LIKE WHERE ARE WE? A TIME WARP
We really are more nature and beach people, but we jump at the chance to visit any major city which we find very exciting. No matter how bad of a rap a place gets we always find joy with the city experience.
Rather than a destination, Panama City is used mostly as a jumping off point for other day trips in the small country. Most of Panama is very basic, rustic and not super friendly to tourists. However, the city makes you kind of confused as to where you really are at. The skyline is big and urban, and the surrounding neighborhoods are jungle. The canal district is cool with a hodgepodges of different pockets. Amenities and access to convenient food is always a plus especially after our recent remote experiences.
After a few weeks in the island of Bocas del Toro, we were ready for a little modern
living. We splurged for the AC Mariott mostly because it was in the heart of the city with a roof top pool to chill the afternoon away. PC had cheep UBER rides to get you around, plenty of street food and great veggie options all over the city. We found the local bakeries to be outstanding so we did indulge in quite a few sweet treats and coffee.
Touring the Panama Canal was an opportunity we weren't going to miss and we didn't even have to stand in line. We didn't do a lot of pre planning for the tour and really missed out on a saving opportunity by just jumping in the ticket line without checking the reality of the tour. After the fact we figured out you can just go to the upper deck restaurant grab a drink and see the canal for free. Rookie mistake. The Panama Canal district doesn't feel like the inner city, it has a country feel and is plush green. The area has all kinds of housing barracks obviously used for Canal workers and their families. As lovers of all things boats and travel this was a killer good experience for us.
We love to find local street art. Often ugly things are made to be so cool and full of new life. We couldn't resist the kids Panama hats for our nephews Lincoln and Miles. We don't normally have room for buying trinkets, but we were headed to Dakota for Christmas so we made room. The story on the Panama hat for those interested. https://panamahats.co.uk/history-of-panama
We were told our Uber driver Jaunt had kind eyes. He drove us all over the city for an entire Saturday morning. His car was tiny and spotless and he spoke zero English. Fellow travelers from NYC used him the week prior and said he only charged them $12 USD to take them about for the day. The other rookie mistake we made on this trip was not confirming his price before we got in his cab. After the day he said $50 USD and we must have dropped our expression because he came back with a quick $40 USD. I guess he must have liked the New York kids much more than us. We have been in hundreds of cabs in our travel days. Seriously, we know better than not confirming BEFORE the trip. Regardless, it was still a fair price and we had a fab morning.
The happening area in PC is Casco Viejo in the historic district. It did pan out to be a very fun morning of exploring. It has darling buildings that are sadly old and crumbling as well as redone and prepped out. The refurbish project going on here is massive and refreshing for this diverse city. We saw street musicians, street cats, fine art to local street people selling artisan goods. We didn't visit at night, but it was evident that it gets rocking after dark. You can hang in a first world fancy brew pubs or coffee shops or find a local joint that serves grub to everyone as well.
Big City Skyline. The NY kids said what a cute "tiny" city it is. I guess everything is small to New Yorkers?
Walk up make shift covid testing site before we get ready to jet off to the USA. For $30 USD we got a rapid test in no time. Slick as crap, thank you Panama.
Always love it when the local people make me feel like a giant. The vendor selling goods was from the matriarchal Kuna tribe located in the San Blas Islands.
Nice example of redone building on the left and falling down structure on the right. It was such a cute area of Panama City where the renovation continues.
TIME FOR A VACATION
(From our Vacation)
Brett made the decision that we needed a bit of an adventure break and it was time to actually go back to So Dak for the Christmas holiday. We are not huge fans of the hoopla that go along with celebrating the holiday, (or the weather) but we were excited to to see everyone. So......off we go to the frozen tundra that will always be home for the next 3 weeks.
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