Panama City!

Although I have traveled to various places around the world, I have never had the chance to explore Central America.  I arrived in Panama City Friday afternoon, hoping to explore the city one night before meeting up with the rest of the group.   Jen happened to be on the same flight as me, so we shared a taxi to her hostel.  However, they didn’t have an extra bed available, so I took my bags and searched for a taxi.  Because I arrived during rush hour, it was almost impossible to find a cab that would take me to my destination.  After 7 taxis refused to drive me, I finally found one that would take me to my hostel.

Upon arrival to my hostel, I was surprised to see how friendly the local Panamanian women were at the front desk.  They smiled, offered to give me a tour, and set me up in my room.  After settling in, I decided to take a shower.  After waiting a few minutes for the water to turn hot, I soon realized that there was no water heater. Everyone takes cold showers here, especially countries in Central America.  Although the shower felt good because I was sweaty, it took me awhile to adjust. At the hostel, I met up with a traveler from Canada and we went out to eat at a local restaurant.  After dinner, we walked to a casino and decided to play some craps.  Unfortunately, I didn’t win any money.  I should have stopped when I was up!

Panama is extremely hot and humid.  When walking around the city, I noticed there was a lot of construction everywhere I went.  There were beautiful historic buildings in Casco Viejo.  As a group, we traveled through different handicraft markets and bought numerous souvenirs.  We also visited the Panama Canal and watched the large ships pass through.  I thought it was fascinating to learn about the history of Panama Canal, especially the engineering behind different the water levels.  Although I haven’t met a lot of local Panamanians at this point, I’m looking forward to our trip to San Felix.