Internet is like hwy traffic at rush hour: sometimes you speed up so much you're going faster than the speed limit, and then you slow down to a crawl and even to a full stop.  

I'm going nuts trying to keep up with the blog when the system bogs me down.  

Took a couple pics of the city while on my way to Ancon Hill, the only high point in the area. Oft repeated online is this: 360º views. I think I've already expressed my opinion of these online reviewers. I don't think they've ever been to most of these places they talk about; they just repeat what somebody else wrote (wikipedia probably the most quoted, without references of course. I believe these people try to keep an active website, without ever leaving their armchairs, in order to get revenues from it. I've already got a list in my mind that whenever I see that web address I won't click on it.  

I'm probably not going to post any pictures in the blog (from now on): it's the most time consuming part of doing this. Most of the pics are self explanatory. I'm going to see about putting more detail in the side frame (next to each pic in the slide show) where necessary.  

The views from Ancon Hill are worth the walk up (30-60 min), but not if you're expecting a 360º vista; it's more like 3 - 60º vistas of three different parts of the city.  

The 'village' at the base is quaint, but it's just a reproduction, not very realistic, and just a tourist trap.  



Not far south of Ancon is Amador: another suburb-like area (as in Pinardville) of Pty, and half of it is this park. It's a pretty nice walk, in the shade, in the morning; the rest of the day it's too hot and sunny. This is what I covered yesterday.  

Extending from here is the Amador Causeway (I'm not going to bore you with the history), which is a nice long walk along the ocean, but it needs shade to go along with all the benches they put in.  

At the end of the causeway are four islands. Smithsonian stuff takes up the first (Naos), but all I saw was a beat up building. What they are doing there may be important in some ways, but they're not flashing it.  

Shooting straight off Naos to the south, while the road turns southeast, is Culebra. I didn't walk down the road (it seemed to be private beyond the first hotel). The hotel itself wasn't much, but the restaurant was inviting.  
 
Ribeye at $10 vs New York at$16 was a bit of a hint, but I bit anyway: I thought 'Maybe it's just smaller', which is good. No, it was large, but thin, and looked more like Round than Ribeye, and ate that way too: it was pounded and marinated and gristled and chewy. Wonder whatever gave them the idea that this was 'ribeye'? Remember what I said about their being 'americanized': it may look, sound, and spell 'american', but the end product most of the time leaves something to be desired. So, if in doubt, spend the money, or go for the chicken (even the pork was probably better). The glass of wine ($3) was average, but, at 6 oz, twice as large as most places. The pina colada was good ($5). And they served water! Nobody does that in Latin America (most of the water isn't fit to drink, and bottled water can get expensive. Thought I was going to end on a positive note, but I just remembered: the tip was pre-added; definitely a no-no in my book, and the first time I've seen it since I started traveling.  

On to the next island: Perico. If you look on a map, there is a spiral road; this goes round and round the hill on the island, and is gated: it's all private residences (condos and homes). There is one hotel on the end of the shopping/dining strip.  

Lastly is the resort on Flamenco Island.

There are nice views of Panama City from each island, including boats parked in Panama Bay. On the other side of the islands and causeway, boats await passage through the Panama Canal.  

Lastly, I took pics of Amador Park on my way back.  

You could spend a weekend here and enjoy the views and the little bit of shopping and dining, but it's not a place for a long stay; not even a beach.