Panama - Panama City Area

Adam and I took a vacation to Panama!

We had talked about doing a vacation during winter to somewhere warm. Adam read an article about Panama and after looking at various options, we decided it would be great. And it was great! Although it wasn't really cold or wintry in Denver while we were there, but nonetheless. I wanted to visit somewhere I could see cool birds and Adam wanted somewhere warm. 

Feb 10/11 

We got a direct flight from Denver to Panama City which was great. Less awesome was that it left Denver at 9:30pm and arrived in Panama at 5:30am. I appreciate the efficiency of red-eyes; we didn't lose a day to traveling. But I do not appreciate being so tired. 

We landed and got an Uber to our hotel.  The front desk was a little confused by us trying to check in at 6am- I told them we'd be fine leaving our bags and checking in later, but he said, "no, no it's okay, your room is ready. But next time, I have to charge you for an extra day!" um, okay, next time.

Our hotel (Radisson Hotel Panama Canal) was quite pleasant. It seemed to have a wide mix of people staying there- Norteamericanos, Latin Americans, tourists, business people, people there for a youth dance competition... it felt like a nice, local hotel. There was a pool and a long pedestrian path along the sea. It was in a really quiet area, not by anything else, really- not by restaurants or shops or houses. It was by the convention center and a police training camp and a soccer field and a big park. For us, it was nice and quiet. We planned for our first day or two to be rest/recovery days. 

X marks the spot of our hotel. Down the Causeway is Amador, and in the middle of that highway loop (where you see Panama Canal Museum) is Casco Viejo.

We got into our room and decided to take just a short nap. Then we got up, refreshed, and ordered an Uber to take us to Casco Viejo (old town) for some breakfast and exploring. 

Here is where I made a mistake.  I forgot how hot and humid it actually is in the tropics. It was still so early when we arrived (still dark!) that when I got ready to go be out wandering around town for several hours, I wore PANTS. And SHOES and socks! And I didn't take my hat!! And I didn't even PACK MY FAN OR MY WALKING SANDALS! What was I thinking? I had regrets the whole trip about how I packed. I did not do a great job of packing. 

The uber took us to Casco Viejo, but the driver missed his exit and it ended making a 12 minute trip take about 35 minutes. He was so mad. We didn't really care that much. 

Casco Viejo was cute. Just how you'd expect, old buildings, narrow streets, cobblestones. We wandered around for a while, got some breakfast at Unido coffee shop, looked in shops. We also bought several things I forgot to pack- a belt for my falling-down pants (PANTS?!), a charging cord (I brought 3 of the wrong kind of cord, awesome), more sunscreen, washcloths that I used all trip as sweat rags.  

We had a nice mini-meal on a rooftop terrace, then took an uber back to the hotel. The rest of the afternoon was for rest. We took naps, then we went to the pool and took more naps there. We took a long walk along the edge of the sea, and found a single restaurant, called Canal House, that was right on the water's edge. We stayed there for a long time, looking out to where the canal meets the sea, drinking cold drinks, and eating a series of seafood dishes, including ceviche. The sun set on the water and on our will to stay awake. We walked back to the hotel and went to bed. 

Feb 12

We slept for nearly 11 hours. Still felt tired. We went to the breakfast buffet at the hotel which was amazing! All kinds of breads, fruits, cereal, veggies, hot dishes like eggs, potatoes, pancakes, meats, etc. I love breakfast. I love breakfast buffets. The morning was off to a good start!  Also, there are lots of cats around here! One works at the hotel, and another came to visit us at our table at the Canal House restaurant. And they're just around. 

Our plan for the day was to rent bikes and ride down the Amador Causeway and see things down there. The causeway was built from the materials dug out when building the canal. The islands used to be islands, now they are part of the city. We rented bikes from a place fairly near our hotel. There is a beautiful bike and pedestrian path on both sides of the causeway. It was a lovely ride. We rode all the way to the end, then went to the Punta Culebra Discovery Center, run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. 

I highly recommend the Discovery Center! It was great! They have lots of interpretive signs. I saw lots of cool birds. And I saw three sloths! One of the educators there was like, "ugh, we have too many sloths. I see like 10 sloths a day. We really have too many." Can you imagine!!

A snoozy sloth

 

They have a great indoor exhibit about frogs, particularly the Panama Golden Frog, which is highly endangered and they are working to save it. 

They also have a butterfly house, aquariums, a discovery room, and some trails. It is a small place, actually, but the educators are really enthusiastic and there was lots of us to see. 

I saw an amazing bird at the discovery center, the Crimson-backed Tanager. I love this bird.  

After the Discovery Center, I was so hot. So very, very hot. We went to the restaurant next to the Discovery Center (El Ranchito) because it was next to it, and also if we ate there we got a free hour off our bike rental. Easy decision. I had the best frozen coconut lemonade in the world, and Adam and I shared a big ol' seafood platter. 

I could tell I was getting heat exhaustion, so we rode back to the hotel and I went in to stick my head under cold water and get a cold drink. Then we rode back to the bike return and then walked back to the hotel again. We did not get a chance to see the BioMuseo (I'm not really even sure that that is), because it closed early, and we also did not get a change to see this Panama sign, because it is at the end of Flamenco Island and we weren't sure we were allowed to go there. Oh well, next time! 

 

Our walk back was really nice, through that park and along the pedestrian walkway the whole way. We saw a bunch more cool birds and cool buildings. This park we walked through used to be part of the infrastructure to house Americans working on the canal. Most of the buildings are abandoned now, but some are being rehabbed into new uses. 

We skipped dinner and just had snacks in the room and tried to stay away by playing cards. I had a headache from the heat exhaustion. We went to bed pretty early.   

Friday, Feb 13

We saw a toucan from the balcony of our room!! It was awesome. Adam got some good pictures. 

We had breakfast at the lavish buffet. Then we got an uber to Enterprise to pick up our rental car. At Enterprise, I saw a little calendar with a circle around Tuesday, Feb 17th. I said, "Is Tuesday a holiday?" and the rental car guy said, "Yes, Tuesday is Carnivale. It will start tonight and go until Tuesday." Ahhhh. A country-wide major party holiday that lasts at least 4 days. Not something we had planned for at all. 

 

Keel-billed Toucan!

 

Getting the rental car took FOREVER. At least 45 minutes. Why so long!?! I have no idea. But what with that taking forever, and us spending forever looking at that cool Toucan forever, we didn't make it to the Miraflores locks as early as I had planned. The guidebook said to arrive between 9 and 11 to watch the morning ships go through, then like 3-5 for the evening ships. We arrived at 9:45, paid our entrance fee, then learned all the ships were done until 2pm.  

 

Well, here we are at the locks

 

We went to the 45-minute 3D IMAX movie about the Panama Canal, narrated by Morgan Freeman. That was actually a pretty good movie. Thank goodness there was something for us to do after paying admission. They don't have any kind of exhibit area, museum, anything like that. Just a gift shop, a cafe, observation deck for the locks, and the IMAX movie. But they appear to be in the process of building a huge new place, so maybe in the future there will be an exhibit area? 

Lessons learned: 

• Make a packing list. Take walking sandals, and a fan, and sunscreen, and something to wipe the sweat off your face with, and another pair of shorts.  
• Avoid heat exhaustion! Drink more water. Take more breaks! Wear more hats!  
• Know when Carnavale is.
• Really, arrive at the locks early. Or find a way to look online and see the schedule? Or go in the evening?  

For next time: 

• Get charged for an extra day when checking in at 6am? 
• BioMuseo and Panama sign
• See a ship going through the locks.  
• Go to the Canal Museum in Casco Viejo.