Every morning we wake up to the sound of bells. There is a beautiful church directly across the street from the hotel. They insistently ring the bells starting at 0600; a call to church. Although the church is nice looking and the bells are charming, they are annoying.
We planned a lazy Friday, got up a bit late and got a late breakfast. We have all the luck because the buffet actually looked good but we ordered eggs which were crap.
We hung out at the pool for a couple hours and contemplated Panama. There is a lot of good here, but some issues as well.
The good, bad and ugly of Panama is a long list. We have very much enjoyed the friendliness of Panamanians. There is no shortage of people helping you find your way, giving you advice, politely standing in line, etcetera.
The city is well equipped with public transportation and tourist destinations. We were able to navigate everywhere the hop-on-hop-off bus went for a fraction of the cost. Not only that, it was far more convenient using the Metro as it was steps away from our hotel.
The city is beautiful with parks, art and tropical flowers adorning every corner of the city.
Even some of the ugliest things have been painted up to look at least a little better.
Like many other cities, Panama lacks public facilities in certain, especially in non-tourist areas. This has unintended consequences.
Garbage. This city has a lot of it. Many places seemed to be able to contend, but large smelly piles of garbage are not uncommon.
Food. With a city of almost 2 million, many of which are migrant workers, I would have expected a diversity of culinary choices. There are many restaurants, however, most of the food is American influenced. There are endless fast food restaurant! Panamanian food is great and they have a wide variety of fresh seafood; not always easy to find.
Entertainment. We enjoyed our days and there were night club options, but there were not that many other options for the evening. Most other places we have travelled we have been able to enjoy night markets, street vendors, and evening bustling of a city. The area of town we are in, like many down towns is pretty much deserted at night. You can always go to a Casino.
