PANAMA
CITY
The YMCA market in Panama City is fair, at best. Every
booth has the same molas, paintings, trinkets and
souvenirs. The nice part, however, is all of the people
inside selling things know this, so if you ask about a
price, and don't immediately pick it up for purchase,
they'll probably come down in price a little. I didn't
haggle, but I didn't pay full price for anything in there,
either. The other market people speak of -- next to or
behind the YMCA (depending on what you read) -- is to the
right, with a small "Arts and Crafts" sign advertising the
contents of the building. Easy to miss if you don't know
its there.
The Miraflores Locks, overlooking the Panama Canal, is
nothing spectacular. Like the light show in Egypt, you have
to see it to say you saw it, but it will be the most
exciting hour of boredom you'll have in your life. Still,
I'm glad I went, and should I find myself in Panama again,
I'd probably go to the Locks again. The gift shop inside
has some nice, overpriced things.
Our last night in the city, we took a taxi down to the club
district to see how the locals enjoy a Friday night out.
The party gets started about eleven o'clock, so we
caught a late dinner and went from there. Clubs in Panama
City aren't what clubs in the United States are. Instead of
extremely loud music and everyone dancing, it was a lot of
loud music and everybody hanging out, chatting with friends
(by chatting, I mean yelling). Most places The Girlfriend
didn't pay a cover, while I had to. Nothing out of the
ordinary. However, the one club we settled at, had $25 for
a bottle of vodka, a mixer (cranberry juice, orange juice,
et-cetera) and a bucket of ice. I'm not sure if it was a
"Friday night only" special, or a regular feature of the
bar; I didn't think to ask.
BOCAS
TOWN
If you fly out of Bocas Town, try to sit on the right side
of the plane near a window with a good view out. The view
as you leave is spectacular.
GENERAL
"Taxista Spanish" is your friend. Before you go, learn
enough to ask the basics and go from there. Not many people
know English in Panama (not that they should), so you'll
have a hard time communicating if all you know is how to
yell loud and over-enunciate.