On the afternoon of November 25th, 2007, Lori and I landed in Panama City. Thus began 26 days of exploration and adventure in this beautiful central american country. For the first four days we explored the city, got lost, which was to become a regular occurrence, and generally acclimatized ourselves to the different weather, people, food and language.

Our first impression of the city was the noise. Construction going on everywhere, traffic jamming the inadequate streets, horns blaring, car alarms being set off continuously and people everywhere selling stuff. Next impression was the heat. Drenched in sweat one looked forward to the torrential downpour in the afternoon which filled the streets in pools of runoff. A taxi cab ride across the city cost only a couple of dollars (American) and is an experience worth telling. In Panama, public transit is the way to go. Taxis, minivans and huge mural clad buses make for the majority of vehicles. Not many dare to drive in P.C. Too easy to get lost. Signs are non existent and maps cannot be found. Although much of this vibrant city is steeped in historical antiquity, some areas of slums exist where you wouldn't want to walk even in daylight, but the majority is very modern and upscale.

Below you can see an image of the Panama City skyline that Lori took from the airplane flying into Panama.. All the skyscrapers in the background are the "new" section of the city. If you look closely you'll notice that many of the towers are crowned with a crane indicating that they are in the process of being built. In the foreground is the old section of the city, or Casco Viejo.

At left another view of the canal and Bridge from our room at the Country Inn. Roll over the image with your mouse and you'll see the same view later in the evening.

At right is a picture of the other bridge over the canal called the Centennial Bridge or Puente Centenario. It was built to supplement the overcrowded Bridge of the Americas, and to replace it as the carrier of the Pan-American Highway. This crossing is located further inland towards the interior and essentially joins North and South America. Upon its opening in 2004, it became only the second permanent crossing of the canal.

Panama is very much "third world" even in modern Panama City. Poverty results in people living how ever they can. The difference between the rich and the poor is very evident.

At left an old man eats his dinner out of a Styrofoam container while his companion (the parrot) looks on. At right, Lori checks out the produce in the market, which could be had for pennies.

So OK ... I'm looking through all these pictures of Panama and I have to show these. The one at right is an "art" picture of course... textures and hues of an old wall of an old building.

The image to the left, however is interesting in that the bird at the top of the statue looks like a vulture, which was representative of many we saw throughout Panama.

When Lori and I packed for this trip, we carried as much weight in camera gear as we did for everything else required for our trip! As a result we have lots of photography to show of different regions of Panama. So many images in fact, that I'm going to split them up into separate pages. The travel experience was quite different from one region to the next.

Also, because people are asking for the next "Life is a Beach" posting and I'm still behind in sorting and analyzing which imagery to use, I'll upload each part of Panama as I get it done.

Actually the images below of Isla Taboga deserve a page of their own as it was a beautiful little Island but I've included it here as it was only a 40 minute ferry ride from down town Panama City and we only stayed there for an afternoon.

There are only two or three vehicles on Isla Taboga. The main means of transportation being ones feet. Above is a picture of the main road through the village.

Lori and I walked up to a beautiful little hotel with an incredible view of the bay and ships waiting their turn to pass through the canal. There we had lunch before exploring the village. Too soon it was time to go back.

So not to be outdone with all these images of Lori, I've included one of me! This was actually a home being built in Tobago and I'm in the outdoor shower room (pretending to be taking a shower of course ... what did you think?).

The design of homes in Panama take into account the weather which is always in the 70s or 80s. Therefore much of the living space in most homes comprise of open patios and inner courtyards open to the breeze. This particular home was beautifully laid out with stunning views. The owner was a very nice guy. We met some great people on this trip.

Because of the amount of imagery and because our trip to Panama can easily be broken up into different adventures, the next leg of our journey will be on it's own page. From Panama City we flew to the San Blas province of Panama to stay with the Kuna Indians. One can fly regionally almost anywhere in Panama. The airplanes are just like buses, stopping at towns and islands to take on passengers and let people off. The experience of flying in these machines can be thrilling to say the least. On our way out of the city by air, Lori took another picture(below) as we passed overhead.

So to continue with our Panama Safari, click on the link..... SAN BLAS ISLANDS