Panama

I was fortunate to visit Panama in January with a friend and spent about eight days exploring the country. To my surprise, I really love Panama and I can see myself spending more time down there. Here are some of the highlights from Panama and my thoughts and experiences traveling internationally during COVID time.

Panama City

We spent three days in Panama City, a day in San Blas Islands, and four days in the Playa Blanca beach areas.

Panama City is like a combination of Miami and Honolulu. The city has a pretty impressive skyline and a thriving middle-class.

Of course, we went to see the Canal. We got really lucky. Just when we arrived, a giant container ship was passing through the locks and we got to see the ship exiting the Canal.

Panama has the largest Chinese community in Central America; they came over to build the railroad and the Canal. The influence of the Chinese can be seen all over the country. Here is a picture of a dinner menu out in the middle of nowhere and you can see the Chinese-influenced dishes like Chop Suey. A convenience store a block away from our hotel was owned and run by a Chinese family.

From the Panama history that I’ve learned, the U.S. government and military have been present in Panama since 1904. At the height of the United States’ influence, the U.S. had 16 military bases in the country and controlled the whole Panama Canal. The Panama Canal Treaties of 1977 specified the removal of U.S. troops and bases by 1999, but about 6,500 U.S. troops remain in Panama. So, I assumed that with a heavy U.S. influence there I would hear plenty of English and was surprised that most of the people we encountered don’t really speak it. This includes the majority of the places we visited, restaurants, shops, stores, even tourist spots. I also noticed that the Panamanian listen to Latin songs, not American songs. I didn’t hear a single American song until our third day there. This expectation was based on my experience in Spain, Mexico, Taiwan, and Thailand. Personally, I think it’s awesome! Because I feel more like I was in another country, not just an extension of the U.S. Don’t get me wrong, there are still a lot of American influences down there like you see fast-food restaurants everywhere.

Part of the surprise was the customer service. From my observation, people in Panama City are very nice and happy. When it comes to customer service, it seems like they are more like Spaniards and Asians. This means they are not all chatty trying to befriend you and get your tips. From our standard, we would think they are rude and unfriendly. But I think they are there to provide a service, not to serve you. Again, I think it’s awesome. It’s very demeaning seeing American tourists (including myself in the past) expecting that “those people” serve us because we are American (better) and we have money.

San Blas Islands

The trip to San Blas Islands was just simply out of this world. The San Blas Islands are an archipelago comprising about 365 islands and cays in which 49 of the islands are inhabited. The Islands are home to the indigenous Guna people, which is an autonomous territory from the Panamanian government. To my great happiness, Guna people still control and oversee the islands with great authority. There are no resorts, hotels, or franchised restaurants because Guna people want to preserve their ways of living.

Our guides, a pair of young Guna people, took us to three different islands on a little speed boat. The islands are smaller than the surface area of my condominium building and part of me felt like I was in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies where all the clearwater beach scenes took place. The beauty and the experience were beyond words, so I am just going to let the photos speak for themselves.

We had great conversations with our Guna guides. One of their names was Karin Valdes. Karin taught us a lot about their lifestyle and history. Please let me know if you are planning to go visit San Blas. I will be more than happy to share Karin’s contact information with you.