Panama - Day 3

Today, we also dedicated ourselves to exploring the capital city. First, we walked along the waterfront towards the old town, until we stumbled upon a mobile bicycle rental and of course took advantage of it. After a short detour to a filming location from 007 Quantum of Solace (there are several of them in Panama), and a coffee in the old town, we decided to ride along the "Amador Causeway." It's actually a breakwater for the Panama Canal, which connects three small islands with the mainland and is now home to several recreational facilities, a shopping center, restaurants, and a museum. The route offers stunning views of the city and the canal entrance. The route was highly praised, so we were somewhat surprised that it suddenly ended at the football stadium (unlike Zurich, Panama City has a football stadium, and it's modestly called Maracana) and only a three-lane road continued in the opposite direction. Something was clearly wrong. But thanks to Google Maps, we quickly found an alternative route (the pedestrian route should do the trick). It first led us uphill on a bizarre street in the idyllic neighborhood of "El Chorrillo" (note: all travel guides advise to avoid the following areas: 1. El Chorrillo...). But since we had already survived Colon successfully, a little bit of El Chorrillo couldn't harm us. And indeed, we remained unharmed. Probably even the criminals found it amusing to see the fools cycling through this no-go area in the scorching heat. However, I certainly wouldn't set foot here at night! The Causeway itself was truly rewarding, and the threatening storm clouds even gave us some extra energy, and we managed to return the bikes dry just in time before a short and modest shower. We spent the evening comfortably in the old town, enjoying Mojitos, a very fine meal, and the company of numerous dogs and cats.

So that concludes our time in Panama. It was a bit mixed, but we only saw a very small part, and we are convinced that there is much more to discover. Tomorrow, we will continue to Costa Rica, where we will take a short break before flying back to Switzerland on Tuesday evening. For Bettina, it's uncharted territory, and for me, it's a return after more than 18 years, since I spent one and a half months in San Jose in 1999 to internalize my first Spanish vocabulary. I am certainly very curious to see how the country has developed in the meantime.