Hot and steamy in Panama City

We had a fairly lazy start to Panama, mostly due to the heat.  In Panama City it was 35 degrees with 90% humidity.  The sort of heat that leaves you dripping sweat even whilst you remain stationary beneath a fan.  The middle of the day saw every sofa, chair, flat surface of the hostel covered with dozing tourists.  We had based ourselves in Casco Viejo, the charming old part of the city.  It is gradually being restored and so there are crumbling, boarded up buildings, beside these beautifully restored colonial mansions many of which are now boutique hotels well out of our budget.  We were staying in Luna’s Castle.  It used to be a home and is now an eclectic mix of funky art, beautiful architectural details and the necessary practicalities for a hostel with nearly 100 guests, oh and a fort, can’t forget the fort!  We loved just meandering around the streets, even when doing necessary chores like the laundry - at the building with the giant lizard.

One of the highlights turned out to be frozen yoghurt, or to be more specific the toppings.  The yoghurt itself was good - cake batter flavour was my particular favourite.  But the main draw is the extensive array of toppings, from various crushed up chocolate bars, fruit, brownie dough, jelly beans the list goes on and on.  It’s priced on weight and it is difficult not to go overboard as even with only a small amount of each topping you would end up with half a kilo in your cup!  We managed to (slightly) reign ourselves in, and created our own heavenly delight.

I should also mention the Panama Canal, since that’s the thing most people think of when you mention Panama.  We arrived in time to see a couple of ships entering the canal, and then a ship being lowered back to sea level just before we left.  I loved watching the trains.  Yes, the whole massive tankers being raised 20m by gravitationally propelled water in a system built over a hundred years ago and still working with it’s original locks was amazing to watch.  But the trains that were attached to the ship to keep it centered were more entertaining as they made their way up and down the steep ramp between the sea level lock and the lake level lock.  Then there was the wonderfully kitsch museum with life size models of people attaching ropes to a ship that protruded slightly from the wall, and “photo spots” with footprints to show you where to stand to take the perfect photo of your companion in a fake tunnel.  If you prefer you could also have them take a photo of you in front of a green screen, and have it printed with you in various locations in the locks, or on one of the massive container ships.