Advertisement
Published: April 8th 2010
March 30th:
Today we crossed the Puenta de los Americas into Ciudad Panama or just Panama as the city is usually called. For me, this was probably the biggest thrill of the trip - or way up there with the Superman flight anyway.
Now, I guess we can say that we’ve driven “the top of the world” highway from the Yukon into Alaska and over the Bridge of the Americas into Panama City. All we’ve got left to see on this continent is South America. Many of the Europeans we’ve met on this trip are coming or going from there.
Actually, we crossed the bridge three times today because on the first pass we missed our turn into Balboa where we had originally planned to stay. On our return over the bridge we noticed the sign to “Howard” the former Air Force Base. The base was closed on 1 November 1999, as a result of the 1979 treaty former President Carter signed with Panama’s president Torrijos which specified that the United States military facilities in the former Panama Canal Zone be closed and the facilities turned over to the Panamanian government. They have not done much with the
base yet. Dell computer has a call center there and a London based company is building a large business park. Howard must have been a very beautiful military installation. All of the buildings are white with red tile roofs. Quite a few of the housing units are occupied but most of the base appears to be vacant.
April 3rd:
We stayed at the Roma Plaza Hotel in downtown Panama City for three nights. It was a friendly budget hotel and was conveniently located for our walking explorations of the city. The manager thought Furgie was cute and had no problem with her being in the room. We had secure parking for Rambo, free wifi, free breakfast and a rooftop pool. What more could you ask for! Our three night stay only cost $231.00
Panama City was very hot. The daytime temps were in the low to mid 90s but there was always a nice breeze along the water. Pedestrian friendly Balboa Avenue, just two blocks from our hotel has only recently been completed. It linked us to almost everything we wanted to see.
There are scads of tall buildings and more are being constructed. The skyline
is littered with cranes. (These cranes are considered to be the state bird.) Panama City is called the Miami of the South but it is said that more English is spoken here. We loved the city and hope to return.
The original Panama City has had two reincarnations. The original city, the ruins of which are now called Panama Viejo, was founded in 1519. It was the metropolis of the Pacific until the pirate Sir Henry Morgan burned it down in 1671.
We did not have time to visit the original site but one afternoon we took a taxi to Casco Viejo the area in which the city was rebuilt after Henry Morgan’s visit. This location was chosen because it sits on a rocky point and was easier to defend.
The entire city was situated in Casco Viejo until the 20th century and in its heyday, its architecture resembled New Orleans but when construction on the canal began in 1904 urban expansion moved eastward and Casco Viejo deteriorated into an urban slum. About ten years ago Casco Viejo was recognized as a Unesco World Heritage Site and is now becoming gentrified with much reconstruction and the opening
of chic restaurants.
It was in Casco Viejo’s Iglesia de San Jose where we took the picture of the golden altar. Altar de Oro was about the only thing salvaged when Henry Morgan sacked Panama Viejo. Local legend claims that when word came of the impending attack, a priest painted the altar black and told Morgan that the famous altar had been stolen by another pirate and convinced Morgan to donate for its replacement. Morgan supposedly told the priest “I don’t know why but I think you are more of a pirate than I am.” The 500 year old altar was subsequently moved to its present site.
We also visited the Panama Canal Museum housed in a beautifully restored Casco Viejo building. Signage was all in Spanish but they showed us a fast action English language film where the eight hour canal crossing is reduced to eight minutes and gives viewers the feeling of being on the bow of a ship. We feel like we’ve transited the canal and seen everything without ever having bothered boarding a ship.
On Good Friday morning we walked to the fish market to watch the buying and selling. It was very
crowded. We just moved in waves with the crowd until we made it to the steps leading up to the second floor restaurant where we were able to take pictures of the activity below. We returned that evening for dinner. I ordered lobster and Ray ordered stuffed shrimp. I expected to get a lobster tail and Ray expected to get - what else - stuffed shrimp. My lobster turned out to be a plate of baby lobster tails and Ray got a nice fish filet stuffed with shrimp and other seafood. Neither of us was disappointed.
In our previous blog we wrote about and posted a photo of Frank and Joyce with whom we’d had dinner in Boquete. At dinner, they had invited us to visit them at their Panama City home when they returned from Boquete. This was such a lovely and generous offer from people we had just met. They were o.k. with Furgie so we accepted. As I described in my last blog, their home had previously been one of the officer’s quarters left empty when the United States turned operations of the canal over to the Panamanian government in 1999. Their home is huge. Frank
and Joyce have done a beautiful job of restoring and renovating the place. However, they have recently put it on the market because they want to spend more time traveling.
Frank and Joyce were wonderful hosts. They drove into the city to lead us out to their Balboa home then spent the whole day showing us their city. We saw views that we never would have found by ourselves.
Frank wound up our tour at the canal. This was truly our lucky day. Just as we arrived at the canal’s Miraflores Locks a Celebrity cruise ship was entering. What a treat that our Panama Canal photos are of such a beautiful ship when all we’d even dared hoped to see was transit of a cargo ship or an ugly barge. Actually, it was such a busy day, we watched a couple of them too.
While visiting the museum, we chatted with a small group of Spanish language students and their teachers from Wisconsin. Although, all of the kids were second year students they said they weren’t doing well communicating with the people here. Like everybody else, they were amazed that we had driven all of the way
here from California.
We treated our hosts to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants on the causeway between downtown Panama City and the neighboring islands. The causeway was built by the United States for military reasons but now it is lined with trendy shops and restaurants. Again, we marveled how food can be so expensive in stores and served so cheaply in restaurants. My delicious half pound sesame crusted sea bass filet only cost about $12.00.
Before going to bed Frank and Joyce played a lengthy documentary describing the capture of Manuel Noriega and the atrocious slaughter of over 20,000 innocent Panamanian civilians by American soldiers in 1989. The film suggests that the invasion was due in part because former President Bush, Sr. had instigated this event to overcome the “wimp” stigma laid on him by Reagan back when they were competing for the presidential nomination in 1980. I have always admired the first President Bush but seeing thousands of people being killed, their bodies run over by tanks, burned and shoveled into mass graves as “collateral damage” to enhance his personal image has changed my feelings forever. The film includes news footage by American TV anchors
none of whom told the whole story. As they say “travel is enlightening”. I hope I can obtain a copy of this film that as Frank and Joyce said it would never be publicly shown in the United States.
Before we hit the road, Frank and Joyce served us a wonderful breakfast of fresh fruit, homemade granola and Panini toast in their elegant dining room.
We then backtracked to just south of the Costa Rican border. We spent the night in a nice motel in the city of David. Our room with two beds only cost $35.00. The place has a huge pool. Our steak dinners were only $8.50 each
Advertisement
Tot: 0.08s; Tpl: 0.027s; cc: 7; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0426s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Richard
non-member comment
Gracious Hosts
I met Frank and Joyce in Sebastian, Florida, through a mutual friend. I had been thinking of retiring to Panama for quite a while. They had recently purchased their house in Balboa, then, and invited me to visit them in Sebastian. They were very gracious hosts and put me up for the night in their little guest cottage there. Last May when I was in Panama to finalize my Pensionado visa I spent several days at their house in Balboa. Joyce was in the States, and though I know Frank missed her terribly, I think it also gave him the opportunity to revisit some of his favorite spots around the city that she might have been bored with. Frank and I are in constant email contact on a daily basis. I can honestly say that I have never met more gracious hosts anywhere I've ever been and I count it as one of the blessings in my life to have met these wonderful people.