Panama City’s new-found vitality
Dynamic pleasures of the city, rainforest and beach are all within easy reach
There’s an early morning mist in the air as we set out down the forest trail, and within minutes we are stopped in our tracks by a series of deep, guttural sounds so menacing we could be excused for thinking King Kong was on our tail.
“Monkeys!” says my guide, Osvaldo, pointing up into the thick cover of branches above us.
And slowly, one by one, the husky, gorilla-like forms of a troupe of howler monkeys emerge.
They look sleepy, but soon their hair-raising roars echo across the rainforest as we spot tropical birds and brilliant blue butterflies along Pipeline Road, one of the western world’s richest birding spots.
Our morning nature trip complete, we jump in the car for the 45-minute drive back along the Panama Canal to the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic international cities. Less than an hour from rainforest to downtown: this is Panama, a country where the pleasures of the city, forest and beach are all within minutes, and all worth the trip.
Panama City is a place bursting with new life these days. Sparked by a major expansion of the canal, it’s luring business from every part of the world, as well as tourists; two million visited Panama last year.
I last came to Panama five years ago. And driving into town this time, I’m amazed to see the changes, including the Cinta Costera, a network of emerald green parkland and walking paths that now lines the waterfront, bringing new life to a once-unfriendly spot.
I’m even more amazed by the city skyline that looms before me. On my last visit, I could barely find a hotel room. Now major hotels with names such as Waldorf Astoria, Trump, Riu and Westin have sprung up. Add to that an array of strange and wonderful new office buildings, such as the F&F Tower, looking like a stack of green plates swirled in circles by a crazy magician.
My home for this trip is the spanking new Hard Rock Hotel Panama Megapolis, in the downtown Paitilla district, where tourists and 20something hipsters mingle amid a glittery array of rock artifacts.
Feel like shopping? Next door is the Multi-centro Mall, the largest shopping mall in Central America. It’s a vibrant scene.
Happily, the city’s new-found vitality has enhanced the old Panama as well as the new. That includes Panama’s historic centre, the-17th-century Casco Viejo. On my first visit, years ago, it was a historic district set amid a slum.
“Be careful,” my cab driver said. “There are bad people here.”
Today, tourist police patrol as I walk the streets, and many of the ancient buildings have been brought back to their shining white glory. Kuna Indian women in native costumes sell brightly coloured tapestries in the bazaars, and sophisticated restaurants offer gourmet dining in centuries-old buildings.
While you can find almost any kind of food in places such as the Via Argentina, Calle Uruguay and the causeway, the old quarter offers some of the best. On a Saturday night, I dine on an imaginative tasting menu at the noted Manolo Caracol restaurant, then join a stream of partiers headed for trendy nightclubs such as Habana Panama, with its Latin stage show.
The city has other attractions for sightseers. There’s an art and a science museum, the historic Plaza de Francia, and the Amador Causeway, where Toronto architect Frank Gehry is building a startling, multicoloured biodiversity museum. And of course, you could spend your whole trip discovering the history and workings of the canal.
But with the temperature around 30 degrees year-round, I feel like seeing another side of Panama: the beach.
City dwellers just take the short ferry ride to Taboga Island, near the entrance to the canal. But there’s little trouble arranging a real beach vacation.
Apleasant 90-minute drive to nearby Cocle province brings me to the Royal Decameron Golf, Beach Resort & Villas and its almost two kilometres of white sand beach.
Resorts from a number of major hotel companies dot this stretch of the Pacific coast, and signs advertise housing developments for gringos seeking a winter home. The Royal Decameron sells villas on the golf course. Here, you can enjoy beach in the morning and golf in the afternoon.
Cocle offers other sights, too. On a day trip, I admire the bustling markets of nearby Penonome and the picturesque Anton Valley, home to another growing community of expats. And it’s there that, on the last day of my trip, I get my first heartpumping zip line ride, hurtling through dense, misty forest to dangle high over the impressive El Macho waterfall.
There’s lots more of Panama to see: the cool mountain forests of Chiriqui, the laid-back beach bars of Bocas del Toro, the white sand islands of San Blas, where the Kuna reign. It’s all within a half-hour flight of Panama City.
But that’s for next time. Paul Marshman is a Toronto freelance writer and author of The Travelling Boomer travel blog (travellingboomer.com). He received assistance from Decameron Hotels & Resorts and Decameron Explorer tours in arranging this trip.