama City is a total contrast to the relaxing peace of the hinterland. The city vibrates, but it also offers charming insight into its history. Panama Vieja, a quarter of ruins, reminds of the first settlers in 1519. Over the centuries the city grew bigger centering on a small promontory which is located within Panama bay. Casco Viejo, the old quarters of town, takes the visitors back to ancient colonial times. Besides this quarter one finds ruined roads as well as ultramodern skylines.
From Panama City it is only a stone’s throw to the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal (se also black & white) at Balboa. The giant bridge Puente de las Americas is fascinating. From here one has a great view across the large bay of Panama and the gigantic skyscraper skyline of Panama City’s office and bank quarter. The town Balboa was named after the Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Traveling through the land he arrived at the Pacific coast in 1513 and also named the area South Sea. A monument at the promenade of Panama City remembers the discoverer.
The road conditions in Panama vary a lot. The Panamericana Road from Panama City along the Pacific coast to the Costa Rican border is well paved. The same is true for the north-south-axis Transistmica from Panama City to Colón at the Atlantic coast. But besides it there are few paved roads which very easily turn into gravel or sand tracks. During rain season they are hard to pass.
Culinary delicacies are Ceviche (fish in lemon sauce with onions and paprika), Palacones de Plátano (cooked and grilled bananas), Sacocho (stew with chicken, meat and vegetables), Tamales (spicy pies wrapped in banana leaves) and Carimañolas and Empanadas (crepes with meat, chicken or cheese).
Some geography:
Panama stretches across an area of 75,000 square kilometers and has 2.8 million inhabitants. They are a combination from mestizos, whites, colored and Indian people. Language of the country is Spanish. Almost 90 percent of the inhabitants are of Catholic belief. Panama celebrates its national holiday on November 3rd.
Black & white:
To connect Atlantic and Pacific is an old dream of sailors. In 1903 the US and Panama signed a contract. It allowed them to build a canal through the Isthmus of Panama. It took 11 years to build it. Masses were needed for the work and about 25,000 people died in the process. Workers died because of accidents, yellow fever, malaria and dysentery epidemics.
The Canal de Panama is exactly 81.6 km long. Its narrowest point is 13 kilometers wide. Here the constructors had to drive the canal into a sometimes 100 meter high mountain range. Ships can enter the canal from Cristóbal from the Caribbean or from Balboa from the Pacific Ocean. The passage costs several thousand dollars in fees (depending on the size of the ship) and takes about 10 hours. During the passage the ships are moved through a difference in altitude of 26 meters. Sometimes hey have to pay attention to millimeters. Especially the Miraflores floodgates are very narrow. Giant container ships can pass these floodgates only very slowly. They are held by steel ropes and drawn by locomotives. This way they are stabilized and pulled at the same time. |
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