Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá

This post is a little late, but I went to Panama City, Panama on December 4^th to the 6^th on my way back from New York.  Copa Airlines had the cheapest tickets back to New York, and since I was already going to be flying through the airline’s main hub in Panama City, I was able to do a long layover there for only a small additional fee.

I stayed for two nights in a hostel in Casco Nuevo, which is the newer, more modern part of the city.  It had been a while since I stayed in an 8-bed dorm room, so it took a bit of getting used to, but the staff was friendly and the beds were clean and comfortable.  During my full day in Panama City, I of course had to go see the Panama Canal.  A long, but cheap cab ride away is the Miraflores Locks, which is where you can walk through a small museum on the history of the Canal as well as see the Canal in action.  I got to see a huge ship go through the locks, though quite honestly, it was a bit anticlimactic seeing the water raise the ship up the locks.  Here are some photos:

Still, the construction of the Canal was quite an amazing feat.  It was interesting to find out that Panama is currently building two more locks in order to allow more and larger ships to pass through the Canal.  The projected date of completion is 2014, 100 years after it first opened.  Now that Panama has full control over the Canal, it seems that their small country of 3.5 million people will have a secure source of income for the long-haul.

I also had the chance to walk along the Cinta Costera, or the coastal belt, that connects the new and old parts of the city.  The weather wasn’t the nicest, but it’s beautiful to see the skyscrapers and modern buildings on one side of the coast in contrast to my destination, Casco Viejo, the old city:

Casco Nuevo from Cinta Costera

Casco Viejo

I also really enjoyed passing by the fish market and seeing the colorful fishing boats along the coast against the backdrop of Casco Nuevo:

Casco Viejo itself was absolutely gorgeous, and probably my favorite part of the city.  I love the Spanish architecture, and what makes it really interesting is that only some of the old buildings have been restored.  Thus, stunning and colorful homes, restaurants, and storefronts are intermingled with dilapidated buildings, some of which only have a front wall with open windows, through which you could see the wild vegetation growing behind it.

I did go to the top rated restaurant on trip advisor, Marina, Marina, but unfortunately the food doesn’t compare to the food in Peru.  I had some ceviche (Peruvian ceviche is MUCH better) and an interesting steak that was rubbed with coffee and topped with avocado butter:

        

I was only there for one full day, but it was a nice day.   I felt like I did everything I needed to in the city, though I hear there is much   more to do outside of the capital, which I’m sure I can save for a trip back to Panama in the future.