Panama City
Trip Start
Nov 30, 2003
1
7
Trip End
Jan 10, 2004
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Panama City,
Panama
Wednesday, January 7, 2004
'Jungle Juice' concoctions again, and the results were similar to Xmas eve. Some stumbling, but no Earthquake to blame it on this time!
There were a lot of happy people New Years eve, but sorry the next morning.
I learned my lesson from the previous party, and kept my intake of adult
beverages under control. The place was much more crowded than the previous
party. The dancing and carousing went on well past midnight, and the evening
ended in the wee hours with a beachfront bonfire. Good stuff. I met up with
my friends from Tikal for a few days also. We Salsa danced with the locals in town,and did some
serious sun worshipping during a bicycle tour of the local beaches. There
are several gorgeous beaches within a 6 mile radius of Puerto Viejo. One has
black sand, the others white to regular color. Almost all have palm and
mangrove trees growing close to the water, and at high tide there isn't much
room to walk in some areas, let alone lie down and relax. I saw one rogue
wave rudely awaken two sleeping people! They got soaked, as well as their
stuff. The surf was especially powerful because of an offshore storm. The
surfers loved it, but the swimmers did not. A few of the beaches were closed
for swimming due to the dangerous undertows the storm was creating. It was
good seeing Lucy again. She is off to Argentina to continue her 'Around the
world' adventure that will end in late April.
01 Bridge to Panama from Costa Rica
I left Costa Rica and entered Panama with no problems. The border was interesting, however. After going
through immigration, I had to walk over a long bridge into Panama. I have
walked into countries before, but this is the first time I have crossed a
river on a foot bridge to do it. Actually, the bridge had wooden planks laid
out on it, and vehicles could go one at a time (one way) across to the other
side. I hurried over the bridge when I saw a large truck lining up to make
the crossing. The bridge was rusty, and was creaking under the weight of a
small car, so I didn't want to be there when the truck tested the weight
limit. When I got to Panama, there were several stores and bars near the
border. I was waiting for my mini van ride to the bus station, so I wandered
into a bar for a cooling beverage. I was shocked to see that they had Old
Milwaukee! I ordered one and got .50 back from my dollar. What a bargain!
Panama had some great deals on drinks and meals, and I took advantage. I
rode to David the first night, going down the eastern coast of Panama. There
is really nice scenery along the coast.Palm trees, cliffs, islands, and
lagoons. Once we headed inland, the views changed to dense jungle, then
mountains, as we climbed to David. I spent two days there at a small hotel.
That night I had my first hot shower in two weeks! You get used to cool or
cold water, especially when you're on the beach, but hot was definitely a
treat.
02 Bar
Not much to do, but I wandered around the city a little and tried various restaurants and local watering holes. Beer averaged .40 for a
bottle. (.50 for premium) I even got to watch an NFL playoff game (In
Spanish) one night in a local sports bar.The bus ride to Panama city was
around 8 hours, but not bad. I caught a father-son operated bus that played
movies and stopped every few hours for snacks or meals. It was a nice change
from the company operated bus lines that stick to a strict schedule. I found
a good place to stay in downtown Panama City. It was just off the main
avenue, right in the heart of the city. The trip to the Panama Canal was
well worth it. Amazing story. There was a viewing stand by the Miraflores
locks, and I saw a cargo ship go through. Impressive. The ship was pulled
into the lock by 4 small trains, and then raised 27 feet to the next level.
This took 8 minutes at 3 million gallons of water per minute. The free
visitors center had a slide show and descriptions of the engineering and
effort that went into construction. I stayed at the canal for a few hours,
and was not bored at all. Well worth the time. Panama city is quite a place.
All kinds of things going on. I was here to catch a flight home, but was
glad the city had so much to offer. But,it was hot! 90's and humid every
day. I was ready to head home after almost 6 weeks in Central America. You
could easily spend 6 months doing what I did. I missed a lot, but also saw
and experienced quite a bit. I was almost used to the heat by the time I
left. (Almost) When the pilot announced 37 degrees on our approach into
Atlanta, I remembered I had only one long sleeve shirt, and it was buried in
my backpack. I had to dig it out before venturing outside the airport. I
hope the pics come through okay. I am working on another slide show to send
out from the last few weeks of travel. Thanks for the feedback.......
Later....... Allen
