Flights from Liberia, Costa Rica, to Las Vegas and Santiago both stop in Panama City. Instead of waiting in the airport for 3 hours, my family and I opted for longer layovers so we could see one more place together before returning to opposite hemispheres.

With just 7 hours in Panama City, I toured the capital’s colonial neighborhood, new town, and of course, the world-renowned canal.

Panama City

With tour company My Friend Mario, my family and I visited the colonial “old city” of Panama’s capital, which is a smattering of ruins built in 1519 when the Spanish settled. They are the only Spanish ruins still standing in the world today. The mayor had tipped off the settlement that pirates were on their way to ransack the village in 1671, allowing the Spanish to flee before the pirates arrived ready for battle. Although much of the town was destroyed by fire, some parts still remain alongside worldclass condominiums that  line the sky along the bay. The old and new is just one example of the dichotomy of Panama City, where the rich and poor often also live right next to each other unlike the class separation that plagues many urbanscapes today.

Old & New

Old & New

Me and Mom

On the way to the Panama Canal, our tour guide, Mario #2, spotted a sloth in a rarumo treetop along the highway. After searching and searching for a sloth in the Amazon to no avail…I see one on the side of a highway in modern Panama City. Whaaat?!

Our driver pulled over and we scrambled across the road for a good look while I did my best not to have a Kristen Bell meltdown.

Sloth!

We visited the Panama Canal in its 100th year of operation. It officially opened in 1914, bridging the gap between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and forever changing commercial transportation. In its first year, the locks saw about 3 ships per day. Nearly one-hundred years later and I saw 2 ships passing through the canal during my short 40-minute visit. About 40 ships with up to 5,000 containers each go through the Miraflores locks every day in a fascinating process of manipulating water levels for successful passages through the channels.

A boat coming in.

Mom & Me.

A ship leaving the canal.

100th Anniversary.

The “new city” is another interesting show of polarity:  Spanish and French influence, old and new, rich and poor. We took a quick walk through the district which has developed into a popular nightlife area of restaurants, bars and shops overlooking the bay. With perfect timing, the tour guide then dropped my family off at their hotel for the night and took me to the airport.

Mom’s boyfriend, William, and me. Photo by Melissa Fryman.

With our tour guide, Mario “#2.” Photo by Melissa Fryman.

A public art space.

I’ve spent countless hours I’ll never get back waiting in airports and bus terminals. But I only spent a half-hour at the Tocumen International Airport, and instead had 7 more hours with my family to explore the intriguing Panama City!

I completely recommend opting for a longer layover and taking a connection tour whenever possible. Thank you My Friend Mario Tours for opening my eyes to this magical travel trick!

—JDF