Panama Canal Cruise & Panama: A Continent Divided, Oceans United (2012)

We depart from the U.S. today and fly to Panama City, Panama's capital and largest city.

Your OAT Trip Leader or our local staff will meet your flight at the airport and help you transfer to your hotel. Dinner is on your own this evening. Your Trip Leader will be happy to suggest a restaurant.

After our morning briefing, we take a walking tour of Panama La Vieja, the last remnants of the original Panama City.

Constructed in 1519 almost entirely of wood, it was a city almost fated to burn down, which it did in 1671. The few stone buildings withstood the fire, and we see those today, including the Cathedral Tower and the Bishop's House.

 

We continue to San Felipe, Panama City’s Old Quarter. Enjoy lunch on your own at one of the many cafes or restaurants in the Old Quarter before rejoining the group for our afternoon tour of the district. Here we take a walking tour and visit colonial houses, the Presidential Palace, the Municipal Palace, and the San Jose Cathedral, known for its gold altar.

Dinner is on your own this evening, or you may join us for an optional folkloric show and dinner at the Miraflores Locks that features the food, music, and dances of Panama. Enjoy a dance performance by women in the national costume, the pollera. Spanish settlers first introduced these floor-length flounced dresses more than a century ago. Typically, they feature matching embroidery on the ruffled top and full skirt, and are paired with elaborate gold jewelry and hair ornaments. The men, more sedate in their traditional outfits, sport handmade hats created by the local Indians. Both men and women dance to tipico, a type of folk music played on accordions and percussion.

This morning after breakfast, we depart Panama City for Anton Valley. En route, we’ll immerse ourselves in the everyday activities of the town of San Carlos and share A Day in the Life of this Panamanian community.

We begin with a lively discussion about Panama’s educational system during the ride. When we arrive in San Carlos, we visit a local school (when in session) supported by Grand Circle Foundation's World Classroom initiative. Here, the children will perform songs and dances for us and show us their classrooms. We spend time with the students and the staff, who tell us about their plans and hopes for Panama’s future generations.

Later, we’ll visit a family home, where we’ll learn more about Panamanian family life and enjoy an authentic taste of their everyday fare over lunch. After lunch, we stroll through town before we continue on to Anton Valley, a verdant landscape replete with mountains and cloud forests. Later this afternoon, we’ll check in at our hotel, which will be our home base as we discover yet another side of Panama and meet more of its people. After an orientation walk with our Trip Leader, we’ll enjoy time at leisure to relax or make our own discoveries in the valley.

Tonight, dinner is at our hotel.

This morning, after some time for exploring on our own, we’ll discover the scenic Anton Valley. Our stops include the site of Piedra Pinada, an ancient rock complete with pre-Columbian carvings and a local market.

After lunch in a local restaurant, we’ll visit El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center at El Nispero Zoo to see endangered tropical species including Panama's icon, the golden frog. Then, we’ll discover the town of Valle de Anton, with its colorful market, where our interactions with the local craftsmen and entrepreneurs will provide valuable insight into the local culture. We return to our hotel in Anton Valley, where you can enjoy some time this afternoon to make your own discoveries. You might continue to explore the town and meet more of its residents, or enjoy a nature walk in the area around your hotel. Dinner is on your own tonight.

Late this morning, we depart Anton Valley—our first stop today is a local sugar cane farm. We’ll meet a local family who continues the traditional business of growing sugar cane, followed by a box lunch in their home with time to hear about life on the farm.

After our visit, we’ll travel overland to Gamboa. We begin by crossing the Gaillard Cut of the Panama Canal by way of the Centennial Bridge that carries the Pan-American Highway across the canal. When we arrive in Gamboa in the mid-afternoon, we’ll check into our hotel, which is located in the Soberania National Park. You'll have some free time to relax or explore before returning to the hotel for dinner.

This morning, we transfer to the pier and then board motorized dugout canoes to visit a village of the Embera people, one of Panama’s seven indigenous tribes. The Embera are often associated with the Wounan people, though the two cultures were effectively separated during the latter part of the last century.

Since these two tribes have no written history, little is known of their early heritage. It is believed they originally were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers and fishermen, but the construction of the Pan-American Highway reduced their rain forest habitat, and they adopted a more agricultural lifestyle while still retaining their traditional ways.

Among the most stunning of these is body painting. To facilitate their movement through the jungle, the Embera once wore minimal clothing, and would cover the top parts of their bodies with black dye from the jagua, an inedible jungle fruit. Still used today for ceremonies and celebrations, this custom can take the form of solid blocks of ink against contrasting patches of bare skin or intricate patterns etched on the skin with a bamboo stick. The indelible blue-black dye remains on the skin for up to two weeks, until it is naturally exfoliated. Our friendly hosts will introduce us to their unique way of life by demonstrating these techniques.

Also skilled craftspeople, the villagers will explain the technique used to make their canastas, baskets that are so tightly woven, they can even hold water. We’ll learn what natural fibers and vegetable dyes of the rain forest were used in their creation.

Fish is an important protein among the Embera, and even youngsters are expert with the harpoon, spear, and hand line. The local diet also relies heavily on jungle plants, plantains, bananas, rice, beans, hearts of palm, and yucca root. We’ll enjoy an authentic taste of local cuisine during lunch in the village, and also experience Embera dances and the music of flutes, drums, and turtle shells.

We return to our hotel this afternoon, with some free time to relax or take advantage of complimentary activities available exclusively to OAT travelers including nature walks. Dinner tonight is at the hotel.

Please note: If Day 10 falls on a weekend or a holiday, tonight's return to the hotel will be via a Panama Railway train, and our arrival at the hotel will be in the evening. See Day 10 for details on this historic train.

After an early breakfast this morning, we take a two-hour hike on the Pipeline Road, led by a naturalist, to discover the plants and animals of the tropical rain forest. The hike leads to a discovery center with an observation tower that offers a panoramic view over the treetops.

Before lunch, we depart for Panama City. You get lunch on your own and then at the Flamenco Marina, we board the M/S Discovery. This 24-passenger catamaran will be our private home for the next three nights as we transit the Panama Canal. After a short onboard orientation, our ship sets sail later this afternoon.

Our first port of call is Taboga Island, known as the Island of Flowers, a title it lives up to with birds of paradise, orchids, and other tropical species, not to mention pineapples and mangoes. It’s a colorful island with an equally colorful history. The birthplace of Santa Rosa de Lima, the southern hemisphere’s first saint and a role model to Mother Teresa, the island also beckoned artist Paul Gauguin, who began incorporating bright colors into his work more often after his stay here. The island also played an important role in the construction of the canal, serving for more than three decades as a retreat for French and then American canal builders. Here we’ll have time to either kayak in the bay or disembark to explore the island with our Trip Leader. Perhaps you’ll see a colorful peacock strolling down the street—but you won’t see many cars in this mostly pedestrian haven.

This evening, we enjoy dinner onboard our ship. After dinner, attend a discussion about the Panama Canal and the influence of the U.S. in the local area. Our overnight stay here allows us to be in prime position for the commencement of tomorrow’s transit of this vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

We’ll wake up this morning to find ourselves at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal.

The notion of building a path between the seas here is as old as the voyages of Christopher Columbus, but it wasn’t until 1879 that Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal, made the first attempt. The scope of the effort proved too great, and the project languished until 1902, when Teddy Roosevelt brought the dream to life.

In 1913—a full year ahead of schedule and nearly $23 million under budget—the Panama Canal was completed. It officially opened on August 15, 1914, and a dream became a reality. A journalist who witnessed its opening wrote, “This canal is both a first and a last … man will never again build with such scope, such imagination.” More than 40 ships a day, or more than 14,000 annually, traverse its 50-mile length—eliminating a 9,000-mile trip around the tip of Cape Horn.

 

We begin our own transit by cruising beneath the soaring Bridge of the Americas, which connects the two land masses that were separated by the canal’s construction, to join today’s convoy of ships from around the world for our northbound canal passage. As we cruise, we’ll take in the full spectrum of everyday life on the canal’s banks, from the bustling activity at the commercial port of Balboa to crocodiles lounging in the sun.

We pass through the Miraflores Locks and the Pedro Miguel Locks, experiencing for ourselves the thrill of these engineering marvels. Then, we’ll navigate the Gaillard Cut; the narrowest section of the canal that bisects the Continental Divide, it is named for the American who oversaw its construction and then died just before it opened. We’ll see up close the dramatic landscape 6,000 canal laborers toiled to cut. At the peak of construction, up to 600 holes daily were drilled and then blasted with as much as 50,000 pounds of dynamite. Steam shovels dug out the rubble, which was loaded onto 160 trains a day for the twelve-mile trip to the dumps. Our Trip Leader will describe how, nearly a century later, this section of the canal requires continuous maintenance, due to its susceptibility to landslides.

After our leisurely lunch onboard, experience the highlight of our day’s cruise when the Discovery is raised 85 feet above sea level to Gatun Lake. This man-made lake was created during the construction of the canal by damming the Chagres River, which supplies the Gatun Locks with more than 52 million gallons of fresh water per ship that passes through.

The Discovery will anchor for the night in Gatun Lake, where we'll enjoy dinner together followed by a discussion that will prepare us for the rest of our cruise: The Expansion of the Panama Canal & History of the Chagres River. We spend the night moored at the lake, listening to the lullaby of the rain forest as we drift off to sleep.

Disembark ship after breakfast this morning to explore Fort San Lorenzo.

This fortress, perched stunningly over a cliff, was built by Spaniards in the 16th century to protect their trade route from pirates. The fortress was conquered several times throughout its history, including capture by the pirate Henry Morgan in 1671 and Admiral Vernon in 1740. In the face of such frequent attacks, the Spanish ultimately abandoned their overland trade route in 1821 in favor of sailing around Cape Horn.

 

The fort had many uses after that—a Colombian prison, a post office, and a gold-mining settlement—before it was claimed by the U.S. and converted into a military base. With the departure of American forces in 1999, the fortress area has begun to be recognized as an important wildlife refuge. As we tour this UNESCO World Heritage Site, you can touch the 400-year-old stones that remain part of the fortress walls and listen to a wide variety of birdsongs as you admire up to a dozen ecosystems, from mangroves to rain forests.

We return to our ship for lunch onboard and some time for a short rest, or siesta.

Late in the afternoon, our ship will continue our daylight transit of the canal, as we pass through the Gatun Locks—the largest of the Panama Canal locks. Our ship will begin its descent back to sea level here, a process that takes about two hours. At its conclusion, we’ll sail into the Atlantic Ocean and cruise to Portobelo, a quiet port city located midway between the canal and the San Blas Islands. Our captain will drop anchor in Portobelo Bay, where we’ll enjoy dinner and a quiet overnight onboard.

Please note: On January-March departures, we’ll be mooring in Limon Bay, at the Panama Canal’s northern exit, instead of Portobelo Bay.

After breakfast this morning, we’ll have the opportunity to enjoy a kayaking excursion in Portobelo Bay. Then we’ll disembark the Discovery and step ashore in Portobelo—originally named Belporto (“beautiful port”) by Christopher Columbus in 1502. This Caribbean town was officially founded in 1597 and quickly became the primary port from which the Spanish Armada ships would set sail laden with gold transported by mules from Peru. It was brutal attacks on Portobelo by pirates in 1668 and by the British fleet in 1739 that convinced the Spanish to decentralize their trading ports, opting instead for smaller ports scattered around Cape Horn.

Please note: On January-March departures, we’ll travel to Portobelo by bus from Colon instead of mooring in Portobelo Bay. Kayaking in Portobelo Bay will not be available on this day on these departures.

We’ll explore the ruins of this once-fortified city and discover this lurid history—especially its days as a favorite target for the pirate band of Henry Morgan, known to rum drinkers today as “Captain Morgan.” Among the highlights is a stop at the Church of San Felipe, one of the oldest buildings in the city and the sanctuary of the “Black Christ.” This 300-year-old wooden statue of Jesus bearing the cross was bound for Colombia aboard a Spanish galleon when the ship sank. The statue was washed ashore and carried to Portobelo, where it remains a cherished icon and the focus of an annual festival.

We’ll also see the Royal Customs House, the counting house for the king’s gold, and the ruins of the three forts built to protect the bay. Key among these is Fuerte San Jerónimo, which remains largely as it was when deserted by the Spanish in 1821. Here, you can see the cannon embrasures, officers’ quarters, barracks, guardroom, and sweeping views of the bay.

After lunch on our own, we’ll head for the shore of Gatun Lake for a thrilling forest canopy tour, strapping on safety harnesses for an exciting zip-line ride. During this ride, we can admire the tropical forest from breathtaking vantage points high in the trees. Then we continue to Colon, where we’ll enjoy a short panoramic tour of the city before embarking a Panama Railway train. The first transcontinental railway, the Panama Railway was completed in 1855 and played a critical role in the construction and operation of the Panama Canal. Privately restored in 2001, the train carries both freight and passengers, and its tracks parallel the canal across the causeways in Lake Gatun through lush tropical vegetation. Enjoy spectacular scenic views of the jungle, the canal, and Lake Gatun as we ride to Panama City.

We arrive early in the evening and check in at our hotel. Tonight we gather with our fellow adventurers to reminisce over a Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant in the Old Quarter.

Please note: If today falls on a weekend or a holiday, we’ll travel to Panama City by bus instead of by train; our included ride on the historic Panama Railway will be earlier, on Day 6.

After breakfast, we transfer to the airport for our flight to the U.S. Or begin your post-trip extension in Colonial Cartagena, Colombia: The Emerald of the Caribbean.