Day Trip Gallery from Panama City (2002)

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1. Temples

Gurudwara Guru Nanak Sahib, Panama City


Our host Tara Singh arranged a religious ceremony at Gurudwara Guru Nanak Sahib because he was moving from Panama, and we accompanied him and his family.  We found out that 80 Sikh families live in Panama City from Punjab and also many Sindhi families visit the Gurudwara every Sunday too. We enjoyed meeting many families and the delicious free snacks and lunch served there.

Sikh Gurudwara, Parke Lefevre, Panama City














With Our Hosts






















Baha'i Temple, Panama City

From a distance, Baha'i Temple looks like an enormous egg perched atop a hill. A winding mile long driveway leads from the busy Pan-American Highway up to the temple. For our host, Jaswant Singh, who lives in Panama City, was easy to find this place. the view of the city looks spectacular, and it was very peaceful there.






2. El Valley the Anton

El Valle de Anton is a small town located in a luscious green valley of an inactive volcano crater – it’s the largest inhabited crater in the world! But the volcano has sat dormant for thousands of years, and now it's a favourite weekend getaway for Panamanians and visitors looking to escape the city.  

El Macho Waterfall

We walked across the suspension rope bridge for a fantastic view of Chorro El Macho, the largest waterfall within El Valle. Also looked at different areas of El Nispero Zoo and Botanical garden.  We were just planning to hike to the India Dormida, it started to rain, and we cancelled our hike.

El Macho Waterfall                El Nispero Zoo and Botanical Garden

With Our Hosts


3. Taboga Island


Our host Jaswant Singh suggested and arranged our trip to Taboga Island.  We bought return boat tickets and decided to go to a private hotel beach.  It cost us $10.
October was a rainy season, so there were only two tourist families on the boat when all the others were local people.  We saw someone carrying a live chicken in a plastic bag, and it reminded me of our village in Punjab. The boat was very small, dirty, and it took us about one hour to reach Taboga Island.  We reached there around 11am.  The hotel was surrounded by beautiful garden, beach and the view was spectacular. 








When we were enjoying at the beach, as usual, it started to rain.  It was so dark and cloudy, and suddenly it was sunny and dry. So we decided to have late lunch.  We didn't speak a word of Spanish, and the waiter didn't speak a word of English.  We pointed on the menu and ordered fish for me and chicken for Dave.  My fish lunch was delicious, but Dave's chicken was so dry and hard to chew.  The waiter was observing and understood and brought Dave another lunch.  We appreciated the surprise and enjoyed our lunch.
We were allowed to stay at the island only till 3pm because we had to get on the last boat to Panama City.  As soon as everyone got on the boat, after few minutes in the sea, the boat stopped.  It was getting dark and after 30 minutes of fixing with a small tool box tools, it wasn't starting.  Dave was getting really upset and also complaining, if we were in Toronto, in few minutes the life guard boat will arrive, and we'll be on our way to Panama City.  We were flying back to Toronto the next morning as well as going to a family dinner.  We didn't have any way to communicate with anyone in Panama City.  Anyway, finally after one hour, the engine was fixed.  I fell sleep on Dave's shoulder.  Suddenly I woke and heard so many loud noises, Local travellers were getting out of the boat and standing on the ledge, there was a submarine coming out of the sea water far away.  It was dark, but we could see sailors standing on this big submarine.  It was an amazing experience for few minutes.




4. Panama Canal


Due to the short one week trip, we didn't have time to go on the boat trip, so we took a car ride to the Canal Zone. We walked around, and we saw Infinity Cruise Ship passing the canal, everyone from the ship was waving at us.  It was a memorable experience.






          







5. Casco Viejo 

Casco Viejo is Panama City’s oldest and smallest quarter,  known for its historic character, beautiful architecture and vibrant nightlife. It's only a short drive from the skyscraper-packed heart of the city, it feels like a world away. 

Our host and guide drove us, and we walked around on these narrow streets surrounded by old buildings.








 One day we went to see the area in Colon where our family members used to live and ran the business.  It was a very run down and dangerous area to come out of the car.  The driver told us that he will drive slowly, and we can take pictures from inside the car. 

One week stay in Panama passed so fast.  We had an amazing time full of memories to cherish for life. 

Enjoy the Video!!







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