The
cost of a direct flight from Mexico City to San Juan was almost the same as
that of Copa with a layover in Panama City. I even had the option of a 12-hr stopover, landing at around 7 AM and taking off at 7 PM. With a little bit of
research, I found out that Panama does allow you to enter the country with a US
visa. And so I decided to take the bait, despite having a similar experience
with my LA – Dallas – Mexico City last May and not particularly enjoying it.
Hey, maybe this time it’ll work if I sleep enough the night before!
I wasn’t able to sleep the night before. That’s disrupting my body clock, dude. The plan was to doze off from 6 PM to 11 PM before leaving for the airport at 12 AM. Didn’t happen! It was when the plane took off at 2:30 AM when I finally felt sleepy, but the three-hour sleep on the plane wasn’t enough, although I was really lucky to get three seats all to myself, which meant a good enough makeshift bed. When we landed in Panama, I was still groggy AF, but hey, we’re already here! Better make the most out of it.
Checking
out Wikitravel’s list, I narrowed my options to just three attractions: Panama
Viejo, Mirafores Locks, and Casco Viejo. Both Viejos are colonial and should be
interesting, while Miraflores Locks is where you can watch ships pass through
the Panama Canal. I ruled out that last option despite it being the very
factor that distinguishes Panama from the rest of its neighbors in Central
America. Sorry, but I just don’t think that I’d enjoy something as monotonous
as watching ships pass by a narrow body of water.
The
blog I read specifically told me to get on a Corredor Sur Metrobus, because
taking anything else will take forever to reach downtown. That blog was absolutely right. The
thing about the Metrobus is that you can hop on it but without a Metrocard,
you won’t be able to pay for it. They don’t sell the damn card at the airport,
which I find really baffling. The technique is to ask a local to pay for you
with his card, then pay him back in cash. But it looks like many of the locals
that morning didn’t have a card either.
Waiting
for half an hour with no significant progress, I decided to hop on a bus that
said Albrook, the main bus station of the capital. I didn’t pay for a long layover in
this city to wait for a miracle on a bus stop, you know. But before I did, a
Japanese guy got in first, waving a dollar bill on his hand. Okay, he’s trying
to do the same thing. Welcome to the club! When all the bill and coin waving at
the driver didn’t work, the local who got in before us came back and tapped his
card twice, paying for us two seemingly clueless tourists.
The
Dumb Tourist approach is effective because there’s almost always a local who
will be curious enough, or furious enough to pay for you just to get it over
with so all of you, including the bus, can move on with your lives. The fare is
a meager USD0.25 compared to the USD25 you will have to shell out if you
succumb to a taxi ride. Dude, that’s a 99% discount. It’s definitely worth the
try. We tried to pay the guy, but he wasn’t having any of it. And so we just
showered him with Gracias.
It
took two fucking hours to reach Albrook. I interpreted it as the universe’s way of
informing us that we can’t have it all. I immediately bought a Metrocard at the
station because I don’t really like the idea of begging again on the way back
to the airport. The card itself cost USD2, and then I loaded it with USD3 just
to make sure that it had enough funds. The surprise of the day is that there is
no direct bus to Casco Viejo, which meant having to take a taxi anyway. It’s
fine because it was just another USD3, pretty much like an Uber ride.
The
highlight of Casco Viejo for me was that area called Vista Panamá. It’s a
pedestrian street leading up to the wall which gives you a great view of Panama
City’s skyline. Hmmkay, so this is the basis of the Dubai of Latin America tag,
eh? That’s cute, but I think the similarity stops there. The view of the
skyscrapers neatly lined up on the other side of the bridge was still impressive
despite the grey skies. I imagine it would have been a real traffic stopper if
it was all sunny and bright. But then again what can we do? Bipolar weather!
Casco
Viejo is where the capital was relocated after the original Panama City in
Panama Viejo was looted by pirates and consequently razed by its governor back in
the late 1600’s. If you want to see the ruins, go to Panama Viejo. If you want
to see more colonial architecture, then Casco Viejo is the place to be. Built
on a peninsula surrounded by walls, the place has survived and eventually made
it to the UNESCO World Heritage list, in tandem with the ruins of its predecessor. Do visit both sites if you have the time.
The
style and layout is undeniably Hispanic, similar to that of Havana and Mexico
City, which is probably why I was a bit bored. It’s a see-one see-all experience,
similar to that of the red and golden temples of Beijing. They all start to
look the same after you’ve seen several of them. For Spanish colonial towns,
the case is even more so because of the uniform design. If you’ve been to
Vigan, then you’re not really missing anything. The area has free WiFi, by the
way, but it wasn’t working when I was there.
There
is no shortage of Panama hats, restos, and cafes. The weather is humid due to the
location at the coast, so wear something comfy. Clueless tourists are not a
rarity either; you’ll immediately feel at ease, although Asians are hard to
find. I think I was the only one there that day. There are also many plazas
with plenty of benches if you get tired. I no longer went to Panama Viejo
because full lethargy kicked in at around 12 PM. It’s a good thing I managed to
get back at the airport in my semi-unconscious state.
2 creature/s gave a damn:
Beautiful heritage side of Panama... You travel alone?
@Ian - yeah most of the time I do. :)
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