Panama City - urban jungle

Panama City was a stop-off on my trip to Costa Rica, for this reason I didn’t have much time to explore this city. I was curious what the capital of Panama looked like, I’d imagined it as an impressive metropolis with skyscrapers and I hadn’t been wrong. The city actually looked better than I’d imagined. The center of Panama City resembles Manhattan with the only difference that the panorama of this city is diversified by numerous palm trees.

At first glance it seems to more developed than, for example, the capital of Costa Rica – San Jose. Anyway, due to the geographical location Panama has always been a trade hub in this region for years. However, a turning point for this country was the construction of the Panama Canal in 1914. Now the country is also a popular tax haven, and in addition, it is said to have the second largest duty-free zone in the world.

The best viewpoints of downtown Panama City can be found on Cinta Costera – a 7km boulevard. The skyline is dominated by skyscrapers which is nothing new for a big city but the palm trees are what make the view exceptional. The skyscrapers seem to be located in the middle of a palm forest.

Even though I visited the place around 7.00 in the morning, it was quite crowded. Apparently, it’s a favourite recreation spot for Panama City residents. Anyway, if only I’d had running shoes with me…

At the end of Cinta Costera there’s a fish market – Mercado de Mariscos, where you can see many local fish species. Right next to the market there’s a small marina where fishing boats moor. In a restaurant you can eat fresh fish, seafood and delicious ceviche – a kind of appetizer made of raw fish or seafood marinated in lime juice.

On the way to the Old Town, it’s also worth visiting the iconic Café Coca-Cola, which looks like old American bars. It’s said to be the oldest coffee shop in the city.

Casco Viejo or the Old Town has a completely different atmosphere than the modern part of the city. Although it is quite compact, you can see many interesting buildings in colonial design.

At the end of Casco Viejo, near Paseo Esteban Huertas, you can also see another interesting view of Panama City center.

I had mixed feelings about visiting the Miraflores Visitor Center, i.e. the Panama Canal (in 2022, $10 per person). However, I knew that being in Panama and not seeing it’s like going to Turkey and not eating a kebab. The canal itself doesn’t make such an impression, but the observation of the entire procedure of ships passing by does!

On both sides of the canal there’s a system of locks that lifts ships from sea level to the height of the artificial lake. This is not a small height, because it is as much as 26 m. Ships are then towed by special locomotives.

After crossing the lake, another system of locks allows ships to enter the sea on the other side. It is estimated that almost 15,000 ships pass through the canal annually, compared to only 1,000 ships in the year of its opening (1914). The canal is of key importance for international transport, as it significantly shortens the route between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. Without this crossing, the ships would have to cover the route via Cape Horn which would make it about 20,000 km longer.

However, a lot of people died during the construction of the Panama Canal. It was started in 1881 by the French. Breaking through the tropical jungle was associated with a high mortality because of malaria, plague and yellow fever among workers. For this reason, work was suspended. They were only revived by the United States in 1904.

Panama City is said to be the only capital city in the world bordering with a rainforest. Gamboa Rainforest is just 25 km from the city center. Unfortunately, due to the lack of time, I couldn’t visit it. On the last day of my trip, I decided to go to Parque Natural Metropolitano. This trip was not in my plans, actually I went there to somehow manage the last hours in Panama. I didn’t even expect it to be the most interesting place in Panama City. There are only a few paths connected in two loops. In my opinion, the most interesting is the Camino del Mono Tití. In the middle of the path there’s a viewpoint with an amazing panorama of Panama City.

You can admire interesting vegetation here. However, the biggest attraction of the park are numerous animals, including: monkeys, sloths, raccoons or toucans. The most surprising thing is that the park is located right next to a large metropolis, and the presence of people does not bother them at all. In just 2 hours of walking, I was able to see numerous monkeys and the raccoons seemed to be most interested in the contents of tourits’ bags.