Dear Loyal Readers,
Marty and I are in Panama City. We wanted to go through the Panama Canal, but weren’t keen on going on a cruise. Marty found a one day trip on a ferry. We were picked up at our hotel at 5:45 AM (ouch!) and returned at 7:30 PM. It was a long fascinating day.
We went through all 6 locks from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea (& then returned from Colon, Panama via bus.) There’s lots of waiting time. On the way east, the water level is increased via the first 3 locks & then decreased via the next 3 locks. Each boat needs a reservation to go through the canal.
Panama City is a bustling cosmopolitan city. It’s the only country in Central America without earthquakes. This is why it was chosen for the canal and also why they have skyscrapers; 66 of them.
Today we walked through Casco Antigua which is the old quarter — Panama City’s historic district. It’s a UNESCO world cultural site and dates back to 1673. It features various plazas & picturesque streets.
Are you wondering about the food? Tonight we ate at Maito. It’s ranked #100 on the list of “the world’s 100 best restaurants” and #6 of the “best 50 restaurants in Latin America”. You can imagine how excited I was to go there (& yes, we’ve been to a number of the restaurants on the worldwide list). The food is described as having Afro, Asian & Caribbean influences. I thought it was unique and tasty but over-rated. In fact, the Italian and seafood restaurant we went to yesterday was better. Marty had the best lasagna ever.
The dessert from the Italian restaurant; it was amazing.
We’ll be in Panama for a few more days. We’ll visit an archeological site tomorrow and spend some time just lying by the pool. The skyscrapers block the sun a lot so it’s not like being on a Caribbean island. BUT it’s always fun to travel and see new places. I hope you all enjoyed traveling with us.
❤️Irene
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