Day 1 – Monday (04/03/2013)
We took the 11:42 Copa Airlines flight from Rio de Janeiro to Panama City, a 7-hour nonstop flight. We arrived in the city around 5:00 p.m., since it is 1 hour earlier there due to the time difference. When we got off at the airport, we were impressed by the shopping mall inside. We walked around a bit to see if the prices were really worth it and bought the much-needed universal plug adapter. Some things were actually cheaper than in Brazil, especially electronics.
We spent a good while walking around, but when we remembered our backpacks on the conveyor belts, we hurried up and went straight to get our entry stamps into the country. When we got to our conveyor belt, it had already been turned off, but our luggage was in a hidden corner. I felt butterflies in my stomach at that moment… lol.
Leaving the airport for the hostel
We went looking for an information desk and asked about transportation to the hostel. The attendant told us about a transfer which would cost US$$28 for the two of us, being the same option that the woman at the hostel had mentioned in an email. She even said that there was a bus, but since it was late in the day, we thought it best not to risk it. This transfer You can either take a taxi or a van. All of them have air conditioning and are very comfortable, thank God. This first time, we went by van with other tourists and the driver was quite friendly, pointing out the main attractions of the city. I thought the airport was far away, you know… I think the trip takes more than 30 minutes to the center of Bella Vista, for example. And the worst part is that there is a lot of traffic in the city. Especially at the time we arrived, because it is considered rush hour. rush.
Our hostel
We passed through the neighborhood of Bella Vista, which is cute and then we arrive at our hostel Mammallena, located in the Calidonia neighborhood. What a drastic worsening, you see...the driver warned us not to walk around there at night and told us to be careful during the day too. We arrived already tense.
When we entered the hostel, I thought the place was a dump. It's true that it was in mood We were looking for a place to save money and this hostel had been voted one of the best in the city, but I found it a bit dirty and neglected… I didn’t like it. As soon as we arrived, we spoke to the receptionist, who was very friendly by the way, and tried to book the tour of San Blas, since we had tried to do it online, but they recommend that you book when you get to the hostel. And to our dismay, we received news that the weather on the islands was terrible, with storms, even. It wouldn’t improve in a week, according to the forecast… in other words, bye bye San Blas. We were upset, but we had to be patient… we had to continue our journey.
We rented a private room with a shared bathroom. What a horrible room, guys! Just look at that bed and the tiny space. I thought it was creepy, but Celo actually liked it. And he's much more picky than I am... lol.
Thank God they didn't have any more vacancies for the following days (we hadn't made a reservation because we thought we would be in San Blas). We looked for hotels in the city on the shared computer and decided to upgrade to a Hilton, which cost a little over US$100 for the two of us. The hostel cost US$35.
Dining in Panama City
We left our things in the room and went to dinner at a restaurant recommended by the receptionist. We took the first taxi on the “tell me where you want to go and I’ll tell you how much it is” scheme, which cost less than US$$3. The pizzeria is located in the Bella Vista neighborhood and is pretty cool (sorry, I didn't remember the name), with a super cozy indoor area. We found everything there great, especially the price. I think an individual pizza cost US$$6, very cheap for us who live in Rio. We tried the national beers and loved them!
We then walked around the area around the pizzeria and saw a lot of casinos… we even thought about going in, but we were tired and Celo was still sick, so we thought it best not to stay out all night. We went back to that smelly room, which to make matters worse had a strange smell coming from the air conditioning. We had a bad start… =(
Day 2 – Tuesday (05/03/2013)
The good thing about the check-in room is that we practically don't even take our things out of our backpacks and do the cleaning. checkout It was quick. We left our backpacks in a storage room and went for a walk around the city. After the tour we would go there to pick them up and head to the Hilton.
The hostel breakfast is pancakes and tea or coffee. After seeing the kitchen and the way the pancake batter was stored, I thought it would be better to skip it…lol.
We walked down the main street of the neighborhood and couldn't find any restaurant that looked safe or clean, except for the beloved McDonald's. After having a coffee that was far from our dreams, we started looking for a taxi that would take us to the Panama Canal, which should cost less than 8 dollars, according to the receptionist. We hailed a few taxis, but they all wanted 12 or 15 dollars. That was ridiculous! Until a very nice guy charged us US$$6. The canal is indeed a bit far, but hey, paying almost 50% more than she told us seemed like a rip-off.
Getting to know the Panama Canal
We arrived at the Canal and had great impressions. Everything was organized, signposted and the people were very polite. We bought the tickets entry (US$13 for both, with the full boat being US$8 and the half boat being US$5) and we waited for a boat to pass through the Canal. They have specific times to open the canal and we were lucky enough to catch the last one in the morning. If it hadn't happened in the morning, we would have had to wait a while to see the boats passing by in the afternoon.
I thought it was really cool how everything works… It was worth it!
After watching the boats pass by, we went to watch the 3D video they prepared for tourists. It was also really cool! There’s a museum inside with lots of information about the Canal, something every engineer should see. I even kept the information in my head for a while, but now, a few months after the trip, I can’t remember anything. I could even Google it and put it here for you, but nahhh… it’s better for you to do your own research. I’ll leave my photos and comments here… lol.
We left there and waited for a taxi. We shared a taxi with a very nice American couple. They were staying in the Ancon neighborhood, which is a large green space in the city. We thought it was really nice, but it seemed expensive and out of the way, the kind of place where you couldn't walk anywhere, so it wasn't for us.
The Casco Viejo neighborhood
We continued on to the Casco Viejo neighborhood. What a nice place!!! A mishmash of crumbling townhouses and other beautiful renovated ones. We discovered that the houses have increased in value and are very expensive. People with a lot of money are buying and renovating them, investing millions of dollars. I thought it was cool, because the destroyed houses really leave a sad atmosphere in the place and with this increase in value, the neighborhood will be safer and more visitable at night.
We walked through some streets alone, a bit lost (I confess) and when we arrived at the city's main square, we came across a nice guide who offered to take us for a walk and we paid whatever we thought was fair.
Lunch at La Forchetta
We were very hungry, so we said we were going to have lunch and he would take us there later. He recommended a restaurant we loved, La Forchetta, which is right in the square where the city's cathedral is. We ate wonderful food for a hefty price, but it was worth the experience.
Walking tour of the center
We left the restaurant and the guide soon met us to take a walk. We went into some houses with ruins and churches, went to the market with items from the Kuna indigenous people and then to where the city prison was. It was a really cool tour, because he explained everything about the place, in great detail! In the end, we gave him US$$40 and he seemed happy, but I don't know if that's what people usually pay.
Our hotel in Panama City
We took a taxi to our hostel just to pick up our backpacks. From there, we took the same taxi and went to the hotel. Hilton Garden Inn, located in the Bella Vista neighborhood. We loved the location, the service and the facilities. We felt a bit of prejudice when we entered the hotel with our backpacks on our backs, but then again, it must not be a very common scene there, right?
We left our things in the room and then went to enjoy the pool at the top of the hotel. Look at that wonderful view!
We enjoyed the pool for a while and when we got hungry, we got ready and went out for dinner.
Dining at Bella Vista
We walked through the streets near the hotel and saw that inside a casino there was a pompous restaurant, which looked quite delicious. And it was. We had dinner at New York Steak House inside the Veneto casino and we found the food wonderful.
I ate one of the best steaks of my life! However, I have to say that I had a bizarre sleep attack inside the restaurant after I ate my dish. I almost fell asleep at the table because I was so sleepy. I don't know if it was something in the seasoning or just tiredness, but I thought it was really weird. I was excited to go play at the casino, after all we love adrenaline, but from there, we went straight to bed, with a lot of effort still. It was tense.
Day 3 – Wednesday (06/03/2013)
We woke up, went down to have breakfast and were met with a surprise: breakfast cost twenty and a few dollars per person. Since we were hungry, we ate, but I thought it was a steal. We went upstairs to enjoy the pool until check-out time (it was really hot) and were met with an unpleasant surprise: the pool was under maintenance. We talked to the reception staff and after some arguing, they offered us the pool at the hotel across the street, since they had a partnership.
Taking advantage of the neighbor's pool
We arrived at the recommended hotel and didn't even need to talk to anyone. We went straight to the pool, with our towels in hand and when we got there, we loved what we saw!
We later found out that it is the largest pool in all of Panama City (maybe in the entire country too). We thought it was pretty cool. We stayed there for a few hours and when it was getting close to our check-out time, we left and went to pack our things.
Albrook Airport
From there, we took a taxi and went straight to Albrook Airport, where our flight to Bocas del Toro would leave. The airport is very small and there is not much to do, but on the other hand it is next to the largest shopping mall in the city, the Albrook Mall. We didn't feel like going to the mall, so we just relaxed at the airport. Celo had a coffee from the Boquete region. (what a name…lol) from the Kotowa brand and said it was very good.
After some time, our flight to Bocas arrived and we were horrified at how tiny it was. Now it was too late. lol
Sunday (03/24/2013) – sleeping in the city
We returned from San Jose at night and only had time to go to our hostel, Mediterranean Dreams, which is located in a very residential neighborhood. It is very clean, organized and has very cute decor. I thought the taxi ride was quite long, but since it was a fixed price (I think it was US$30 for both of us), we were at ease. We were very well attended to by the receptionist, who scheduled a taxi for the next day at the perfect time for us to catch our flight to Jamaica. Everything was great!
Monday (01/04/2013) – sleeping in the city
We arrived from Jamaica around 2pm and went to our hostel, the Riviera Hostel. It is located in the San Francisco neighborhood, which is quite nice, with lots of houses and gardens.
We left our things and took a taxi to Albrook Mall. What a horrible journey to get there… we were quite scared, but once we got to the mall, we were impressed by its size and the number of stores. It really is quite big. We walked around the whole mall, looking for things for our future new home, but we didn’t find anything that was really worth it. We bought some clothes and looked at cell phones too, but other than that, we didn’t spend much.
We stopped at a restaurant in the food court and ate delicious chicken. I don't remember the name, sorry again!
When we were leaving to catch a taxi, we ended up taking a shared taxi, that is, there was the driver, a guy and us. At the time, we didn't even realize that it could be dangerous, but later we were scared and thankful that nothing had happened. The taxi drivers drive like crazy there and really don't make us feel safe at all. Be careful!!
Day 6 – Tuesday (02/04/2013)
We woke up, had a humble coffee and went out for a walk. This time, we went to the shopping mall closest to the hostel, Multiplaza Pacific Mall. It is smaller than Albrook Mall, but not small. It has very expensive stores, but some products are still cheaper than in Brazil. We took the opportunity to buy what we wanted and had lunch at a delicious restaurant, Tony Romas.
We went back to the hostel, packed our things and took a taxi to the airport. Time to go back to reality… vacation is over! =(
To learn more about our 30-day trip through Central America (Jamaica, Costa Rica and Panama), click on the links below:
- Summary of the 30-day trip to Central America
- Panama City (Panama) in 3 days
- Bocas del Toro (Panama) in 4 days
- Puerto Viejo (Costa Rica) in 4 days
- San Jose (Costa Rica) in 3 days
- La Fortuna (Costa Rica) in 4 days
- Manuel Antonio (Costa Rica) in 3 days
- Ocho Rios (Jamaica) in 1 week
