The Lost Paradise of Panamá

Panamá City, Colón City, the Canal, and all the towns in-between are only part of what Panama has to offer. Next, I recommend a trip to the interior as the locals call it—western Panama. This would be a good time to rent a small car. Or even better, and cheaper, take a bus from the national terminal at Albrook. The first stop across the Bridge of the Americas and about twenty miles from PC is Arraiján. 

This booming town is the gateway to the interior. I remember when the pueblo was still fairly small, split on either side of the Interamericana Highway. There were hardly any phones–or fences. I could walk through the jungle along well-beaten paths from my nieces’ home, to my brother-in-law’s, and both sister-in-law’s.   

It’s not that way anymore, as the residents have enclosed their small parcels of land with cyclone fences. And of course, the ever-present guard dogs. When walking around, do so with someone that knows the area. There are no mail boxes or street names, only neighborhoods such as cruz de oro. If you get a chance, I recommend sampling the food at the restaurant just past the taxi stand and market as you enter the town.

Down the Interamericana a few more miles is La Chorrera. If you’re driving, be extremely careful and try to only drive during the day. I was in two horrible accidents on this very stretch of road. The first time I was hit by a banana truck that had lost its breaks. On another occasion, I was a passenger and we were on our way to La Chorrera when we hit an on-coming car packed with kids and adults. I spent the next half-hour stopping traffic and getting rides to the hospital for the injured.