Panama’s annual carnaval celebration is like no other party in Panama. Though it can be a great experience, there are a few downsides to the celebration as well.

All major towns in Panama are abuzz with preparations for this year’s carnaval, which unofficially gets underway tomorrow (officially on Saturday). Though carnaval can be great fun, there are some annoyances and dangers that come along with it.

DRINKING AND DRIVING
The drinking and driving rates are pretty high in Panama year round. Carnaval is the absolute worse time of the year when it comes to the sheer amount of drunk drivers on the road. The National Police often place wrecked cars on the side of the PanAmerican highway as a way to deter people from killing themselves and others. It doesn’t seem to be a very effective deterrent. Every year during carnaval, at least a handful of people are killed on Panamanian roads. Most of these accidents could have been avoided if people just waited until they got to their destination before they started drinking.

MORE DANGEROUS
During carnaval, people from all over the country travel to small towns in the interior to celebrate carnaval. Most of these people have no bad intentions, but some do. In just about every town in Panama the reported cases of robberies, stabbings, shootings and rapes increase dramatically during the festivities. When you combine people with 5 days off work, a lot of alcohol and huge street parties, situations can escalate quickly.

CAN’T GET ANYTHING DONE
During the carnaval celebration it’s difficult to even get to the local grocery store, let alone get anything business related done. The streets are crowded, the grocery store shelves are empty, the bank machines run out of cash and most other businesses are closed until Wednesday. Don’t expect to go anywhere in a hurry during carnaval and don’t expect to get any business done until the middle of next week.

HUGE, ROWDY CROWDS
As mentioned earlier, most people who celebrate carnaval are just looking to have a good time and not cause any problems. However, there can be a hundred thousand people crowding around a small town’s main square. Sticky, hot and sweaty bodies pressing up against each other, drinks being spilled on your shoulder and constant yelling and cheering are all common sights and sounds during carnaval.

NO WATER
Because the population of most small towns in Panama increases dramatically during carnaval, the water supply in these towns can’t always accommodate all of the people. In the most popular carnaval towns, it’s not uncommon to go without running water for 5 days. Some towns in the Azuero peninsula are already out of water and the festivities haven’t even gotten underway yet! Make sure to fill up buckets with water and keep a big supply of bottled water on hand. It’s a big inconvenience, but the water always does come back on eventually!

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Filed under: Culture, News on February 19th, 2009