Hotel Via Espana Panama City

1st November 2009:<br><br>The flight from Peru to Panama was routine, quite a small plane though. The trip took 3.5 hrs and it goes to show how you can get used to the good life when I was shocked not to have a telly! Anyway despite that we had good seats and when we landed in Panama we were expecting a tropical oasis to greet us, it didnt! Looking out the window the sky was dark and the place was gloomy. We got off the plane and were hit with an oppressive humidity that would have been ...

... over to the causeway. The causeway is a long road connecting three islands with the mainland. We found a great view of the city and enjoyed our morning cup of joe.<br><br>At 11 AM we headed back to the police station were they inspected the car, just to make sure it was the car we brought into the country, and then told us to come back at 3 PM. They had to type up some paperwork for us to take to the other police station. We asked if we could come ...

Howdy *ll,<br><br>After 2 much loved *nd h*ted months in Indi* (Smellyl*nd) we decided it w*s time to dep*rt e*rly (strictly for ment*l he*lth re*sons). <br>We m*de the c*ll to duck b*ck to Th*il*nd for * few weeks where we gr*tefully b*thed on litter-free be*ches *nd dined on s*lmonell*-free food *ll the while gently nursing one helluv* sub-continent h*ngover.<br><br>Exit Mumb*i, enter B*ngkok.<br><br>Ok, so we st*rted reh*b off in B*ngkok for * few d*ys, Beko *nd I ...

... here! Always more enjoyable to share the experience with someone else!<br><br>I dont know what else to ramble on about here, but if the next 7 months<br>are half as good as the first 5 its going to be money well spent!<br><br>By the way Dad, if your reading this, Im abit short on cash. Can you send some over!?!?!?!?! Its no joke!!! $3000 should help me out!!!<br><br>(I will post photos later on, cant be stuffed now plus ive put the motherlode on facebook already)<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br ><br>

... to a local store for ice, cokes and a bottle of wine. He took everything back to the B&amp;B and then took us over to Niko's which is a cafeteria style restaurant. Randy and I were hungry and had caught our second wind so we weren't tired. We walked back to the B&amp;B and sat and had wine and cocktails. I know, I know - what else is new. <br>The rooms are quite nice and ...

... failing water and electricity supplies. That and the dubious notion of putting out food every night to attract the wild animals, a tourist ploy which doesn't strike me as particularly eco-friendly. That said, I did enjoy my time there and went on a long walk to the river and to the top of a hill to see the surrounding countryside. From there I decided I had a few days to kill before heading to Panama City to meet up with Kat, my long-lost university friend. So, I skimmed ...

... a lost cause.... Next we stopped for a walk around the old quarter. Beautifully restored buildings, sidewalk cafes, cobblestone streets and a lovely harbour. At this point it was 5:00 so Tracey asked Amado if he wanted to leave now and take a taxi back to his car or stay with us for supper. He said it was too expensive to take a cab so he stayed with us and took us to a nice restaurant along the Amador Causeway. From this location we had a ...

... was in position in the second lock, the gate was closed behind it and then the water level lowered by another 27 feet, meaning that in total the ship had been lowered by 54 feet from the top part of the canal to the bottom part. That was fun to watch! Then the ship was able to move out the other side of the lock and was able to continue its passage through the canal. We stood at the observation deck for 3 hours and watched 5 or 6 big ships move in and out of the ...

... district- sorry I cannot find my panama book at the moment) which has a ton of restaurants and a close bus line, plus it is very safe! At the moment there are about 15 beds avaliable, but they are still doing construction. In all the hostel will be 2 floors with about 60 beds. There is even a blow up pool about 3 feet deep. I was actually the 5th official person to stay at the hostel! So, at the moment, there was another group there with me, and another group was coming... so word ...

... our time spent beside the sea, lake or in smaller villages and towns. Panama City is no exception to the rule. We have explored the bars at night and we have tried out a few eating spots. It´s hard to get worked up about the place. Our only real diversion came in the way of a trip to the casino, where our backpacker budget didn´t stretch too far but far enough for us to enjoy the experience. It was just as much fun ...