Unfortunately, the Internet connections are basically a hit
or miss. There is Internet at major
shopping stores, but really no good connections anywhere else. So here’s to posting when I can! Yesterday, I
went to visit the Panamá Canal. It was super neat to actually see the canal and how
the boats travel through. We started the
tour of the canal at the Miraflores Locks, watching a gigantic boat from Brazil
travel through the canal. The boats are lifted
85 feet above sea level to travel through man-made lakes and rivers to the opposite side of Panamá. In total, the boats travel about 50 miles from the North end
of Panamá
to the South end. We also visited a
museum at the canal site that gave some information on the canal’s
history. Did you know each boat must pay a few on average of $100,000 to go through the canal??! I was shocked that it was so expensive! After the Panamá
Canal, our bus drove us to Casco Viejo, or “The Old City.” The bus driver stopped the bus and told us to
get off to start our walking tour. To
tell you the truth, I was shocked we were getting off the bus in such an area. Lets just say it didn’t look like the safest
part of town. We walked around the city,
visited old churches, bought gifts from the markets, and learned lots about
the city's history. Despite my initial feelings, I really enjoyed the tour
and of course, took hundreds of pictures! :)
The San Jose Church
I purchased a handmade fabric from this sweet woman!
Panamá City
Stray cats are everywhere!
Following Casco Viejo, we ate lunch at “Nico’s Café.”
Everything was of course in Spanish, and the employees only spoke Spanish. I am surprising myself at how well I am able
to communicate with everyone here, remembering my Spanish from high school! I
ordered Derredito, which is basically like a grilled cheese. :) After lunch, we packed
up our luggage and headed for Chitré.
It was about a 4 ½ hour bus ride from where we stayed the first night at
Ciudad Del Saber. The scenery along the
way was beautiful! Panamá is full of mountains, which are so neat to see, and so different from my view at home! When we arrived in Chitré,
we were all assigned to houses. I am sharing “Casa Dos,” a three-bedroom house
with 5 other girls. Surprisingly, the houses are quite nice, well nicer than I
had anticipated at least, other than the fact that there is no hot water, no
air conditioning, and no glass or screens on some of the windows! It really is quite something to get used to,
that’s for sure! Bugs wander in and out as they please, and I usually scream
and run into a different room while someone else kills it! Ha The average
temperature here in Chitré is about 95 degrees during the day, so me sweating like crazy
is the norm, especially with no air conditioning! It's very hot and sticky to say the least. Overall, I am having a great
experience though and it’s only day 3!
XOXO, Jenny
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