Rob-Rivera.com

Posts Tagged ‘tourism’

Casita Margarita, in Pedasi

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.

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The Arepa Joint in Via España, Panama City

This is less of an informative peace and more of a love letter. I can try to bring you an unbiased report of the mysterious-looking cart that’s parked five nights a week on the corner of Sappore Di Mare and Studio F, out in Via España of the beautiful and dutiful Panama City. I could try. I fear though that my verbose will slowly devolve into an ode to the people’s craft, the sailors and sailorettes burning charcoal and serving bliss in a grilled corn patty in their surely-illegal-but-accredited eatery. I can try to keep it together long enough. I’m not sure if I can, but I will for sure try.

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I Live in a Country…

I live in a country without borders. A place where I can’t tell where one boundary ends and the other one begins. A land beyond belief, not only for its beauty but also the people living in it. A small pearl; a newly-discovered gem that, despite it being within a hard shell of intolerance toward the outside, has been brought to the limelight for all to see, admire and enjoy. Like every other diamond in the rough, though, there are very hard edges. Smudges, marks that denote a sense of character and a path traveled. There is still much to walk, I think. I live in a country where its people are so culturally diverse that it runs from the constant risk of losing its identity. I live in a country where being proud of your heritage is an excuse to go out and get drunk without really knowing what is being celebrated.

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Panama and Immigration

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.

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Culecodromo: The Carnivals in Panama City, Panama are the Most Unique In the World

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.

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Rob Rivera’s Website for 2009

Hello, boys and girls. So, it would seem that both me and the cats at Porto Diao took an improvised sabbatical of sorts during the month of January. We went out, lived, loved, got into great adventures, got drunk, got high, got depressed, got delirious, people came and went, some for good, others, for a little while, others got together forever in the sanctity of marriage, people grew apart, people came together, others still are.

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Las Tablas, in the Azuero Peninsula

The capital and commercial center for the Herrera province, Las Tablas is located 282km (175 miles) from Panama City (capital of the Republic of Panama) and expands throughout approximately 12km along the Pacific coast, which houses the Mensabé Marina. There is no official story regarding the foundation of the city, but legend has it that Las Tablas was founded by Captain Jacinto Barahona on July 19th, 1671. 51 years later in 1721 construction of the Santa Librada church, national monument and epicenter of the city, was completed. In present day, the Santa Librada church is very popular tourist attraction along with the city itself, particularly during the Carnival and Easter holidays.

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Porto Diao: Changing the Ways of Panamanian Culture

Porto Diao continues to expand. Who would’ve thunk that a year ago the Little Portal That Could was nothing more than me playing around with a server, figuring out what to do with it? Now we have a gazillion things going on, and I’d like to take the time to showcase them because, modesty aside, [...]

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Going First Class

Matt Landau is officially my first collaborator here on the site. Since I can’t really pinpoint my chunk of the Internet into any 1 category, it seems I can pull off stuff like this and no one will say a pip. Good, because it’s always good to catch different perspectives and inspire debate. So, having [...]

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Camping in Chicá, Campana

 
Not as far but just as interesting as El Valle, Chicá in the Campana region of the interior is a great way to escape the city whether you’re in the mood to relax, do something fun or live out an RPG campaign. I went with some friends in order to congregate in the spirit of [...]

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Panamanians and Easter (Semana Santa)

After carnivals, probably the most amazing holidays in the calendar year where the population throws its inhibitions to the wind in the spirit of Sodom and Gomorrah, the celebration meets a screeching halt in the form of Lent, these brakes properly greased by Jesus and powered by religion. After this break in the festivities then, [...]

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Carnivals in Panama – Day 2

After the very real threat of being very raped by a very depraved and very drunk woman while visiting the Queen Wars in Chitré the night before, I woke up Sunday morning with an insatiable thirst for carnival hotness. I don’t know what it was, perhaps it was the 4-hour drive or the lack of [...]

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Carnivals in Panama – Day 1

February is a very contradicting month: not only do you have the annual opportunity given to you by Hallmark to tell the person you love that you do (and if you didn’t then oh noes!) but right a few days later you’re granted to a 4-day holiday fueled by debauchery and lack of self control [...]

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Rob Rivera in The Panama Report

My buddy Matt and the fine folks over at ThePanamaReport.com hit me up so that I would write an article for them regarding sex in Panama, in light of the popularity of the Push Buttons article I have floating around here so, since I hate to disappoint, I crafted an article on the subject with [...]

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Panamanians and “Hooters”

Note: On Sunday I woke up and stood up. Standing in the middle of the bedroom I looked to my right and the dog was sitting, looking up at me… next to him, a large dark stain on the carpet. The stain smelled like piss. As I registered the occurrence, I sneezed and I felt [...]

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