Panama Real Estate Investment Travel Information


My First Experiences of the Unknown

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Written by Administrator

Monday, July 10 2006

Upon arriving in Panama City I was warmly greeted by two of our lovely team members. The warmth that I felt from this new environment was experienced both from the blazing humidity outside and the hospitality of my new Panamanian coworkers.

The streets were filled with bright lights, people of all races, trees, trash, restaurants, hotels, and much more. After arriving at my apartment and meeting my roommate, as well as more coworkers, I quickly placed my things down in our huge apartment, even for American standards, and went to grab some drinks.

The two most significant things I have picked up from my five-day experience here thus far are: diversity and disparity.

I think the best way to explain the diversity in Panama City is to explain my feelings as we walked into Moods, a bumpin' Reggaetone bar on Calle Uruguay. As we are getting dropped off in the cab the streets were looted with club goers ranging from Black to Asian, Latin to White. I can honestly say I have never seen such variety in that concentrated of an area. Mind you, my hometown is short 45-minute drive from San Francisco, California. Everyone was getting along, dancing, drinking, mingling, and quite frankly, I loved it. I will continue this escapade with noting that the next morning I woke up, walked 2 blocks to the grocery store, and spotted two Kuna Indians buying breakfast from a street vendor.

My third day here my roommate and I hailed a cab and headed off to The Causeway, the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, that has now become a very popular hangout with cafes and lush scenery. Our cab driver ended up being a cab driver/tour guide explaining what areas we were passing through, where to buy things, and what there is to see. He even stopped on the way and bought us a traditional Panamanian snack from a street vendor. Driving through these areas I was amazed of how bad the “bad parts” were. and how within 5 more minutes of driving I could be in a neighborhood where a TGI Fridays and a mansion resides. Within the 20-minute drive from my neighborhood, El Cangrejo, to the The Causeway, I saw the good, the bad, the ugly, and then back to the good again. It was wild.

This diversity and disparity that make Panama City the melting pot that it is today, is why soon Panama City, aside from the Canal, will become a major tourist attraction.