Panama Archives - Dr. Liz Thach, MW

Shopping in Panama City’s Casco Antiguo, Albrook Mall, and Visiting the Frank Gehry Biodiversity Museum

Old Section of Panama City March 2015 - On our last full day in Panama we drove to the old city to do the walking tour and some shopping. Again it was a bit challenging traversing the slums and one-way streets, but easier in the daylight than in the nighttime as we had done previously. Using a tourist map, we managed to find the paid parking lot at the end of the peninsula on which the old city is situated. It only costs 30 cents per half hour, so 90 cents for our total visit. We wandered the streets and [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T14:32:00-08:00April 20, 2015|

Visiting the Soberania National Park and Gamboa Rainforest Resort, Panama

March 2015 - Another day we drove from our resort to the Soberania National Park. It took about 35 minutes from the Intercontinental Playa Bonita Resort and was not that difficult. What was challenging was trying to figure out where the park started. There is no visitor center, but instead small signs listing the name of the hiking trails. Therefore, you must check the names of the hiking trails first. We stopped at the El Charco Nature Trail (Sendero Natural El Charco) and parked in the dirt parking lot. As we approached the trailhead, a smiling young man stepped out [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:00:16-08:00April 13, 2015|

Renting a Car in Panama City and Visiting the Panama Canal

Simulation Room at Panama Canal March 2015 - Renting a car in Panama City was an unusual experience. We reserved with Hertz and the check-in at the airport was normal, but the nice touch was they brought the car to the curb for us to climb in. No need to get on a rental car bus. The downside was that when we returned the car to the airport, there are no signs about where to return it, and we had to circle 3 times. Eventually, after asking several police officers, we were told that we should bring the car to [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:00:34-08:00April 6, 2015|

Relaxing at Playa Bonita and Watching Panamanian Dancing

Beach & Pool at Playa Bonita Resort March 2015 – In between attending conference sessions, we managed to explore several parts of Panama City. The first full day we enjoyed the beauty of the Intercontinental Playa Bonita Resort, which is located 15 minutes north of Panama City just over the impressive Bridge of Americas. The resort is situated on a beautiful blond sand beach on the Pacific, with a view of the massive ships lining up on the horizon to wait their turn to enter the Panama Canal. There are many different types of seabirds that come to the resort [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:00:51-08:00April 1, 2015|

Wine and Food in Panama

Empty Red Wine Glasses in Panama March 2015 – There are no wineries in Panama, but there are plenty of wines in the restaurants, bars, grocery stores and occasional liquor store. Due to its location, linking Central America to South America, it is not surprising that the majority of the wine is from Chile and Argentina. However, we also found a large selection from Spain, and a few bottles from Australia and California – primarily Yellow Tail and Gallo brands, such as Barefoot and Apothic. A positive is that the price for wine in Panama seemed quite reasonable, and you [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T15:01:32-08:00March 30, 2015|