The sail into Panama City involves navigating through dozens of ships laid up and waiting their turn to pass through the Panama Canal. It’s quite strange to see so many large vessels stationary in the water.
Island Princess[1] backs into berth outside a gleaming new cruise terminal on the Isla Flamenco peninsula. In the distance, the glittering buildings of the city proper seem to thrust out of the water, reaching high into the sky.
Initially we had planned to do an escape[2] room, but we’re not sure about getting to the venue – or the pricing. Instead we decide to head into town and visit the local Hard Rock Café[3].
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Taxi time
The journey to the Panama Hard Rock Café involved breaking one of our travel taboos – getting a taxi. We don’t have anything against taxis, just prefer the certainty provided by public transport (routes, timing, costs etc).
According to Uber, the trip from the cruise terminal at Isla Flamenco to the restaurant costs just $5.60. The taxi driver we speak to after clearing immigration wants $20 (which is already better than the $50 estimated by Princess). I offer $5. The driver laughs and pretends I said $50. Eventually he agrees to $15 and wanders off to collect his SUV.
The taxi is licensed, which is nice, as is the air conditioning. The driving is… exciting. Lots of lane changes, late braking and speeding along the highway into town. We are treated to a flying journey along the Cinta Costera[4], a large ring road that loops the Historic District over a raised highway that arcs into the bay.
The journey takes less than 15 minutes and the driver is more than happy to help us unload the scooter safely outside the Megapolis Mall[5].
Top tip: Virtually everything in Panama City is billed – and paid for – in US dollars.
(Un)Hard Rock
Hard Rock Café Panama City is pretty much like every other HRC outlet on the planet. Only this one has been done up for Halloween. Blood, mummies, spiders, skeletons, the whole shebang, helpfully distracting from the relatively small collection of music memorabilia. There’s more to look at than in Gran Canaria[6] and Amsterdam, but it’s still quite thin on the… walls.
Worse still, the music is distinctly not rock. More like Gen Z pop – and that’s not cool. In fact, I seem to remember someone writing a novel about that[7].
However, Linda is thrilled to see her favourite cocktail, Electric Blues, back on the menu.
After a quick drink, we take a look around Megalopolis. It’s quite amusing to see all the snowy Christmas decorations on sale in a country that probably never sees any of the white stuff.
Flying back to Flamenco
We hadn’t really planned the return journey but were lucky to find a taxi driver waiting right outside the Megapolis entrance. He agrees $15 without hesitation and begins the journey back to Isla Flamenco.
Along the way the driver points out a few areas of interest (“That’s the old town. It’s not very nice in there. Not very safe.”, the fish market, the local stadium). But his real passion is football, so we talk about the English Premier League[8] and World Cup Qualifiers for most of the journey. The journey quite relaxed and enjoyable, even if the traffic is mental.
Hanging around
Just after sunset, Island Princess looses her moorings and heads half a mile out to sea, taking a place among the assembled tankers and cargo ships. We’ll be anchoring in the bay overnight, ready to begin our Panama Canal transit at 6am tomorrow.
After dinner, we are treated to a spectacular electrical storm crackling over the Panama City skyline. Awesome.
What’s with the blog title?
Just in case you didn’t get the reference, this may help:
Accessibility info
Batteries used: 66%
Terrain: Pretty decent in the most touristed areas, particularly around the Isla Flamenco Cruise Terminal. The more developed parts of the city also seem to have well-maintained sidewalks.
However, photographs suggest that the historic old town is far less scooter/wheelchair friendly.
Public transport: Buses do run from near the Cruise Terminal into the city proper and they appear to be very cheap. We never actually saw one though, so cannot comment on whether they are accessible or not.
Taxis: Yes they exist. Yes, they can accommodate wheelchairs and scooters. And yes, they are reasonably priced if you’re willing to haggle.
Did you get a passport stamp?
Yes! Just ask at the immigration desk as you enter/leave the Cruise Terminal.
Would we go back to Panama City?
If we were passing through the area, absolutely. Would we make a specific trip to visit Panama City itself? We’re not sure…
Other activities in Panama City
Isla Tortuga is the hot destination in Puntarenas, but there are a few other activities you might like to consider:
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References
- ^ Island Princess (www.journeyintodarkness.co.uk)
- ^ escape (www.journeyintodarkness.co.uk)
- ^ Hard Rock Café (www.journeyintodarkness.co.uk)
- ^ Cinta Costera (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ Megapolis Mall (www.megapolisoutlets.com)
- ^ Gran Canaria (www.journeyintodarkness.co.uk)
- ^ writing a novel about that (amzn.to)
- ^ English Premier League (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ Affiliate Disclosure Policy (www.journeyintodarkness.co.uk)