Panama

I went out on the balcony of the cruise ship that would take my friend Andreas and I to the city of Colón in Panama. It's where the Panama Canal begins on the Atlantic Ocean side of it. Our plan was to change the cruise ship for a smaller boat and travel through the canal all the way to the Pacific Ocean, and end at the port of the capital Panama City. 

I could see a lot of big vessels with containers heading from and to the small opening of the canal and it felt like rush hour for boats. 




I wasn't that into going on the canal because it seemed more like something you should do, rather than something you will actually enjoy. But now that I was this close I started to change my mind.
We jumped on a bus that would take us halfway through the small country, so we would be able to go through all the locks on the other half in the canal before it was time to be back at the ship again. Colourful houses greeted us in the cruise port, but as soon as we boarded the bus we quickly came into the ghetto that is the real Colón. The guide saw the looks of our faces and quickly tried to save the situation by saying that all these buildings will soon be demolished, and that they will build brand new beautiful apartments for the citizens. It sounded like a North Korean mirage to me. 

We arrived at Gamboa and to the boat that would take us through the canal, and as soon as we left the harbour I could feel the history of this place. 





The canal was much more than just a canal, it had beautiful surroundings and bridges but even the ugly cargo ships fitted in perfectly in the picture.




The locks where you go down or up with the boat were interesting since I have never done it before. All in all it was probably one of the best tours we did on our journey in South/Central America and the Caribbean, to my big surprise.






The only bad thing was the neverending talking of tour guides in 3 languages and the English speaking was the worst. It was like he thought he would die if he even took a breath where he didn't talk. The speakers were even blown by how high the volume was. After he'd said all the basic facts about the canal, which we had already heard on the bus, he just started to say stupid stuff like "water is an important element in a canal". No shit? Then he started to sing stuff like "If you like the canal clap your hands, clap clap, if you like your tour guide clap your hands, clap clap". Some people should just know when to shut up, but thankfully my ears are trained to block stuff like this out so I could still enjoy the day.




After a wonderful day in the canal we arrived at the beauty of the capital Panama City which looked like a cheaper version of Miami. It was like day and night compared to Colón where we had arrived, and both Andreas and I wanted to explore the city.




But we will have to come back to do that, because now we were in a hurry to get back to the ship in time before it would leave. We rode all the country back with the bus and with literally 1 minute to spare we jumped aboard the ship, already wishing to come back some day, but at the Pacific side!

* Best things about Panama – the canal was amazing and you could feel the history of it, when arriving at Panama City we were so surprised how developed and amazing it looked compared to Colón, and I wish we had a day there too, but some other day!

* Most mediocre thing about Panama – watching Panama City from a distance, I hope to come back and visit it!

* Worst things about Panama – the tour guide's mouth diarreah, no one else seemed interested in him but himself

Best countries in the world according to the nerd (will be updated with every post):
1. USA
2. The Bahamas
3. Croatia
4. Montenegro
5. Andorra
6. Cyprus
7. Grenada
8. Turkey
9. Greece
10. Italy
11. Spain
12. Monaco
13. Malta
14. Jamaica
15. Netherlands
16. Belize
17. Panama
18. Saint Lucia
19. Iceland
20. Denmark
21. Sweden
22. Lithuania
23. Macedonia
24. Armenia
25. Mexico
26. Portugal
27. Dominica
28. Hungary
29. Slovakia
30. Belarus
31. Slovenia
32. Austria
33. Russia
34. Barbados 
35. New Zealand
36. Ireland
37. Germany
38. United Kingdom
39. Belgium
40. Poland
41. Saint Kitts & Nevis
42. Vatican City
43. Estonia
44. Czech Republic
45. Switzerland
46. San Marino
47. Honduras
48. Colombia
49. Costa Rica
50. Kosovo
51. Romania
52. Finland
53. Latvia
54. Azerbaijan
55. Georgia
56. Saint Vincent And The Grenadines 
57. Antigua & Barbuda
58. Moldova
59. Norway
60. Ukraine
61. France
62. Bulgaria
63. Luxembourg
64. Liechtenstein
65. Trinidad And Tobago
66. China
67. Serbia 
68. Bosnia And Herzegovina
69. Albania   
Location: Panama

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