Today was the big day. I made it over to Isla Flamenco in the morning for a bus trip North to Gamboa at the Southern end of the Gatun Lake. Here I – along with another ~150 people boarded the Pacific Queen for the journey back to the Pacific. We were to be in the first group of the day heading towards the Pacific, going through the locks together with sail boat,  a catamaran and a huge Roll-on/ Roll-off car freighter.

From Gamboa it was South towards the Culebra Cut (the tightest part of the Canal, strictly only one direction), then underneath the Puente Centenario and on to the Pedro Miguel Locks for our first lock experience … with the Pacific Queen going in first, followed  by the sail ship, which was fastened and secured to our ship; the catamaran was then was in turn linked to the sail boat. The big show followed with the car carrier being pulled in by electric locomotives. Once all was in place the lock gates were closed and we started to drop the ~10m to the level of the Miraflores Lake. Eventually the gates at front opened, the small ships got detached and we were leaving the locks making our way to through the lake and on to the first of two lock chambers of the Miraflores Locks.

We were lucky to have a big cruise ship going through the canal in parallel – through the second set of locks … really giving a great comparison of height, as we were being lowered, while they still remained on the upper level (just to follow some minutes later).

The spectacle repeated twice …ships brought in place, locks closing, ~8m down, front lock opening, ships brought in place in the second chamber and down another ~8m and to the level of the Pacific Ocean. From here it was an easy trip passing by the harbors, passing underneath the Pan-American highway and the Puente de las America’s- and out into the Pacific and back to Isla Flamenco.

Today – after a filling brunch (breakfast was in an “all-day-brunch” restaurant) I spent a good hour for the 7km walk over to Panama Viejo or the ruins of the first Spanish colonial city on the Panamanian Pacific coast  – established in the early 16th century and destroyed by Captain Morgan in 1617 (after which the town was moved to what is Casco Viejo today).

From here I uber-ed back to my hotel … and with rain setting in, I decided for a trip to the mall – well  the biggest mall in Latin America … only to discover that a mall is a mall … same brands, same shops and same crappy food – – – well, except for the National Mall in Washington.

Today – to get a proper overview – I did a combined Canal and City Tour. After pick-up we made it straight to the Canal and the Miraflores Locks – just in time to see the CL Tomo being lifted to the level of Lago Miraflores. From the viewing platform we continued to the very cooled down IMAX theater for a 3D movie on the canal, its history and engineering, albeit more on the entertaining side of life; the Canal Museum yesterday certainly was more informative and detailed.

From the locks it was back into Panama City and Casco Viejo – with a few stops. We also crossed the Bridge of the Americas – essentially linking South and North America.

I was eventually dropped at my hotel – and after a bit of rest I did venture out for a bit of exploration in the modern city center and a nearby craft brewery.

I had a first good day in Panama City. After breakfast in a cafe around the corner I made  my way down to the waterfront for a walk along the Pacific over towards Casco Viejo  – the old town – with its grand colonial  architecture, plenty of churches and many small shops, restaurants, cafes and bars. I spent a good few hours here, which also included some time in the Canal Museum with  plenty of  insight into the  country’s history from the Spaniards and their gold and silver trails though the  jungle to the actual history of the canal.

From the old town I took  the long (and not so nice route) back to the hotel – to then continue  exploring the new center of town closer to my hotel.