A Man, a Plan, a Canal...

Couldn't get that palindrome out of my head today. It's kind of catchy though, in my case...

After almost two weeks in Colombia, it's almost as if I am experiencing reverse culture shock in Panama. In its non-third world sections, it's practically like the 51st state. They sell Spicy Nacho Doritos at the grocery stores (haven't found Ranch yet, but I'm not giving up hope), our hostel serves pancake breakfasts, and taxis quote you their prices in English. Oh, and in dollars, since Panama uses the US Dollar as its currency. The hostel is clearly not used to dealing with Americans that are a little less clueless about how to move around in Latin American cities, and I was surprised with their genuine concern when I asked the lady at the reception desk about taking a taxi to the canal zone and not asking it to wait for us there (and sort of taking a chance as to whether we could get back via taxi...even though you can take busses as well): she said that the hostel couldn't take "responsibility" for us if we did such a thing. It almost made me laugh: since when has a hostel in Latin America even used the word "responsibility" in my presence, particularly in regard to my own well-being? Luckily I can handle the "foreign" and "unknown" aspects of Panama without needing my hand to be held throughout.

As for the canal itself, it was truly impressive. We went to the Miraflores Locks, which is the section of the canal closest to the capital. We went through the museum there, which went over the origins of the canal, the thousands of people who died during its construction (mostly of tropical diseases, which were later eliminated), the massive and innovative machines that dug out the canal, the nationalist uprising in the 60s during which Panamanians began to claim the canal for themselves (it was controlled by the US after it was built), its handover in 1999 to the Panamanian government, and furture plans to expand it. There were exhibits of the gnarly insects from the surrounding jungles as well, and the techniques used to guide vessels through the narrow canal (trains on tracks on each side of the "Panamax" ship tug it along, leaving just inches between the ship and the sides of the canal). And, the trade routes the canal serves: South America's west coast (Chile is the canal's 4th-largest user...holler) to Europe, the US's west coast to its east coast, the American east coast to Asia, and even South America's west coast to its east coast, among others. With globalization, traffic through the canal can only grow. And now that it's owned by Panama, the revenues from the vessels can go in benefit of the Panamanian people (in theory).

Panama has also offered us a ton of interesting people-watching opportunities, because its population (at least in the capital) is so diverse. From the herd of Americans who seem to live here (because most of them were talking on their cell phones), to the Chinese people who own the laundromat where I washed my clothes, to rico y famoso blond Panamanians, to people of African and mestizo descent, it seems to be quite a melting pot. And that's very interesting.

We went to a music festival this evening in the city's Casco Viejo, the colonial section. It was a lot like Cartagena's old city, but ten times more dilapidated. Restoration efforts seem to be gathering steam, though. Hopefully the inevitable gentrification can take place in such a way as to not push the poor residents of the casco out.

Panama City is a modern metropolis with a skyline that's way out of proportion to its size: with just 700,000 residents, it has a ton of highrises with representations of banks from all over North America, Europe and Latin America. Panama proudly announces itself as a "tax haven," which I think might be a bit of a euphemism (at least sometimes) for money laundering and tax shelters. The term is best in Spanish: a "tax paradise." Works for me.