Coconut Water - The Shakedown is Over

I don't really like coconuts, but I love coconut water. I'm not talking about coconut pulp, its actually water from a coconut. It great for hydrating anytime, especially before or after a workout. Apparently its also better for your than Gatorade and any other "thirst quencher" type drink because it naturally has potassium and electrolytes.

In the US, its at least $1.75 to $3 for about 16oz. Here in Panama, you can get 1.5 liters (about 50 oz) for $3. I drink this stuff all the time, my only concern is the sugar. Its natural, but I need to research if I'm overdoing it.

(The picture shows a coconut water stand, I haven't seen one yet, but I buy that brand in the store all the time)

The $6 Massage

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I found $6 massages at Multi-Plaza (a mall). $6 gets you 15 mins on the chair. $10 gets you 30. I figured that the massage wouldn't be very good because its $6 and in a mall hallway. Man I was wrong!!! They jam packed that 15 mins with one of the best massages I ever had.

For $6, best believe I will be back.

**** TIP: Get a massage during the day. I believe the employees work from 10am to 9pm. So if you come at night, they might be tired and give you a weak massage. I did that once and the lady was barely doing anything. I didn't say anything because I knew it was getting late and she was probably exhausted.

Banks - I'm not a drug dealer!

In Panama, the currency is the US dollar. The highest bill you will normally see is a $20. Many different sources have told me that no one trusts anything over $20 (not $50's, $100's, etc). At Banco General, the manager told me that even if they gave me 100 dollar bills, they wouldn't take them back (if I came in another time).

If you go to the bank and withdraw $1000 in cash, they will literally give you a stack of fifty 20 dollar bills (at least at Banco General). YOU CAN ASK THEM FOR CHECK INSTEAD IF YOU WANT TO AVOID THIS.

I saw a guy withdraw some money which had to be about $8,000. They gave him 2 HUGE stacks, which probably each contained 400 twenty dollar bills . On top of that, he just stuck it in his pocket (no envelope or bag) and walked out.

The funny thing I noticed is that a huge window sits right next to the teller counter, so anyone outside can look in and see the teller hand you a stack of cash!

If you want to feel like a drug dealer for a day, just go to Banco General and withdraw a chunk of money, and have fun walking around Panama worrying about all that cash in your pocket. :)

Sidewalks - Pay attention or you might end up in the hospital

Holes in the sidewalk are EVERYWHERE. I'm not talking about a hole that you would get your foot caught in, NO I'm talking about holes that your whole body will fall in. Some of them are 5 feet or deeper.

Whenever my girlfriend and I are walking through the city, we are always telling each other "watch out for that hole". These holes can be anything: manhole, sewer, broken pavement, etc. I wonder how many people fall in these holes when there not paying attention?

By the way, I've NEVER seen one sign, cone, or anything to warn you about a hole.

Side note: The sidewalks here are terrible in most places.

Zona Viva - Clubs, Clubs and more clubs

I read that if you want to go dancing, ask for a "disco" not a "club". Otherwise you might end up at a strip-club.

In Panama City, their are three main places that I know of that have nightclubs or lounges: Zona Viva, Calle Uruguay and Casco Viejo.

Calle Uraguay is the area of high end clubs, kind of like Las Vegas. Apparently its where all the rich and wanna be rich people go. I haven't gone myself, except for dinner with my girlfriend so I can't comment much on Calle Uruguay.

Casco Viejo is an older, somewhat historic part of town. Here you'll find a few clubs and mostly bars that caters to a late 20's and up crowd. The area is pretty calm, but some people don't go to it because its near a poorer part of town. We went to two Salsa clubs here, both were just okay...people weren't really dancing.

Zona Viva
Zona Viva is near the Amador causeway, which is a thin strip of land on the water. This place is like Disneyland for 20 year olds who like the over the top club scene. It is about 2 blocks longs and EVERY building is a night club with a neon sign and LOUD music. *TIP - Bring earplugs if you go out dancing in Panama.

Zona Viva has all types of music (house, reggae, regaeton, pop, hip-hop, etc). The average age here is about 22 years old. The cover charges of the clubs range from $5 to $15. It also seemed like some of the people were there just to hang out The place is supposed to be 18 and over, but I KNOW some of those folks were under 18. In fact, I've been told that lots of high school kids go there. If you want nightclub overload, go to Zona Viva.

Shopping Malls - Calm, Chaos, Big Breasts and Naked Mannequins

Shopping Malls - Calm, Chaos and Big Breasts

There are a bunch of malls in Panama. So far I've been to 4: Multi-Plaza, Multi-Centro, Los Pueblos and Allbrook.

Multi-Plaza is middle to high end mall, exactly like ones you'd find in the US. Zara is a great place to buy stylish men's clothing, however, stick to the sale items. My girlfriend noticed a store called "White Laundry" that had a naked mannequin hanging upside down in their window, not a big deal, but here some of the mannequins look very real.

Multi-Centro is more of a middle class mall. Its pretty calm and it has a variety of stores at prices cheaper than Multi-Plaza (in some cases). It has a "Conway","Aliss" and "La Onda" which are all "Target" type stores. We got a mattress from "La Onda".

Los Pueblos is the people's mall. Its a little chaotic, and FAR from fancey. Go there if you want very inexpensive household items or functional stuff where brand is not importaant. Here we picked up an iron, silverware, washcloths, glasses, cheap shorts, telephone, etc.

Allbrook is a HUGE mall that has everything. This mall is so big that if you walk past a store, there's a chance you might have trouble finding it later. This mall is crowded with people everywhere. Here you can find everything: high end stores to stores with great prices. Higher end stores are calm and mellow. The stores with the low prices can be pretty chaotic. There are people everywhere digging through the discount bins or sales racks (for the record, it was the weekend everyone got their bonus paychecks). We bought quite a few things at this mall from Zara, Titan, Mac Store and Oka Loka. Try out the stores with lots of people in them, they're probably the ones with better prices.

At Allbrook, your are gonna need time and patience. In one store for example, just to use their bathroom, we had to wait for 5 mins for an employee to escort us to it and unlock it (it was run down and had no soap by the way).

One interesting thing about the Allbrook (and some other malls here) is that some of the mannequins have really HUGE breasts. Even more interesting is that some of them have huge breasts that are in the wrong place! I saw numerous mannequins that had huge breasts, that were located almost on the mannequin's stomach.

Car Rentals - Not Cheap in Panama

Went to Thrifty Rental Car today, to pick up my $24/day car. For 2 days, the total was supposed to be $53.00 + 18.00/day for "mandatory" insurance. Everybody was telling me that rental cars are expensive. But being the internet genius that I thought I was, I figured I found a great deal: $23+18 = $41/day.

Was I wrong. I get to Thrifty and the bill is $132 or approx. $66/day! It turns out that you have to buy two different types of insurance, $18 for liablity AND $15 for damages plus local taxes.

I asked the lady at the counter for a discount and she hooked me up. Gave me 2 days for $50/day.

Even at $50/day, its better than dealing with taxi's that are empty, but still drive by you or refuse to go in your direction.

Stopped by the Cops

Today in my rental car, I ran a red light that I didn't see. A cop standing in the middle of the street pulled us over. He told me what I did, but I just assumed he was lying because he wanted to get paid (I honestly had stopped and looked, but did not see any light). I actually ran the light, because I came back later that day and saw that there was a light there.

The cop asks for my passport and starts to give a long speech about an infraction, $100, go here, go there, cameras are watching us, blah blah blah (my girlfriend did the talking because he spoke no English). He basically was just stalling until we offered him money. After about 10 mins, he told me to get in the car and roll up the tinted window, fold up the money ($16 was all I had) and hand it to him under my driver's license (so no one could see).

Later I talked to a local and he said that there's no need to pay more than $10...I'll remember that next time. Thank God I was able to just pay $16...in the US it would've been way more than that.

Sweating Like a Hostage - Outdoors its ALWAYS Warm or HOT!

I decided to store my turntables temporarily at a friend's house who lives only 4 blocks away. It was night time, and since my friend lives so close, I figured I'd just take them before going out for the night with my lady. I get dressed up and begin dragging them down the street (they have wheels and a handle, like a suitcase).

Not being used to this climate, I KEEP FORGETTING THAT IN PANAMA, NIGHT, RAIN, CLOUDS OR WIND DOES NOT MEAN COLD WEATHER!!!

I'm used to dragging the turntables after DJ gigs, but NOT when its 85 degrees outside. During my 4 block walk, I'm sweating like a hostage, having to deal with uneven surfaces (sidewalk and street), while all the neighborhood dogs are barking at me because of the noise from the wheels. By the time I get to my friend's house, I am in full sweat and my nice shirt is partially wet (not as bad as the guy in the photo). It took at least 20 mins for my body temperature to return back to normal.

Rental Advice - Check Everything Before You Commit

I learned the hard way that you can't assume anything works when you are deciding on an apt. When checking out an apt:
Check that the hot water works in the shower.
Check that the toilet flushes.
Check that the door locks correctly.
Check that the AC work.
LAY DOWN ON THE BED!
Sit on the couches.
You get the idea.
Do this in the apt that you will actually be renting, not in a demo or "one thats just like it".


Recently found a temporary apt to rent until I decide where I want to really live. The place is nice, BUT too bad I didn't find out till 2am (when I was dead tired), that the shower water does NOT get hot. I REFUSED to take a cold shower at 2am. I'd rather go to bed funky, than be wide a wake at 2am.

Some other little things that need I found out after moving in:
1. The security door, doesn't lock correctly.
2. The shower water has very little pressure.
3. The bed feels like a trampoline.
Everything else seems to be cool though. The apt mgr says that someone will come on Monday and fix the door and water issues.

Panama is great, but I'm learning that you are taking a big risk if you assume anything. I'm gonna be like Sherlock Holmes when I look at any future apartments.

Lesson Learned from a Panama Taxi

I was in a taxi on my way to a Capoeira class at a park near the waterfront. I was wearing jeans and I figured the park would not have a place to change my clothes. I estimated about 5 mins before we got to the park...plenty of time to quickly change out of my jeans and into my Capoeira pants.

I pull off my jeans and am about to put on my Capoeira pants when the taxi stops to pick up two girls. The cabbie says to me "some pretty girls". I try to tell him in my broken Spanish, that I have no pants on.

Important note about taxis in Panama: After they pick you up, they might still stop and pick up other people along the way. (I knew this, but I didn't know we were gonna pass by a major street with people waiting to go home from work or school.

I'm sitting there with no pants on. The cabbie is talking to the girls and they start walking over to the cab. At this point with the cab being so small in the backseat, I had NO chance to get my pants back on. The girls don't notice me while there negotiating with the cabbie. The girls grab the door and look inside to see me in my underwear. They do a double take and then run away from the cab. The cab driver drives off not realizing what happened. I explain to him again and he looks back this time to see me in my underwear. He starts cracking up and laughs for the rest of the way until we get to the park.

Privilege - The Name Says It All

Went to this hidden restaurant, bar, club type spot yesterday called Privilege Pavillion. The place was hidden in a quiet neighborhood and looked like something out of a modern "Scarface" face movie. It is like a mini resort and has an outdoor bar, pool, plush couches and many little garden pathways to walk around in. This is a great place for a date, or to come have drinks with some friends. It was mellow when we went, but apparently it gets packed on some nights.

The crazy thing is, this "resort" used to be some rich guys "party" house.

The name is also a blatant reminder that if your in here, you are someone of privilege. I guess some people like to take pride in being privileged. I don't, but the name is good reminder for me to be thankful for what I have and to try to help others who have much less.

Too bad that the grocery store "Whole Foods" in the US, isn't called "Privileged Foods" too. :)

I saw a graffiti sticker on a construction site that roughly translated to "the city has no pride, this city has no heritage". My guess is that its referring to all the money and reconstruction that's going into the tourist, expat, upper-class neighborhoods, but the poorer areas (from the little I saw) are not receiving much, or any of it.

I'm sure the same thing can be said about a lot places in the world...