On a cold January morning, I headed to Boston to catch my flight southward bound.
After an unappetizing meal at Logan, I boarded, and to my pleasant surprise my exit-row aisle was empty!
For those of you that aren't tall, you can not quite understand how much of a relief this is!
For some reason, it eluded me that this was an international flight, so they would actually serve you a meal with real silverware. I didn't mind though, I was starving.
I napped before and after my meal, but I managed to open my eyes just in time to see the coast of what I believe is Texas slip below us.
A few hours later, Panama City, Panama came into view.
After a bit of confusion at the airport, my AirBnB hose picked me up, and I was on my way into suffocatingly humid Panama! It felt very much like Florida in mid-August, so I wasn't completely caught off guard.
I was staying at an AirBnB location that was home to five or six rooms, a large kitchen, living area and a wonderful open porch. I didn't spent much time here this afternoon, as I had a very limited time-frame in Panama. My flight to Peru would leave early the next morning, so if I was going to see anything here, it was going to have to be in a very short window.
My "apartment" was directly across from the Universidad Panama, which I hoped was going to be a good landmark (turns out it wasn't such a good landmark, but more on that later). Taxi drivers in Panama don't rely on street addresses, so I had read, so you needed to be able to provide locations and buildings. Taxi drivers also typically do not turn around from their direction to pick someone up, and they can (and do) refuse to take you someplace if it is out of their way.
Keeping all of this in mind, I started walking west towards the Metropolitano Parque, a semi-deciduous tropical rain forest, right within the city limits! A taxi driver actually did turn around to pick me up about 15 minutes into my walk, and after some mild confusion on where I wanted to go (and sitting in a traffic jam), he dropped me off.
The nice park ranger allowed me time to walk in, even though the last entrance was at 4:30 (and it was 4:08), they booted the last visitor at 5, so I had plenty of time.
A nicely manicured lawn and path lead right up to the rain forest itself.
I only had time for the short loop, but it at least allowed for the scenic view of the city.
This was a breathtaking view for many reasons, partially because I was wearing jeans and it was at the top of a hill.
The park buildings themselves. It was a beautiful place.
I had time to cross the busy road and make another short loop, but this side of the park wasn't all that pretty.
(click on video to see the ants in action)
I did get to see a trail of ants working, which was pretty cool.
The other major item on my Panama list, at least for this trip, was to actually see the Panama Canal. The main visitor center and viewing platform at Miraflores was closed at 4 PM, but I met a helpful taxi driver who was willing to take me up to a different place further to the north on the Canal, Pedro Miguel. This turned out to be a fun ride, because he could speak enough English to tell me a few things along the way.
We passed over into, and through what used to be known as the Canal Zone, an American controlled area within Panama surrounding the Canal itself. The buildings looked all very American.
After sitting in slowly moving traffic, we finally arrived at our vantage point, and boy, was it stunning.
Looking north/west towards the Pacific, and a ship approaching the lock.
Looking south/east, as a ship enters the actual lock itself.
Obligatory photo of myself in front of the Panama Canal.
Welcome, indeed!
Latin American and South America are where many former US school buses go to retire. I didn't have a chance to take many pictures, but they were dozens upon dozens of tricked out International (and even one old Ford) buses running around hauling people. It was quite the sight!
We sat in a lot of traffic on the way back, and it turns out that my taxi driver only knew of my apartment as the "red apartment" because of other people staying there, but he managed to drop me off right at my door. Sadly, the entire taxi ride cost me much more than I had expected, but he also offered to come get me the next morning to take me to the airport, at a reasonable price, so in the end it worked out.
After a shower and a change of clothes, I headed back out into the Panamanian night for some food.
On my way towards a restaurant that I had heard was good, I found this brightly lit park, and I just had to stop in and sit for a few minutes. I wrote in my journal, but mostly I just absorbed the vibrancy and energy of a late evening park.
Of course, a beer after such a great day was in order. I think it was a Panamanian beer (I always order local if I can help it). Needless to say it tasted great.
My dinner was good, but the fish felt like it was yesterday's tossed into a stew.
A little "skimo pie" ice cream to cool down.
I decided to walk down to the promenade to see the Caribbean, and along the way I passed by this church looking resplendent in the darkness.
What I had originally thought was night time basketball (notice the backboard) actually turned out to be very a very condensed game of football (soccer). I was really impressed.
After walking over two huge sweeping pedestrian bridges to get to this promenade, I was completely surprised at just how busy it was. It was around 9PM at this point, and there were hundreds of people doing all kinds of things. Working out..
...learning how to dance...
...or just strolling along with their kids or pets. It was safe, warm and inviting, and it spurred me to keep walking westward, towards the old part of the city, Casco Viejo.
The nighttime view of Panama City was quite beautiful.
I walked past what was historically a fish market, now turned into open air restaurants serving fish.
Just beyond the eating area, there was a small fleet of fishing vessels, the last vestiges of what must have been a big fishing port.
Casco Viejo is one of the bigger tourist draws in Panama City, and it can be a relatively dangerous place, block by block. There was a strong police presence to keep wayward tourists out of trouble, but it still had a vague air of too many foreigners.
Casco Viejo is the old quarter of Panama City, with quite a few of the buildings dating to 1670's, when they were rebuilt after an earthquake. The city spread out from here into the modern sprawl that it is today.
I'm glad that I walked through however briefly, it was a pretty place.
No wonder the tourists like it so much.
By this point I had been on my feet and awake (for the most part, airplane sleeping is never really restful) since 4 AM. I had walked close to 5 miles from my apartment to Casco Viejo, so I caved and took a taxi. The first one refused to take me, the second would, but couldn't figure out where exactly to take me. He got very close, close enough for me. I wandered across the street from where he dropped me off to a gas station to buy a beer (Heineken this time) and some chips. The shelves in the gas station were weirdly empty, but they had enough for me.
Back at the apartment, I had wanted to sit on the porch and write in my journal. Two other guests were sitting chatting, and I ended up talking with them. One was from the UK, other Germany. We shared some stories about travel, language, and general thoughts on Panama. After my beer and chips, I had to head back to my room to pack. My taxi was going to pick me up at 6:30 AM the following day, so after a few minutes of computer time I turned in myself.
