Blogs from Panama City, Panamá, Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 37

Hello everyone Once again, thanks for keeping the messages coming. It´s been a few days since the last blog entry so I´d better crack on. I set a new trip record with my final central American bus trip from Costa Rica to Panama. A meaty 18 hours. Not all of those hours were spent moving though. For some unknown reason, the bus arrived at the border at 3am in the morning. All fine and dandy for the 24 hour Panama immigration office but less good for completing the Costa Rican exit formalities as their office did not open until 6am! We did finally make it through the border and Panama wins the award for the most interesting passport stamp so far. It was a long old way but we finally started to approach Panama City. We ... read more

Panama City! Big place, home to over a million people. Its skyline looks very similar to Vancouver´s, with many more under construction. Panama is an international banking center with over 80 international banks (including ScotiaBank) and the skyline reflects this. After an extremely cold (like sleeping bag cold) overnight bus from Bocas del Torro, we arrived in the city. Panama city is very influenced by the U.S., with freeways, big bridges and huge shopping malls. The US had full sovereignty over the Canal Zone until 2000 so I guess it only makes sense....(not to mention every American fast food chain is found here too). There are hundreds of semi-retired U.S. school buses on the roads that have been pimped out; including suspension lifts, headers, custom exhausts and detailed paint jobs! Pretty amusing seeing these beasts roaring ... read more

At the request of my English-speaking family, this will be in English. It means I can type faster anyway. Yesterday was a holiday from school (I was told it was a remembrance day in Panama for when someone killed a lot of children in a school - Martyr's Day) so no classes. But instead, not knowing the solemnity of the occasion at the time, I went to Calzada de Amador (the Causeway), a long jetty built out into the bay near Panama City (Gulf of Panama). It connects to some of the different islands. It is made from the dirt (or at least a small portion of it) that was extracted to make the Canal. It is very modern in the sense that it caters to tourists, with beautiful views on either side of the sidewalk ... read more

1-5-07 Since my internet connection is being screwed up, and feels like depriving me from all I know and enjoy, I will type this up in word and cut and paste it later. Today they (meaning the FSU people) arranged for an English-speaking tour guide to take us around Panama Viejo, Casco Antiguo (the European-influenced, old center of the city), the Miraflores locks at the canal, and a craft fair right near where we are staying. I’m in old military housing with my own bedroom and three other very nice girls in the duplex. The adjoining apartment in the duplex is also full of International Program FSU students. We’re in a suburb of Panama City, Balboa, in a neighborhood called La Boca. Es debajo del Puente de las Americas (Bridge of the Americas) which is part ... read more

Hola from Panama City! We made it! It wasn´t without its struggles. Our flight was just fine, both planes leaving fairly close to on time. We arrived at customs and managed to not have our tourist cards to enter the country. It was the first of many tests of our spanish! We aren´t quite sure where along the way we were suppose to get the tourist cards, but we were directed by customs down the hall to purchase one. They were $5 each. Deb headed over to buy them and John waited at customs. 1st nerve racking experience! Getting thru customs and standing on the sidewalk outside the airport, we looked for the sought after ¨SHERMAN¨sign, but no one was there to greet us! This was not too much of a surprise since we had e-mailed ... read more