Hotel el Parador Panama City

... malls, I'm not kidding this place was maybe 4 times the size of Bluewater. We went to the old town Casa Viejo which was really pretty - old colonial buildings smartened back up or left and painted bright colours to make them look distressed and weather worn, had a really good steak here too, rest of food in Panama wasn't great for anyone travelling on a budget. It also rained so much but then it is the rainy season so to ...

... the last launch over to the island. We wont leave it so long to visit next time!
So we stayed at Gran Bahia Hotel, pretty pricey for what we got , but it was at the end of town so hopefully not too noisy. Walked around town and settled on dinner at 'the pirate", Franchesca wanted patacones and seemed to be the only place in town that made them.Well she got her dinner but through a misunderstanding nothing for me! We walked a couple of hotels down and I got something elsewhere.
Panama City, Panama sydneyalicat

... thousands of dollars to enter the canal, but the smallest amount ever paid was $0.36 in 1928 when Richard Halliburton swam through the canal.

After spending a few hours watching ships and looking at the museum we decided to head back to the city. But once again these two gringos got caught in the rain and we ended up huddled under a bus shelter waiting for a bus which never arrived. We ended up sharing a cab with another couple back to the city centre and spent the ...

... taxi blocking the road and it looked like a couple of guys were holding up the driver? He made me lock the doors and then drove round another way to avoid whatever was going on.

However when I ventured out this morning for a wander, I was welcomed by the deserted streets and the dust and heat, which soon made me feel reasonably safe again. I met an old Panamenian guy whilst I was taking photos of the cathedral who spoke really good english and assured me that if I was ...

... map in Lonely Planet and was surprised at how quickly we arrived at the hostel. Well, that's because the location of the hostel in LP is incorrect - they've moved. Glad I didn't try to get there by bus and end up in totally the wrong place! The hostel is great, comfortable, nice atmosphere. I'd ...

... we went to Manolo Caracol. It is a fixed menu. For $20 each, you get 10 courses of food (we counted 12). Everything was very good, and at the end we were praying that each plate would be the last. They served some yummy oily fish first (maybe makerel), followed by courses of rabbit, calamari, salt cod, huge shrimp, and more. None of it was bad, some of the dishes were great. Most of them were above-average. Out to the street, time to ...

... etc. We made a group with some people we had met, hired a guide and really had a great tour. Chile is a beautiful country, and this was our 2nd time there. We would still like to take the time someday to do a trip from the north to the south of this fascinating country. On the ship itself we kept busy. Sid found card buddies and played some bridge and rummy, and I managed to walk most days plus do a yoga class. It was a nice cruise ...

... cinnamon bun at $2, the movie only cost $3. Our timing led us out in search of the annual xmas parade and we made it perfectly. Two hours of bands floats and finally fireworks. Organised chaos on crowd control - no barriers here, just mainly ignored police tape between old oil drums. What fun and totally local. So a great time in panama; we were away from lots of tourists back in a low cost environment and the canal and old town are fascinating. Highly recommended.

Miercoles.

Despues de una noche larga de acampar, acantar, y comer. Me desperte el manaña proximo, me vestè, y fui a una viaje alrededor de la isla. Vi animales salvajes, las lluvias, y fui a un musuem histórico. El nombre de guías de turistas fue Ariel. Ella fue muy amistosa y fue de Chicago. Así que ella habla inglés. La único parte mala acerca del viaje fue que estuvo realmente caliente afuera. Después de que la visita que volviera al barco tomó una regadera y se durmió.

... having the biggest coctail I have ever had in Gamboa resort (served in real coconut) and doing some kayaking while watching birds over there also...even though I still admire the inflexibility of hotel employees...having one of the nicest ...