Panama - Casco Viejo

On the sixth day of our stay we took a break from the beach (sigh) and joined a bus excursion to the Casco Viejo, or the colonial city, section of Panama City. Casco Viejo has been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and is in the midst of a massive make-over with ancient renovated buildings cheek-by-jowel with run-down edifices yet to be transformed. An eclectic mix of old and new to be sure. Lots of pics today, so let's get to it.

We took the Pan Americana Highway from the resort to Panama City. Our tour guide told us if we turned the other direction the Pan American would lead us to Canada...in about two weeks!

Each village along the route has bus stops like these...

As we neared Panama we travelled over the canal via the Las Americas Bridge

The narrow streets of Casco Viejo were something of an obstacle course for our busses to navigate.

We disembarked and commenced our walking tour. We came across slum-like buildings, buidlings being renovated, edifices with outer walls only, and brightly renovated condos and business...a fascinating juxtaposition of stages of reconstruction...

A couple of Panama's finest, above. Below, what looks like a hotel is actually Panama's Institute of Culture which, we were told, was used as a location for a scene in the latest James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, depicting a luxury Bolivian hotel! An impressive view of downtown Panama can be had from behind the Institute.

These two tykes were on to us the moment we stepped off the bus trying to hawk their wares. They kept trying to offload their stuff on us for over an hour. When they stopped to take a rest, I snapped their picture, to which they responded "One dollar for picture, please."

This is the presidential palace, also located in the colonial city. An armed presence isn't hard to miss in this area.

A variety of types of architecture are on display in this section of the city, including this art deco building, followed by a partially restored church.

The colonial city is west of downtown. East of the centre of town is Panama La Vieja, the original city, destroyed in 1671 by the infamous pirate Sir Henry Morgan. The remaining ruins are also designated a World Heritage Site.

After a full day it was back on the bus for the trip back to the resort. There are lots of billboards lining the Pan Americana, including adverts for candidates in the coming elections in May. The ones that really caught my eye, though, were of the following variety.

Next: the Panama Canal

My Back Pages - October

Well, folks, I read seven (count 'em) seven books in October. One I didn't finish but even at that I hit the magic number 50 I estimated for myself by the end of the year. The six books I successfully waded through were, firstly, What Happened, Hillary Clinton's book on her bid for the Presidency. I''m a bit of a political junkie so I get off on this stuff but still it kinda struck me as one long whine over losing. Next up was the excellent Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon. Laurel Canyon was the fabled area outside of Los Angeles where many musicians and artists lived. Known as a 60s enclave, the book takes a look at just who lived there over the last 80 years. A fascinating read. Next up was Lightfoot, a biography of Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. He may have been responsible for some iconic folk songs but he was also quite the womanizer and boozer. Enough said. Then I read Dan Brown's new tome Origin, the fifth ...

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

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