Construction

Location, location, location! While most of the world is going through an economic crisis, Panama is in its heyday.

New construction is going up everywhere – and I mean everywhere - in every little parcel of land possible. Buildings are in inches from one another. There’s not even enough space for an alley, unless you are one of the many stray cats wandering around eating the morsels of meat that still stick to bones that have been thrown to the ground by construction workers having finished their lunches.

We live in a building that is surrounded by construction. Across the street from us, approximately 3000 workers - along with cement mixers, 18-wheelers, dump trucks, etc. - come to work daily on one of the most extravagant of the new buildings in the Panama City area.

It’s both entertainment and a headache. I’m fascinated by how quickly buildings are sprouting up. When we first arrived in our apartment 7 months ago, we could still see the water and the sky from our kitchen window. Now, we see neither… just workers like bees or ants. Up and down the elevators and stairs. And the noise. The commotion. Horns and jackhammers and welding and you name it. It’s noisy. Rivers of construction workers - especially at 7 a.m., 12 noon, 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. Working errands around these times in order to avoid getting stuck in the flood of people as they come and go, walking directly in the middle of the street (because the sidewalks are not usable), has become one of my personal games.

Construction. This city is growing so quickly, perhaps too quickly.