Day 2 Panama Canal and Intro to Chitre

Greetings from Panama! Day two of our journey was an incredible mix of mega-engineering, scenic highway miles, and absolute soccer madness.

Our day started with an early morning wakeup call and a quick breakfast to fuel up for a packed schedule. We said goodbye to the city lights and made our first official stop at one of the greatest wonders of the modern world: the Panama Canal.

To really understand what we were looking at, we started by watching an immersive IMAX movie narrated by Morgan Freeman that detailed the grueling history, the massive sacrifice, and the sheer engineering genius it took to connect two oceans. Afterward, we headed out to the observation decks, scanning the locks in hopes of catching a massive cargo ship making its way through.

The Road to Chitre

With our history lesson complete, we piled into the bus and started our long excursion toward Chitre. The drive gave us a front-row seat to the stunning, lush Panamanian countryside.

A few hours in, we made a pitstop at Va + Ven (a popular, modern highway travel plaza here) for lunch. We ordered a round of burgers and chicken sandwiches—a delicious little taste of home that hit the absolute spot before we got back on the road.

World Cup Mania!

When we finally rolled into Chitre, the energy was electric. The city was practically vibrating, music was blaring from every corner in preparation for the World Cup Game featuring Panama’s national team!

We quickly settled into our hotel rooms and then headed straight out to explore the city center. The vibes were unmatched. We walked around, soaked in the music, mingled with the locals, and even managed to score some cool free hats to join in on the fan spirit!

To cap off an amazing day, we headed back to the hotel just as the match was starting. We got to hang out on the balcony, watching the game and cheering along with the rest of the city. We wrapped up the night with a great dinner and our nightly team meeting, bonding over everything we saw and did today.

Chitre has already welcomed us with open arms (and loud music), and we can’t wait to see what day three brings. Stay tuned!

GGL Nora and Esther