By our fourth week in Panama, we started to feel the rhythm of the city. Every day we woke up early to go out for a run or walk followed by trying a new coffee shop. We walked to the grocery store a couple of times per week to stock up. Mid mornings we worked out at the gym. After that we returned to our air-conditioned apartment to get out of the sun and humidity until early evening. In the evening, we prepared dinner or went to a restaurant, followed by a long walk on the Cinta Costera.

Cinta Costera

Cinta Costera is a wide green strip along the Bay of Panama. It is a boardwalk reclaimed from the sea, linking Paitilla Point (a peninsula packed with high-rise towers, upscale shopping malls, and restaurants) with Casa Viejo (Old Town). Cinta Costera consists of a pedestrian path, bike path, parks, shelters, and basketball and soccer courts.

In the early morning, the greenway seems to be populated almost entirely by serious runners, cyclists, and walkers. In the evenings, the greenway comes alive with children playing, and numerous basketball and soccer games. We saw exercise, karate, and dance classes being held in the shelters. Of course, there are vendors up and down the greenway selling food, beverages, jewelry, toys, and souvenirs. It’s an area for people to connect and hang out.

Capitalinos

One of our highlights of traveling is meeting locals and expats. The local people of Panama City are called Capitalinos. The city is known for being very culturally diverse, and multiple languages are spoken by its residents, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. The primary ethnic groups in the city include Afro-Panamanians, multiracial people, and mestizos.

We met Capitalinos and some expats. We found the people of Panama City to be friendly and helpful with tips about the city or interesting places to see.

National Parks

There are 16 national parks in Panama. The parks along with 50 other protected areas account for about 25% of the land in Panama. This is a true investment in the wilderness and wildlife of the country.

Parque Nacional Soberania

We visited this park a couple of times during our stay. It’s located in the northern part of the city and offers great hiking trails. The park is a destination for bird watchers, but the highlight of our hike was seeing Howler Monkeys hiding in the trees. The first time we heard their loud, howling noises it almost stopped us in our tracks. Looking into the woods, I was expecting a herd of large animals to be charging towards us out of the woods. After spotting the monkeys high in the trees I was surprised how such loud, frightening sounds can come out of such small creatures.

Parque Municipal Summit

Next to the Parque Nacional Soberania is the Parque Municipal Summit. The summit consists of a botanical garden, a recreational park, and an Environmental Education Center dedicated to promoting conservation, research, and learning about the natural and cultural diversity of Panama.

There is also a facility for rescue and wildlife rehabilitation of exotic and native wildlife in central Panama. Many of the animals that arrive at the rescue center that cannot be returned to the wild are displayed to the public. As we walked through the gardens, we saw jaguars, various monkeys, and exotic birds.

Carnaval

Panama Carnaval was from Friday evening February 28^th through Ash Wednesday. It is a family holiday with celebrations in 12 cities, each with parades, floats, queens, costumes, music and dancing.

Most people leave Panama City to celebrate Carnaval with their families “back home.” So many people leave Panama City that the Bridge of the Americas (a major thoroughfare) is converted into a one-way road out of town from 4 until 7 p.m. on Friday. The rerouting plan also has an extra lane into the interior of the country.

In recent years, there has been a big increase in Carnaval celebrations in Panama City.  The government has invested millions in this effort.

There are parades with the Carnaval Queen and her court, floats, huge crowds, and lively bands playing Panamanian folk music, salsa, merengue, reggae, and Caribbean-influenced, exuberant dance music. On Sunday afternoon there is the “pollera” parade, which features women and young girls dressed in the distinctive Panamanian national costume.

La Mojadera (The Wetting)

Each morning of Carnaval there is la mojadera. It is a popular, fun, and wet Carnaval tradition in Panama. La mojadera is a spray of water meant to soak you. It’s a great relief to the hot, humid weather in Panama. There is a lot of dancing, jumping, popular music, people in bathing suits, contests, and more. This goes on until the early hours of the afternoon.

Then there is a rest period to prepare for the parade and the real partying. Panamanians typically start partying late and go into the wee hours.

Parades & Queens

In the evenings, the parades start.  The parades (los defiles) typically feature floats (topones), bands of mostly trumpets and drums (tunas), and, of course, the Carnaval Queen and her court in elaborate costumes. The parades have a different theme each night. Of course, there is plenty of food, beer, and other alcoholic beverages to buy at stands.

Burial of the Sardine

Just before sunrise on Ash Wednesday, the Carnaval Queen leads the last parade, a funeral procession. It is known as the Burial of the Sardine (Entierro de la Sardina)

A symbolic sardine is carried in a tiny coffin by costumed mourners to its burial spot. This burial tradition is an import from Spain. The act signifies the end of the partying and the beginning of the 40 days of Lent.

Our Time at the Carnaval

Unfortunately, we could only attend the Carnaval on Friday evening on the first day. We had an early morning flight on Saturday back to the U.S. The Carnaval officially started at 9 a.m. in the morning and evening activities started at 7 p.m. People and families were lined up waiting to enter the grounds in Panama City. There were many families taking advantage of the carnival rides. There are two stages with music from 8 p.m. through 4 a.m. We wished we could have experienced more but we’re not sure we could stay up that late.

Saying Good-Bye to Panama

We met several expats who love living in Panama. They appreciate the dollarized economy, low inflation and a stable political environment. The mentioned the easy 3-hour flight back to the U.S. and access to low-cost high-quality healthcare, making it a good place to retire with a comfortable lifestyle. Panama is one of the safest countries in Central America and there is high-speed internet, reliable power, and water you can drink straight from the tap.

Panama has a large expat community, making it easy to integrate and socialize. It offers tax incentives for retirees, particularly with the “pensionado” visa program. While Spanish is the primary language, English is widely spoken in tourist areas and expat communities.

But for us, Panama was not as easy to like as other cities we have visited such as Guadalajara, Mexico, Medellin Colombia, and Cuenca, Ecuador. For one thing, the humidity was almost unbearable. We did get out of the humidity by going two hours west to Anton Valley (El Valle de Antón). It is a charming small town up in the mountains so it’s much cooler than the coast. It is a small town but walkable, safe, and scenic.

Much of the city infrastructure is worn down and it isn’t easy to walk around town because sidewalks are in disrepair or end with no warning. When that happened, we had to walk on the road. There is heavy traffic with constant horn honking. Tourism is not well developed, and it’s hard to access, especially from the city.

We enjoyed our time in Panama but are happy to be back in Florida to spend time with our grandson, Lucas. We will begin planning our next trip soon –but not too soon.