OK, it was a pretty smooth flight from Toronto to Panama City on COPA. We actually left early and arrived even earlier--so early, it seems, that we had to go to the wrong terminal.  It was a very long walk from one end of Terminal 1 to the far end of Terminal 2, but it took our bags even longer, of course.  Anyway, we ended up getting through Customs & Immigration just after we were originally supposed to land and met our driver, Allan, who we had  arranged through our VRBO apartment.  Now, we knew that there were protests (about a Canadian mining project) that were going to disrupt traffic, but our driver said all the roads into the city were blocked and it might take over 3 hours to get to our apartment by road and he suggested that he take us to the subway.  The problem with that was that it would be a quite long long walk carrying our bags (duffle back-backs) in the 30+C heat and 100% humidity from the subway to our apartment.  So we decided to take our chances on the roads and it turned out some of the protests had cleared and we made it to our apartment in Casco Viejo (Old Town) in about an hour, about twice what it would normally take.  Casco Viejo, in the bad old days in Panama, used to be gang central but now it is highly gentrified.  Our apartment at Casa Maralta is just a couple of blocks from the Pacific coast and is on the top floor, with a big private rooftop patio.

When we got in, we dropped our bags and went for a bit of a wander around the neighbourhood, found a spot to go back to for dinner later and found a lttle grocery store to get some beer, wine and breakfast essentials.  Then back to the apartment to get cleaned up a bit and head out to dinner at Finca Del Mar, right on the waterfront (or rather mudfront, since it was a very low tide) for heavy dose of deep-fried seafood, but pretty tasty. Then a bit more exploring in the 'hood.

In the morning, we headed out for a bit more wandering, heading a bit further afield.   Panama City is a town of contrasts, old and new, rich and poor.  The glittering downtown, which we see across the bay, stands in stark contrast to the older, poorer neighbourhoods around Casco Viejo that haven't been gentrified, and there are sometimes rigid dividing lines, marked by highways.

After wandering around the bay, and in and out of some somewhat sketchy areas, we stopped at a couple of places back in Casco Viejo for drinks, including at Cafe Coca Cola, the oldest cafe in Panama City, for a beer and of course a Coke.  It took us a while to find a place that was actually open for lunch, posted times and days don't seem to be followed, but we ended up getting some nice sandwiches at a pastry place, Saint Honoré, right at the end of our street  Then we tried to go to the Panama Canal Museum but again, despite the posted hours, it was not open on Tuesday.  So we stopped briefly into the Museum of Religion, which was really tiny and took less than 10 minutes, and headed back to our place and relaxed on the rooftop for a while.  Then I had a nap and started writing, and thus I am still rambling on.