Panama City Wrapup

My last 4 nights of this trip have been spent at the Radisson Panama Canal in Panama City. It has been more than enough time. This city of 4 million sports a very modern skyline and some very interesting history but the divide between rich and poor is pretty stark.
The quaint Casco Viejo district is tourist central and very picturesque. The police are present on many of the intersections to keep the tourists safe. The adjacent district of Chorillo is poverty central , appearing like a badly maintained prison tenement slum.
I visited the brightly coloured Biodiversity Museum that was designed by Frank Gehry on my first morning in town. It sported interesting exhibits on the natural and human history of the region. Afterward I travelled to the huge Albrook Mall before catching a cab to Casco Viejo.
The Mall was massive and could have been anywhere in the world, although most of the shops were not international brands. The exception was in their food court.
After wandering around Casco Viejo for a few hours in sweltering heat and humidity I grabbed an early dinner and then headed back to the hotel for a long cool shower.
My other significant tourist activity was to visit the Miraflores Locks that mark the Pacific start to the Panama Canal. Definitely worth the time.
The front of my hotel features several very large mango trees that are currently dropping ripe mangoes on the ground by the dozens where they sit rotting. What a waste!
I ate 3 of my dinners and spent a couple of afternoons at the hotel mainly due to it’s relative isolation to the rest of the city. Security concerns also played a role in my decision. It was interesting however that I could sit by the hotel pool and watch freighters begin or end the Pacific leg of their journey.

So ends my Latin American adventure for 2019.
It has been muy bueno!

I hear that the ice has melted from my driveway back home so I’m keen to return and welcome spring back to Toronto.Read more