Our hotel has an agreement with the cafe below us to give us free breakfast. I had an empanada and some tea to soothe my throat. We spent the morning walking around Casco Viejo a bit more and did some shopping. There was one shop that had Panamanian futbol jerseys, and I had my eyes on them. They had the home and the away jersey, but they wanted $45 a piece for them. I was able to get both for $65 which I thought was pretty decent. Unlike many of the other jerseys I have from my travels, these may actually be authentic. Nicole and I couldn’t find any differences between the ones we bought and the “official” jerseys available on the internet for a lot more money. Nicole bought a small hand-crafted basket to display on our shelves back home.
After getting all of our souvenirs, we went back to our hotel for lunch. From there, we made our way to the Panama Canal. We sent for an Uber, which took us through some more impoverished areas of Panama City. At one point, there was actually a sign at the side of the road that read, “Bienvenidos a la peor calle de la ciudad de Panamà ,” or “Welcome to the worst street in Panama City.” Below it was a sarcastic thank you to what appeared to be the department of public works for working hard to repair it. It was certainly a different area of the city. Homes were missing walls and held together with cheap corrugated metal. Open-air barber shops seemed to be all the rage. It is a stark contrast to the massive high-rises we can see across the water from Casco Viejo. It took longer than anticipated to reach the Canal’s closest set of locks at Miraflores because there didn’t appear to be a direct road. I suppose when people think of Panama, they think of the canal, so it should have been no surprise to me that there were more tourists here than anywhere else.
There was a special viewing area with viewpoints at different levels, but there was no place along the edge to get a good view. It was packed. A large “Panamax” cargo vessel was in the middle of transitioning through the locks. “Panamax” refers to a ship that was designed to the maximum size that was allowed in through the Panama Canal. I don’t know how they squeeze through without banging into the side. The ship is somehow guided by multiple tiny trains that parallel the canal on tracks. It was interesting to watch this, but I was also angered by the hordes of people everywhere. We went inside for a bit to get air conditioning and a break from the people. After a bit we went to a different viewing deck, which was technically a cafe, but nobody hassled us . . .yet. I got my best pictures from this spot. I would have ordered a drink or a snack, but service was a bit lacking, so I just took pictures. I was hoping to get some kind of timelapse footage of the ships going through the locks, but the process is a bit slower than I anticipated, and I didn’t feel like awkwardly waiting for 30 minutes just for another ship to show up. We walked around the area a bit more, but the people were driving me crazy. When we returned to the cafe, the staff basically threw us out, but not anyone else (none of whom had at any point ordered any food or drink). I’m ok with being kicked out of the cafe, but I’d be happier about it if the rules were enforced equally. That was kind of the last straw, and Nicole and I decided to leave. The canal was cool thing to see, but the facility built for tourists is poorly designed. Considering the canal goes through the entire country, the viewing areas are extremely limited. Furthermore, a newer, bigger canal was completed a couple years prior, but there appears to be no effort to have some sort of shuttle bus that takes visitors to see that. A bit disgruntled, we headed back to Casco Viejo. Our Uber driver appeared to get lost a couple times, and then turned away from our hotel, so we just told him to stop. It took us 45 mins to get back from the canal, which is only 5 miles away.
After the stress of the canal, Nicole and I went to a rooftop bar. I drank a beer while watching the sunset over the old rooftops of Casco Viejo. It was much more relaxing than the chaos at the canals. After that, we had dinner at an Italian place and then Nicole got me ice cream because I was a good boy. Despite being a Friday night, it didn’t seem much worse than the previous night as far as crowds and noise go. It seems that Casco Viejo is hopping every night. We slept well once again.
After getting all of our souvenirs, we went back to our hotel for lunch. From there, we made our way to the Panama Canal. We sent for an Uber, which took us through some more impoverished areas of Panama City. At one point, there was actually a sign at the side of the road that read, “Bienvenidos a la peor calle de la ciudad de Panamà ,” or “Welcome to the worst street in Panama City.” Below it was a sarcastic thank you to what appeared to be the department of public works for working hard to repair it. It was certainly a different area of the city. Homes were missing walls and held together with cheap corrugated metal. Open-air barber shops seemed to be all the rage. It is a stark contrast to the massive high-rises we can see across the water from Casco Viejo. It took longer than anticipated to reach the Canal’s closest set of locks at Miraflores because there didn’t appear to be a direct road. I suppose when people think of Panama, they think of the canal, so it should have been no surprise to me that there were more tourists here than anywhere else.
There was a special viewing area with viewpoints at different levels, but there was no place along the edge to get a good view. It was packed. A large “Panamax” cargo vessel was in the middle of transitioning through the locks. “Panamax” refers to a ship that was designed to the maximum size that was allowed in through the Panama Canal. I don’t know how they squeeze through without banging into the side. The ship is somehow guided by multiple tiny trains that parallel the canal on tracks. It was interesting to watch this, but I was also angered by the hordes of people everywhere. We went inside for a bit to get air conditioning and a break from the people. After a bit we went to a different viewing deck, which was technically a cafe, but nobody hassled us . . .yet. I got my best pictures from this spot. I would have ordered a drink or a snack, but service was a bit lacking, so I just took pictures. I was hoping to get some kind of timelapse footage of the ships going through the locks, but the process is a bit slower than I anticipated, and I didn’t feel like awkwardly waiting for 30 minutes just for another ship to show up. We walked around the area a bit more, but the people were driving me crazy. When we returned to the cafe, the staff basically threw us out, but not anyone else (none of whom had at any point ordered any food or drink). I’m ok with being kicked out of the cafe, but I’d be happier about it if the rules were enforced equally. That was kind of the last straw, and Nicole and I decided to leave. The canal was cool thing to see, but the facility built for tourists is poorly designed. Considering the canal goes through the entire country, the viewing areas are extremely limited. Furthermore, a newer, bigger canal was completed a couple years prior, but there appears to be no effort to have some sort of shuttle bus that takes visitors to see that. A bit disgruntled, we headed back to Casco Viejo. Our Uber driver appeared to get lost a couple times, and then turned away from our hotel, so we just told him to stop. It took us 45 mins to get back from the canal, which is only 5 miles away.
After the stress of the canal, Nicole and I went to a rooftop bar. I drank a beer while watching the sunset over the old rooftops of Casco Viejo. It was much more relaxing than the chaos at the canals. After that, we had dinner at an Italian place and then Nicole got me ice cream because I was a good boy. Despite being a Friday night, it didn’t seem much worse than the previous night as far as crowds and noise go. It seems that Casco Viejo is hopping every night. We slept well once again.
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