The city of vultures

Panama City, Panama, September 2017

Oh no, I don’t mean it that way. I mean it literally.

The journey was much longer – it took me almost 2 years to get there,  and somewhat crooked – it went via Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Bali, Dubai, Sweden, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Dubai, Portugal, Poland, USA, Canada, but I am here at last. I have finally arrived in the country of two oceans; Central and South America’s financial hub; last year’s number one country to retire in; this year’s number two country to retire in (according to Forbes), happiest country in the world and above all my (long awaited ) future home – my possible retirement paradise on Earth – Panama.

First stop – Panama City. And? My first impressions? So far so good?

The trip: a red flight from Portland, OR to Panama City, very tired, not a wink, sulky.grumpy and hungry – Air Canada in a nutshell. My virgin flight or rather flights with Air Canada turned out to be anything … but.  Tiny and most uncomfortable seats, unpleasant staff and no food. Yes, no food on a long haul flight. And no prior info about it either. I was more comfortable and much better served on low price third world countries’ Asian flights. Still, my spirits very pretty high – considering. But it was the pilot, however, that ‘made my trip’.    

Note new law: Swedish passport holders (and most probably many others) require Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA – equivalent to American ESTA) to travel to Canada. Get one at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/eta-start.asp before you travel to make sure you won’t miss your flight trying to get it during check-in. It only takes few minutes and costs 7 CAD.

Getting into the city: A 20-minute ride from the airport to the old town for a whopping 30 USD but on a good, alley like road, leading through not too shabby looking (all but one – from a distance) hoods went very smooth and uneventful. The 30-minute ride that followed due to unexpected search of my booked accommodation through narrow, one-way streets of the old town, in violation of all possible traffic laws in the process incl driving against the traffic wasn’t quite planned but interesting nonetheless. A taste of Panama?

Note: Do not believe everything you read. There are only two ways to get into town from the airport (three incl your own ride). Either by a 30 USD taxi or a local bus that you can catch some distance away.

Weather: Yes, it is humid. Very humid. So you better get keratin treatment before you arrive or else just accept your new frizzy and curly natural look. (which quite frankly isn’t all that bad). The temperatures of between 25-30 C could have been very pleasant if not for the humidity. On a positive note, the humidity in Panama City is ‘nothing’ compared to the Malaysian one and therefore, I believe, I should be able to get used to it … if I would only give it a bit of time.

And the rain? Yes, it rains. Every day. And every night. And if it doesn’t rain – it pours. The tail end of Hurricane Irma ‘they say’.

The city: It was the documentary Route of two Oceans that put Panama on my travel radar. So fascinating, so exciting, such a perfect place to visit and live in. I was ready to drop everything and move right then and there, on the spot.  It was love at first sight. But, as often with love – wrong timing. 

I couldn’t go to Panama, or anywhere else for that matter, not then. The urge of meeting the Lunch Lady and having a taste of her famous soup was much stronger. The problem was she was serving her lunches in an entirely different corner of the world.  Consequently, to go West I had to go East first. So I went East but was on my way to Panama ever since. 

I saw the documentary for the second time about a month ago and couldn’t quite figure out what it was that attracted me to Panama in the first place.  It definitely wasn’t the same documentary I saw two years ago. Or the place. Or the country. Hmmm. However, I wasn’t concerned. Not too much anyway. Everybody who visited Panama was telling me ‘you’re gonna love it‘. And I wanted to believe ‘I will love it‘. After all, I also saw tons of fantastic pictures of Panama City to second the love was in the air. But … 

The city isn’t so picture perfect as many of the postcards and photographs suggest. Even the ‘pretty part’ requires the perfect lighting and angles to make it look pretty. In short, Panama City is not all that I envisioned.  Not all that and some more, the streets behind the pretty facades are hardly walkable. In fact, with an exception of the promenade along the ocean, the city is not really walkable due to the filthy, badly paved (if any) side walks, full of holes and paddles. And then, there are the cats. Hundreds (or more) of them.

What surprised me the most is lack of tourists, at least the Western ones. On the other hand, there is no shortage of police. The police are everywhere, in groups of 5 or more. I am told at least few times a day not to go here or there as it is too dangerous. And I must admit there were times when I felt very uncomfortable entering certain areas even in the middle of the day. (I am nonetheless ready to visit the slums. I found a partner in crime. Perhaps being two will decrease the (eventual) danger.)

Food: I love ethnic food and am not afraid to taste exotic flavors. Sadly I found nothing of interest so far. Not one thing. But I’ll keep looking. On a positive note – the tap water is drinkable.

Prices: A bit of a shock. Not as cheap as I was made to believe by various retirement destinations sites. In fact very expensive especially for a third world country. 1600 USD for a two bedroom apartment plus utilities, 7+ USD for a glass of wine or 10+ USD for a cheap meal is not any different from prices in Portland, OR. Even the prices in super markets aren’t all that different from American prices and apparently higher than in Holland. Panama is not cheap at all. (Costa Rica is apparently still more expensive). Very disappointing. 

So what about those vultures? They are just city birds. Just like city rats, city foxes, city raccoons or other wild animals that migrated into towns all over Europe and America. It feels a bit uncomfortable and spooky to watch them (majestically) flying all over town looking for prey (cadaver? dead bodies? better not let the imagination go wild).  Locals don’t seem to like them either. Windows, balconies, terraces are all protected by fake owls in the hope they would scare the vultures away. The vultures, unfortunately, don’t seem to care. 

All in all?: No matter how big/small the ‘cover up‘ is or how many pretty pictures of Panama City you see, Panama is still very much a third world country which is (I hope) more visible in a city of 1 million than in a beach resort. I have already begun the countdown of my Panama City retreat for the beaches and islands which, after all, were supposed to be my final destination. So, so far (not) so very good. The better times ahead. 

tbc

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Some pretty Panama City pictures (after all I am a photographer)