Heading to Panama

Catching up on some blogging. In 2019, a few of us spent a week in Panama. This will be the first blog for that Panama trip.

First Stop: Mexico (On the way to Panama)

The Sister’s husband picked dropped us all off at the airport. Being December, YVR set up some interesting back drops in anticipation of Christmas so figured, why not partake! After passing through security we had a little time to kill. Because, I’m the only one that has access to the different lounges at the airport, I couldn’t get us all into one lounge. but managed to get Funkycat and Gimpy in the Plaza Premium lounge while the Sister and I spent the time in the Sky Team Lounge. Since this is a night flight, spending time in the lounge gives us a chance to get a little food and stretch our legs before the overnight flight to Mexico.

Mexico (Then Onward To Panama)

The flight to Mexico passed quickly, without incident. As it’s a read eye, sleeping shortly after boarding passed the time pretty quickly. Before long we were landing in Mexico for a short three hour layover. In Mexico, we spent time in the lounges once again. Similar to Vancouver Gimpy and the Sister split from us while FunkyCat and I hit up the Centurion lounge. With a bit of refreshment and breakfast, we met back up with the rest of our party at the gate before getting on our flight to Panama. The flight wasn’t entirely full either so all of us stretched out which made for a comfortable three hour flight to Panama.

Panama City

After finally arriving in Panama City, a friend of a friend purchased and setup sim cards for the four of us. After getting that setup, we hopped in an Uber and made our way into the city. On the maps it usually takes about 30 minutes to get to our hotel, but with traffic we took an hour. On top of the cheap flights to get down to Panama, one of the other appeals are the accommodations. A while back, I redeemed a 7 night certificate with Marriot which would expire in 2020. So with that, we got to stay rather comfortably at the AC Hotel Panama City for essentially “free”.  After settling in, we spent some time to explore the hotel and knew we would spend some time at the rooftop pool during our stay here.

McDonald’s (Panama City)

Food is next on the agenda and after hearing from a few friends that McDonald’s has great fried chicken, we set out to find it. Each of us ordered our own meals and I have to say that after having McDonald’s fried chicken in Bangkok, this is MUCH MUCH better. It’s not the best, but it is tasty, not dry and quite flavorful. I recommend giving it a try if you’re ever in Panama.

Panama City Waterfront

After stuffing our faces with McDonald’s, we started walking towards the water. Panama City has a very nice and we’ll developed coastal walk along the water. Unfortunately, by the time we made it near the water, it started to rain and pour on us. We did come prepared with umbrellas so, deciding to brave the weather,  we did walk a portion of the boardwalk. On a nice day I can totally appreciate how lovely this part of the city can be. In fact even in the rain, it still gives a great glimpse into some of this cityscape.

Beirut in Panama City

I think the combination of long and overnight travel along with wet and humid weather started to take its toll. Slowly making our way back to our hotel to quickly freshen up, all of us agreed to head out for a quick bite and then turn in for the day. Nearby to our hotel is a Lebanese restaurant called Beirut. With none of us being super hungry after our fried chicken feast, we each ordered something small. I ordered a chicken soup and and a shawarma. Nothing really to special about it, especially if you’ve been to the region itself. But it did fill our stomachs with something warm.

From there we made a quick stop to pick up a few supplies for our room and then headed back to the hotel. After showering and relaxing a little all of us hit the sack pretty soon after. Our plan for the next day will be to visit Panama’s old town (Casa Viejo) and the fishermen’s market.