Panama Air Show 2012
This morning we made a last minute decision to go to the Panama Air Show at Howard Air Base, an ex-US Air Force Base on the other side of the Bridge of the Americas from Panama City. As we were meant to be Skyping grandparents at this time, we took the iPad and Skyped from the car on the way to the show, meaning they got to travel across the Bridge of the Americas, all the way from Glasgow.
The show was free – free entrance, plus free goes on Bouncy Castles for the children! Here is a DHL cargo plane, which was a nice sight to see, but I couldn’t really understand why there was such a humongous queue to get to see inside. We passed, as we have three youngsters who get restless in queues, not to mention me!
There were some very pretty biplanes doing death-defying stunts, such as loop-the-loops and flying across each other while diving and twirling down to the ground. I took some pictures of tiny specks high in the air….
And here are some of the biplanes on the ground. Very pretty…
I liked seeing this family sheltering from the baking sun under the tail of a little plane. This is one of the many things I like about Panama – in the UK at a similar kind of event, the public would not be allowed to get so close to the planes, let alone sit under a tail like this!
I believe this airport featured in the questionable Bond film, Quantum of Solace, where it stood in for Bolivia so it may look familiar to you.
San Francisco de Asis Church, Casco Antiguo
San Francisco de Asis church in Casco Antiguo is such a beautiful and imposing building. The day we visited there was such a deep blue sky – it really makes the pastel lemon and white of the church stand out.
There are so many intricate details, not to mention stunning statues. I think this may be my favourite building in Panama City.
Here is a statue from the tower, presumably of St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals.
And here is the main man himself, perched atop the roof.
Baha’i Hindu Temple, Panama City
This flying saucer lookalike sits atop a hill overlooking Panama City. One of only seven Baha’i Hindu Temples worldwide, Panama was chosen as a site due to its strategic position at the Centre of the Americas and because of the canal with its trade routes linking countries across the globe. If you stand just outside the temple you can see across Panama City, from the skyscrapers overlooking the Pacific Ocean to the tropical rainforest.
The Baha’i Hindus believe in protecting nature, equality between men and women and lots of other commendable things. The Panamanian temple was designed by a British architect. It is such a beautiful, organic looking building – I believe it should be world famous.
The temple is a place of calm contemplation and meditation, so we begged our young children to be respectful. All went well until we were getting ready to leave and one of them shattered the silence by beeping the car horn – oops!
I couldn’t resist taking this – the spider really makes the temple look like an alien face, don’t you think?
Chinese Garden in Panama City
Just about 5 minutes drive from our house is Parque de la Amistad, a Chinese Garden on the outskirts of Panama City, created in 1997 to promote friendship between the substantial Chinese population and the Panamanians.
A couple of weeks ago we read about a fair taking place so popped along to explore. We climbed up a small hill to this pretty pagoda. Originally planned to have nine stories as is usual in China, the budget did not stretch. Still, it does look lovely just as it is I think!
Here is the ornate dragon from the centre of the pagoda’s ceiling.
There was a beautiful lake – El Lago de la Felicidad, or Lake of Happiness – very atmospheric looking with dappled light filtering through the surrounding trees. Three bridges link this pond to the rest of the park. The Bridge of Long Life is zig-zagged, to ward off bad luck, the Bridge of Fate is arched, and the Bridge of Happiness is straight across.
A statue of Kwan Ying, the Chinese Goddess of Mercy, worshipped by women, fishermen and victims of natural disasters, surveys the park from her plinth in the centre of the lake.
Although compact, we had great fun exploring this little park with our three children. There was great, cheap Chinese food on offer as well, thanks to the fair. Normally this would be a great place to take a picnic – we’ll definitely be back!
Amador Causeway – The Place to Relax in Panama City
Amador Causeway is a very popular place to hang out in Panama City. A scenic stretch of road created with excavations from the construction of the Panama Canal, this causeway links a string of small islands and stretches out into the Pacific Ocean with spectacular views in every direction. Refreshing sea breezes cool you down as you look out across the bay to the skyscrapers of Punta Paitilla. People come here to roller skate, cycle, walk their teeny tiny dogs – a bit like Central Park by the sea!
Amador is a fantastic vantage point to watch massive ships going under the Bridge of the Americas at the entrance to the Panama Canal. If you are a birdwatcher, you will enjoy seeing the many pelicans diving for fish, as well as frigate birds, cormorants and the anhinga, similar to a cormorant but larger and with a longer neck. There are several pretty decent child-friendly restaurants where you can try the local speciality, grilled corvina, a Pacific fish similar in taste and texture to Sea Bass – delicious. You can sail to various islands, including Isla Taboga which is approximately an hours scenic boat ride from Amador. Of which more in a later post.
The Frank Gehry designed Museum of Biodiversity is currently under construction at one end of the causeway. Although due to be completed this year, it still has a way to go, as you can see here. I hope they hurry up and finish it as it looks like it would be a fantastic place to have a coffee!
God Loves Tourists
Sign outside Gamboa Church, Panama
I love this sign outside Gamboa Church, 15 miles north of Panama City. Really welcoming – maybe one day we’ll take the plunge!
Spanish Cannon, Camino de Cruces
Spanish Cannon, Camino des Cruces, Panama
This cannon can be found overlooking the highway that runs through the Gamboa rainforest north of Panama City. It is situated on the “Camino de Cruces”, a paved path built by the Spaniards in the early 16th century, long before the Panama Canal was even dreamed of.
This path across the isthmus linked the Pacific to the Atlantic for the first time. It was used by the Spanish to transport Peruvian gold from South America to the Caribbean.
The cannon was placed at a strategic point enroute to protect their haul from marauding bandits (although it could be argued that the conquistadors were marauding bandits themselves…).
It has been left to gather moss, or the Panamanian equivalent, which makes it look like the wonderful relic from a bygone age it is.
Panama Summit Zoo
Panama Summit Zoo is a great place to take your children. For some reason it gets short thrift in all the guidebooks we have on Panama. I just cannot understand why. OK, it doesn’t have the largest collection of animals in the world. What it does have is a lot of native Central American species, including an ocelot (very growly), a maygar (very playful, just like a super-glamorous pet cat) and Geoffroy’s tamarin, a tiny species of ‘so ugly it’s cute’ monkey.
Geoffroy's Tamarin is just hand-sized
It also has a fabulous plant nursery where you can pick up small trees for less than $2, as well as lots of food and drink stalls – not the kind of levels of cleanliness you would get in Europe or the US, but decent, cheap fare. If you don’t want to brave the food, take your own and eat at one of the many picnic tables. The in-the-know locals were all doing this. For the more adventurously-minded there is a zip-slide from the top of the summit.
I took this extreme close-up of a crocodile at Summit Zoo. There was just one level of cage protection between people and animals meaning the animals were (mostly) extremely friendly towards their visitors. I am used to seeing tropical animals shivering in zoos in the UK – it seemed to me that they were more relaxed and happy in this tropical, less regimented zoo.
Close up croc
There were also areas of fencing that were broken, cordoned off with just yellow crime-scene tape. The danger! So, yes, I suppose it is all a bit ramshackle, but with huge play area provision for children, including an old train as well as more conventional slides and climbing frames, I would definitely recommend it to any parents out there. It is all quite a refreshing change after the UK ‘Health and Safety’ culture. Oh, and did I mention? Admission charges $1 for adults, free for children.
Graffiti Train, Summit Zoo
The Best Views from Panama City
For the best views from Panama City, head out to Ancon Hill in the Canal Zone. This area is gated and under armed guard – so welcoming! The hilltop is secured and locked every afternoon at 4pm so if you arrive later than say, 3.20pm, the guards will not let you drive up. It was also quite difficult to find – it took us three days over two consecutive weekends to finally make it – but make it we did!
The flag of Panama at the top of Ancon Hill can be seen for miles around – usually with a large flock of vultures circling around ominously.
At the start of our trip we spotted a car transporter ship just past Miraflores locks, which are near our house. We next saw it from the top of Ancon Hill, sailing under the Bridge of the Americas.
There are lookout points around the summit as well as many beautifully painted benches. Unlike benches back home in Britain, these have not been vandalized – it’s amazing what the presence of a few armed guards can achieve!
This is a fantastic place to come to get views for miles around. Here is the view from Ancon Hill to the tip of the Amador Causeway – a string of islands created with the excavations from the creation of the Panama Canal, now linked together by a road.
And here is the view down onto the skyscrapers of la Punta Paitilla:
During this daytrip I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of two monkeys jumping through the trees. I blinked and they were gone.
Ancon Hill is also home to rather an impressive communications mast – well I liked it anyway!
So, as you can see, there is something for everyone up here – the boat lover, the bench enthusiast, the skyscraper aficionado…over and out from Ancon Hill, Panama City.
Panamá La Vieja
Panamá La Vieja is the oldest part of Panama city. Situated on the Pacific coastline, it comprises a large collection of ruined buildings, complete with an impressive tower which we climbed. From here you get a fabulous panoramic view – from the skyscrapers of the Punta Paitilla, to the boats out at sea, right round to the lush green hills behind the city.
This is where the original settlement at Panama City used to be, before it was destroyed (almost!) by Henry Morgan and his band of pirates. Apparently there is still plenty of buried treasure to be found in Panamá, especially on the islands off the coast. We decided to take the children to Panamá La Vieja as they have been learning about this during their Spanish lessons at school – not surprisingly this topic has captured their interest!
There are a lot of little artisan’s shops around this area, some of which have quite spectacular signs. I’m not sure whether this is a frog, beetle or some kind of frog-beetle hybrid, but it certainly is beautiful:
The other side of the Panama Canal
A couple of weekends ago we went on a trip to Colón (Spanish for Columbus) on the Carribbean/ Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. We had heard a lot about this ‘wild west’ style town and were curious to see it for ourselves. What we found was a place with a certain air of faded grandeur, a bit like I imagine New Orleans to be. It really was pretty shabby though, and it made me wonder how two places so close to each other geographically speaking could be poles apart in all other respects.
Moving from anywhere Westernised to Panama City is a pretty easy transition as the shops, roads, most of the schools and cars are all very Americanised. For example I can think of five enormous malls here just off the top of my head – there are probably more! There are certainly large areas of poverty in Panamá City but travel to Colón and these areas are definitely the most noticeable.
We saw several people dressed very smartly for church, as well as more than a few shady characters. I don’t like to intrude on people’s privacy, so I rarely take pictures of them. It makes me feel too much the privileged honky on a poverty tour. Not a comfortable thought, but probably one containing an element of truth.
Most of the guidebooks warn against getting out of your car in Colón as you are very likely to be mugged apparently. We certainly felt that there was a palpable air of menace and, as we had our three small children with us, we took this advice and stayed in the car.
Dog and Lion
My eldest son spotted this beautiful dog asleep beside a statue of a lion in Parque Omar and called me over to see it.
It has such a peaceful, contented expression. It really reminds me of the dog at the bottom of the painting Las Meninas by the Spanish painter Velazquez. What do you think?
Another Sunday Special
I thought I would do another Sunday Religious Special as we saw this amazing shrine to the Virgin Mary in Parque Omar yesterday. Parque Omar is a bit like Rouken Glen Park in Glasgow, Scotland – full of children’s playgrounds and lovely walks. It also houses a large swimming pool and the National Library. Parts of this shrine reminded me of the work of the Spanish Architect Gaudi. This is the back view.
And this is the front – pretty spectacular I think! The inscription reads ‘Dulce corazon de Maria’ – ‘Sweet Heart of Mary’.
One of the angels beside the statue was so pretty that I couldn’t resist including a picture of her alone. The expression on her face is so gentle – a beautiful work of art.
This shrine also had fairy lights draped around it, so I imagine it is pretty amazing looking in the dark – maybe I’ll go back one evening and take some more pictures!
Arches
Here is the view down one of the aisles of Panama’s cathedral with some beautiful chandeliers. A Panamanian local took a photo of us all together on the steps outside – well worth a balboa! The local currency here is called the ‘balboa’ which is directly equivalent to one dollar and, in fact, dollars are the ‘unofficial’ currency of the country. I think the paper balboa only exists in theory – at least, I have never seen one in the flesh!
There was a similar sight in an arcade just opposite the cathedral. Very pleasingly symmetrical.
Cats of the Casco Antiguo
The number of stray cats in the Old Town – Casco Antiguo – is quite phenomenal. Panamanians don’t seem to have pet cats the way we do in the UK – they have to fend for themselves. As a result they are all very scrawny but they hang around in large gangs and are very friendly with each other, which is quite different from the territorial behaviour they display in Britain. Here is a picture of just a few of them on a back street. These ones do not actually look that starved – the moment after I took this picture, a man leaned over the reddish stable-type door and started feeding them!
Here is another stray with a very picturesque backdrop!
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Happy Hookahs!
We have been out for dinner several times at a fab open air Turkish restaurant with views over the skyscrapers of the Punta Paitilla. It seems that each time a glass is broken (accidentally!) either by one of our children or by one of the waiters. It has brilliant food and the children are gradually learning how to conduct themselves appropriately at the table. The restaurant has big bongo drums – or whatever the Turkish equivalent is! And it also has a huge collection of hookahs that various people seem to partake of after their dinner. We haven’t tried it ourselves, but it might be a good way to stay calm while our three young children run amok!
Food of the Gods
We found an American-style deli in the Old Town yesterday and I had my first latte in over 5 weeks. If you would have told me I could go 5 weeks without a latte, I wouldn’t have believed it!
I could picture myself sitting in this cafe with my laptop, updating my blog after my children have started school and daycare. A girl can dream, can’t she!
Saw this Panamanian chocolate there which fits in very nicely with today’s religious theme.
Placido Domingo
I thought I would do a little religious special, as it is Sunday today. I bet you didn’t know Jesus was a Panamanian! Here he is waving his Panama flag in the cathedral in the Casco Antiguo – Old Town.
There were a lot of ornate statues and pictures in this cathedral – here is what I think is an angel emerging from a shell – seriously kitsch!
Have a very calm Sunday – Placido Domingo!
