Panama City – The Last Leg of our Journey

We left Pedasi at 7 am this morning after giving Victor, a really nice the guard at the ocean lofts, the food and paper goods we did not use. During our stay Victor was helpful with our Spanish lessons and was always available if we needed anything. He made Linda and I cups out of coconut shells and a gourd. He brought the golf cart down to our unit this morning so we wouldn’t have to lug everything to the car On foot. Victor was so thoughtful and we will miss him.

The ride to Panama took 5-1/2 hours today. When we drove from Panama City to Pedasi October 1st, tthe drive was close to 10 hours. Bruce was following the speed limit back then. Now he drives like a Panamanian. We made several stops on the way, took a wrong turn but still made pretty good time.

Our first night we are staying at Country Inn and Suites, the same place we stayed when we arrived. When we checked in, it was only 1:30 so our rooms weren’t ready. We decided to get a cab and go to the “Old Panama” better known as Casco Viejo. On our way, our cab driver Moyo, locked all the buttons on the cab. Apparently, we were driving through a somewhat unsavory neighborhood and he wanted us to be safe. Many of the buildings are undergoing major renovations and from the wrought iron grill work you can see French influence similar to what you would see in New Orleans or Charleston, South Carolina. The churches are a very significant part of Latin American countries and they can be very elaborate. This church housed some very important art work from the 16th century. This second church is La Iglesia de La Merced which dates back to 1680.

At Iglesia de San Jose the main focus is on the famous Altar de Oro or Golden Alter. It is surprising this was not pillaged during the time that pirate Henry Morgan sacked the city. Iglesia San Francisco de Asis is undergoing reconstruction. It is one of the smallest churches but one of the most ornate. It was ravaged by fire in 1737 and again in 1756.

The buildings are very colorful and reminded me of Rainbow Row in Charleston. In the square many people gathered. Some selling hats, others selling cold drinks and ices. Children were playing and adults were conversing. Some were in native costume. It was very colorful and lively on the square and a great place to people watch.

We only spent a few hours in Casca Viejo and there was still so much more to see. I even enjoyed looking at some of the splashy graffiti. It’s a city vibrant and alive.

We did rest our weary feet and cooled off in a little restaurant and continued our walking tour down interesting streets. Finally, it was time to meet up with Moyo to take us back to our hotel but before that I was able to get a shot of the new Panama City taken from the old.

We we went for a swim in the pool and dressed to go out to dinner. Moyo didn’t show up at 7 to pick us up so Jorge took us downtown to the Hilton.

The first restaurant we sat down to eat at was the Society Cafe. We ordered our meal — and waited and waited. They did not bring us bread, refill our water glasses or bring us our salads. After 30 minutes I called a manager over – he went in the kitchen and then came out and said 5 minutes. We waited and waited another 15 minutes. By that time we were done. We left. We walked across the hall to Ruth Chris Steakhouse and had a spectacular meal. Our waiter was attentive and polite. I had the best Mahi Mahi that I have ever had. Stan said the same about his salmon and Bruce and Linda loved their tuna. Unfortunately we were all too full for dessert.