4. Exploring Panama City
Day 83-84
OK, I am a few days behind … Too much fun in Panama City. I arrived here 4 days ago and it is almost time to leave again. Where did the time go???
I went to see the Panama Canal’s Locks at Miraflores omn my second day here. A must see in my books. It is about 10 km ride to the visitor’s center so I took my bike. I was surprised I didn’t get lost. Many multilevel intersections and not too many road signs. You would think that a major attraction like this would have clear markings. Well, the only sign was at the end. Thanks for nothing. But I made it. It was nice to ride the bike with no luggage and only in shorts and a T-shirt. But it was still hot as soon as soon as I stopped anywhere.
Got to the locks visitor’s centre. Nice operation. You buy a ticket right there and included in the price is a ticket to the iMax movie theatre. The only show there is a movie about the history and culture regarding building the canal. Very well done, narrated by Morgan Freeman. Movie is in 3D and is pretty cool with many interesting facts. Then off to the viewing deck. The locks are right in front of you, the most famous of them all, the Miraflores Locks. There are two shipping lanes with two sets of locks right there. I was lucky as there was a ship in the lock. Lots of tourists, mainly locals as far as I can tell. Lots of people from Guatemala as there was a friendly football match that evening. Guatemala lost to Panama 0:3 … There was a 3rd shipping lane about 500m further up. By the size of the ship sailing through at the same time, that lane is much bigger. But it was cool to see it in operation and learn some of the facts. I can write few pages just about that. One thing is the price. It is fixed based on the ship’s tonnage and/or how many containers can carry. The biggest ships can pay up to $1.3M for one passage. But if you carry over 16k containers, the price is only about $80/container. Better then sailing around the entire South America.
I took bunch of pictures and off back to my crib. It is noon and it is incredibly muggy. I need to chill in my ice box for awhile. Tonight’s plan is to take night pictures of the city. Panama City has an incredibly beautiful waterfront. It has a seawall and a bike and walk path along the entire bay which is about 7 km. Nice grass with courts to play bball, volleyball or anything else. Playground for kids, food, drink and craft vendors along the entire route. All spotlessly clean. Every few minutes there is a police patrol on a motorbike passing by. Feels very safe. Lots of people are running or walking especially after the sundown.
My place is at one end and I walked all the way on the other side. Incredible view of skyline with highrises of different shapes and sizes. Most of them pretty tall and skinny. Lots of hotels but most of them are private residencies. That should make for nice pictures after sundown. At the other end of the bay there is a fish market with a huge number of outdoor restaurants. I continued further onto a small peninsula. Here is the “Old Town”, Casco Viejo, the original settlement from the colonial past. Stark contrast with modern buildings here are the old and most of them renovated original buildings. Beautiful settings. Some of the most expensive boutique hotels are located here. It was getting almost dark and I was drenched. I went inside a church where it was nice and cool. I stayed for a bit and few people were coming and going. I spotted a one guys with a football jersey with name Jesus on his back. I thought it was hilarious so I took few pictures of him. I sent the pic to few people telling them I’ve found the Jesus. The most of them got it …
I left shortly after Jesus and walked through now almost deserted streets. It is not a tourist season yet. Thankfully. Nice time to explore and to take pictures. Well it is well after dark at this point and it is time to head back. I am 8 km away from my crib. It will be a long walk. And I have pictures to take. I have a tripod with me so this should be epic. I hope. And it was. I was slowly inching my way back and stopping every few hundred meters to take another picture of an incredible skyline. Very photogenic. One of the hotel has a zip line at the top, nicely lit in the evening sky. My question is, WHY??? It is about 40 stories high …. And people even probably paid for it … Good for them!
Anyway, I got home totally tired and thirsty but with about 500 pictures! I need to hire an editor, I don’t have time to do it all … I had to check at least some of them before I went to bed. And some came out looking REALLY good. I mean good enough to print and frame and put on the wall good. It was a fruitful day. But it is too late and I am too tired to write my blog or work on more pictures. Mañana.
Well, mañana was another busy day. I took a sightseeing bus around the city. 3 hrs tour in a double decker. I’ve seen some nice and new places, but about 70% of the route I have seen either on my bike or walking. But it was nice nevertheless. And learnt few more things about the city. Like that the tallest building is a JW Marriott, formerly Trump Tower. It is at the waterfront, of course and a night there sets you back USD$1,300 … I don’t care how luxurious it is or what the view is like, I am not paying that. It is more for one night that I paid for entire MONTH in the Palace in Antigua …
After the tour is time to chill. Literarily and figuratively. And I need to pack as the next morning I need to ride to the shipping company to drop of my bike.
I am getting excited again.