Panama has been a fascinating place to visit. We arrived by bus from San Jose, Costa Rica and planned to get off just over the border in David. However, the night before we found out that our accommodation in Boquette, a mountain village near there, had been cancelled and after a quick search on hostelworld and booking.com revealed that not much else was available, we decided to continue all the way to Panama City. We survived the 16 hour Tica bus ride which included 3 hours to cross the border.
On arrival in Panama City we were pleasantly surprised at what a modern and sleek looking city it is, particularly in contrast to San Jose and Mexico City. Our neighborhood was a little rougher around the edges but quite central and we still felt fairly safe. And, hey, it was cheap.
5 nights actually ended up being the perfect amount of time to explore this progressive capital. We spent our time walking along a coastal path, checking out Panama Viejo ruins, where the original Spanish settlement was destroyed by pirates in the early 1600s and strolling through Casco Viejo, a heritage listed colonial area that is being restored. We also hired a tandem bike to ride along the Amador causeway that leads to some small islands with lots of outdoor restaurants and has beautiful views over the city and water. Unfortunately, more construction was underway which did block some of the view.
Of course, you can't come to Panama and not visit the canal so one morning we went out to the Miraflores Locks to watch the ships passing through. We learnt about the history of the canal in a movie and museum and could see what an incredible and hard won feat of engineering the canal is, as well as what a great money earner it is for Panama, now that the US has given it back to them. Ships have to pay to pass through according to their weight and with up to 40 ships using it a day at an average of $30 000 each you can see why Panama is a relatively wealthy country, although it still has its poor areas.
The national parks in and around Panama City were a nice escape from the busyness of the city and a good place to see some of Panama's wildlife. We were lucky to see monkeys, squirrels, an agouti, 'Jesus' lizards that could run on water, turtles, birds and even a two-toed sloth.
The public transport here was pretty cheap and efficient with metro buses and a subway, cheap taxis and the 'red devil' local buses - colorful buses with music blasting that pack people in for a 25c ride. Of course there was also a lot of walking and while walking you come across places you wouldn't otherwise end up. A kind old couple came across us in a pretty run down neighborhood and told us that 'you shouldn't be here - you might be ok, you might not'. They bundled us into a cab and negotiated a fair price for us with the driver in Spanish. We have come across plenty of nice people willing to help us out, which restores faith in human nature.
When it came to food, I can't say we enjoyed too much of the local fare, instead eating at Chinese, Italian, Indian and Columbian places, as well as our regular staples of peanut butter or tuna on bread. La Squina, the Columbian place run by an English speaking guy from Las Vegas, quickly became a favourite and we enjoyed the freshly squeezed local juices from fruits we'd never heard of, and barbequed dishes like the arepa rellena. We never actually got the chance to order from the menu, as soon as we walked in our new Columbian friend would just say, " hold on, I've got the perfect dish for you!". We were never disappointed.
So another week, another country down. Ready to saddle up for our cheap but long flight to Rio via Bogota and Lima. It will then be time to sit back and let someone else take care of the logistics on our South America Tucan tour.
