20K and a Year Away

Yes, yes I do! That’s what we did last Wednesday. We decided to take a field trip day from school to go to the actual Panama Canal… because we can.

We took the bus from our road on the Panamerican Highway – you know, where the footbridge crosses at El Nazareno – to Albrook Mall, which is the main bus terminal for Panama City. We opted for the airconditioned bus and paid the extra quarter for the pleasure. It cost us $1.25 each. From Albrook, we got an Uber to the Miraflores Locks Visitor’s Center.

Visiting the Panama Canal right now is not as spectacular as it is during non-Covid times were, but it is still pretty neat to see it up close. I was lucky enough to go through the Canal on a Navy ship when I was 14. Axel had to be satisfied with a tour of the Miraflores Locks. Well, a mini-tour of the locks, actually. Due to Covid, the museum and the IMAX film are closed. Visitors are allowed 1 hour 20 minutes in the visitor’s center. When we arrived, one of the employees was stopping everyone at the entrance to let us know the last ship of the morning had just finished going through the locks and the next one was not until 3:30pm. We had a quick chat and decided we didn’t want to try to find things to do for the whole day and then come back. It was only 10:30am. We decided to take the basic tour. We got to see parts of the museum as we went up to the fourth-floor observation deck. There was a short film on a big tv screen that showed the process. It wasn’t IMAX, but it was something.

We finished our visit and grabbed an Uber back to the shopping center. The best part about going out in the middle of the day for us is that there are really not a lot of people out and about. We had the mall to ourselves, practically. We didn’t have to get near anyone and we even grabbed a burger with hardly anyone around. The funniest part about lunch was ordering Axel’s burger with ketchup only. That, from the extra explaining I had to do, is not a normal request. Burger King, and specifically the cook, Alejandro, came through! ¡Gracias, Alejandro!

We caught a bus back to La Chorrera. We got the airconditioned one that went through town and out to where we are staying. It was a little longer ride, but we didn’t mind… did I mention air conditioning.

For our school/adventure balance, we have decided to take Wednesdays for long trips. Mondays and Fridays, after school, we will run to town and just see what is there – also to be known as Axel’s request for Dairy Queen time – and Tuesdays and Thursdays we will just do school. Weekends are also open, to a degree, as we are keeping out of large crowds whenever possible. We should be able to see a lot of what is around this way, while still getting the quizzes and tests finished. I say we, but it is all Axel. Good job, buddy!