Next year, we are flying to Chile with a planned 2 day layover in Panama City. I am thinking on seeing the canal, visiting the old section, and trying to hit one of the nearby rainforested national parks. (there is one just to the north) or maybe the city park. Any suggestions on those who have been there. We will have about a day and a half.

quinella, if you're flying COPA, you should have very nice flights. The only ugly thing will be the arrival/departure times in Santiago.....

Also, if you have elite status on CO, see if there are upgrades available. That will make the flights go a lot better.

As far as things to see and do in Panama, I was pretty much shepherded by Panamanian natives, but I remember there was one part of the city (French Quarter?) where there were older buildings, shops, and a walkway along the water. There's a park on a peninsula jutting out into the water with nice views of downtown. The Canal Zone is interestingand the museums had exhibits in English and Spanish, from what I remember. Plus, I did see one of the resorts in the rainforest, maybe 20 minutes from the canal locks, so it was pretty easily accessible by car. I think there was a one lane bridge across some stretch of water to access the resort.

The city is very modern with skyscrapers-- unlike the other cities in Central America. Because of foreign trade, Panama is well connected to the rest of the world, and I hear shopping is good although I'm not a good person to ask-- I have an aversion to shopping. ;-)

Hmm, what else..... There's an old, kind of historic recreation of what Panama used to look like-- they have a recreated square, houses, and a mini-rainforest, plus I remember some native dancers doing typical indigenous dances. They charge a few bucks admission to the site, and you can have lunch or ice cream on the grounds.

There's a canal administration building on a hill, and the building style looks interesting, but I'm not sure if the building is open to the public. We nevre stopped there.

So, that's my hazy memory of some highlights of Panama City. I hope it gets you off to a start.

Ah, Panama. A fun place. I've been three times since my friends retired in Boquete in Chiriqui province in the west part of the country.

A day and a half is about enough for a canal tour (allow a whole day) and maybe a visit to the former Canal Zone or the old part of town, Casco Viejo. I'd say a Canal Tour is a must. We took an all day trip and enjoyed every moment of it.

Have stayed at the Marriott and Caesar Park (Starwood) - I highly recommend the Marriott, a lovely property. Marriott is much better located - in the center of the financial district; the Caesar Park is part of a convention center and not really close to anything much. Or, if you want to go downscale a bit, you can get a room for much less than one of the US chains would cost.

Please see http://www.dgolds.com/oldsite/Panama/Panama.htm for some ideas. Drop me an e-mail if you would like to chat.

[This message has been edited by dgolds (edited 07-06-2002).]

I like the El Panama. Used to be the El Panama Hilton. Lovely 'swim up to the bar' pool. Center of the Financial District - and is pretty much the center of everything, actually.

If you want to do something really different, take a ride out to the Punto Paitilla Airport and hop a squat on a flt over to the San Blas islands. 25 minute flight to the land of the Kuna Indians and their colorful molas. There are about 356 islands which make up the San Blas chain - and Porvenir is a great place to start a mola hunt... hut to hut... and door to door. A trip to the islands is like a step back in time.... thatched huts, and barefoot kids, etc. Most of the island are quite small and you can walk around them in an hour oh so. Then it's time to hop onto the canoe and on to the next island... for more mola hunting.

In the Kuna language, mola means blouse and in english, mola refers to the two panels that are taken from the blouse... there's always two... one on the front and one on the back. Basically, molas feature a sewing technique referred to as reverse applique.

Tvl4free collects molas. First it was just one, then it was just a few more dozen, and now, well... you get the idea.

In short, a trip to the canal... along with a side trip to visit the Kunas and San Blas... is not a trip that you will soon forget.

So is there anyone else that likes to go mola hunting?

I like molas, too. Got 3 of 'em framed and haning in my place.

There's an Artisan's Center in the former Canal Zone that has lovely ones. Got some pics of it at http://www.dgolds.com/oldsite/Panama/TheZone.htm

I would love to go to the San Blas Islands one day. I have not had a chance to do so yet. I hear it's a great trip.

Yes I am flying, as you guessed, CO & COPA. Yes the departure times to Santiago are ugly. I have friends there that plan to pick us up at 3:45am in SCL. If something happens and they cannot, I was there before, can speak Spanish (apparently you can too - Young Traveller), and can get a taxi.

Thanks to you and the others who posted, I will keep all of these ideas in mind when I plan out what we do for those days. I do have the Lonely Planet book and will look up these places. Thanks again.