Shortly after visiting New Jersey for Christmas, I developed some sort of bizarre sort throat ailment. I called in sick to work for a day and went to a clinic in Marina del Rey where they determined I had some sort of virus. In spite of this, I continued my journey to Houston to visit with my own family. After ringing in the new year, I discovered I no longer had a voice. I found myself communicating via hand gestures and a bit of acting. This isn’t too different from how people in New Jersey communicate. After doing research on my condition, the internet doctors recommended adding moist air to my sinuses. It was a bit cool and dry in Houston, and not much better in Los Angeles, so I persuaded Nicole (through the use of several gestures, pie charts, and a powerpoint presentation) that we should go to Panama.
Why Panama? The winter holidays are typically peak time for northern visitors to the Caribbean and other destinations in places like Mexico or Costa Rica. Panama, on the other hand, has remained relatively off the radar, and as a result had plenty of seats on the plane.
After leaving Tocumen International, we caught an Uber into Panama City. We decided to stay in an area of the city called Casco Viejo, or the old quarter. It used to be very run down, but it has recently transformed into the “it” place full of restaurants, cafes, clubs, bars, and hotels. We checked into our b&b, where we got a room on the second floor with a balcony overlooking the narrow streets below. We went out to explore the rest of Casco Viejo. The sun was working its way down on the horizon and the humid air felt good on my throat. We made a loop around the entire neighborhood. It did not take too long, but we were on foot. As we soon learned, driving a car through this area is a bit masochistic. The narrow streets and lack of traffic lights make progress quite slow. We did some research on where to get dinner and ended up at a microbrewery called La Rana Dorada. While the doctors suggested not drinking alcohol, this was difficult to do at a microbrew and I enjoyed my pizza and IPA.
Afterward, we made another lap around Casco Viejo at night, taking in the views of downtown Panama City and all of its high rise buildings. We made a quick stop at the market across the street from our hotel to get some beverages and then settled in for the night. Our host had warned us that it can get quite loud at night and our room even came with earplugs. As we sat out on our balcony, we observed dozens and dozens of youths descend upon the club that was just below us. In spite of this, we went to bed early and had no difficulty falling asleep.
After leaving Tocumen International, we caught an Uber into Panama City. We decided to stay in an area of the city called Casco Viejo, or the old quarter. It used to be very run down, but it has recently transformed into the “it” place full of restaurants, cafes, clubs, bars, and hotels. We checked into our b&b, where we got a room on the second floor with a balcony overlooking the narrow streets below. We went out to explore the rest of Casco Viejo. The sun was working its way down on the horizon and the humid air felt good on my throat. We made a loop around the entire neighborhood. It did not take too long, but we were on foot. As we soon learned, driving a car through this area is a bit masochistic. The narrow streets and lack of traffic lights make progress quite slow. We did some research on where to get dinner and ended up at a microbrewery called La Rana Dorada. While the doctors suggested not drinking alcohol, this was difficult to do at a microbrew and I enjoyed my pizza and IPA.
Afterward, we made another lap around Casco Viejo at night, taking in the views of downtown Panama City and all of its high rise buildings. We made a quick stop at the market across the street from our hotel to get some beverages and then settled in for the night. Our host had warned us that it can get quite loud at night and our room even came with earplugs. As we sat out on our balcony, we observed dozens and dozens of youths descend upon the club that was just below us. In spite of this, we went to bed early and had no difficulty falling asleep.
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