Panama City, Panama 30 miles
Slept in and got some much needed rest. Neither of us have kicked what we caught in Costa Rica just yet. We’re both suffering from a suit of strange symptoms. I hope its not worms of any type… That’s stuffs gross.
Panama is a big time city. About a million people, all with a pretty high standard of living, much higher than the rest of Central America for sure. Like all big cities you can eat whatever type of food you feel like. We felt like Greek. Sure enough, we found a place serving Gyros, at $4 they seemed a bit pricy for panama, but they were huge!!! Nearly half the size of a soccer ball.
Feeling full, we jumped back on the bike and cruised around for awhile (really, we were lost) and took some photos of the city. I forget how fast and nimble the bike really is when its not laden—that and the fact that our rear tire is bald caused the rear wheel to skid at a sudden stop. Amie just about crapped her pants she said (much easier to do with diarrhea). Don’t worry moms, new tires are in route. Thanks again Keith!!
Old town is like what I picture Havana Cuba to be like. It’s shabby and run down, but full of great colonial architecture, faded pastel paint, and ocean views all around (the Spanish built the city on a peninsula for easy defense). After meandering through the avenidas and the calles (yep, lost again) we made our way out to the Mira Flores locks of the Panama Canal.
The more you learn about the canal, the more interesting it gets. Basically the US bought the rights to it from the French who dumped a ton of money (and over 20,000 frenchmens’ lives) into the construction, but couldn’t get it finished in the 1800s. Good ol’ US of A saw it through to the end and in 1914 it was up and running. Its 50 miles long and has a series of ingenious locks that raise the canal water height way above sea level and then lower it again, all while gigantic freighters are in the canal. Boats all around the world are built to the panama canal dimensions. A certain width and length maximum, known as Panamax. These Panamax boats pass through so tight there’s only inches of clearance on either side. It’s insane. There is a bunch more of cool factoids, but if you’re interested, I’m sure you can find plenty online.
We watched tankers move through the locks until they kicked us out (viewing platform closed at 5pm), then headed back to our sweet hotel. We took a cab to Pizzeria Napoli, a great, cheap, pizza joint then went on a quest for a public phone as it’s been some time since we called home. The only one we found was inside a casino. What an experience. I was tempted to put all our trip money on red or black with the idea either we double our daily budget, or go home early. We’re not that crazy. Not yet at least.
Somehow its midnight (no we weren’t at the casino that long) and have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I’m more then a little apprehensive about leaving the bike at the airport and hoping it shows up in another country… Oh well. Cross your fingers for us.
Panama is a big time city. About a million people, all with a pretty high standard of living, much higher than the rest of Central America for sure. Like all big cities you can eat whatever type of food you feel like. We felt like Greek. Sure enough, we found a place serving Gyros, at $4 they seemed a bit pricy for panama, but they were huge!!! Nearly half the size of a soccer ball.
Feeling full, we jumped back on the bike and cruised around for awhile (really, we were lost) and took some photos of the city. I forget how fast and nimble the bike really is when its not laden—that and the fact that our rear tire is bald caused the rear wheel to skid at a sudden stop. Amie just about crapped her pants she said (much easier to do with diarrhea). Don’t worry moms, new tires are in route. Thanks again Keith!!
Old town is like what I picture Havana Cuba to be like. It’s shabby and run down, but full of great colonial architecture, faded pastel paint, and ocean views all around (the Spanish built the city on a peninsula for easy defense). After meandering through the avenidas and the calles (yep, lost again) we made our way out to the Mira Flores locks of the Panama Canal.
The more you learn about the canal, the more interesting it gets. Basically the US bought the rights to it from the French who dumped a ton of money (and over 20,000 frenchmens’ lives) into the construction, but couldn’t get it finished in the 1800s. Good ol’ US of A saw it through to the end and in 1914 it was up and running. Its 50 miles long and has a series of ingenious locks that raise the canal water height way above sea level and then lower it again, all while gigantic freighters are in the canal. Boats all around the world are built to the panama canal dimensions. A certain width and length maximum, known as Panamax. These Panamax boats pass through so tight there’s only inches of clearance on either side. It’s insane. There is a bunch more of cool factoids, but if you’re interested, I’m sure you can find plenty online.
We watched tankers move through the locks until they kicked us out (viewing platform closed at 5pm), then headed back to our sweet hotel. We took a cab to Pizzeria Napoli, a great, cheap, pizza joint then went on a quest for a public phone as it’s been some time since we called home. The only one we found was inside a casino. What an experience. I was tempted to put all our trip money on red or black with the idea either we double our daily budget, or go home early. We’re not that crazy. Not yet at least.
Somehow its midnight (no we weren’t at the casino that long) and have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I’m more then a little apprehensive about leaving the bike at the airport and hoping it shows up in another country… Oh well. Cross your fingers for us.
I think we'll have another one tomorrow
Panama (new) city
Zoom...
Back by popular demand...pimp'd schoolbus Panama style
Hello friends, I'm in Panama!
Old city with the new city in the background
Old town
Yoshita likes cobblestone
Whoa, that's a big boat!
One of the 8 modern wonders of the world
posted by Pedro and Maria at 11:05 AM
1 Comments:
I have always wanted to see the canal in operation. Thanks for taking us there.
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