We couldn’t get to our next destination directly from Northern Colombia, so had to transit via somewhere. Steve had found flights via Panama City, the national airline COPA offered a free layover of up to 6 days and he was interested in seeing the Panama Canal – so a 2 day trip to Panama it was then.

After enduring another hour of terrifying taxi driving on the return to Santa Marta Airport, worrying about just how many armed guards and police were surrounding the perimeter, and Steve having his power bank confiscated as it was ‘too big’, we were on our way for the short flight – getting fabulous views of Cartagena and Panama’s coast and inland areas on the way.

We’d done no research on Panama but it looked stunning from the air, the airport was super-modern and efficient, and the first impressions of the city were that it was far more developed than we’d naively expected. In fact the business district looked very affluent and then Debbie remembered all the posh yachts she’d seen with Panama registration – there’s obviously a lot of wealth here!

We opted to stay in the old town (Casco Viejo – a UNESCO World Heritage site) and found a duplex apartment in Casa Diez which was quite cheap and perfect for a short stay. And they did eventually refund the duplicate charge that they’d taken ‘in error’!

We were perfectly located and the atmospheric historic old quarter was very easy to walk around and really quite lovely – a blend of French and Spanish architectural influences, with lots of restaurants and a very safe feeling (probably helped by the armed guards policing the government buildings in the district).

Given that we only had one full day, we booked a tour to cover the city and the Panama Canal and met our guide Gabriel plus 3 other tourists in the main plaza. The sky was ominously black and within minutes the heavens opened and poor Gabriel had to conduct the city tour from the inside of a minibus. Luckily we’d already had a wander around so his commentary was adding valuable information about places we’d previously seen, but for the others it must’ve been a bit of a let-down. The rain was probably the heaviest we’ve ever seen – this was the reason that we weren’t planning to spend any length of time in Central America – rainy season had arrived and in Panama it lasts for 8 months.

If the weather had been kinder we’d have got some brilliant views of the juxtaposed ancient and modern cities, the Cinta Costero (a big waterfront road that curves around Casco Viejo), the queuing ships,bright blue sea and offshore islands. But we did get to see some of the city at its best outside of the tour, and ‘hat street’ was Panama’s take on the several umbrella streets we’d seen in Colombia. Talking of hats, the Panama (actually from Ecuador) was everywhere and looked incredibly stylish on some people.

Luckily the weather brightened up as we headed to Miraflores Lock to see the Panama Canal. Firstly we were treated to a spectacular 45 minute 3D IMAX film on the history of the canal, beautifully narrated by Morgan Freeman – spectacular and fascinating. We learned that the French had started the canal project – planning to cut through the 60Km of the isthmus from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean to create a sea-level canal, using the same methods they’d employed to create the Suez Canal. But they were thwarted by the rains, the mosquitos (and associated malaria and yellow fever), Panama’s mountainous terrain and apparently a financial scandal – so the French effort collapsed in the 1880s. The Americans later reorganised the entire project with a genius design – a lock system (3 up and 3 down) and creation of an artificial lake between them. Construction began in 1904 and the canal opened in 1914. This feat of engineering changed the face of global shipping and the Panama Canal became a key strategic channel and one of the world’s most important shipping routes. The US owned and ran the canal for most of the 20th century, no wonder that Panama City felt so ‘American’, but eventually transferred to Panamanian control by the turn of the 21st century.

After being amazed by the history and construction, we watched the canal in action along with several hundred other visitors packing the viewing platform overlooking the Miraflores Lock. We waited while the huge vehicle carrier vessel Dionysos Leader (Japan) made her way into the lock, guided by little electric locomotives (mules) to prevent the ship hitting the lock walls. After the lock gates were closed behind her, the vents in the lock floor were opened to allow the release of water via gravity and lowering the water level to bring the ship down to the next lock in less than 10 minutes. Amazing! A transit of the full canal (locks plus lake navigation) takes 8-10 hours and is very expensive for the ships (over $1 million for very large ships), but saves 2-3 weeks in sailing time.

Steve was fascinated by the whole thing and, much to her surprise, so was Debbie.

Back in the city we enjoyed rooftop cocktails, good traditional Panamanian food (ridiculous portion sizes) and some pretty delicious steaks. The American influence was clear – suggestions for 20-30% tip were shown on our bill, with revised totals provided for convenience!

Steve thought that Panama City was ‘just a place’ but with an amazing canal. Debbie really liked the city and will consider Panama as a destination when/if we ever make it to Central America properly.

But this was only ever a quick visit on our way to Ecuador and the Galapagos….