Crossing over

After hanging at the beach for a few days it was time to head to the Canal. We spent the morning dodging potholes and crazed cows and were soon back on the main road.
A little way down the road, we saw a familiar red shape putting along. We soon pulled up alongside Steve and Wendi in their VW bus, Pumper. Of all places, we agreed to have lunch with them at the McDonalds a few miles down the road. Drive all the way to Panama and eat American fast-food!
We tried to find another beach town for the night, but as we were close to Panama City, places to stay were way too expensive for our measly budget. When we couldn't find a place near the beach we decided to head up to El Valle. We had planned to go there on our way back from Panama City, as they have a weekend farmer's market that we wanted to check out. We found a nice place to stay for the night, they actually had hot water for showers, and told the owner we would be back in a few days. Then off we went to cross the Canal.
It was really cool driving over "the Bridge of the Americas" which spans the Panama Canal. We could see all the boats lined up waiting to cross and the skyscrapers of the city in the distance.


Sorry the picture isn't better, it was very overcast that day! And I'm on the skyscraper side.
We drove along the waterfront past all the new sparkling buildings then headed to the old part of the city. The old city is called Casco Viejo and was where the richer set had lived in years past. As the city expanded, the rich left the old city for new and fancier digs. The old city fell into disuse and disrepair. Over the past ten years, the old places are being bought and renovations are underway. You walk past beautiful restored homes and right next door is a shell with trees growing inside. In another ten years no one will be able to afford these places. Both Rita and I are glad we saw it now, an amazing juxtaposition between what was and what will be!












We spent a couple of days exploring, staring into the old wrecks(it's amazing how many old sewing machines people leave behind), admiring the renovations and peering down streets lined by old building to see the skyscraper of the new city filling the horizon.


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Catching up

I just checked to see when I posted last, uh, quite awhile ago! Seems that Rita and I haven't made to to Panama City yet. Truthfully, that was over 2 months ago and we have been living in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua for the since March 1. More about that later, I'll try to catch up!
Where were we, ah, yes, Boquete, lovely place. While we were there we visited the local hot springs, soaked for awhile, then hopped in the cold river. Maybe not quite hopped, Rita got in slowly and I put my feet in. I really am quite a chicken when it comes to cold water.





We left Boquete with plans to hit the beach, got back on the main road and headed south. The main road, by the way, is pretty much the only road in Panama, with a few side roads every 100 km or so. We had heard about a nice beach called Santa Catarina, so off we went. Down one of those side roads, oh my! The roads were horrible, talk about interactive driving, when the road are paved there are huge potholes to avoid and when they aren't rocks and deep ruts keep you on your toes! A couple of hours of that and your shoulder are in knots and your nerves are frayed. We finally made it to the town, which was rather disappointing. Not much of a town really, a small restaurant on the beach and a few hostels here and there. We headed around the corner to the next beach and found a decent hostel right on the water.
The road to our hostel ended at an inlet, right past where we were staying. On the other side is another hostel/surf camp. How do people get over there, we thought. The tide was high and all the way up to the road on both sides of the inlet. Both Rita and I were amazed by the difference in high and low tide. At low tide, you can walk or drive across. At high tide, even the snorkels on the big 4x4's wouldn't help. We walked on the beach during low tide until our hostel looked tiny, then came back as the tide changed. We had dinner up on the deck with the ocean swirling at the foundations. Pretty cool.

Location:Avenida del Parque,San Juan del Sur,Nicaragua