My first full day in Panama, I did a free walking tour in the Casco Viejo part of Panama City. The other part of Panama City is like Bank whereas Casco Viejo gives Covent Garden vibes. The city had been destroyed various times from colonial powers fighting each other, pirates fighting each other or simply from nature fighting itself. We learnt that Panama was actually the capital of Gran Colombia, Simon Bolivar’s vision for a big united Central/South American state which included modern day Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador, (hence why all the flags, bar Panama, look similar). Eventually, Panama dipped out of Gran Colombia, which was a short lived country anyways, and was under the control of America who funded the Panama Canal.

I really hadn’t thought about the Panama Canal at all until I arrived in Panama. To be honest, I didn’t think it was that interesting. In my head, it was just some kind of river situation, that ships went through on their trading route. When I tell you my mind was, (and continues to be), blown to absolute smithereens when I properly learnt about the Panama Canal, its construction and its impact which is still felt to this day.

The Panama Canal is a fully man made canal which spans 50 miles from Pacific to Atlantic Sea taking ships some 8-10 hours to get through, as opposed to over a month going the long way through Cape Horn or the Magellan Strait. It’s considered the greatest feat of modern engineering ever, has acquired UNESCO status and is even on the list of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

After having built the Suez Canal in Egypt, the French attempted to recreate this in Panama but failed. The American’s swooped in and decided to use to a lock system to raise and lower ships from one sea to the other. Construction, (and by construction we’re talking about getting rid of miles of literal earth, creating a water passage in its place and developing a lock system with no pumps, just the power of gravity, water and vibes!), began in 1904 and it took 10 years to build. This was due to the outrageous scale of work and engineering, but also due to a high rate of mortality amongst those working on it. Not only has the Panama Canal changed world trade forever, but it was also reason why scientists managed to figure out that malaria and yellow fever were caused by mosquitos and how to deal with them.

In 1914, this incredible feat of engineering, construction, environmental challenge, scientific breakthrough and the lives of thousands, culminated in the first ship crossing through… on the day that WWI was declared so, literally no one gave a flying figroll.

There was a gradual transfer of ownership of the canal from the US to Panama from the 70s to 1999 and in 2016, there was an expansion of the lock to be 40% wider and 60% longer, allowing to even more and larger vessels to make their way through. The Panama Canal has changed global trade, making transporting goods faster, cheaper and more efficient, changing the economic landscape for countless countries. I think the economic impact and ongoing economic legacy of the Panama Canal would be so interesting to dive into deeper.

I reckon a project like this would never be approved nowadays. Firstly, some 6,000 people died during the construction of the canal, (almost all were from Barbados), with the addition of some 25,000 dying during the French attempt, (a big chunk from Jamaica and other nearby countries). Secondly, the environmental cost of the Panama Canal was huge. Literally cutting away the equivalent of 158 Wembley Stadiums full of jungle, which would have been home to indigenous peoples. Our guide did say though, that Panama has a great respect for their indigenous people, and have one of the highest rates of maintaining their indigenous population in Latin America. They have their own autonomous areas, (like the San Blas/Guna Yala), where the Panamanian Govt. has little say. The Canal is fed by Lake Gatun, which is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, meaning there is huge pressure to maintain the climate/environmental nature of Panama to make sure it functions as it needs to.

The Miraflores Visitor Centre is a little outside of the city, so I jumped into a cab with some people I met on the tour to go and visit. You pay $18 to get to the viewing deck where you can see the behemoth ships coming in and it also includes a ticket for the onsite IMAX theatre. There’s a 45min or so film all about the canal and its history, impact, etc. voiced by Morgan Freeman. It was genuinely the most thrilling cinema visit I have ever had.

Eventually, I dragged myself away from the Panama Canal and explored some more of Panama City during my first few days there and again at the end of my time in Panama, (I visited some other spots which I’ll get to tomorrow). I started the hike up to Cerro Ancón but I saw the capybara’s I desperately wanted to see on my walk there, so I turned back and headed to the Biomuseo instead which was SO GOOD! Did you know that there were once ‘hermit ground sloths’ that were 3,000kg and 4m tall and they lived alongside humans?! Imagine coming out of your mud hut or whatever and seeing a literal giant sloth in your garden!

If I’d had time, I would have visited El Valle de Anton but, if this trip has taught me anything, I am really and truly not a hiker, so whilst I’m sure it would have been stunning, I’m not too mad about missing it.

In Casco Viejo, I found there was a very thin line between the ‘nice part’ and the rougher part, I mean literally cross the street and it feels like a different place. That doesn’t bother me too much as there are parts of London that are like that but I think the difference is much starker. That being said, if someone offered me a job in Panama City tomorrow morning, I would be on that plane by tomorrow night. It has city, it has water, it has culture and heritage, it has restaurants and bars, it has good public transport, it has nature – it literally has everything. Plus, next to Brazil, Panama had the best looking people too so… that helps I guess.