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Saturday 19 July 2008

Panama - Size 7

15th – 18th July

We arrived into the airport of Panama City knowing nothing about the place, apart from what we had read on a couple of websites. Famous for the Panama Canal, and a certain type of Hat, we wondered what else the place would have to offer. After being there for a couple of days, we discovered the tiny country reminded us of a mini America, with lots of rain, and lots of rich tourists!

On arrival at the airport we were told the only way to get to our hotel would be by taxi, costing $35. When we explained that we didn’t have $35, the arrivals tourist information seemed puzzled and didn’t think that there was a bus into the city… ‘everyone takes a taxi’ she said! Some airport workers we spoke to suggested that there was a local bus, but we’d have to walk a while to get to the stop!

2 minutes later, we were at the stop… it was just outside the airport gates, but it was hardly the Inka Trail! A man waiting at the stop helped us determine which bus to get – by now it was dark and they all looked the same – we were assured that it would take us pretty close to where we needed to be.

An hour and a half later, we’d seen most of the suburbs of Panama City, the nice and not so nice. We had told the friendly driver that we wanted the old town, and as the bus pulled into the dodgiest street so far of the journey, he gestured us to get off! We paid our fare, 25
cents each, and set about finding our hostel. After 10 minutes of back alleys and pot holes, we were advised by a policeman of the safest route to walk. Finally, we found our hostel, dumped our bags and set about finding some food.

Panama City Old Town is a real mix of contrasting things. The Presidential Palace in one street, a brothel in another, a flash restaurant then a derelict old building. The tourists that visit Panama now are more interested in seeing the Panama Canal, then being whisked away to the huge out of town over air conditioned shopping malls to bag some bargain designer gear. It looks like the government has forgotten about the Old Town and this part of the city has been left to fall into disrepair, which is a shame as there are some amazing buildings around.

We decided to push the boat out, and went to the flashest restaurant that we’ve been to in months, and when it came to pay the bill, Ady ended up running back to the hostel to get another credit card, as the one we had was declined!!! This isn’t the first time the anti fraud teams have blocked our cards – they can’t seem to grasp the concept of people travelling through different countries over the course of the same week!

The following day, after some research, we found it was possible to get a bus up to the Panama Canal visitors centre at the Miraflores Locks…just after we’d arrived the heaviest rain the we have seen so far on our trip arrived, and stayed the whole day. It turned out to have been one of the wettest days of the rainy season! A combination of a hitched lift from one of the lock workers and a local bus saw us back in the city centre without too much of a soaking!

The buses in Panama City are worth a mention, as you’ll see from the photos. Each one is owned by the driver, and many are decorated with elaborate designs on their bodywork. Public transport is very cheap but it is difficult to understand where each of the busses are going. We managed to survive and didn’t get that lost…!

In our short time in this city, we got to see the Panama Canal, but there wasn’t much else worth noting. The rain didn’t help, but from what we hear, it’s the rainy season for 9 months of the year!

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