Watched this vendor selling empanadas while waiting for tour to start, he never lacked for customers!
Our last day in Panama. We hopped the bus again and took it to the old part of town, Casco Viejo, also known as Casco Antigua. As we walked to the bus we could tell that it was a Monday morning as the streets were filled with cars and pedestrians and horns were blaring once again everywhere. It was so quiet yesterday! But this is the true Panama City. As we waited for the bus to leave we were able to watch at a particularly bad intersection where multiple lanes of incoming traffic were trying to weave and merge against the flow. Fascinating and also illustrative of why we did not even consider renting a car.
Watching the cars do the weave – some cars coming from left want to exit on right, and some coming from right want to exit on left
Passed this small airport, interesting to note that the runway was less than flat
Tami loved some of the warning signs we saw for various things to watch out for, like this one (pedestrians crossing tracks?)
Saw many of these small vans parked on the side of the road selling food or drinks
Casco Viejo is the historical downtown area and dates back to 1673. There are many beautiful old buildings in various stages of renovation and a large section of the area also seems to be set aside for government purposes. We can tell that in a few years it will be even more beautiful and inviting. This area of the city is on a peninsula that juts into the sea away from the rest of the city. The area of the city directly adjacent to Casco Viejo is known to be dangerous for tourists, past Calle 11. Indeed, as we neared that street we could see that the neighborhood immediately changed demeanor and we steered clear of it.
Old town street
Tami thought Mike would like this bike
Mike thought Tami would like this car
Ruins of old church
Walls of gutted building being held up while be restored – LOTS of restoration going on in area
Three birds
We have certainly reinforced our knowledge that we are weather weenies. Within a minute or two of stepping outside in this humidity we are covered in a sweat slick. Tami tried to claim she was just glowing, but Mike pointed out that she was glowing in sheets. She did proclaim that she sweats more here after five minutes walking on a street than she does after 45 minutes of soccer in the summer at home.
The oppressively hot and humid weather did require two stops for refreshments just to survive as tourists. We did enjoy wandering the historic district but we are more than ready for some cool northwest weather again!
Picasso Bar appeared just in time
Cooling off at last – completely wilted!