The Panama Canal
Today we head to the Panama Canal! Before coming to Panama, this was the the top item on my list of things to do. Being someone that enjoys all things transportation, seeing this important part of worldwide shipping logistics is exciting to me! The one trick to visiting the Panama Canal (if you want to see ships) is to know the transit schedule. Ships tend to go one way in the morning, and the other in the afternoon. Unfortunately for us, by the time we got to the Canal we just missed the morning transits. So instead we took the time to explore the visitor centre. The visitor centre itself has several exhibits that detail the building of the Canal along with its historical significance. In some ways us missing the morning transits worked out well for us! This meant there were very few tourists on the observations decks and in some ways we had it all to ourselves!
Albrook Mall
Because we still wanted to see ships transit the canal, our plan is to return to the Canal later in the day. However, we didn’t want to have lunch and wait at the visitor centre all day. So we UBERed to nearby Albrook Mall where the first order of business is lunch! Like McDonald’s a few days prior, I really wanted to try more Panamanian fried chicken, so at the food court I ordered from a place called Pio Pio. The chicken is actually pretty good so certainly worth a try if you’re ever in the area. After lunch, the four of us did some shopping and browsing. The mall itself is huge and separated into different sections named after different animals. So we made it a point to try to find as many of these “sections” as possible!Â
The Panama Canal Part 2
After a few hours of mall exploration, we make our way back to the Canal. And this time you can tell boats are going through since the observation decks are now packed! We all manage to squeeze into different spots along the railing and settle in to watch the ships go by. While I’d like to say that seeing the Panama Canal locks in action is a highlight, I can’t. I think before this trip, the idea of ships passing from one ocean to the other. And the thought that they are raised and lowered to meet the different sea levels of each side got me pretty excited about seeing it in person. I watched several videos of ships doing this and while I knew the videos were sped up, it didn’t dawn on me how anti climactic it actually is!
At the beginning we said that we would watch several ships go through just to get a good experience of how the locks work. After watching one, we were about ready to call it a day. It takes a good hour or so for the whole process to finish (I’m not sure why I imagined it to be quicker!).
I tried to take a few snippets of video’s of the different “stages” of the lock so you get a sense of what it’s like. But don’t fall into the same trap I did. I left a LOT out. This boat did take about an hour to get through (not to mention the time it actually took to sail too and from the lock!)
Cafe Unido
When all of us were done with the Canal, we made coffee plans with our local friend (the one who got the SIM cards for us). We met up at Cafe Unido, where I got to try my first Geisha Coffee. Geisha coffee is this fancy coffee I read about prior to visiting Panama. Up until this point, we didn’t have a chance to try it. So when given this opportunity, why not?! The coffee itself is slightly sweet and has a great aroma to it. So its for sure a unique experience! The five of us spent the afternoon hanging out and chatting until we needed to go our sperate ways. I’m always still amazed at the connections that can be made thousands of miles away from home!
Con Colon Part 2
On our way back to our hotel, we needed dinner. None of us were really that keen on going out and exploring. (Who knew standing on an observation deck in humidity waiting hours for boats would be so tiring!). Because we had such a great experience with Con Colon a few nights prior, we decided to visit again! We didn’t sample as much as we did last time, but we still tried a few new dishes. Like the first time, none of it disappointed. I would highly recommend this place if you’re ever in Panama City!
With dinner over, we returned to our hotel where we hit the rooftop pool again for an evening dip. Soon after that, we crashed. Tomorrow we will be doing a bit of walking through a national park, in hopes of more Sloth sightings!