A Popular Politician Dies, Panama Declares Instant Holiday

Popular ex-vice president Billy Ford died of heart failure this past weekend.

A national holiday was declared two days later for today, Tuesday, March 22nd.

As you can see from the picture, in the past he was beaten in the streets for his political views. Apparently, he is well like by the Panamanian people.

I need to do my research about him. In the meantime, I'm gonna enjoy this surprise day off from work.

Hooters Panama

Went last night to watch the UFC fights.

Hooter Girls --> they were okay, but not very many.

Food --> you don't go to Hooters for the food (my burger and fries were decent).

Lots of TVs, showing the fight so you could see it from anywhere.

I expected the place to be crowded with rowdy UFC fans...nope. There were a few fans, but the energy sucked. I was the only one yelling during the fights. The place wasn't even packed.

Side note: The drunk Colombia guy next to me, kept harrasing me to go to "Portros" with him. He kept saying "There's lot of Colombian girls and they take their tops off!" I'm assuming it was a strip club... No, I didn't go with him!

Crocs! They're everywhere!

It's just my opinion, but I HATE these shoes. However, lots of Panamanian's love them. You will see lots of rich, poor and middle class people wearing them.

To be clear, I'm referring to the basic style (like in the photo with the cat).

Now I can make an exception for these ugly shoes if you are at the beach, washing a car, or anything wear your feet will get wet. I can even understand wearing them if you are running a quick errand. But an adult getting dressed up,and wearing them out in public to the mall, school, etc???

Truth be told, I shamefully bought a pair to wear once!!! For the record, I had no choice, I was in Las Tablas getting sprayed with water during caranaval. My shoes got soaked, so I wasn't gonna wear them the next day. So I bought a $6 pair of imitation crocs that I ONLY wore during carnaval while getting sprayed with water.

I want to throw my pair away, but I feel guilty being wasteful.

Pray You NEVER get into a Serious Car Accident in Panama City

Yes it happened to me! I was in the car with my girlfriend.

We were waiting at a red light, then BOOOOOM!!! An idiot taxi hits us from behind. Again, we were STOPPED at a traffic light and had been waiting for at least 30 seconds.

• It took me 10-15 mins to flag down a police officer (even though we were in a high traffic part of the city (Calle 50).
• The policeman takes the report, but lets the taxi guy go before the insurance company arrives.
• Our insurance, they don't show up for at least an hour.
• The insurance calls the ambulance, they don't show up for an hour an half.

Thank God it wasn't too serious, or we would've just died there in the street.

I heard there are private ambulance companies. These are worth investigating, because they might be your ONLY HOPE if you need immediate medical attention.

(I wish I was exaggerating all of this, but I'm not) :(

Avoiding Dealing with the Cops - My Advice to Visitors

If you don't have a Panama drivers license:

-> Only drive on the main streets.

-> Only carry your country's drivers license and a copy of your passport.

-> Keep your MONEY seperate from your ID.

-> Do NOT SPEAK Spanish, even if you speak a little.

The cops will hassle you for a second, but then they'll let you go once they see your passport and they know you don't speak Spanish (very important).

I would tell you my story, but its too long to write here.

FYI, if you live here, getting your driver's license is a huge ordeal, but once you have it, its worth it!

Cell Phone Fiasco - My Battle to get a Proper Cell Phone

FYI, this is gonna be long...

There are four cell phone companies here: Digicell, Movistar, Claro and Mas Movil.

(They will be referred to as Company AAA, BBB, CCC and DDD in no particular order)

My story:

-> Bought a $15 pre-paid phone with a sim card from Company "AAA".

-> Bought phone cards (with cell phone minutes) and use them on phone.

(one month later)

-> Got tired of texting and the limits of the above phone, so I bought a full keyboard Chinese (fancy Nokia imitation) cell phone and put in Company AAA's sim chip. This phone becomes my new pre-paid phone.

(after a while)

-> Decide that I want a Blackberry cell phone because many folks *NEVER* have minutes on their phone, but they communicate through free Blackberry instant messages.

-> Blackberry phones are $300 and up, so I refuse to buy one. Instead I consider signing up for a contract and getting the phone for free or around $40.

-> Company BBB comes to my job and offers cell phone plans. Their plans and prices seem high, so I pass.

(one month later)

-> Company BBB comes back to my job again. This time their prices have gone up even more. So I wait.

(some time later)

-> I lose my Chinese cell phone and now I'm back to the basic $15 phone.

-> Company AAA comes to my job and offers cell phone plans. Their plans seem okay so I give them my info and tell them I want a contract. The representive assures me that he will come back on Friday with the phones and contracts to sign.

-> He does not come back on Friday.

-> He does not come back Monday.

-> Even though he says he will, never comes back. After 2 weeks of calling and waiting I give up on him.

(moving on)

-> Now I start checking into Company CCC and Company DDD.

-> After waiting for 1 hours in the store, Company CCC tells me I need to work for 6 months in Panama before they'll give me a contract. Even though, I have a formal letter from my job saying I'll be working in Panama for 2 years.

(so I try Company DDD)

-> They say yes! Great! No, not great! They won't accept my the proof of employment letter because its addressed to Company CCC.

-> I go home and "White out" the name Company CCC, then take the EXACT same letter back to company DDD. Company DDD unknowingly accepts the letter (the refused yesterday) and gives me a cell phone.

That folks is all the hoops I had to jump to just to get a cell phone plan here in Panama.

Parque Omar - Little Oasis in Panama City

Parque Omar is a straight up "cool" place!

Its in the middle of the all the hustle and bustle of Panama City, yet when you enter you get away from all that madness.

Here's what you'll find:

• Good jogging path
• Pullup bars (my favorite)
• Situp benches
• Swimming Pool (but you have to get a Dr's note before you can swim) :(
• Small weight room
• Lots of greenery
• Juice Bar
• Vegetable Stand
• Lots of people jogging (in the evenings)
• Very safe (well at least there are lots of police)
• Extravagant decorations (for holidays)
• They even have recycling receptacles!!!!! (Uncommon for Panama)

On top of all this, you will still find SOME Panamanians with brand new matching exercise outfits and shoes, but BARELY doing any exercise. To them its more about the outfit than the exercise. :) They can also be found at the Powerclub and walking on the Cinta Costeira.

If they ever came to my class, they wouldn't even make it through the warm up. :)

Hip-Hop in Panama - 5 minute rule :(

I love hip-hop music! Period!

Apparently most Panamanians don't.

If you go to a club, bar, etc... you will be lucky if you here ANY hip-hop music. Now if you are LUCKY and you find a place that does play it, you better start dancing IMMEDIATELY. I guarantee you that it will only be played for 5 minutes tops. On top of that, don't expect to hear a whole song. Rather expect to hear parts of maybe 5 songs, then the DJ will go back to playing Reggaeton.

The only time I really hear hip-hop music in this country is when I (or a friend) plays it. :(

Note: My Panamanian friend says he knows of two places that play hip-hop, but only on a Weds or Thurs and he says the crowd is not rough, but its far from fancy.

Silicone Watches - Make Your Friends Back Home Jealous

Cool cheap watch that is sold in various places around Panama. The band is made of silicone rubber and the face is detachable. In other words you can mix and match the faces with different bands. Range from $5-$12 bucks.

Reminds me of "Swatches" from back in the day. Only much cheaper.

Take one home from your visit to Panama, I guarantee you'll get many compliments from your friends (who will be jealous).

My first Carnival in Panama

First off, look at that picture...that is exactly what its like in the town of Las Tablas during Carnival. Crowded streets of people getting sprayed with water. What you may not know is that the crowd is mostly gay men and young kids. In addition to the water, you'll here lots of music and see some extravagant floats. All in all, it was just okay plus gay men and young kids are not my crowd.

At night, there are two night club options (PH and X Zone). PH plays Panamanian music and X Zone plays reggaeton. Again, both are just okay.

My suggestion, go for one day only, if you don't mind crowds.

Important Note: People warned of aggressive flamboyant gay men, lots of crime and lewd/drunken behaviour.

Reality from 2011 visit:

---->Many gay men but they didn't bother anyone.

---->Saw no crime. Only one fight (where only one punch was thrown).

---->No lewd behaviour (gay or straight).

---->People were drinking, but not much more than any other public event.

Panama is a lot more conservative than people think. Even the wild stuff here is somewhat tame compared to what I've seen in other countries.