2019-06-14 Central Hotel Panama, Panama City, Panama

Today we have a free day without any organised tours
We decide to set off on foot and do a little more exploring around the area
Looking towards the Palace of the Herons which is a 17th Century building which houses the offices and residence of the President
We decide to buy some tickets on the Hop On Hop Off Bus which took us to other parts of Panama City that we had not seen and also some that we had seen too!!
It was fabulous to get some close up views of the amazing modern buildings of Panama City
We pass a substantial statue of the early 16th century Spanish explorer, governor and conquistador called Vasco Nunez de Balboa
We have found that the buses are always a good way to get around most large cities
Not only do we see amazing building and houses we also see where the majority of local people live too
A popular means of transport in Panama City are the large brightly painted buses for the locals although some tourists use them too
We pass a very large statue of Arnulfo Arias Madrid (15 August 1901 – 10 August 1988) who was a politician from Panama, a doctor, and a writer who served as the President of Panama from 1940 to 1941, again from 1949 to 1951, and finally for eleven days in October 1968.
Looking towards the original main square of the old town. Today it is called the French Plaza dedicated to France’s role in building the Panama Canal
The bus circuit took us out to the Miraflores Locks
We pass one of the dams built near the canal
Again we pass the fabulous Biomuseum
We head out on the Amador Causeway
Panama Bay is a popular anchorage
Returning along the Amador Causeway we look across to the commercial district of Panama City
Looking towards the fish markets
We disembark the bus near the fish markets as we have not as yet visited them
Arriving at Mercado de Mariscos we were amazed at all the fresh local seafood available here at reasonable prices
The lobsters and crabs looked fantastic
No shortage of fish of all sizes
These friendly guys were proud to show off their large prawns
Beside the fish market is a large covered open ended hall called Mercado De Marisco Cinta Costera ….. we decided to have a substantial late lunch here and skip dinner
There are numerous vendors all trying to entice you to their tables …. we chose Ceviches Archi, as the food coming from the kitchen looked great and the guys were pleasant and not too pushy
We ordered quite a few dishes to share, including prawns, fish and lobster ……… all were freshly cooked and delicious
Our friendly hosts ….. who also made good cocktails!!
Friendly girls from the opposition ……… next time we will try food from their menus!!!
After our late lunch we head back on foot to Casco Antiguo where our hotel is located
As we arrived back to the hotel the clouds were getting darker and we felt the first drops of rain
In the evening we enjoyed having a couple of drinks in the lovely foyer of our hotel and us the opportunity to use the internet which was not great in the rooms!!

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