Buscando el sol

Hola! Olá! For those who don’t know ‘buscando el sol’ means ‘in search of the sun’. This search of the sun started in Gambia in November, followed by Egypt, then a break in Portugal and Spain for Christmas and New Year. Now Central America. First country: Panamá. Sometimes this will be written in English, other times Spanish or Portuguese.

27th November 2011: London Gatwick – Banjul, Gambia

7th December 2011: London Gatwick – Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt

21st December 2011: Cairo – Madrid Barajas

9th January 2012: Faro – London Stansted

11th January 2012: London Heathrow - Madrid Barajas - Panamá City Tocumen.

Please note we arrived in Heathrow at midnight (took the last tube from Brixton) for a 06h20 flight to Madrid Barajas where we would have to change plane to Panamá City. Alarm at 04h30 to check-in the bags and although we arrived at Heathrow 6 hours before the flight we still managed to almost miss it. ‘Last call to Madrid. Can Miss Garcia Fernandez and Miss Miranda please make their way to the Gate’ We made it!

After two hours we landed in Madrid. From Madrid to Panamá ten hours. Arrived in Panamá City Tocumen International Airport at 17h30 (5 hours less than in Portugal and 6 hours less than in Spain). We took the bus to MultiCentro and after walking around for 20 minutes we found the hostel Villa Vento Surf.

First day in Panamá City 12th January 2012: Panamá Viejo. Mercado de Marisco. Casco Antiguo.

Panamá Viejo

Mercado de Marisco

Detail at Mercado de Marisco

 

On the way to Casco Antiguo with ‘New Panamá’ background

Carolina making a phone call

Casco Antiguo

Una cervezita ‘Balboa’ en Casco Antiguo ($US2)

Otra Balboa en Casco Antiguo ($US2)

Second day in Panamá City 13th January 2012: 5 de Maio, Museum AfroAntillano, Avenida Central, Plaza Santa Ana and Miraflores to see the Canal de Panamá.

Third day 14th January 2012: we packed and after not reaching any conclusion made our way to the Central Station ‘Albrook’ and we are on coach to Colón, east of Panamá City.

In Panamá better than the Canal are the buses called ‘Diablos Rojos’, 0ld school yellow American buses playing musica latina from salsa to bachata ($0.25 one journey). In Panamá the currency is Balboa, but US Dollars are used the same.

A typical public bus in Panamá

At the hostel we stayed Villa Vento Surf, breakfast was included but we had to cook it: coffee and pancakes. So pancakes we did!