Panama Adventures

It was 2 week winter break from school, and we were so excited to go to Panama again. Panama is easily accessible from Toronto. We booked our tour with Sunwing, direct flight to Tocumen Airport to stay one week in Panama city and one week at all inclusive Playa Blanca Resort.  Our host Jaswant Singh picked us up from the airport, and we stayed with him for a week.  Panama Canal Full Day Tour We booked our Panama Canal Day Tour online that started from Gamboa Rainforest along the canal from the Panama side of Gatun Lake. We enjoyed watching the enormous ships rise skywards as the locks fill with water and the 7 foot thick gates open and close. When we waited, people shouted, "Hola!" or "Bienvenidos!" (Welcome) to other crew members. Miraflores Locks Gates Opening Building of New Locks Traditional Dress It was one of the most spectacular learning and viewing experiences of many years of travel. Also we had the opportunity to see ...

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 Anto...

After an eventful stopover in Houston, we finally made it to Panama! I was excited to meet up with Tara Singh after so many years, and he and his daughter were waiting for us at Tocumen International Airport, Panama City. Dave being the most polite and helpful person you will ever meet, helped Tara Singh's chauffeur put the luggage in the trunk and kept insisting that Tara Singh take the shotgun seat. Oblivious to the protocols, that the ambassador never sits in the front, Dave took the front seat. Ice had been cracked, and we were on our way to our home away from home. Tara Singh lived in a beautiful house, very high on the hill and gorgeously decorated - the artwork was exquisite, the second most stunning part was the gold gilding on the ceiling. Also, t he most stunning part was the view from the home. The View Our Hosts Our tour guide was Tara Singh's amazing daughter, as he and his wife were busy preparing for their relocation. She t...

As a child, my family would talk about my maternal grandfather, and two of my grandfathers went to work in Panama for many years, leaving their families behind for so many years. These stories gave me curiosity to learn more about Panama and ultimately what they were doing there.  arrived in Panama 1905 Over the years, I learned they started off their lives there in 1905, with my grandfather Hukam Singh was last to leave for Panama. My maternal grandfather (grandmother's brother) Amar Singh left India, was headed to Canada, was the first one to arrive in Colon, Panama in 1905 purely by accident.   Though he may have struggled in the start, he eventually  started a profitable business in Colon - and when my grandfather made it over, he worked in the canal zone. Amer Singh and Company, Colon, Panama My grandfather's brother Dharam Singh was the only person, whose wife joined him in Panama with his 5 year old son, Tara Singh from Punjab, I...