One of the cheapest and coolest canal excursions

by Eric Jackson

Those of us who live here tend to view the Panama Canal as a rather mundane landmark, but canal excursions for foreign tourists are a good business, especially now that the dry season approaches. Some tourists see the canal without ever getting off of their cruise ships, and a lot of visitors who fly into Panama transit the canal on one of the Argo Tours boats. Then there are those with ties to shipping agents or yachties, who can arrange passage through the canal on a container ship or by playing linehandler for a yacht. Some of us adults who grew up here remember with fondness the beautiful train ride alongside the canal, and look forward to the resumption of Panama-Colon passenger train service, which will follow by some months the railroad's re-opening as a business primarily dedicated to moving cargo containers.

One of the best and cheapest ways to see the Panama Canal, however, is neither sold as such nor very well known to many Panamanians. It's the Aeroperlas commuter service that flies between France Field and Albrook, mainly for the convenience of those who do business in the Colon Free Zone. If you go with the flow, flying from Panama to Colon in the morning or back in the afternoon, the plane will be relatively crowded and you will pay the top fare ? about $22. However, if you fly from Albrook to France Field in the afternoon, or in the opposite direction in the morning, there will be few other passengers and you will receive change when you shell out $7 for your ticket.

Aeroperlas's air corridor runs just east of the canal, so for the best view you want a port-side window seat if you're flying northbound (to Colon) or a spot next to a starboard window if headed south toward Panama. Of course, if you want to see Cerro Azul, Chepo, Madden Lake, Nueva Providencia, Chagres National Park and other interesting features that can be seen by looking away from the canal, you should adjust your seating accordingly.

There are hardly ever any children on the Aeroperlas commuter flights, and working class Panamanians almost unanimously choose the bus when they want to cross the isthmus. This is both unfortunate and unnecessary. These flights are most affordable, and there are few better ways to teach children about the canal, and the efforts to preserve the forested parts of the canal watershed, than by taking an aerial view.

Judging by the way that their permit to compete with COPA on international routes was cancelled before it went into effect, it may not make sense to think about government subsidies for Aeroperlas. However, the short flight between Albrook and France Field is a field trip that every kid who is being educated in the Panamanian public schools ought to take.