Big City Life

Our mode of transportation across the country was a Toyota Yaris & it seemed to be the only type of rental car in Panama- it's popularity alone giving us good reason to feel like proud gringo road trippers. The first leg of the 12+ hour journey took our Yaris through shanty towns full of friendly waving locals, inexplicably gorgeous rolling green hills, jaw-dropping thick cloud forests, past waterfalls, around endless sharp curves, up & over hill after hill, & eventually to the mountain town of Boquete. We tracked down stubbornly hidden natural hot springs & (after the paying admission to the oddest of owners, surrounded by his crew of turkeys) we hot tub hopped through the five of them, daydreaming out loud about how great it would be to transport just one of them back home. The town itself was quiet, had great coffee, & kindly surprised us with an impressive fireworks display as we wandered through it's empty night streets.


The next day we drove through David & onto the Panamerican Highway which we rode straight into Panama City. First stop- the Panama Canal. I'd gone a little overboard scouring through my lonely planet guide the night before, & we were all pumped to watch as 52 million gallons of fresh water was dumped into the ocean as the giant locks opened wide & let the massive awaiting cargo & cruise ships slip through. The history of Panama, especially it's history in relation to us Americanas, is entirely tied up & focused around the canal, & it was great to see it close up in all its grandeur.

We head back into the city, found a Cuban bar that put all their effort & personality into making us perfect mojitos, had a long dinner at an outside cafe in a church-filled plaza with gorgeous old buildings looming over us & kittens rolling around at our feet, played a little pool, & head back to our hostel where we discovered their movie theatre- a big room with a projector & three levels of, I guess, massive stairs wrapped in padding & purple satin that plays only the best American movies nightly.

Thursday the boys dropped me to savor a taste of the modern world at the Multicentro mall en route to the airport where they took off back to the states. Leaving me alone- in a hostel overflowing with westerners that is.

I´ve been staying at Luna´s Castle which is located right along the water on a peninsula with this perfect view of the city from the second floor balcony. All the buildings lining the narrow brick streets of Casco Viejo are equipped with balconies- even those no longer consisting of any house beyond their often beautiful front wall. Considering that the first established area of Panama City was burned straight to the ground (by none other than Captain Morgan himself- I was secretly tempted to visit the ruins just to take a picture in the captain morgan pose, but thought just maybe they'd find that offensive), Casco Viejo is the oldest standing part of the city. In the process of being gentrified, the old & the new mingle down every street inside the peninsula- many dilapidated buildings don banners with a picture depicting the utter potential that the property holds, & I´ve got to admit it´s a great strategy. It wasn't long until I was imagining myself leaning back in a chair, looking out into the sky with my feet resting on the balcony of my beautifully restored home in antique Panama City.

Walking up Central Ave. through the rest of the city, as I did daily, each step brings you closer to the modern world. Dotted along the pedestrian streets, open-front stores blast latino music, carts sell everything from shave ice to hot dogs, & tables peddle plastic accessories, headphones, & fake leather belts. The parks overflow with locals lining every inch of sit-able space, talking & interacting in an oddly small town way. I indulged myself daily in two of my favorite travel routines- cruising through foreign supermarkets & perusing down alleys of shaded markets. Those stemming off of Central Ave. were mostly selling food, the vegetable stands hanging glorious bunches of aloe plants that almost made me wish I were sunburnt.

The infamous city buses- diablos rojos (red devils)

25 cents & so confusing you never entirely know where you'll end up

Central Ave.

I took a diablo rojo to the massive new bus station/mall on my final day to purchase a ticket that will take me 16 hours overnight back across the border into Costa Rica to meet Elise!

chau Panama