Visiting Panama & not seeing Canal??
 

We will be in Panama next month & are trying to decide if seeing the canal should be on our "must see" list. I didn't realize it was 2 hours from our hotel and my children 18, 13 & 10 don't want to make the drive. We'll only be there a week & will be flying to San Blas island for one night. The San Blas trip means we need to be at the airport (2 hrs from hotel) at 5am & then up again the next day for a 6:45 flight back. They say they would rather hang at the hotel/beach than to spend 1/2 day just to see canal. I pretty much feel the same way but is it terrible if we don't see the canal? I feel like a terrible mom pulling my kids from school for the trip & not even seeing the canal. Any thoughts???

You'll probably be "ribbed" the rest of your life for that, lol!!!( I'm teasing) Personally, the Canal was not high on my lists of "must-sees", but I am glad I did as it's pretty incredible. It's a personal decision and we did not have to go hugely out of our way to see it.

I had seen the canal and several locks from shore and train (Colon-Panama) in the early 70's, but got to do a daylight transit (Panama-Colon) in 2003 which was amazing as we had a new German-built diesel-electric Bolivian Navy submarine and a huge Chinese cargo ship as companions.
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faithie, you are so right! To make matters worse I work for a travel wholesaler & the destinations I cover include Panama. My co-workers are already giving me a hard time over not seeing the canal. I guess we'll decide once we're there. Maybe we'll have a rainy day & be looking for something to do. Thanks for the feedback!

You could always combine the canal with a tour of Gamboa, rainfporest etc. Make it a daytrip and its more exciting for kids if some adventure is involved...?

There are hotels at beaches at a lot of places in the world, but the Panama Canal is, let's face it, only available in Panama. And the educational value on two fronts is tremendous: first, the actual canal with its backstory, its engineering, its sheer being; and second, that there's more to life than lounging at a pool.

I'm planning to visit Panama in July and have 13 year old students who are volunteering to come along in my luggage just to get the chance to see the canal, by the way.

It seems timely to mention this. Glover, a frequent poster, who has been assisting me in planning our trip to Panama, recommended this read before visiting the canal:

The Path Between the Seas
by David McCullough

I've ordered it and will begin it soon.
Just a FYI. . .

I'd have to agree that it would seem odd to go to Panama and not see the canal. We planned our trip around that and birding. The canal is for DH, the birding is for me! LOL!

Amy, We are not typically a "lounge by the pool" kind of family. We have been to Costa Rica 3 times in the past 2 years and have had plenty of adventures driving between San Jose/Arenal/Monteverde/Playa Grande/Manuel Antonio & Mal Pais. We've enjoyed seeing the cloud forest, rain forest, volcano, turtles making there way to the ocean from their nests on the beaches & everything in between. I also noted that we were taking a side trip to San Blas overnight and am very excited about learning about the Kuna tribe. With all of the excitement experienced in our previous travels the thought of sitting somewhere watching a ship go by really doesn't sound that appealing
to my kids. I'm sure if we decide to go they will be glad that we did at some point and if not it will just give me another reason to return!

Shillmac, Great idea..I will definitely pick that up. When is your trip planned for?

I'm sorry; I didn't intend to sound judgmental. It's just that I would love for all the 18, 13, and 10 year olds I know to be able to go on a trip that would be so helpful to their understanding in so many different areas (international relations, business, the role of the US in Panama's independence, engineering, the cost of lives, and on and on) that to hear that they'd be so close and not go just makes me sad, but of course everyone has to make his or her own choices.

We are going to be there the end of July, first of August. Probably be raining like crazy! :)

I'm jealous that you are going to the San Blas Islands. I'd like to do that! And experience the Kuna's. A friend just returned from there, and she thought they were so fascinating. She brought me a mulla (or however you spell that). It's beautiful! It is a gorgeous bird--think I'll frame it!

Amy, You're right, we have to go! Maybe I can convince them to stop there on our way back from the airport to our hotel after the San Blas trip. If it's not too far from Albrook Airport & they're all not too tired I think that could work. My family has nicknamed me the "vacation nazi" because I create such specific itineraries & make sure everything is planned well in advance. I've learned that with a family of 6 if all the details aren't agreed upon prior to the trip you wind up spending your vacation arguing over who wants to do what on which day. I will suggest my idea to them & hopefully they will agree. I'll let you know. Thanks!!

I went to Panama last year and we had the same problem trying to fit everything in. We decided to go watch the ships and go to the Canal museum. It was wonderful.Even if you decide not to take a full or half day tour it's worth it to stop by.

I can relate to the "Nazi" issue. I'm a bit of one myself when it comes to traveling with large groups. My church youth group coined the phrase "general" (that was back when I was supervising the travels of 20-25 people), but my family would probably select Nazi as more appropriate! When it's all said and done, done of them complain! We try really hard to get a mix of relaxation and activity time. But you're right, best to know ahead of time what the vacation will entail. I have to give our grown son an itinerary so he can get his mind around it ahead of time! :)

The Kuna molas are quite fantastic. The good news is you can find many of them for sale in the Balboa area for those who don't have a chance to visit the San Blas Islands.
Just my opinion, but I would not skip a visit to the Canal. I grew up with a view of Miraflores Locks and I never bored of watching the ships making their progress through the Canal. The McCullough book is excellent.
Enjoy Panama, it is a beautiful country.

hi petite1, i've not had the opportunity to visit panama yet, but in helping friends prepare for a trip a couple years ago i found this site: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html
this will link you directly to a cam of the miraflores lock; then you can click on the bridge or gatun locks. at the top of the page all sorts of info on the history, etc. perhaps if the kids watch the cam for a while and see how the system works it will picque their interest. have wonderful trip.

forgot to add the shot reloads about every 30 seconds.

http://www.czbrats.com also has a wealth of information about the Canal and its history.

cmcfong,
Spent a week on the Isla Alligandi in the early '70's as a hospital doc - very humbling to treat infants with croup with triple RX and steroids as they actually had TBC - bought many molas from the Cunas - some now very intersting as they were worn in the 60's.
They hang framed in one of our guest bedrooms.
Indeed, great country.
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Mike, I lived there in the 60's (Dad was military assigned to Quarry Heights). We bought quite a few of the molas ($1.00 to $1.50) which are now precious. I have found on my return visits that you really have to look carefully at the molas before buying. The quality varies dramatically.
I love Panama.

Thanks for all the great info! It has definitely gotten me more excited about our trip. I'll be sure to post a trip report once we return home.

Well, I'll just try to spell it correctly from now on--mola! I'm looking forward to buying a couple more this summer so to have a wall "group". They are beautiful.

Mikemo and cmfong--what interesting life experiences to look back on. . . .I would like to step back in time and visit Central American in the 70's. . .it must have been amazing.

It was, but the good news it, Panama is still amazing. Have a wonderful time. I had some of my molas framed in wood and they look very nice grouped on a wall. I also had a few made into placemats and others into throw pillows (can you see the theme emerging?).

Yes, I thought about doing a few pillows also. How did you do your placemats? Did someone do that for you? I'd like that.

cmcfong, Would you know what the price range is for the molas? They look incredible & I love the placemat idea too.

The molas were done as placemats by a seamstress in North Carolina. I bought several rather inexpensive ones and had them "framed" with a red cotton border.
The molas range from $10 to the hundreds. Feel free to bargain at the markets in Balboa.
One of my favorite souvenir items bought at Gran Morrison was a black beach towel with mola print. Not craft, of course, but a fun reminder of a beautiful country.

I hate to admit it but we never made it to the Mira Flores Visitors Center. We rented a car and drove to the Royal Decameron which was a fairly simple drive. The hotel is beautifully landscaped and in a good location. This was my first "all inclusive" vacation & as nice as the hotel
is..this type of resort is just not for me. I felt very isolated and I didn't really get a feel for Panama. The staff were great & friendly but almost no one spoke English. (we don't speak spanish) We didn't mind but it might be uncomfortable for others. We hired a driver through Decameron Explorers to provide the transfer to Albrook Airport since we needed to leave the hotel at 3am. We never would've found the airport on our own..especially in the dark. We boarded an Air Panama flight (20 seats) for Achutupo. The views of Panama were wonderful although I'm not one who enjoys the small planes. We weren't aware that the plane makes several stops on its journey. After the 2nd take off & landing my daughter did get sick. Once we arrived we were met by "Sam" who took us by boat to the Dad Ibbe Lodge. I felt like I was on Gilligan's Island. We were served breakfast & then taken to the Kuna Village. Sam was a wonderful guide and escorted us around the village. My son was sick with a fever so we had to cut our tour there short but we did buy some beautiful Mola's before leaving. The Kuna children were adorable & very excited to see us. It was an eye opening experience for my children to see how others live & how fortunate we are. Once back to the bungalow my son needed to sleep so we were unable to snorkel on the nearby island. We just relaxed in the hammocks. I didn't let me 10 yr old daughter in the water near the island even though it was crystal clear because I was afraid of her stepping on something & cutting her foot. There was a lot of coral & sea grass around. This resulted in her being very bored & not too interested in "learning" how to relax in a hammock. I'm glad I only booked 1 nt. The lunch & dinner were great & were prepared by 2 Kuna women.
There were some bugs but I think they all found my son because he was covered with bites but the rest of us only had a few. There were a lot of yellow jackets flying around very close to the ground. There were holes in the sand that seemed to be what they were attracted to. No one got stung but I was nervous about them. We found it difficult to sleep knowing that any number of creatures could access our room during the night. If we closed the doors & windows we were too hot but when leaving them open we were afraid of bugs. I was up before sunrise & was able to take some wonderful pictures. We were served breakfast & then brought back to the airstrip. This part of our trip was definitely an "adventure" & I'm sure we would've enjoyed it a lot more had my son not been sick. He had a fever & being so far away from the city made me nervous especially not knowing for sure what was wrong with him. Once back at the Decameron he rested some more & then recovered. We had intended on going to the Canal on our last day but once we arrived at the airport hotel..no one was able to give us directions. Driving through Panama City was very confusing & it was getting late so the rest of the family outvoted me and we stayed at the hotel. We did drive over the canal & saw it from the air but I am disappointed that we missed the visitor center. I'm still reading the Path Between the Seas which peaked my interest in seeing it even more. I guess I can use that as an excuse to return to Panama. Overall we enjoyed our trip but next time I'd like to visit some of the other areas & stay at smaller hotels.

I seriously considered retiring in Panama, but too hot and humid for us.
My life there was great in the early 70's.
The then Zonians, nearly all (for 2 and 3 generations) who never visited the Republic, and spoke no Spanish, like all US bureaucrats, sucked!!!
Still, a great country.
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Petite1, welcome home. Did you take any photos you could post? I would love to see them.

I'm still stuck in the past with my 35mm camera so I don't have any digital photos. I did have them put onto a disc and saved them to my computer but I don't know how to post them. I would love to share them if someone could tell me how.
Thanks!

Since I would like to see them but have no clue how to post them, let me suggest you try this question on the Lounge forum. Someone over there might be willing to help.

cmcfong: Great idea..I did what you suggested & I think I've got it. You can see some of my photos at
http://picasaweb.google.com/petite111706
Thanks again!

Great Photos, petite1! Do you have more?! You really got some great shots with lots of beautiful local color. San Blas looks like a future destination for us. My husband was impressed!

Your poor younger son. Bless his heart--I can imagine your concern at being away from the mainstream with him sick. So glad he soon felt better and could enjoy himself again.

Thanks for your post--I enjoyed the read.

Absolutely wonderful pictures, petite1. Shillmac, when do you leave for Panama? I had in my mind you were going around August. I will be waiting for your photos, too.
Petite1, that link is great. I will use it to post my trip pictures.

Glad you enjoyed the pictures. I have 2 more rolls left that I haven't finished yet but once I get them developed I'll post those as well.

Shillmac: We're planning a trip back to Costa Rica for Feb & am trying to decide where to stay in Arenal. I think I remember reading that the Arenal Paraiso is your favorite for that area..am I correct? We've stayed at Tabacon about 2 years ago & loved it but would like to stay somewhere not so touristy & busy this time. Would Arenal Paraiso be a good choice? This time we'll only have our 2 younger ones (11 & 14) with us. Unfortunately my older 2 will be in college & won't be able to join us. Any
suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Hi, I will possibly fly to Brazil with overnight stay in Panama city. My plane arrives at 6 pm in Panama city. Do you think I will have enough time in the evening to just have a quick look on the canal? If so, what is the best way to get there from airport, is it safe enough to rent a car there?

Thanks!

The MiraFlores visitor center closes at 5pm so that wouldn't be an option for you.
Driving in Panama City is extremely confusing & I wouldn't recommend it especially after 6 once it starts to get dark. What time does your flight leave in the morning?

Although the information center is closed a cab driver will be able to take you to a position where you can watch ships going through the Canal.

Flight in the morning is at 9am (have to be in airport at 7am), so I don't think morning is an option. However, I didn't book anything yet. I am just trying to understand what's possible if I go this way.