Day one (evening)
After an afternoon of mooching around the Pacific Ocean having left the Pacific Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal we returned through the entrance to moor at Fuerte Amador. By around 9pm, the air bridges were attached to the ship and we were free to head ashore
First things first was immigration where we get stamped into Panama and given our immigration card. This provides us the clearance to head ashore which we duly obliged making a beeline for somewhere to grab a drink. The temperature was perfect sitting somewhere around the mid twenties.
The old town of Fuerte Amador is a taxi ride away and due to the late nature of the call, this was abandoned in favour of heading to a nearby marina around a 15 minute walk away. Here we found a large complex containing multiple restaurants but perhaps more importantly a bar! Order of the day had to be the rum! We're in Central America with so many influences. I've never knowingly had Panamanian Rum so at the recommendation of our server, I dipped into the extensive menu!
The showpiece had to be rum served directly from the barrel. Served from a ladel type implement dipped into the barrel and poured over rocks with a flourish! It may have been the atmosphere, the location or the company but it was delicious!
After some more 'tasting' the witching hour approached and the bar began to shut down around us so using my best Spanish I asked for bill, bracing myself!
What I hadn't realised is that Panama operates on two currencies. As with so many countries the US Dollar is one but the alternative is the Panamanian Balboa, both of which use a dollar sign when displaying menu prices. The British pound is strong against both at the moment so the bill was a very reasonable one!!
Gracias Panama!!!
Day two
Turns out that the local rum contributes to good sleep! And after some salmon, eggs and a few strong coffees we were off into Fuerte Amador Old Town, El Casco. As with so many of the ports of call, ships berths are often gateway's to the big cities such as Panama City. In reality this can mean a lengthy coach or taxi ride. As a result, we elected for the local old town over the big bad city. Uber was the way forward coming in at around $5 rather than the $20 that the local taxis ask for. The journey along the man made causeway that links the four islands takes about 20 minutes. El Casco is a UNESCO world heritage site where the Spanish and French influence is apparent.
The town is a lovely rat run of alleys, bright streets with various colourful shops, some with the usual tourist tat, others with a bit more of a bohemian attitude going on.
Yep, it did indeed contain cool shit
A couple of hours wandering the colourful streets was lovely. Not sure if I missed a trick but I was a little surprised (possibly disappointed) by the absence of any rum bars or obvious restaurants to speak of. Perhaps my personal benchmark is a little off!!! After last nights delicious rum experience I had been looking forward to experiencing some more. Maybe for the best in hindsight, we'll never know.
Panama City taken from 'old town'
It's fair to say that the Panama Hat features quite heavily round these parts
And so ended a lovely day of mooching around a beautiful part of Panama. I won't lie, having the opportunity to transit the Panama Canal has been one of those bucket list moments that you never knew was on the list. And now we begin our voyage towards Mexico!
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