Sometimes the lesser-known-and- infinitely-satisfying tourist options pass under your activity radar, much to your regret when you find out about them a moment too late. From party boats to salsa dancing, to drinking frozen margaritas in leather seats at your local movie theater to MC battles, live art at bars and theater performances in your language, I hope you’re ready to dive head-first into nights you’ll never forget while out and about in Panama City!
When you live in a cramped, hectic city where it seems that there’s always something happening and there’s not a moment to rest, the yearning for slower, calmer days slithers in unknowingly, creeping up behind you until it’s all you can think of. When there’s an opportunity to let it all go away, to pause and bask in the tranquility of days that appear to be standing still, after dealing with the noise of city life for so long, the only option is “go.” Whether you’re in Tokyo, Paris, New York or any other metropolis, the feeling of being eaten alive by the freight train of modern life is universal. But when you’re in Panama City, unlike other great modern cities, there are affordable and nearby options that will take it all away. For that purpose, let’s talk about Pedasí, deep in the Azuero Peninsula of the Republic of Panama.
Panama is a prime example of how what one person does will inadvertently affect everyone else that lives with him in a society. Since the place is so small, the ripples someone’s action makes can be felt in practically every level of life here, and I’ll give you an example of this right now: I [...]
The Armed Forces Network is the television branch of the Armed Forces Radio, which is the U.S military’s official radio channel. The organization’s origins date as far back as the 1940’s, a few years prior to World War II; this wasn’t a government initiative but rather local bases in different parts of Europe trying to [...]
With more than a million foreigners coming to Panama in 2008 and a trend that indicates we’re far from seeing the peak of visitor influx, you’d think that Panama’s immigration office would be up to the task to receive and process every single foreigner in the country. After having recently visited the main office I’m happy to report that the old addendum about government entities continues to jam its rusty blade into the annals of our society: the Panamanian Immigration Office is a clusterfuck quagmire of fairy tale insanity, the sort of unique mess that is not fantastical in its matter-of-factness but it boggles my feeble mind nonetheless.
In recent years measures were taken by the government and dubiously necessary Carnival Office to ensure that carnivals in the nation’s capital, Panama City, lived up to the hype garnered in no small part by the country’s dashing strides in tourism and real estate, and whoever lives near this murder scene can grab their complaints and shove them up their sour-trout asses… myself included.
The first cases of express kidnappings in Panama started coming up on news outlets around 2005, but who knows for how long they’ve been happening. Still, I believe it’s good to get the word out on accounts like these, so I’ve taken the liberty to translate the girl’s account for you to read.
Boquete is one of Chiriquí´s most famous districts, located up north of the province and west of Panama. With almost 20,000 residents, Boquete is popular amongst the tourist and expat communities mostly because of its template weather, a huge contrast to the rest of the country which enjoys the best in tropical climate.
One would think they have entered Prozac Nation upon arrival but that first impression is not something that can be held accountable to the residents of Chitré; on the contrary, the problem is that many of us that are so used to the hectic, smog-dominated city life that visiting such a tranquil place is nothing short of a system shock. You can literally feel the darkness of your soul slowly peel away the further you venture into the city. The air feels cleaner, everyone says “hello” to each other and, unlike Panama City and its traffic, modeled after the southwest ghetto district of the 7th ring of hell, drivers are actually courteous on the road. You can actually tell how many people from the capital are visiting Chitré by the way they’re driving… because they’re so damn rude.
I used to go out with a girl who, even though she looked like those poster girls who are all looks and no brains, is a real gem to be with. My time with her showed me, though, that Panama’s clubbing culture is as shallow as Lorenzo Lamas. This girl is beautiful, the sort of [...]
I was with my friend Marco one late Thursday afternoon just cruising about when hunger struck, causing me to detour at the McDonald’s drive-thru around the El Dorado Shopping Center. Now, specially nowadays with the emergence of fancy, well-lit and ridiculously safe shopping malls lately, in comparison the El Dorado Shopping Center seems pretty shady, [...]
There is a common misconception that the Latin-American male is a creature that, while decidedly Christian, does seem to have a habit of having mistresses to relieve the stress of married life. Moral implications aside, the frequency of hearing about how X person keeps going to Y strip club and goes to his favorite stripper [...]
I would like to take the moment to talk about a YouTube video that is slowly (but surely) taking the internet by storm, and I’m proud to say that this bonafide viral video comes from my little slice of heaven, that S-shaped paradise smack-dab in the middle of the equator we mere mortals have come [...]
I was at the production office of the 2008 Panama Jazz Festival on a sunny Friday morning getting stuff done with Yamile, putting out fires that often came throughout the course of the week we worked there, when a gentle young man, tall as a lamp post and seemingly fragile, sat down next to me [...]
In December of 2007, an article by legendary Panamanian author Enrique Jaramillo Levi graced the Opinion section of La Prensa, Panama’s highest-circulated newspaper. The short essay, titled “Escritores Ante Nuevos Retos” or “Writers Facing New Challenges” was placed on my desk after a long day on the streets, being charming and trying to earn my [...]