Brash Panama

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The last night in our jungle lodge was interesting. When we left our chalet for dinner there was a member of staff outside with a torch. He was there to tell us to tread carefully because a poisonous viper had decided to have a sleep in the middle of the path. It was definitely time to leave.

The stupid Copa airlines 03:52 flight from Manaus to Panama got even more stupid when the aircon on the plane broke after take-off. They could either leave it on freezing or boiling. They decided on freezing. It was so cold you could see your breath.

And so to sweltering Panama. We got chatting to an elderly American couple at the airport. They live here. They told us roughly what to expect – high rise concrete, traffic jams, banks and tax free shopping malls. I think they were Jewish. It wasn’t so much that he looked jewish, it was her backside that somewhat gave the game away. Which leads on nicely to Super Kosher. This is one of 2 enormous kosher supermarkets in Panama City serving the 10,000 strong jewish community. It’s nearly as big as Sainsbury’s in Stanmore and is packed with kosher stuff from the USA, Israel and Europe. It was very interesting to see the housewives wandering round with their maids whose job it was to take the stuff off the shelves and place it in the shopping trolleys. On the same subject and also of note was the steak restaurant for last night’s dinner. Amongst 4 pages of various steaks from Argentina, the USA etc was a section marked ‘kosher’ where they were offering kosher steaks at, of course, a daft price.

Having come from the jungle I can confirm that Panama city is also a jungle but of a different kind. Our hotel is 70 storeys high and is by no means the tallest in town. Everywhere you look there is high rise concrete and they’re building more. The traffic is awful and it is not safe to walk here. It’s not that you might get mugged – it’s the pavements – they are in a terrible state.

Excursions have included the nearby rainforest. It’s only 45 minutes out of town and is a totally different world. Not as good as where we have been – but not bad. Also Panama City’s old town – which, like a lot of other things here, is being rebuilt. Also we couldn’t leave without a trip through the Panama Canal.

The canal excursion was a bit disappointing. It was very slow going with a bit too much information.

Of all the places we have been I have to say that Panama was not for me. It is completely in your face with no style and besides the canal, not much for the tourist around the city.

Next and last stop will be Boca Raton – Florida.

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