Panama day 2

We had another full day here in Panama. While the rest of my family went on a tour, it was city day for the Morleys and us!

My uncle helped Todd and Curtis go find a wheelchair to rent for Curtis this morning. For those of you who didn’t hear, he and Nicole almost weren’t able to come because he fell down a window-well (ok, stifle that laughter) and he is on crutches. We were all glad he didn’t break it and didn’t need any sort of surgery. It took the men far too long to accomplish such a simple task (try 2 hours!!!!) so by the time they returned and we found out they weren’t mugged, arrested or bleeding anywhere, we were quite furious, but ready to hit the road.

By this time it was lunch so we decided to go to a little place that the Harvey’s recommended called Las Tinajas. We weren’t privileged with the authentic dancing as it is only in the evenings during the week, but the food was outstanding. Curtis ordered the winner--curry shrimp in ½ a pineapple with fried banana—YUM!

We then headed to Casco Viejo, the old part of Panama City built in the 17th century. These buildings were amazingly beautiful with all the colors and architecture. They have a classic European-look to them. Just as we found a parking place and started to look around, prior to getting out of the car, we noticed this is not the best part of town. There were policemen everywhere and also many scary-looking drunkards. As Nicole nursed Malia, I read to them a brief history from my Frommer’s book about Casco Viejo and it ended with this “safety note” warning: “Most important in this area is to tone down the ‘gringo look’ if possible, meaning no shorts or ostentatious clothing like Hawaiian shirts. Also do not wear flashy jewelry or walk the streets brandishing your top-of-the-line camera.” Ok, so not only were ALL of us in shorts, but I was in a Hawaiian looking shirt and shorts AND Todd and Curtis brought their huge top-of-the-line cameras! Then there was the whole fact that we had a baby and were pushing Curtis in a wheelchair. How do you think we did on toning down the whole “gringo look”? We decided to get out of the car anyway.

We walked around on these beautiful streets and took lots of pictures. We saw the Presidential Palace as well as numerous Kuna Indian ladies selling their colorful Panamanian molas. A quick note about these beautiful people. I certainly would have had more pictures of them, but it is their belief that if you take their picture, you also take part of their soul, so we tried to respect that, however, if you are brave enough to ask, some might charge you a buck or two. Cheap price for a soul, eh?

Many of the buildings have been renovated and are being used for museums, governmental buildings or various shops. Pushing Curtis in a wheelchair over half-broken cobblestone was not easy. We decided to head to the car after we starting seeing more policemen, but this time they were in bullet-proof vests! I have to note that Nicole did the driving and she did a great job; if any of you have been to South or Central America, you might appreciate how hard it is to drive in one! Todd has been a great navigator and my family all wishes he could be in their car because he has such a sense of direction.

Tonight we went to a yummy restaurant right on the beach called Mi Ranchito. We ate things we’ve never tried before like clams, ceviche’, cariminones, we both had fish and Todd had fried plantains-YUM! Even with the migraine that I had, we ended up having a great time and laughing lots. There was even a raccoon that came walking through the restaurant and got us all excited.

Todd damaged his record by getting us lost on the way home, but he recovered by getting us home. Now I sit in our beautiful courtyard by the pool listening to the night noises of bugs in the trees and watching the geckos on the walls.
We have another fun day at the beach planned for tomorrow.