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.

It's 5:45am Right Now...and a MARCHING BAND IS PLAYING on a work day!!!!!

Only in Panama would a marching band would be practicing at FULL VOLUME at 5:45am on a Monday morning. It is so ridiculous that I just started laughing rather than got mad. Today better be some special holiday for this tomfoolery...

Sushi in Panama

I like the "Sushi Express" chain. There are lots of locations here in Panama.

Good sushi, decent prices, open till 11pm and one of them is down the street from my house. You can eat on their patio or inside. They don't take a long time to bring you your food, and they deliver.

My gf and I have eaten her many times and I can always count on them for good food. Just be aware that if you make subsitutions, be very clear with what you want and DOUBLE check that the server understands. Have them repeat it back to you or you may end up with wrong order. To their credit, if they mess up your order, they will gladly take it back and fix it.

There is also a place called "Sake" across the street from Multiplaza. Here, the sushi is higher end (taste and price). The restaurant, bar, lounge are all decorated like an upscale club. Good choice for sushi if you don't mind spending more.

Getting Lost and Stopped by the Cops Again!

Last night my girlfriend and I were driving home from Casco Viejo. Casco Viejo is an old part of town where there are some bars, restaurants and areas which are questionable. If you are not careful, it easy to get lost and end up in the wrong neighborhood.

We were dropping off a friend so we followed the GPS and took a route we were unfamiliar with. First we drove the wrong direction on a one-way street. A minute later, the street begin to split and I swerved a little as I tried to decide which way to go.

Immediately after, the cops pull us over. It was two young guys with machine guns, pointed in our direction, but at the ground. We decide to speak NO spanish to the cops. They eventually told us to get out the car. We told them that we were lost and we were following our GPS. After realizing we were telling the truth, the cops relaxed and explained to us how to get home.

I'm happy to say that they did NOT ask for money, nor did they even bother to check our ID.

Until I get to know Casco Viejo real well, I will take taxis in and out of there.