The extortionate cost of the flight there however did leave a slight bad taste in my mouth given the flight itself was under an hour. But seeing as the port in Cartagena was closed for security reasons due to the Summit of the Americas, we had no choice but to fly as no boats were leaving the harbour.
Arriving in Panama, the weather was just as tropical as in Colombia. However it felt as though we had suddenly entered America with all the skyscrapers and flash cars driving around. I guess that's why they call it the Miami of Central America...
The hostel we were staying in had provided a transfer from the airport so we were picked up by their driver Karlos in his red Mercedes Benz which he was very keen to show off by driving at lightning speed.
The hostel - Magnolia Inn - was more of a B&B than a hostel and felt like we were staying in someone's well kept house. It was based in the old town called Casco Viejo. The area has a European feel to it, something I imagine is testament to the country's rich colonial history. There was a lot of building work going on everywhere which we discovered was due to the area, after years of neglect, undergoing a renaissance and being refurbished back to its glory days. It was such a contrast to the imposing New Yorkesque skyscrapers that were across the bay. The dorms in the hostel were by far the best I've ever stayed in, with air conditioning, plus plug sockets and lamps by each bed, your own locker and the toilets and showers were clean - its the simple things in a travellers life that mean the most! The owners, an American couple called Cherie and Reggie are also lovely and very parent like so it felt very homely.
Having got up at the crack of dawn to catch our flight we were all quite tired so we decided to have a chilled day just exploring the city. We had been told there was a viewing room in the Trump Ocean Club Tower situated in down town Panama City which gave amazing views of the city. Seeing as this sounded like a non active pursuit we were all in favour.
Arriving in the lobby, we asked the guy on reception which floor the viewing gallery was on. The answer we got was not quite what we expected: "There isn't a viewing gallery, but we do have an outside bar and pool deck which you can visit". Er yes please!
It didn't take long to relax on our chaise longues by the infinity pool which overlooked the sea... : D
After perusing the menu and being pleasantly surprised that they served Albariño wine which is from my mamas home province in Spain, we ended up quaffing a few kiwi mojitos and ate a rather delicious tuna salad (v.Wagamama style) with some guacamole nachos. All whilst watching the sunset. We then retreated to the shopping mall (?!) in the basement of the hotel to withdraw cash to pay for everything. En route out we sneakily went out of a fire exit (which just happened to be open) and took a picture of the view, although given the height we were at I didn't stay there too long!
I had no idea you could use hotel facilities without being a resident! I shall certainly be trying the same tact when I get back to London...
The last few days have been a bit of a write off as I have been trying (being the operative word) to post a parcel of my belongings back to London - lightening the back pack load and all that! The owners of our hostel had said getting things done in Panama was difficult but this has turned into a nightmare! For a start no one knew where the local post office was, literally no one. When we finally found it, it turned out we were at the national post office and not the international one?! Cue another few hours of taxi rides and wandering around. Upon finding the international post office I was told that they shut at 5:00pm and that it was too late to post anything. It was 4:35pm. The lazy assistant behind the counter obviously wanted to go home early and couldn't be bothered. Just as well really as I was later told that sending my parcel via them would have taken ages and resulted in them opening it up to see what was inside. I ended up using a well known courier company in the end. Fingers crossed it all gets home in one piece!
A visit to Panama City, wouldn't be complete without visiting the canal that the city is so well known for. I wasn't really sure what to expect as Id heard lots about it but never actually visualized it. The canal itself is on the outskirts of town in an area called Miraflores and connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. Interestingly, we found out that the canal was originally owned and created by Colombians, then the French and the Americans before finally coming under the control of the Panamanian government in 1999.
The canal has a museum that you can visit along with an all you can eat restaurant. We were starving by the time we got there so despite the extortionate $28 price tag (plus tax - they always add it on at the end) we gorged ourselves on the buffet. The restaurant overlooked the canal so in between mouthful's you could watch a huge tanker sail past the window. Not as exciting as it seems. After the first boat went by I found myself being more drawn towards the television in the restaurant (a running theme in Central and South America) which was showing the Jason Statham classic Transporter 3. All you big boat lovers will hate me but despite being quite a bad film I found this more entertaining than the boats themselves...
Another thing synonymous with Panama is the hat which bears the same name. Bizarrely the hat is actually originally from Ecuador. The only reason it is associated with Panama is because Teddy Roosevelt wore one of the wide brimmed white hats when he came here to inspect the canal construction, much to Ecuador's displeasure.
Having been in Panama a few days now, we couldn't escape the word Balboa which kept cropping up. It turns out that Balboa is an area of Panama and also the name referred to the old Panamanian currency before it became dollars. Im glad we established this as I kept thinking they were referring to the fictional film character Rocky Balboa played by Sly Stallone!
Transport wise, we've mostly been getting around using yellow taxis as they are reasonably cheap. Although not as cheap as the Diablo Rojo (red devil) buses which are $.25 cents! They're basically really old American school buses which have been graffitied and pimped out. The noise of the exhaust as it speeds past also scares the hell out of you as its so loud plus they also drive like absolute maniacs...
Its been pretty chilled staying here as there really isn't that much to see in the city other than the sites I've already mentioned. Although we did visit a nearby jungle (I use this word loosely as it was more of a park) and saw some toucans and crazy looking ants. In addition we went to the cinema and saw the new American Pie Reunion film which was pretty funny. The hostel has cable TV which we were all excited about so we watch The Hangover and Old School - in English which was just amazing. I cant tell you how much I hate dubbed films...
Our evenings have been mostly spent in some of the nice restaurants and bars that there are locally. A few favourites have been the hotel next door which has a roof top terrace bar, the local Havana bar and Relik bar which is in another hostel called Lunas Castle which is around the corner from ours. Whilst in Relik one evening I met a girl who was half Norwegian and half British, it turns out she grew up in my home town which we found hilarious. Small world.
Arriving in Panama, the weather was just as tropical as in Colombia. However it felt as though we had suddenly entered America with all the skyscrapers and flash cars driving around. I guess that's why they call it the Miami of Central America...
The hostel we were staying in had provided a transfer from the airport so we were picked up by their driver Karlos in his red Mercedes Benz which he was very keen to show off by driving at lightning speed.
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| View from the car as we zoomed into the city |
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| Our hostel (home) |
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| Excuse the random ladies in my pic - they wouldn't move! |
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| Abuilding yet to receive a facelift |
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| Local cathedral in the background |
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| Inside the cathedral |
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| Down town Panama in the skyline |
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| French Embassy which was near our hostel |
Arriving in the lobby, we asked the guy on reception which floor the viewing gallery was on. The answer we got was not quite what we expected: "There isn't a viewing gallery, but we do have an outside bar and pool deck which you can visit". Er yes please!
It didn't take long to relax on our chaise longues by the infinity pool which overlooked the sea... : D
After perusing the menu and being pleasantly surprised that they served Albariño wine which is from my mamas home province in Spain, we ended up quaffing a few kiwi mojitos and ate a rather delicious tuna salad (v.Wagamama style) with some guacamole nachos. All whilst watching the sunset. We then retreated to the shopping mall (?!) in the basement of the hotel to withdraw cash to pay for everything. En route out we sneakily went out of a fire exit (which just happened to be open) and took a picture of the view, although given the height we were at I didn't stay there too long!
I had no idea you could use hotel facilities without being a resident! I shall certainly be trying the same tact when I get back to London...
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| Trump Ocean Club is the sail shaped building in the middle |
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| Slightly windswept and supping on my kiwi mojito : D |
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| Delicious tuna salad |
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| View of the infinity pool and sea from where we were sat |
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| Sunset over the city |
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| The bar area at night |
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| View of Panama from the hotel fire escape! |
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| Art work which was in the hotel lobby - its all made from $.1 cent coins! |
A visit to Panama City, wouldn't be complete without visiting the canal that the city is so well known for. I wasn't really sure what to expect as Id heard lots about it but never actually visualized it. The canal itself is on the outskirts of town in an area called Miraflores and connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. Interestingly, we found out that the canal was originally owned and created by Colombians, then the French and the Americans before finally coming under the control of the Panamanian government in 1999.
The canal has a museum that you can visit along with an all you can eat restaurant. We were starving by the time we got there so despite the extortionate $28 price tag (plus tax - they always add it on at the end) we gorged ourselves on the buffet. The restaurant overlooked the canal so in between mouthful's you could watch a huge tanker sail past the window. Not as exciting as it seems. After the first boat went by I found myself being more drawn towards the television in the restaurant (a running theme in Central and South America) which was showing the Jason Statham classic Transporter 3. All you big boat lovers will hate me but despite being quite a bad film I found this more entertaining than the boats themselves...
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| Aerial view of the canal, courtesy of a picture in the museum :D |
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| Miraflores canal locks |
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| Tanker being hauled along by a small train!! |
Having been in Panama a few days now, we couldn't escape the word Balboa which kept cropping up. It turns out that Balboa is an area of Panama and also the name referred to the old Panamanian currency before it became dollars. Im glad we established this as I kept thinking they were referring to the fictional film character Rocky Balboa played by Sly Stallone!
Transport wise, we've mostly been getting around using yellow taxis as they are reasonably cheap. Although not as cheap as the Diablo Rojo (red devil) buses which are $.25 cents! They're basically really old American school buses which have been graffitied and pimped out. The noise of the exhaust as it speeds past also scares the hell out of you as its so loud plus they also drive like absolute maniacs...
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| Red devil |
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| Yes Toucan |
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| Chillaxing at the roof top bar : D |
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