Panama is the last country in Central America and also ends the first phase of our mission.
We had an excellent flight and I was very pleased at having made the decision to leave Costa Rica very early in the morning. Otherwise the weather changes drastically by mid-day, making it nearly impossible to cross the high mountains between there and Panama in the midst of the powerful rain-storms. The early flight allowed us to absorb the amazing scenery below – not only were we flying over the Cordillera de Talamanca mountain range, but we had a great view of the turquoise blue Caribbean Sea to the left and to the right was the deep blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. Even this could not top the highlight of our flight: flying over the Panama Canal. I had requested and was granted permission from Air Traffic Control to fly over the Canal so that Mr. Spahiu could do some filming. What an amazing piece of human art and engineering to be lucky enough to witness.
After landing, I noticed very quickly that Panama’s way of life is very liberal. Casinos are open 24/7, year round and there are lots of hotels and construction going on currently. The people are also very liberal – very friendly and open-minded. The media response was great and it was unfortunate that our time here was so limited (only 2 days). I hope to someday return for a longer visit to learn about this country in more detail.
I am very much looking forward to continuing the second phase of Flying for Kosovo and touching ground for the first time on the beautiful continent of South America.
