World Trip 2005

Ciudad de Panamá

Grant Macandrew

Panama City has been a hub of trade for hundreds of years. The gold and silver looted from the conquest of Peru arrived here and was taken over the Isthmus back to Spain. Some of these riches in turn were plundered by pirates, including Henry Morgan who pillaged the city in 1617.

Gold, this time in California, led to a new wave of travellers. Before the US transcontinental railway was completed, it was easier travelling west to California through Panama than it was going overland.

Panama City, with a population of 700,000 contains both modern skyscrapers and the area bnown as Casco Viejo dating back to the sixteenth century. It also contains a National Park, the Parque Natural Metropolitano within the city itself. There I saw new world monkeys - shy creatures with prehensile tails who disappeared into the tree tops. Incongrously, in the middle of the forest was a construction crane. I struck up a conversation with the operator, who turned out to be a biologist who used the crane as an observation point high in the jungle canopy.

The sailing boat was at the Amador Causeway - I was amazed to see it flying the Cook Islands flag and with a homeport of Avarua, Rarotonga. The others were taken from the Parque Natural Metropolitano looking out at the modern city, within the Casco Viejo, and the public buses which were everywhere in the city.