A Day in Panama City, Off The Beaten Path |
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| Written by Ari Vanook |
| Monday, 19 November 2007 01:00 |
 Gab and I arrived in Panama much the way other tourists do, at Tocumen International Airport where a newly-renovated terminal and immigration area seems increasingly first-world. Having done this a few times, we then wandered up to the second floor drop-off area where we caught an unofficial airport cab into the city for a cool twelve bucks. Yehaw!We've been to Panama many times before and love it. But beyond the fancy hotels and hungry tourist traps, we prefer to experience things under the radar. The comparisons are nice, but we're not here for Miami chic or Dubai trendy or Costa Rica jungle book. We come for Panama. Our first stop had to be Cevicheria 66, a pawnshop-reminiscent seafood haunt in San Miguelito, a dirty, middleclass suburb of Panama City. I had been there several years back and on this afternoon it was just as I remembered, with a small Asian woman sitting behind large jail cell-type bars scooping fresh spoonfuls of sea bass and octopus and shrimp from giant vats. Between the two of us, our quick off-the-beaten-path snack was $2 and the lime juice amuses my taste buds just thinking about it. Gab wanted to get rid of the bags, so we checked into a small place in the historic district of Casco Antiguo, where we love the cobblestone streets and outdoor cafes that serve fresh passion fruit juice. We listened to Caribbean tunes coming from the open windows and felt like we were right back in St. Martin (where we lived for three of the best years of our life). We also noticed the increasingly-tall city skyline emerging on Ave. Balboa. Is Panama losing its old-world edge? That evening, we took a cab out to the Causeway which cost us two dollars from the old quarter-can you even cover gas with that? We hit up one of the City's best unknown restaurants, Kyukos where all the middle-upper-class locals gather after work to unwind. Because it was payday, the place was packed-although I've rarely seen it empty-and we managed to grab a table right on the dock, overlooking some great big yachts and giant carp feeding under the lights. The breeze off the water and the view of the city was spectacular, and it was good to see that not the entire Causeway has gone sightseeing-central on me. Clams were still four dollars and drinks were still one fifty. The service still stunk, but no one really cares. On Saturday we drove out to Santa Clara which is past the developed likes of Coronado. Only an hour and a half: the beach was pristine and for thankfully, still deserted; only a few locals and their families hanging out in the sand and jumping in the waves. Horses run up and down the beach and fishermen bring in the day's bloody catch which feels like a scene from some movie. The nearby Decameron and Playa Blanca resorts, for standard tourists, we could do without. For some entertainment that night, we stayed far away from the ever-glitzy Decapolis and Calle Uruguay. Instead, we hit up several of our favorite local hangouts like Sapore di Mare (Via Espana: no attitude, kind of grimy), Nelsons Billards (Via Brasil: cheap, authentic, and typical music), and finally Rock Café (Plaza New York: really loud and a bit dangerous) where we danced Reggaeton until about three AM. We were blitzed. It was Sunday afternoon and there was nothing I wanted to do more than slip out of the city to Veracruz, the little known waterfront community just a minute over the Bridge of the Americas. The area has the feeling ghetto at the beach, where cold beers and fried fish come simple and unadorned. I grabbed a small handful of lime wedges from this bohemian shack along with a few chilies and joined Gab on the beach where the waves slowly lapped onto the shore. We were only in town two days before flying out to Havana. But our recent days in Panama reassured us the place still seems to have its good-old places left to enjoy. Sure there are lots of new and innovative things going on, but for travelers like us, it's the unique, local flavor of fresh fish, cheap beers, and private beaches that's most important. And for the time being, we're trying desperately to get back for more. Trackback(0)
Comments (4)
  written by cyrus , November 26, 2007 Hello!
Thanks for posting these jewels of information....I will be in panama for a week (leaving in 4 hrs - completely last minute trip!) with my lovely girfriend (who also loves limes like you do) and I'm going to get to work to find some of the places you've recommended...I'm a fan of out of the way places to eat and drink and recreate...did much of that in venezuela on a few trips and found wonderful, charming and completely wacked experiences were all around me! If you have any ideas for trips outside the city (isla de coiba? but we are open to suggestions) I would really appreciate any insight...I'm very curious to explore and be just be happy with what I find  please feel free to write me at bombinating@gmail.com thanks again for sharing cyrus report abuse
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 written by Ari , November 26, 2007 the interior here is chock full of your kind of places. just get a rental car and explore; secluded beaches, local restaurants, $0.20 beers. it's all one big amazing place but probably won't be for long: so get out there!
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-Richard and Dorthea Brown