Panama Day 1

Meanwhile, we have been in Panama for 3 days and tomorrow we will continue to our final destination, Costa Rica, from where we will also take our nonstop flight back home - thanks to Edelweiss.

The journey to Panama was very relaxed. However, the departure was delayed because a few "dead birds" had to be removed from the runway, as announced. The 50-minute flight was a bit turbulent, it had already rained in Cartagena and huge thunderclouds had formed around Panama City.

Since we arrived very early at our accommodation, the "Hard Rock Hotel Megapolis", we spontaneously decided to take a trip to the Atlantic coast in the idyllic city of Colon, where we still had the opportunity to take the famous Panama Railway back to Panama City on Friday. Since the train only runs from Monday to Friday, this was the only opportunity to take the trip during our stay. So we immediately made our way to the Albrook Bus Terminal and were able to board the bus. The one and a quarter hour bus ride was similar to the flight in the morning, except that it was much more dangerous. During the first half of the journey, an apocalyptic thunderstorm raged down. It was pitch-black and at one point the lightning struck right next to the highway, which made quite a loud noise. However, the driver didn't let that stop him from speeding over 100 km/h. Aquaplaning is unknown in Panama and he only removed the sun visor from the windshield when he could no longer see the road. Perhaps the man had had dinner at the same place as us in Cartagena three days earlier, but he did not refuse the additional offer from the house champagnos...

Well, fortunately we arrived safely in the idyllic city of Colon, the Atlantic access to the Panama Canal. The city, also built in colonial style, has a lot to offer: very nice taxi drivers, complete decay, drugs, prostitution, and one of the highest crime rates in Central America. But this side of Panama should also be seen. However, you don't necessarily have to go to Colon to get a somewhat ambivalent impression of this country. On the one hand, there is glamour and glory in Panama City with skyscrapers, a flashy glass and steel financial center, stylish restaurants and nightclubs, and just a short distance away there are sad slums, semi-decayed buildings where the less privileged lead their lives. Colon is the most extreme example because the whole city has become slum-like and even a fancy cruise terminal, which was built in 2000, hasn't helped much. Colon has the largest free trade zone in the world after Hong Kong. Billions of dollars are made here, not to mention the income from the canal and the entire financial sector. In fact, Panama is the richest country in Central America. One wonders where all the money is flowing to and why bitter poverty begins right behind the glass palaces.

In Colon, it is strongly advised not to move around on foot - even during the day. However, this can be relativized and there are certainly better areas as well. One of them is the aforementioned cruise terminal, shopping center and casino "Colon 2000", where we had a very fine Lebanese lunch while it was raining heavily again. So we made good use of our two hours in Colon and were chauffeured to the end station of the train right on time.

The journey, which takes place once a day (round trip) with a tourist train, is really beautiful. The railway line follows the canal over and over again, also crosses a long dam over Lake Gatun and then penetrates into the densest jungle. The train has open areas for taking pictures and we spent the whole journey standing there. On the one hand, because it was very beautiful, on the other hand, because it was very hot. In Panama, there is a tendency to cool down spaces to refrigeration temperatures, as is normally known from Southeast Asia. This also applies to the train. And you can also see people sitting in sweatshirts and sweaters in office buildings, while it is 32 degrees outside with extreme humidity.