Saturday, January 23, 2010

Panama Jan 2010

Well the airfare couldn't be beat, and I hadn't been in Panama for almost 30 years, so I spent three days seeing many sights I didn't get to see in the past. I hired a guide for the day - he didn't speak English, but I managed with my Spanish. Above is one of the twenty or so ruins two miles outside Panama City. Its part of Panama Viejo, and dates back to 1519.

Next we traveled to Casco Viejo, the historic center of today's Panama. It is a quiet, charming district of narrow streets overlooked by the flower bedecked balconies of two and three-story houses. Who knows, these pictures might inspire me to start painting again.


Here I am with the modern skyline of Panama in the background. There definitely were not as many skyscrapers during my last visit.

Here's an interesting balcony scene with an old bike and old clothes.


The third stop on the tour was the Panama Canal. Unfortunately the only ship I saw in the canal was this small passenger vessel. You can see how the water drops to sea level in this and the next two pictures. On one of my cruises, I remember entering the locks on the Atlantic side, rising to the level of Lake Gatun, cruising on the lake for the day, and then exiting the Gatun locks to the sea.


Its also interesting to note that Panama City is on the Pacific side, but is still on the east. Try to figure that out.

I returned to my hotel, and relaxed before dinner. The food was excellent in every restaurant I went. I enjoyed the civiche - which is raw fish marinated in lime juice and onions. It was my appetizer for three night.

On my second day, I did a walking tour of the city. I think it was over 90 degrees at 10am. Here's one of my favorite fast food restaurants, but I didn't stop to eat here in Panama.

Here are some of the modern skyscrapers. The round building on the left is where I stayed 30 years ago. At that time it was the Holiday Inn, and it was the only building in the area. Now it is dwarfed by the others.

There's no shortage of new construction in Panama. I must have seen 30 or more new buildings under construction. Well at over $100,000 per canal transit, the country is raking it in. I didn't get to see the new wider canal, which opens in 2014, but I did see a demonstration of how it will work. Almost 60% of the water will be reused, allowing for more crossings without threatening the level of the lake.
Here's a picture of the company I used to work for at the time. I was just lucky that I walked down the right street. I worked for Pan American Life, in New Orleans, from 1978-1982, and had the chance to visit Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic, in addition to Panama. I only lasted about 2 hours in the heat. I spent the afternoon in the shade by the pool. By the way, although not a gambler, I did hit the casino twice. The first time I won $3.00 on my first slot machine pull, and left. On my last night, I tried again, and ended up winning another 25 cents. I don't have anything else planned until March, when I take the first half of my next around the world adventure.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the wonderful photos. Not only do you travel widely, the documentation is superp! Faye

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