Monday, June 11, 2012

El Canal de Panamá y Casco Viejo









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! :) 


Casco Viejo: 


           


                                               
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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