Day 10
We were picked up at 9am by our guide, Fabio, for a tour of Panama City. First stop was Miraflores Locks. We are very fortunate to see the workings of the canal from both an onboard experience and a land experience at two different locations.
Next we visited Old Panama (Casco Antiguo) for a museum visit and then to the old city compound.
The area dates back to the late 1600s. Many remnants of the original buildings (homes and churches) remain and are being restored.
We climbed the cathedral tower.
Views of old and new from the top of the tower.
Driving through the city, Todd spotted a sign advertising Christmas trees from Canada, lol.
Lunch was at a local Panamanian restaurant in the new section of the city, Tinajas. Food was very tasty (and filling). Todd ate chicken and rice (Panamanian specialty) and I had shredded beef.
After lunch, we returned to the area of the city where we are staying, Casco Viejo, for a walking tour. Our first visit was to the Augustinian temple, San José. The golden Alter seen at the back was hidden from the pirate attack back in 1671. The alter was dismantled then and re-assembled and gold leafed in this church.
Our tour continued to some of the places we had already explored when we first arrived, but it was interesting getting more historical information on the places. Below is the French Embassy located by the French Park. (The French were the first visionaries for the Panama Canal and their influence can be seen in the architecture of buildings throughout the city).
We ended our day with dinner at the Fish Market. Todd enjoyed fish tacos while I had Thai Green Curry Chicken (the only non-fish/seafood dish on the menu).
Day 11
We took a morning flight from Panama City to David, where we were met by a driver who transported us to the Panamonte Inn in Boquete. The room is huge with a kind of rustic, old-world charm.
Our patio door opens to beautiful gardens.
We walked to the downtown area and found a craft brewery (they are popping up everywhere). It opened this past February. The brewery has a few picnic tables and bar stools inviting patrons to sit and chat while enjoying some of their beers.
Boquete Brewing uses small fermenting tanks to brew small batches of craft beer. They up to 10 kinds of beer to try.
Their back windows open up to a number of hummingbird feeders at the building’s edge. It is quite amazing watching them, they got very active as darkness was setting in
Dinner was next door at the Art Café. We had some of our best meals in Panama yet. Todd thoroughly enjoyed his almond crusted local trout, rice and veggies.
I totally yummed up my pork with mushroom sauce, whipped potatoes, and veggies. One of the owners introduced herself. Nicole, originally from the US, has been in business here for 15 months with her partner Daniel.
Day 12
This morning, Raul picked us up is his 1992 Toyota Land Cruiser – definitely need a 4×4 to explore this part of the Panamanian countryside. We went to one of the local coffee farms (very old-school).
We walked through some of the fields of coffee plants, learning about the different kinds of plants and some of the care needed for an optimum crop yield.
This is not a modern facility. The owner is very good at creating and tweaking the equipment he needs to get the job done.
He built a small roasting machine to test small batches (front piece is from the headlight of an old jeep).
Video Clip
We watched as beans roasted light, medium, and dark, then sampled some coffee.
He even silk screens the labels on his coffee bags. He sells coffee as far away as Japan.
Before going to Boquete Central Park for the Lighting of the Tree, we stopped in at Boquete Brewing Company. Perfect timing – the sky opened up and the torrential rains kept us at the brewery for a couple.
Fortunately, for the town, the rain didn’t last so the weather did not put a damper on the evening’s festivities. The park lit up with Christmas lights followed by fireworks.
Day 13
After breakfast, we walked to the park to see the Christmas decorations in the daylight.
For football Sunday, we found Mike’s Global Grill. It was filled with expats. Beers were $1 a bottle (best deal ever!) and food was cheap and good. We had a great time being part of the football crowd watching my Seahawks kick-butt.
Days 14 and 15
This afternoon we fly back to Panama City for one last night. Boquete was a nice alternative to Panama City (24,000 people vs. 2 million, so much quieter).
The climate was cooler and less humid, and there was an abundance of flowering plants.
We finished our Panama visit back at the American Trade Hotel in Panama City. It was a great end to a great vacation.
Observations:
Amazingly, hardly anyone smokes here (at least out in the public).
Old licence plates are for sale all over or used as part of the décor because new ones need to be purchased every year (not just a sticker, like home).
Most people tended to be reserved, not very friendly (maybe the language gap??)
Considering this country has a lot of jungle and wildlife, there does not seem to be a big priority on environmental issues.
There appears to be a lot of trash in the streets and even in visited remote areas.
Most municipal sewage system dumps un-processed sewage into the oceans.
