I drove almost 6 hours (with a lunch break at Aguadulce) from Boquete back to Panama City starting at 8a. Since we missed the morning ship sail-through last Tuesday, we want to go back in time today to see the afternoon sail-through. We were not disappointed. By the time we arrived at 3p, the first South bound ship had just arrived. It took the ship over 1.25h to go through the first lock and another 30 mins to go through the other two locks at Miraflores where we could actually see it.
The operation is quite impressive with six trolleys on fixed tracks (3 each side, 2 front and 1 back) towing the ship through the locksl1. Once the ship is securely entered, the back door of the first lock will close. The water in the lock is then drained to the next lock just by gravity. Once water levels in the two locks have equalized, the door between the two locks opens. The ship is then pulled through to the next lock. After the back lock closes, water is dumped to lower the ship to the Pacific ocean level. The front lock then opens to allow the ship to sail to the Pacific.
After the canal, we drove back to Albrook Airport and returned the car. The taxi demanded $15 to drive us back to Casco Viejo. Since we only paid $5 to get here a week ago, I thought this is outrageous. Just when I was planning my next step, the car agency's clean up guy offered to drive us back to the hostel. We were so impressed by this guy. I gave him $5 instead.
For dinner, we had Japanese ramen tonight with a California roll. So-so taste only. Expensive! My original plan was to visit the oldest Chinese restaurant in Panama City, Kwong Chow, made famous by Anthony Bourdain. However, I going the whole neighborhood there quite sketchy after dark so we switched plan. After dinner, we strolled to the Simon Bolivar Square to enjoy the ambience. This is probably my most favorite square in the whole Casco Viejo. So romantic both in daytime and nighttime!
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