Panama City, Panama

Folks,

Well, here I am. Final week. It's hard to believe. I'm now in Panama City, and it's been so hot the last couple of days that I'm happy to be hiding away in my hotel room with the air conditioning on. The hotel is called Hotel California, and the mat outside the door actually says, Welcome to the Hotel Calfornia.

The pic of the week shows the financial district (El Cangrejo) from the old city (Casco Viejo). I'm not sure what I expected of Panama City, but it wasn't this. It's like Manhattan on the Pacific.

Leaving Ometepe
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I had a really early start on Monday, taking the 5.30am ferry from Ometepe. They gave us life jackets when we got on, and I put mine by my side on the seat. Of course, the next minute I moved and off it went into the lake. A major rescue operation ensued as they scrambled about to recover the lost jacket. And they were ultimately successful.

The journey, while still a little bumpy toward the end, was a lot less rough than the way over, and I had time to enjoy watching dawn rise over the volcanoes.

Transit through Costa Rica
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My bus took me to San José, where I had an evening in the city before getting the 11pm bus to Panama City. It was great to be back in San José and knowing where everything was. I was able to go to a good restaurant and then pop out to a cinema. Having started on Monday at 5.30am, I arrived into Panama City at 3pm on Tuesday.

Panama City
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As the bus comes in through the city it looks really beautiful, and unlike any other place I've been in Central America. There are big architected buildings with columns and lawns. And the financial district is full of high-rise banks and apartments. There are a lot of banks.

Just as I arrived news broke of the John and Anne Darwin case, the canoeist who faked his death. She had just moved here, and I was never so aware of the city in the news.

However, now I'm here a while and have had a chance to explore I have to say that there are extremes. In the wealthy areas I saw more Lexus cars than anywhere else I've ever been. But in the poorer districts you could be anywhere in Central America, and the wealth doesn't seem to have made any transfer.

The Canal
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Of course, the centre of the whole Panamanian economy is the canal. You cross it on the Puente del Las Américas when you come into the city, and although I saw ships out in the ocean there were none in the canal. I thought it would be choc-a-bloc all the time.

But they actually have the flow of traffic north (Pacific to Atlantic) in the morning, then let it clear out, then route the southern traffic in the afternoon. At night smaller vessels go in both directions.

I went to see the operation of the Miraflores locks on Thursday. To build the Canal they created a large artificial lake that stretches from the pacific side to the centre of the country, which is 84 feet above sea level. Then they they cut through the mountains (The Culeba Cut) between the lake and the Pacific. Three massive locks near each coast bring the massive ships up the 84 feet and back down again.

Because of the shape of Panama (like an S on it's side) the canal actually runs from the northwest (Atlantic) to the southeast (Pacific). So the Pacific entrance is actually east of the Atlantic!

The Canal was only handed over by the Americans to Panama on 31 Dec 1999. There was concern that Panama wouldn't be able to run it. But in the 7 years they've increased the transit rate, and have begun construction of new locks which will almost double the capacity and allow much larger ships use it. This extension was approved by referendum last year.

The size of the ships going through is amazing. The largest are called Panamax, and are built to exactly the maximum dimensions of the Canal locks. And they're massive. They pay around $250,000 to cross. And the extension will allow a whole new generation of even larger ships to use it.

Mother's Day
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I dropped my clothes to the laundry on Friday, and they were to be ready Saturday. However, when I went to collect them the whole centre was closed. It turned out 8 December is Mother's Day, a Bank Holiday. Although what bright spark came up with the idea of celebrating Mother's Day on the feast of the immaculate conception I don't know!
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Well, that's it for this week. I take the 11pm bus overnight to San José. I'm in Heredia for a couple of days, and then fly to Shannon through Newark on Thursday, arriving Friday morning.

So, until next week,

Slán go fhoil,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Prensa: 'Obedience due' in Institutional Protection Service regulation (I haven't a clue what it's about either)