Fun in Panama City

When last we read, Di was riding the Cannonball Express, an ancient Bluebird Bus with grinding gears and fully loaded with humanity, careening down the road from Sabanitas to Panama City, Panama...

You can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.

I arrived in Panama City, but having no idea where my hotel was located, I climbed off the bus at the second stop in the Big City.  Panama City, on the Pacific coast near the end of the Canal, is now the Miami of Latin America. It's prosperity shows in the rapidly rising skyline, creative architecture, and a brand new art museum.

Cool architecture. The spiral building is called "The Screw".

Having disembarked the bus in who-knows-what part of town, I waved down a little yellow cab right away. (They're everywhere, and very inexpensive.)  My driver didn't speak English and didn't know where my hotel was, so he called an English-speaking friend on the phone and I spoke with the friend, and it was all sorted.

View from my hotel. On the horizon, ships waiting to transit the Canal.

Well, the hotel I had booked in haste on my Iphone turned out to be the brand new Ramada Plaza Panama Punta Pacifica, and from close quarters on the boat and then the crowded local bus, I entered into airy space with immaculate marble floors and cool modern design, with a full length window in my spacious fourth floor room overlooking the skyline and sea.  Wow!  And hot running water and fresh towels and fluffy pillows, all the luxuries I didn't realized I'd missed!  And breakfast included, with bowls full of fresh fruit ...and bacon!!!  OK, enough of that...!

I got settled in and oriented and spent the first evening enjoying the hotel and environs.  The next day, I went out to explore the city, specifically the old Casco Viejo district, since I had limited time and wanted the leisure to walk.  I stepped outside and hailed a little yellow cab and he delivered me to the heart of Casco Viejo.

I had a moment of deja vu. When working in Peru years ago, after I'd arrived and spent time in Lima, it seemed a bit shabby compared to where I had come from; home.  After spending two weeks in the frontier town of Pucallpa and jungle villages, returning to Lima it seemed like The Big City, with all the amenities!  And so it was here...Cartagena had seemed a bit timeworn (well, yeah, duh!)  and after three weeks at sea and island hopping in remote places, Panama City was all shiny and glittery.

The guy with the pipe looks like you, Geo. Chamberlain!

Reveling in my freedom,  I bought a Panama hat from the first vendor I saw (and we had some laughs).  I continued to walk around the city wall, then back down through the streets.  I had to find an ATM.  Using my Tarzan Spanish, I asked for and received directions which I only partially understood, so off I went.  The first ATM I found was broken, the second as well.  I came upon folkloric dancing in the plaza, celebrating Panamanian Independence.

The dancers make yodeling cries at intervals.

A Diablo at Diablicos.

It began to rain, so I ducked into Diablicos, a restaurant specializing in Panamanian cuisine. I ordered a beverage and a bowl of traditional Sancocho soup made with chicken and yams, and chatted with the staff. Delicious.

My amigos Wber and Jhosuet.

Sabroso!  House-made hot sauce put a glow on my face.

Jose and me

Well, this turned out to be the best thing! The rain continued, my conversations with bartenders Wber and Jhosuet and server Jose were loads of fun, and I learned a lot about the city and people.  They told me there would be folkloric dancing in their restaurant in only one hour, so I went out for a wander and then came back.

The folkloric dancing was spectacular; the dancers were so talented and purely enjoyed what they were doing, smiling and laughing with one another.

From the Portbelo region. The dancer made the hoop skirt shimmy and sway.

Scary face from Portobelo!

A character with Spanish origins, he plays castanettes and
 dances with a flamenco step, stamping out a rapid tatoo.

Flamenco footwork ...very difficult, especially in sandals!
 These pictures cannot convey...

Country dances of flirtation and courtship

And last but not least, the band.

At the end, they invited some of the patrons to join in dancing.  Perhaps they noticed how much I was enjoying their performance, because they invited me.  I cha-cha'ed my little heart out!

Bailando.

Getting my Tourist on.

On the way back to find a cab, I stopped and bought some handicrafts, and had more fun chatting with the shop keepers.

Molas and a monkey mask from the Indios of the Darien region.

As it is so often, the things we don't plan turn out to be the most fun and surprising.  I had a great time in Panama City, thanks to the local people who helped me get along in Spanish and shared their good humor!