Panama
Kara says:
Panama. Back in the northern hemisphere and in the tropics, yes!
We flew here, first flight since coming from Buenos Aires so very strange to suddenly be dropped into a location so completely different from the last one - we've gotten used to seeing the surroundings gradually change through bus windows. We were thermally imaged at the airport to make sure we didn't have swine flu (we don't!) but other passengers weren't feeling too confident and chose to were silly masks anyway.
Panama is a big, humid tropical city on the coast and smells just like Singapore/Bankgkok etc. It's wildly enthusiastic about constructing tall hotels and apartment buildings and so looks exactly like the Gold Coast. The government try to attract US and European retirees to come to live and invest here so you can basically buy citizenship (no test here Kevin!). The types of visa & citizenship vary only in that the more you spend the quicker you become a citizen. The best value would seem to be the "Reforestation Visa" - invest $80,000 in reforestation and you get yourself a Panamanian passport. Clearly needed because I saw an ad for a plot of land that boasted that because it was covered in 15 year old mahogany you'd quickly be able to make back the cost of the plot before building your mansion!
The new city feels so much like the US (and the US dollar is the currency here too) it's surprising to hear spanish spoken. Historically it seems like an unofficial state of the US - they encouraged Panama to declare independence from Colombia (not necessarily a bad idea) in 1903 so they could take over a big chunk and build a canal through it. The new city is (very US) not pedestrian friendly at all and has absolutely abismal traffic. On the up-side it is civilised, we got so excited in an orderly, polite queue for an ATM we took a photo. Also sufficient bars and restaurants for afternoon beers and people watching and leisurely dinners (winning dinner of the trip so far: salmon with a passionfruit sauce and a sweet, fruity white wine. Mmmm).
Then there's Panama Viejo (the old city) that, shamefully, we didn't go to. Apparently it's mostly ruins having been abandoned by the Spanish shortly after being founded in 154_ by, I think, someone who wasn't Pizarro. Could be wrong on that though. Martina? Anyway, abandoned because of constant attacks by pirates (aarrh). A new city was build a little further along the coast - Casco Viejo (old helmet! or fort or something I assume) - with walls and fortifications to keep out the pirates (aarrh) and now this part of town is fabulous. It has old, decrepit bits mixed with newly renovated bits and is gentrifying like most old inner cities. The atmosphere is completely different from anywhere else we've been, if someone dropped me there and said it was Cuba I'd have thought, "it's exactly like i expected!". But maybe that was just the salsa the taxi driver was playing.
See photos of Casco Viejo streets, Karl posing with some of the renovated buildings in the background and a building on the coast that was a military social club until the US bombed it in 1989 (now there's a tree growing out of the chimney), the beach and remains of social club at Casco Viejo with a view across the bay to the new city skyline, craft stalls whose owners have retreated under the tables to get away from the sun.
Then the real reason for coming to Panama (well, apart from it being the only way to get from Ecuador to Colombia) - the canal. We did the touristy thing and took a boat trip on the canal. We got to go through three locks, actually very cool, slowly being lifted upwards as the water whirls in from below. See photo looking back towards the Pacific after we've come through two locks, of me enjoying the trip down the canal, and Karl watching the big guys go by.
Also - they've stolen the Sydney Harbour bridge! See photo of me and bridge - you can tell it's Panama 'cause of the hat - they're calling it the "Bridge of the Americas", linking the southern and northern parts of the continent. How's Sydney coping without it?
Why do you need two policmen on every motorbike in Panama? One to drive and one to carry (and, assumedly, operate) the shotgun. Think twice before breaking red lights.
Panama. Back in the northern hemisphere and in the tropics, yes!
We flew here, first flight since coming from Buenos Aires so very strange to suddenly be dropped into a location so completely different from the last one - we've gotten used to seeing the surroundings gradually change through bus windows. We were thermally imaged at the airport to make sure we didn't have swine flu (we don't!) but other passengers weren't feeling too confident and chose to were silly masks anyway.
Panama is a big, humid tropical city on the coast and smells just like Singapore/Bankgkok etc. It's wildly enthusiastic about constructing tall hotels and apartment buildings and so looks exactly like the Gold Coast. The government try to attract US and European retirees to come to live and invest here so you can basically buy citizenship (no test here Kevin!). The types of visa & citizenship vary only in that the more you spend the quicker you become a citizen. The best value would seem to be the "Reforestation Visa" - invest $80,000 in reforestation and you get yourself a Panamanian passport. Clearly needed because I saw an ad for a plot of land that boasted that because it was covered in 15 year old mahogany you'd quickly be able to make back the cost of the plot before building your mansion!
The new city feels so much like the US (and the US dollar is the currency here too) it's surprising to hear spanish spoken. Historically it seems like an unofficial state of the US - they encouraged Panama to declare independence from Colombia (not necessarily a bad idea) in 1903 so they could take over a big chunk and build a canal through it. The new city is (very US) not pedestrian friendly at all and has absolutely abismal traffic. On the up-side it is civilised, we got so excited in an orderly, polite queue for an ATM we took a photo. Also sufficient bars and restaurants for afternoon beers and people watching and leisurely dinners (winning dinner of the trip so far: salmon with a passionfruit sauce and a sweet, fruity white wine. Mmmm).
Then there's Panama Viejo (the old city) that, shamefully, we didn't go to. Apparently it's mostly ruins having been abandoned by the Spanish shortly after being founded in 154_ by, I think, someone who wasn't Pizarro. Could be wrong on that though. Martina? Anyway, abandoned because of constant attacks by pirates (aarrh). A new city was build a little further along the coast - Casco Viejo (old helmet! or fort or something I assume) - with walls and fortifications to keep out the pirates (aarrh) and now this part of town is fabulous. It has old, decrepit bits mixed with newly renovated bits and is gentrifying like most old inner cities. The atmosphere is completely different from anywhere else we've been, if someone dropped me there and said it was Cuba I'd have thought, "it's exactly like i expected!". But maybe that was just the salsa the taxi driver was playing.
See photos of Casco Viejo streets, Karl posing with some of the renovated buildings in the background and a building on the coast that was a military social club until the US bombed it in 1989 (now there's a tree growing out of the chimney), the beach and remains of social club at Casco Viejo with a view across the bay to the new city skyline, craft stalls whose owners have retreated under the tables to get away from the sun.
Then the real reason for coming to Panama (well, apart from it being the only way to get from Ecuador to Colombia) - the canal. We did the touristy thing and took a boat trip on the canal. We got to go through three locks, actually very cool, slowly being lifted upwards as the water whirls in from below. See photo looking back towards the Pacific after we've come through two locks, of me enjoying the trip down the canal, and Karl watching the big guys go by.
Also - they've stolen the Sydney Harbour bridge! See photo of me and bridge - you can tell it's Panama 'cause of the hat - they're calling it the "Bridge of the Americas", linking the southern and northern parts of the continent. How's Sydney coping without it?
Why do you need two policmen on every motorbike in Panama? One to drive and one to carry (and, assumedly, operate) the shotgun. Think twice before breaking red lights.
Comments
Post a Comment