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Amador Causeway

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Jose Kevo
Jose Kevo
First Reviewer
2 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
4
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Amador Causeway

  • March 5, 2007
  • Rated 2 of 5 by Jose Kevo from Middle-of-Nowhere, Missouri
Amador Causeway

Travel information and locals' advice regarded this leisure and recreational haven with such grandeur, I'd planned on spending my entire last day here as a reward. Big mistake, but that doesn't mean this place should be totally written-off. Coming here in the daytime was miserable; especially on a weekday. Save this for the night or on weekends. Otherwise, don't bother.

The four small islands are connected and lined with upscale restaurants and bars that cater to large crowds of an evening. The Fuerte Amador Resort & Marina promised shops and activities mingled with historical significance within Front Grant, established by the U.S. in 1913 to guard the Canal entrance.

I quickly lost interest because during a weekday morning, the entire Causeway area was locked-up tight; completely abandoned with no indications that anywhere was even preparing to open for lunch. Cool respite from the city heat doesn't appear until later, either. As for sloth-ladened nature trails, I didn't even bother looking. Everywhere appeared parched and deserted, with no shade in sight.

Greatest disappointment was missing out on the Marine Exhibition Center, operated by the Smithsonian Tropcial Research Institute. I knew it didn't open until 1pm, but waiting around was out of the question with roasting the only thing to occupy time. Perhaps I didn't miss anything. Lonely Planet contradicts itself within the same description, referring to the pair of aquariums as "large" and "small"; I'd bet on the latter considering appearance of the building.

Actually, LP botched this entire section. The bicycle and inline skate rentals are no where near the entrance, and not even all that visible along Calle Amador well before the sprawls of parking lots. Los Diablos don't carouse the Causeway. There's taxi and carriage shuttles out to the islands of an evening and on weekends. I ended-up walking the distance thanks to a greedy taxi driver.

Catching a cab from nearby Mi Pueblitos, the driver quoted $3 until realizing that was simply to neighborhood border. He agreed on $2 more to the entrance, which got me to the parking lots. At those rates, I conceded to walk the remaining 2km+ roadway which forms the Causeway. Walking along the Canal was uneventful. Biking or skating would've been even more blistering.

Once reaching the tip and determining there was no point in sticking around, I haled a taxi for $3 back into the city. When asking about the Panama Canal Administration Building, located in Balboa Heights which LP groups with the Causeway, the driver gave an extended tour without requesting more.

Surrounded by sterile U.S. military bases, the stately building crowns a hill reached by elaborate staircases. The rotunda dome contains murals of the Canal's construction supposedly worth seeing between 10am and 2:30pm; "if you ask guards politely", according to LP. Considering how screwed-up information was regarding everything else in this section, I didn't want to bother. However, the driving tour through this area was interesting and a recommended daytime alternative.

From journal Panamá City; the Capital Offenses

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