Greetings from the Republic of Panama [View all]

We're visiting in Panama this week to avoid the cold streak hammering the U.S. It's been 85º, humid and mostly sunny all week!

Today, January 9th, is Martyrs' Day. It's a National Day of Mourning and commemorates the anti-American riots that resulted in the deaths of 22 Panamanian students and 4 U.S. Marines. The riots were sparked by a dispute over the sovereignty of the Panama Canal Zone. It's a dark part of the history between Panama and the United States. The story is fascinating and the positive results of the conflict were the Torrijos-Carter Treaties which were two agreements signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos. Those treaties gave Panama control of the Panama Canal (as of December 31, 1999) and allowed the U.S. to use its military to defend and protect the canal system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyrs'_Day_(Panama)

We went to the Canal's Visitors' Center to watch ships lock through. They have a marvelous one hour IMAX movie about the canal, its history, construction and functions. About midway through the film, President Jimmy Carter is interviewed about the treaties and the audience, made up mostly of Americans, broke into applause! It was a remarkable coincidence that this day of mourning fell on the same day as President Carter's national funeral. We felt humbled to be here on this date.