Before President Carter negotiated the treaty to sign over the Panama Canal, the Republican National Committee enlisted Ronald Reagan, then California’s governor, to raise funds and stop the effort. Although the move failed, it helped the Republican Party stop Carter’s reelection bid. He ended up losing to Reagan. Today, the canal remains in Panama’s hands. The United States built the canal, between 1904 and 1914. It was designed to reduce the time it took cargo ships to navigate between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Today, there are three lock ports. The Miraflores Locks are the closest to Panama City. I purchased a ticket for the local Hop On Hop Off bus and the canal was one of the twelve stops. Once there, I spent $10.00, for the movie (Morgan Freeman narrates it), and another $10.00 for entry into the area, with bleachers, to view ships crossing.

My first hotel, a Best Western, was near nothing and everything all at the same time. There were two sushi restaurants a block from the hotel. There was a mini mart just across the street. My favorite thing was the $5.00 Uber rides. Other than the cost from the airport, each ride only added up to around $5.00. I had planned on taking the local bus and riding on the new metro line, then blogging about it. But … at five dollars (to get me downtown to the Hop on Hop off bus) why bother. On the way back, the driver’s radio was playing 90s tunes. When Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” came on, he cranked up the volume and sang the entire song! I tipped him $5.00 for the $5.00 fare!

Once at the canal, the tour guide, on the bus, had a general idea about what time of day a ship “might” cross. It would be around 1:30 pm. We pulled up to the Miraflores Locks viewing complex at 11:15. The film about the canal had already begun. I decided to head to the visitor viewing area and just wait. It can get pretty crowded, in that bleacher area, but it’s covered. So, you’re out of the sun. Around noon, some people left for the 12:15 movie. Thirty minutes later, three catamarans pulled up, side by side, to cross. Then, a much larger cargo vessel pulled up behind them.

I changed hotels and relocated downtown. In its day, I’m sure it was a fabulous hotel. My room was great, but … there was no executive lounge. I sent a message to Expedia, as access to the lounge was listed for VIP members. I didn’t bother with the added cost for the breakfast, figuring that I would just grab something from the lounge. Then, my lunch buffet, in hotel’s restaurant (salad, soup, rice, and chicken) with drinks and dessert, was $25.00! I ate out, for every other meal. The hotel was surrounded by options. It was also a five minute walk to the final stop for the Hop on Hop off. So, I did it again and skipped getting off for the Panama Canal.

The train running from Panama City to Colon is still not back in service. I asked about a tour, from the vendor seated in my hotel’s lobby. As a solo traveler, no tour would take me. The woman went the extra mile and called other tour operators to see if they might have a single traveler looking for a tour to Colon. She then asked another worker at the hotel. He came back with an offer, a private car to and from, for $250.00. I passed. The woman tour operator then came back with an offer for $150.00 that included an English speaking guide. I booked it for 8:30 the following day.

When the tour operator arrived for her 8:00 shift and saw me there, she made a frantic call to my driver. The car arrived at 8:10. My driver runs her own tour service. My translator was her boyfriend. He’s from Montreal, Canada. While getting to know each other, he mentioned that he had been making breakfast for his girlfriend, when the tour operator, from my hotel called. They gave the breakfast sandwich to their security guard. The trip from Panama City to Colon should have been around an hour. It took us less than 50 minutes. There was a McDonalds to the right, as we arrived into town. I told the driver to pull in. She missed the turn for the drive-through. She parked and we walked inside.

I ordered pancakes and had my translator order for his girlfriend. I wanted to make sure she got her breakfast sandwich. I paid. We then took seats towards the back of the restaurant. My driver then asked the two women at the next table if there was an “African” area that we could visit? She misunderstood what I said, when asking to learn more about African culture in Colon. She also didn’t know about El Cristo Negro, a wooden statue of Jesus Christ, in Iglesia de San Felipe, a 45 minute drive to Portobelo. The two women (a mother and daughter) said there was a church, nearby, that people from the Afro Caribbean community attended. They would be happy to take us.

The mother/daughter duo took us through the neighborhood and pointed out the mom’s house. Then, we headed to the church. The two women waited in their car. I went inside and learned about the oldest Episcopal church in Central America. When British West Indies laborers arrived, to work on the Canal, the church’s attendees became mostly Black. We then headed up the block to the Washington Hotel. It was once considered the most beautiful hotel in Panama. Our mom tour guide was recently married there. We then all headed to the Colón 2000 Duty Free Mall, said goodbye to our local tour guides, and made our way to the Gatun Locks, closest to the Atlantic Ocean.

With two cruise ships in town, the lines to enter the Gatun visitor center were packed. My driver dropped me and her boyfriend off and decided to just wait in the car. I paid the standard $10.00 and my translator paid less than $2.00 (using his Panama residency card). We were in luck and two ships were waiting to cross. With each and every ship, a pilot from the Panama Canal Transit Authority boards the vessel and takes over control. A local pilot is responsible for guiding each ship from end to end. When the vessel clears, a speedboat arrives and the local pilot turns the boat back over to its captain.

The Goethals Monument in Panama City, Panama was constructed in honor of George Washington Goethals the chief engineer of the Panama Canal and a General in the US Army. The monument made of white Vermont marble was revealed March of 1954. The monument has three steps on each side that represent the triple locks used to raise or lower a vessel, a height of 85 feet.

Now, it’s on to the A B C Islands. I will definitely return to Panama, at some point. There’s so much more to the country than just a canal. XOXO—GGT