Where I left you last time was Miami, i believe. We met a cool Finnish couple in the hostel we stayed in (called Jazz). If you're in Miami and looking for a an awesome location and cheap prices for accommodation, this hostel is really the place to be.
The couple we met and eventually hung out with for the 2 days we were in town, happened to be from the same fairly small town in Finland as myself! We did take it pretty easy in Miami, had some awesome food (Latino/Caribbean food is really the shit in Miami) and caught nice sunburns on the beach. After 1 night we changed rental cars and headed to Palm Beach, where we were warmly welcomed and accommodated by my lovely godparents who have a beach apartment there. Looking back now, ending our Great American road trip in style with pressured, hot showers and comfy beds was exactly what we needed, as it is starting to look like we might have to wait to get that again when we get back home in May. In short, Palm Beach was a pretty interesting place. Zero crime rates, guaranteed sunshine, and what best, a relatively large Finnish population, which can apparently easily be spotted hanging out at the local Finnish bakery, including one national icon Eino Grön, witnessed to be blasting his own music in his convertible while popping in to get a korvapuusti.
After relaxing in Palm Beach we headed back to Miami, where we flew down to Panama City on the 20th of Dec. Having no real knowledge about Panama, the place positively surprised us. We stayed in the one and only hostel in the Old Town or Casco Viejo (old helmet?) called Luna's Castle. As it was located up on a hill outside the city centre, we only really experienced that neighbourhood of Panama City during the few days we spent there. It was very historic and cultural but what one can not help to notice is the radical contrast of the rich and the poor, often literally being divided by one narrow street. Other than that, Panama City was pretty awesome. Havana style bars with cheap rum flowing, and salsa playing non-stop in one place or another.
Tony being an engineer
geek, he was pretty excited to go see the famous Panama Canal, which was only a
short taxi ride away from the city. Personally, I was expecting it to be
waaaaay bigger and perhaps a bit more mind-blowing, but it was still fun to see
gigantic million-dollar cargo ships being dragged through a narrow canal. This
fun was free as well, so if you were interested enough you could sit there all
day and watch the ships go through.
Panama city skyline from our hostel
Our first Panama lunch in the city. Super fresh!
Thats me truly appreciating the engineering master piece of the Panama Canal
Casual salsa sesh at a local market corner
One thing worth
mentioning is the fact that locals do not speak English so we were forced to
brush up our Spanish. I even managed to stutter it well enough to buy us bus
tickets from an intimidating lady at a busy bus terminal. Score! The day before
Christmas Eve we took the bus to Bocas del Toro, a range of tropical islands on
the Caribbean side of the coast.
Now this is our 3rd
day here, the first 2 days were pretty much a monsoon, which we were not
expecting after great weather in Panama City. All cool though, luckily for
Christmas day yesterday, the sun decided to show up and our xmas moods were
finally lifted. Been eating and drinking pretty well so far. Local cuisine in
Panama is soooo refreshing after heavy junk food in the US. It pretty much
always consists of rice, meat and beans, and plantains (which we pretty much
discovered for the first time!). And tropical fruits, especially papaya, which
seems to be in season, are dirt cheap and available at every street corner. So
bikini body, here I come! (Better late than never)
Central American breakfast specialty: Huevos Rancheros
Tony enjoying his 3-course xmas dinner. By far the most expensive meal so far!
Local street corner food in Bocas
Finally got to jump in the water after sweating our asses off for days
Xmas chilling on a bar boat
So a quick summary about Panama so far; not as cheap as excepted, at least in terms of eating out. American dollars used as the officially currency clearly symbolises the long-lasting US influence in the region. Learn some basic Spanish if you wanna get by! Although here in Bocas most people speak English as its pretty taken over by Americans, who mostly run a lot of the hostels here. And last but not least, showers everywhere are FREEZING! Really starting to appreciate the luxury of having a hot water tap in your shower :) I suppose it makes some sense considering the all-year average temperature of 30 celcius...Adios for now!
Useful links for potential travellers:
Cheap hostel in Miami Beach: http://www.jazzhostels.com/jazzsouthbeach.php?gclid=CLD25ZaPubQCFQeynQodBnoAew
Party hostel in Panama city: http://www.lunascastlehostel.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment