I left the Panamanian jungle and took the bus to David, from where I went on to Panama City. Around 3 am I reached the most modern of the Central American capitals. My Uber took me to El Machico Hostel, one of the best hostels I had ever visited. Clean, modern, good location and a great atmosphere. Because of this hostel alone I later thought about returning to Panama.

The Panama canal and the old town

Panama City itself is also called the Miami of Central America because of its location at the sea and the many skyscrapers. And of course there is also the Panama Canal, which gave the country a big economic boom and connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, making the long detour around South America unnecessary.

To see these huge container ships crossing it impressed me tremendously. The widening of the canal had been completed a few weeks earlier, so that now even bigger ships can pass through the still narrow canal lock.

Panama City also has an old town that was completely destroyed by pirates several hundred years ago. Consequently, little remains of its original beauty.

I spent the rest of my time in Panama City walking along the lake promenade or playing ball with a Venezuelan family, who were all very funny and joking. In Panama there were just many Venezuelans because of the situation in their country.

Summary of my stay in Panama

Panama is less touristy than its neighbour Costa Rica, but the prices are quite similar. For example, the volcano ascent of Baru Volcano, from which you can see the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, was too expensive for me. So if you are on a budget, you should rather visit Nicaragua or Honduas although Panama offers similar nature and is more safe.

Some backpackers move on from Panama by boat to Colombia and visit some of the idyllic islands. However, I took the economy option and flew to Colombia. By land, Colombia cannot be reached from Panama because of the Darien Gap, an impassable swampy jungle area, where many drug smugglers have settled.