Panama!

Everyone in Panama just refers to Panama City as, 'Panama' - and so, here I am, in Panama!

We left Santa Catalina and had another full day of bus travel to Panama City.  We only had to take 2 buses this time, but still had an 8 hour trip.

We are staying in an up-and-coming part of town called 'Casco' - it's a really cool old part of the city, that is under major renovation.  It's a hip place, lots of art, cool old buildings, streets and parks that are being revamped and reinvigorated, and overall, a very cool big-city feel (at times, it reminds me of parts of Houston).   The weather also reminds me of Houston.  It is HOT and humid here....and AC is sometimes hard to comeby.  I have been sweating almost non-stop since we arrived. Hace calor (in espanol).

Casco and the downtown area of Panama are remarkably different, but the two main parts of town are connected by a really nice park/pathway area.  It's a fantastic area along the water.  There are also several large pedestrian shopping/market areas, a large barrio, and a mix of people, lifestyles, and scenery in between.  It's a really neat city, and much larger than I thought it would be.

I am here with 2 other girls that I met I Boquete and taveld with to Santa Catalina.  Since we arrived, we have explored Casco, the park along the waterway, visited the canal (!!!!!!), hiked a national park just outside the city that overlooks the entire area, and ran some errands/replenished our toiletries (a very exciting activity, since there are stores here with more than 1 shampoo option, and sunscreen that doesn't cost $18 a bottle).

The canal was really neat to see.  I wasn't too I pressed with the museum, but there is an observation deck overlooking one set of locks, and watching that process that ships go through is pretty amazing- a much faster process than I thought too.  The most incredible part, is that the lock system there now, is the same system they built nearly 100 years ago...with much less technology than we have today.  Truly a man-made wonder!

One of our daily activites includes visiting the local fish market for ceviche.  A cup of ceviche with crackers goes for about $2 -corvina ceviche is only $1.25, and the shrimp ceviche goes up to (a whopping) $2.50.  The outdoor ceviche area is a mad house-  a packed row of vendors with ceviche stands, and then lots of people all jammed into the small seating area that backs right up to the vendors.  It's a little nutty, but really cool.

On Wednesday, one of my travelmates and I will embark on a 5-day sailing adventure to Columbia.  We are hopping on a 20-passenger sailboat to Cartegena, Columbia.  The first 3 days of the trip, we will sail around and anchor in the islands of San Blas, then the last 1.5 days we will be at sea, on our way to Columbia!  Eeek.  On the 27th, I will officially be in South America!  Holla!