This summer I traveled out of the United States for the first time; I got to journey to and explore Panama. I am grateful for this experience, which took me out of my head and bubble.
When I first landed in Panama I was immediately struck by the humidity. Being from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where there is typically no humidity at all, the 98% humidity of Panama City hit me like a truck. The air was thick and hard to suck in, but I couldn’t focus on the uncomfortable weather for long, because I was quickly distracted by the beauty of the city.
Panama City is adorned with a breathtaking skyline, that combines the tall crowded buildings of a metropolitan area with awe inspiring modern architecture, and the cherry on top is that all of this sits right by the ocean. While in Panama I explored ruins of an early Spanish settlement that was burned down by the now infamous Captain Morgan. Very early on in the tour of the ruins, Coach Tristani, one of the leaders of the student travel group I am a part of, picked up a small round fruit with green skin that had fallen from a tree off the ground and ate it. He was proud of himself for finding what he thought was edible sustenance. The berry proved for him to be more sustenance for his island macho survivalist ego, rather than nourishment for his physical flesh. He quickly informed our tour director, Gustavo of his discovery and much to his dismay Gustavo slapped the berry out of his hand. Gustavo picked one of the berries up off the ground, saying that merely touching the berry made his fingers burn and consuming this poisonous berry would send you “to the hospital or the cemetery.” As we walked on, Tristani trailed behind swishing water around his mouth and it out. This berry did not put a damper on his time abroad, he did not become ill and enjoyed himself tremendously, smiling through all the activities, even though throughout the rest of the trip he managed to lose his glasses, credit card, camera and wallet.
That afternoon we drove to ruins of a wall that separated the rich from the poor back in the Spanish Colonial era and continues to be the same barrier today. On one side of the wall houses were crumbling and their roofs covered in trash, while on the other side upscale cafes sold French pastries. In the town square some local men collected water from a pipe exposed by a hole in the concrete, while others strolled by in designer sunglasses. The disparity between classes was on full display and so was the hostility felt towards towards the rich who were moving into the urban neighborhood, therefore driving up the costs to live there and subsequently displacing the poor who had lived there first. Signs protesting the gentrification of this neighborhood decorated the square.
It is very easy to not see past the bubble I live in and become self pitying, materialistic and yearning for more. This trip will always be a reminder to be grateful and to always work and fight for the improvement of the lives of those who live in conditions like these. Traveling gave me a new appreciation for the life I get to live and gave me the opportunity to have wonderful adventures (along with stories to share!). I am grateful for the perspective that travel has provided me and look forward to all future journeys.
Dear Reader: This page may contain affiliate links which may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Our independent journalism is not influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative unless it is clearly marked as sponsored content. As travel products change, please be sure to reconfirm all details and stay up to date with current events to ensure a safe and successful trip.
0 Replies to ““Panama, Panama, Panama, Panama” – Van Halen”
Comment on this article
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Hi! I’ve been reading your site for a while now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Austin Texas! Just wanted
to say keep up the great work!
Quite informative article!! Gives hopes for getting onto a plane again soon.
I had a wonderful experience this summer in Croatia. It’s part of it, called Istria, and the city is Pula. Beautiful city! I was there for ten days, with my family, and we wanted to explore a little bit of the area so we used Google to find out what we can do. The first thing we found was a boat excursion with https://www.vacation-istria.com, and we decided to take a tour. What I can say is that it was great! We took a day tour around the islands of Brioni near Pula, two hours on the boat with lunch, and two hours of swimming on the nice small island! Beautiful nature. Brioni National Park looks great! I just want to tell everyone, not to waste time, let yourself go and enjoy it! I intend to visit that area next year again, and I will do it for sure!
We visited Disneyland Orlando in October 2019. Had a super-duper time. This article reminds me of those days. Thanks for sharing !
Indeed a great article with loads of holiday choices ! Thanks for sharing.
Welcome to Morocco, Atlas mountains and Sahara desert trip
i love it.. This is amazing information
Thanks
Its amazing. i have to share with my friends and family
Thanks admin
Nice read, I just passed this onto a friend who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch as I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch! “But O the truth, the truth. The many eyes That look on it The diverse things they see.” by George Meredith.
Hello! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say
I really enjoy reading your articles. Can you suggest any
other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects?
Many thanks!
Great post.
My brother recommended I might like this blog.
He was entirely right. This post actually made
my day. You cann’t imagine simply how much time I
had spent for this information! Thanks!
After trying a few car hauling services we found online, I was getting very discouraged about moving my mother-in-law’s car from Florida to Philadelphia. Then I heard about this service and found out they were reasonably priced (within $100 of the car hauler rate) and very communicative. They emailed me a contract, plus the driver’s info so we could add him to our insurance (turned out to be Luke, a really nice guy). We paid their fee plus the cost of Ubers to and from the airport so Luke could go home and voila — the car was there in less than 72 hours. Perfect shape, they had checked out tires, oil and water etc before they left Florida and then had it washed. I was really delighted. They put my mind at ease. Highly recommend them.
Wow! I found your content here very creative and helpful. Thank you so much. I also found some great information here I will keep checking back for more great content. Very happy to read this.
Booking cheap flights for vocation is a great saving for students. Thanks for sharing these tips, all tips are very useful to students.
Vail and the other Rocky Mountain resorts are absolutely phenomenal in the summer time. They are definitely better value during the summer season, and there might actually be more to do in the summer than in the winter! (I’m a Vail Valley local of 10+ years btw)
I am glad we are able to travel this summer and the COVID thing is somewhat under control. Thanks for the great article, will share it on social.
If you are ever at a loss for things to do in Michigan’s Upper Thumb, you found the right spot. We went looking for a dozen neat and interesting things to do and came up with this list of free things to do in Michigan’s Thumb.
Wonderful article, but it should be noted that Longwood Gardens is in Pennsylvania!
Wow! I just love how detailed and extensive this blog is! This makes planning a beach vacation so much easier! Thanks for sharing!
I’m extremely pleased to uncover this web site.
I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly fantastic read!!
I definitely appreciated every bit of it and I have you bookmarked to see new stuff on your
blog.
A very interesting article! Great ideas to make stay-at-home fun. Thanks for sharing!
I am in fact pleased to glance at this blog posts which contains plenty of helpful data, thanks for providing these kinds of information.
My family loves games
Howdy! This post couldn’t be written any better!
Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
He continually kept preaching about this. I am going
to forward this article to him. Fairly certain he’s going to have a good read.
I appreciate you for sharing!
Travel is gaining momentum again, opening up the knowledge of exceptional experiences. Travelers have the opportunity to get to know the area better, see nature and discover local attractions. Try to get to know the entertainment created by the locals and get excited for a lifetime. More optimism when choosing unique trips, as it is an ideal opportunity to get to know the country by getting to know the locals.
Hola! I’ve been following your site for a while now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from
Kingwood Tx! Just wanted to mention keep up the excellent work!
Loved this post! Another great family trip idea just south of there is a canoe camping trip down the Colorado River! I just went and it was amazing. https://lovelyandlimitless.com/2021/03/17/colorado-river-canoe-trip/
Hi Cara, feel free to follow us @familytravel4um on most social networks. Having some bugs with our Twitter feed but hope to be back online soon. Thanks for your comments! Kyle, the editor
Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok.
I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward
to new updates.
Terrific article
Hello ratuplay, Thanks for your interest and comment. Get in touch if you want to share any of our content and we can provide original docs and images. Please use the Contact Us page at https://myfamilytravels.com/Contact_Us
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site? My blog is in the very same area of interest as yours and my users would genuinely
benefit from a lot of the information you present here.
Please let me know if this alright with you. Appreciate it!
Perfect work you have done, this web site is really cool with good information.
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this brilliant blog!
I guess for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your
RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this blog with my
Facebook group. Chat soon!
That’s really nice post. I appreciate your skills, Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this detailed article. It was very helpful when updating our travel visa database
I had the best family trip in Egypt that winter. Egypt really has some of the best beaches in the world. Read about it: https://www.ootlah.com/en/blog/egyptian-beauty-the-best-beaches-in-egypt.html
Disney cruises are excellant for families, kids simply love it. Me my hubby and 2 children – 15 and 12 went during halloween time . Children were so excited with so many games, shows and surprises offered. Grub was awesome too. It’s a must do!
An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker who had
been conducting a little homework on this. And he
in fact bought me lunch because I stumbled upon it for him…
lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!!
But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this
topic here on your internet site.
This is something we always play!
Hi! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say
I truly enjoy reading through your posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same topics?
Many thanks!
I had the opportunity to be Pere Margueette Park, something amazing. I highly recommend !!
really good article
Getting a positive report these days seems like a negative response because of the infestation of coronavirus. So one must be careful while travelling and must use precautions so that the person doesn’t catch up with the covid virus. A thought from a website designing company