After just almost four months in South America, it was time to move on to Central America. Panama! Our original plan at the start of our trip was to visit more of Central America, Guatemala and Costa Rica at the very least. But after a few weeks in South America, it became obvious that we would be really rushing if we were to make the flights we already had booked. So we made the difficult decision to cancel the flights and allow ourselves more time to do South America properly and we will return to Central America another time. We definitely made the right decision. In retrospect, eight days in Panama was probably too long but we had some good lie ins, and it's a nice place to while away a few days. We were staying in Casco Viejo, the old town, which came with a slight premium but the alternative was staying in the banking district which is completely characterless. It's not known as the Dubai of the Americas for nothing. The unpredictable weather (it rains nine months of the year here apparently!) meant that we enjoyed a few lie-ins (read: alarm set for 8am, wake up to pissing rain, snooze for two more hours) and thoroughly explored the old town. It is full of great little cafes like Unido which can be found in the lobby of the American Trade Hotel (aka where we would have stayed if money was no issue!) and lots of relatively good restaurants, but after the ‘easy on the wallet’ prices of South America, it was a shock to be paying London prices for food and drink. Frank Gehry’s Biomuseo is a must see, even if it is just exactly that - the entrance fees are extortionate! If you are familiar with Gehry’s work then you will recognise that the abundance of colour used is unusual for him. Most of his buildings are known for their metal clad finish but in this instance he wanted to reflect Panama’s passion for colour and create a building that the people of Panama would be able to connect with. The Biomuseo is at the beginning of the Amador Causeway, reputed to have great views of downtown Panama, so we hired a quadracycle - not surprisingly, I was more excited about this than Rob was. We made an unplanned visit to Punta Culebra which is owned by the Smithsonian Institution. And, we finally saw not one, but THREE sloths - my spirit animals. It was genuinely one of my trip highlights. Sloth Watch is finally over! We also saw some amazing frogs and even a Rana Dorada (Golden Frog), one of Panama’s most deadly - it is tiny and was thankfully in a glass tank! The Panama Canal has mixed reviews from fellow tourists, some say it isn't worth the visit, others disagree. We think we worked out the secret to making it worthwhile. The boats only come through at certain times of day, so if you arrive at the wrong time then all you’re going to see from the viewing platform is an empty canal, watch a patriotic twelve minute ‘movie’ on its history, and visit a museum which is well done but a little heavy on the detail for non-canal building enthusiasts. The key is to actually see the boats coming through - to do this you need to either arrive early between 8-9am or later before closing 4-5pm. Anywhere in between these times and the boats are changing direction so their passing through is much more sporadic. Another of our Panama highlights was walking along Cinta Costera. Leaving from Punta Paitilla, it is a lovely 45 minute pedestrianised stroll along the waterfront, broken up by a series of green spaces and viewpoints as you snake around the coast towards the old town. We didn't actually intend on walking the whole way but ventured forth as the traffic was at a stand still. We are glad we did as the views looking back are quite something.
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AuthorsRob & Charlie's travelling adventures on their long journey back to London after living in Hong Kong. Four continents, twelve countries, lots of experiences. Archives
July 2017
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Robert Ware & Charlotte Nunn |