Off to Panama...the furthest south I have ever been!

From Playa del Carmen, I took a bus to the Cancun airport on Saturday. My flight to Panama city arrived at 5 p.m.ish. I had time before Tabitha flew in so I decided to go the econo route to the downtown area of the Panama City. I met and befriended a local university student that was going in the same direction and he helped me take the local bus for $1. The taxi drivers were all over me..."I´ll take you downtown for $12". Nope! I was determined. I was so proud of myself. I took a "diablo rojo" (red devil), this is what the local buses are called. Also noted, Panama uses USD as their currency (I had no idea until I read ¨the book¨).

This is Tabitha´s 2 week vacation from work so she had booked 5 nights at a really nice hotel in Panama City, we had a great view of the city. I felt very spoiled and guilty about crashing her pad but, I do plan to repay the favor when I get back to the real world of the working folk! By the time she arrived at the hotel, it was 11 or so. She was hilarious. The 1st thing she pulled out of her bag was a bottle of Champagne! Cheers to vacationing in Panama City! We got ready and were off for a night out on Calle Uruguay. We hit a few clubs and ended up at a salsa, hip hop club (I can't remember the name of it...Tab?) where we met Juan Carlos and Marcos, 2 Panamanias that speak really good English! We finally called it a night (morning) at 5:30 a.m...my latest night so far!

The next day, we got a late start (go figure) and took a taxi in the afternoon to El Amador via a calzada (causeway) that links 4 small islands to the mainland. El Amador (or Fort Amador) is at the end of a causeway. Fort Amador was used when the U.S. had control of the Panama Canal. The military placed bunkers along the causeway for security. We ate lunch there at the marina and then headed back to the hotel. That night, Juan Carlos and Marcos took us to the horse races. Marcos trains horses as a hobby. We were late and only got to see the last race where one horse lost its jockey...ouch! We hung out for a while and called it a night.

On Monday, we went to Casco Viejo. Casco Viejo (Old Compound in English) was the site of the new city in the late 1600s. The new city was moved here because it was easier to defend due to reefs that prevented ships from getting too close and they also built a massive wall surrounding the city. We saw some pretty cool churches and great views of the Bahia de Panama. This area is going through a serious gentrification process (anyone want to make a real estate investment?). There is quite a bit of construction but, it´s cool to see some of the buildings in the "before stage" of reconstruction. The architecture has several influences...French, Caribbean, and Spanish style buildings. Apparently, this was a favorite hang out of Manuel Noriega back in the day. It was really hot that day and we found a cute restaurant with great Sangria. It was a relaxing afternoon. At the restaurant, there was a large table with tourists from Columbia. The owner of the restaurant was playing music videos and she put on a song called "Esta Vida" (which I believe is by a Colombian singer). The main chorus of the song says "Ay ay ay yi que bonita es esta vida" (Ay ay ay yi how beautiful this life is). The entire table was singing and clapping and it was just this crazy jolly time! It was a moment in time that I won't forget! We left Casco Viejo around 3 because it was time for my reunion with my favorite gal from Manuel Antonio...Karen!