Panama City, Panama

Panama was an exciting destination for me. Not only is it the site of perhaps one of the most difficult engineering achievements yet undertaken, it is also the political and geological marker between Central America and South America: Panama was my final destination in Central America... And while I had been to Central America in the past, I was on South America´s doorstep for the first time--nearly ready to cross over onto a continent I had only read about.

But Panama City wasn´t just about anticipation. Panama City, more than any of my other intermediary destinations in Central America, felt ¨Comfortable¨to me. Things were a lot more like what I was accustomed to... Ie, Hot water in the showers, streets without potholes, sidewalks that one COULD use a wheelchair on, relatively orderly traffic, huge shopping malls, attention given to safety. There was also a HUGE 24-hour market nearby (where I found the MOST DELICIOUS YOGURT I HAVE EVER EATEN IN MY LIFE!!), and the streets were safe to walk on 24 hours a day. SUCH a refreshing change from further north!

Panama City served as a comfortable and interesting jumping-off point to my travels on the Southern Continent. I used part of my time there to plan my journey into Brazil.

Despite the large number of ex-pats living in Panama, and the prevalence of English being spoken, I was still able to practice my Spanish at times. One of those times was in helping to negociate marriage terms between a Spanish-only speaker and an English-only speaker. I didn´t fully understand anything, but added in extra details as I saw fit. So the translations were probably better for comic relief than for contractual obligations, but it was certainly fun.

One gentleman I spoke to while I was there at Zuly´s was very interesting... He knew more about American politics than I. He knew more the depletion of oil reserves. And the Iraq war. And president Bush. And he spoke perfect English. As a second language. He wasn´t from the states but he understood so much about our nation and our problems that I was more aware than I had been in a long time about the things I don´t know about my own country. Humbling. Very humbling.

My home while I was in Panama City, Zuly´s Backpackers. It is run by Zuly and Richard (an extremely kind and helpful couple), Zuly´s sister, and their adorable dog Linda (which means ´cute´ in Español!)

I took a taxi to the base of the mountain, then walked to the top to see the Baha´i temple. It is a very interesting structure. Around the temple is a garden. In the foreground is the trunk of a tree with pink scars and green-grey lichen. In the distance is a beautiful canna lily, and in the valley beyond, The Panama Canal (Panama City, Panama)

The intent of this photo is to show the ¨Bridge of the Americas¨, which symbolicaly links N and S America over the Panama Canal. I took during the walk from the bus stop to the Miraflores locks (Miraflores locks, Panama)

On the walk toward Casco Antigua (The Old City), this is the view back toward the banking district. Obviously the place is filled with investment dollars and highrises. Lots of highrise apartments for sale, lots of office space. This city has big plans (Panama City, Panama)

Looking toward Casco Antigua. On the near left is a fishing boat. In the distance on the left are ships lining up to enter Panama Canal (Panama City, Panama)

In Casco Antigua, on the peninsula, was this church with interesting colors in its blocks (Panama City, Panama)

While traipsing around Casco Antigua, I was stopped by some guards at a security barrier that I was about to walk around. They asked me, ¨Do you know where you are?¨ I said, ¨no¨... They told me that I was about to walk in front of the Presidential Palace. ¨Oh¨, I responded. They checked my bag to make sure I didn´t have anything interesting, and I proceeded forward. At the presidential palace, I peered in past the gates and I saw some guards inside. And the surprise was there were some BIRDS there too. I asked the guard if I could take a photo and he said yes. Not only was I allowed to take a photo, but the guard helped ¨pose¨ the bird by pushing it around a bit. The bird squawked a bit but didn´t otherwise seem to disturbed by his actions. I am glad I was able to stop laughing long enough to take this photo (Panama City, Panama)

At the Miraflores Locks visitors center, there are models of different dredging vehicles used to create the Panama Canal. I was particularly taken with this one. Imagine the SIZE of those buckets! (Miraflores Locks, Panama)

From the Miraflores Locks viewing platform. This ship, stacked with containers headed into the Pacific has the name ¨Verrazano Narrows¨ on the Bow.

Cool slightly-industrial/Mid-century modern building in the banking district. A super-groovy furniture store was just below the tower. (Panama City, Panama)

This dog-wash caught my eye. If you zoom in on the above photo and look at the warning panel on the left-hand side, it´s pretty funny (Panama City, Panama)

I went to one of the malls in Panama City, and one of the things that stood out at me (literally) was the size of this manequin´s endowment. (¨She had HUGE tracts of land!¨)... I couldn´t stop giggling and other people were taking photos too. I asked about it, and apparently this is a trend coming out of Columbia to have mannequins with milk-jug sized breasts. (Panama City, Panama)

Panama was great, and served as a good point for me to catch up my breath and plan my next steps. Panama was comfortable, with many of the comforts from home. I can see why so many expats live in PC.