Impromptu Panama City

It is hard to find much evidence other than language that Panama City is a Central American city. Outside of this westernized city lies the jewels of nature, pretty beaches, gorgeous forests with unbelievable ferns, palms, and other tropical plants and trees, the majestic and seductive oceans and waterways, and much more. With some time and ability to move around, Panama is a Garden of Eden. I wish I could keep the simpliest of some of the exotic plants alive in my back yard to create the meditational oasis I felt while traveling through some of the mangroves. One of the brightest highlights was the train ride from Colon to Panama City, which was a natural restorative, almost pastoral experience.

Quick Tips:

Take advantage of any opportunities to get out of the city and enjoy the beauty and bountiful natural sights. Bus fare is cheap and rental car companies plentiful. There is a great informative guide available at tourist sites titled "Focus Panama". The author(s) is quite sexist, but there is a good description of the major regions of Panama and how to's on getting different places.

Best Way To Get Around:

Take a taxi, while in Panama City. Not only are they relatively cheap, but it is a good way to see Panama City, if you avoid the "highway". Agree on the price ahead of time and ask the hotel, shop or restaurant staff for an approximation of the fare, which is helpful to gage how low you should try to go. Bus fare is also, incredibly low.

A room with a view was very nice. Surrounded by skyscrapers and bay, with luxury yachts moving in and out in the mornings and evenings; the Miramar has location and more location, near the financial district with a full array of restaurants. Room appointments were matching and adequate, though our particular room should be scheduled for paint and new mattresses, immediately, which may explain the special rate room. I doubt if this room is booked often, though it is a room with a view. The spa included a good sauna. For joggers and walkers, the fitness room is no match for the scenic black topped pier that extends from the hotel out to the bay and the waterfront bridge from the hotel leading into town.

Advertised as serving authentic Panamanian food with a Folklorico show Tue, Thur, Fri and Sat, we wanted some traditional Panamanian culture. There is a cover charge of $5.00 for the show and it easily sells out if a tour group prebooks. Reservations for the show are recommended, which we didn't have and didn't get to see the show.

The menu offers a mixture of fine Panamanian dishes featuring mango sauce, yucca, plantains, and pixbae.

Alchol is served including the Tinajas house drink, which tasted like a very sweet frozen margarita, in a cute little minature red clay pot.

All of this is served in a set of nice rooms with native art work on the walls. Service was slow and erratic and the house was full. A return trip is worth inquiring first if a tour has booked the show.

Home of the Colon Free Zone and the Gatun locks, we took an air conditioned bus for $2.00, down the scenic Gaillard Highway, thru gorgeous forests where the rain felt right at home to Colon.

We exited the bus close to the Colon Free Zone, but decided to walk the blocks where street vendors were camped. Eventually, we hailed a taxi, who took us to the Gatun locks on the Panama Canal, driving us on the road through the locks and up to a make shift observation point. Though there were two ships in the vicinity of the locks, there was no action. The ships were huge, stacked high with shipping containers of different sizes and colors.

With lots of advertisement on the highway, the free zone is a big shopping area where tax free stuff can be purchased. For bulk, wholesalers or retailers reselling merchandise, this seems to be the place to do business.

Though we should have hired a driver and gone to Maria Chiquita beach, on the way to Portobela, to play in the black sand, we chose to catch the train back to Panama City.

If visitors are not able to really experience the many different parts of Panama, treat yourselves to the train ride between Panama City and Colon. With the gentle, quiet ride came the breathtaking view of the canal and the wetlands where varieties of palms hugged the shores with awesome symmetry and majesty, that one could only stare in disbelief that such perfection in nature existed.

The rail cars have been refurbished painted red and yellow on the outside with comfortable booths set amisdt elegant paneling, inside. The train fare is $20.00 one way and well worth it for meditative relaxing nature-tainment.

After determining that a visit to San Blas to immerse ourselves in Kuna culture required at least two of our three days in Panama, we decided to settle for shopping for Kuna handicrafts at a marketplace set up in the YMCA. The vendors, mostly, Kuna, an indigenous people, are friendly and eager to share the MOLA, which is the appliqued symbolic artwork on panels of cloth, pillows, coin purses, apparel and other cloth items. It sounds like commercial merchandising, but the symbolic Toucan, fish, butterfly, masks and other symbols are pictured in beautiful bright colors, such as yellow, red, orange, and green against black, brown or red contrasting cloth. The items are truly works of art, with may symbols of fish and birds sewn in folk art form. Other artforms for sale included, tightly woven baskets with colored designs, wooden carved birds sitting stoically on perches, and small figurines to name a few.

From the Y, we then avoided the ritzy shops and went straight to where the natives shop at Los Pueblos, a massive shopping center with a mixed bag of discount, department, and import stores. We bought practical things like jeweled thong sandals for $.39 - .99, sunglasses for $2.99, toddler's underwear, 6 for $1.99, t-shirts for $5.00 and the obligatory souvenirs nothing over $5.00.

Panama is a shopper's enclave if you have time, money, and desire.