Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Panama City, Panama

Panama City was exactly as I’d pictured it – all white, dense, oozing history. I took it as a good omen, like forgotten faces from a dream, as we wandered the crumbling edifices of Casco Viejo.

The city was destroyed in 1671 by Welsh pirate Henry Morgan and a band of 1,400 men. Old Panama was looted and burned, though to this day nobody knows whether the flames were set by the pirates or by the residents of Panama in a last-ditch effort to stave off the raiders. The city was reconstructed in 1673 about five miles southwest of Old Panama with a great wall on the ocean side.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The remains of this ancient settlement are still inhabited: the poor in apartments hundred of years old, the wealthy in renovated complexes with Brazilian restaurants downstairs. The President himself lives in the gentrified outskirts of Casco Viejo, with a great balcony looking over the bay towards the skyscrapers of modern-day downtown Panama City.

That night we went out to a casino in Miguel’s neighborhood of El Cangrejo. I won $1.84 on Texas Tea and cashed in. In an insightful reversal of roles, we laughed and became oddly giddy at the realization that we were being carefully watched like small prey by the various gaggles of Colombian hookers, who sulked about the place in bright clothing and fake breasts, ever searching for a glimmer of “yes” in our naive gringo eyes. Miguel took us to a bar down the street and a Colombian girl squeezed my butt on the way in. Another suddenly began rubbing my belly as I waited absent-mindedly for a beer.

We thought it was hilarious, somehow – stupidly enjoying all the attention over a game of pool. I realized that Miguel had taken us here intentionally. He was getting a kick out of the way we perceived the decadence with novelty. We joked about our newfound popularity for a while, but then, as if someone had pressed a button, the realities of the situation sunk in and at once we were somber. Fat gringo wastoids walked away with beautiful young women who would never find love notes scrawled on napkins hidden in their pockets. The thin film of humor had popped. We left.

A causeway extends several kilometers over the water of the south-facing bay of Panama, offering a fantastic view of the towering downtown. The location was U.S. military access only until control of the canal was given over to Panama on December 31, 1999. Several students had been gunned down in protests against the American control of Panamanian territory, leading to negotiations that resulted in the signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaty treaty on September 7, 1977. Now the causeway houses bars, restaurants and marinas, with the occasional converted bunker the only reminder of the location’s history.

Miguel took us out to a waterfront bar owned by a friend of his. Huge tankers loomed between us and the city, waiting for passage through the Panama Canal. Nella – Miguel’s friend, a beautiful woman, all smiles – served us buckets of Atlas and Panama cerveza. Kaj, fluent and suave in most languages in existence, was already chatting in both English and Spanish with two women at the bar. We stayed late into the night talking, drinking and laughing together like old friends.

The next evening we went back to the casino, where Ricky made twenty bucks at blackjack in five minutes and I broke even. Then out to a hip little bar in Casco Viejo, located in the remains of the old city bank. You could still see the vault locks in the doorway. It was Froste’s birthday, the big 21, so we bought him an excess of tequila and he danced like a man possessed.

Our group unhinged the bubbly, bold and free-flowing aspects in each other – psyche-clockwork-champagne. We had excellent synergy, a classic click, and we laughed and danced like idiots, like old friends. After a while we merged with a group of American and Canadian expat girls who were living in the city – talked, danced.

Then off to clubby Calle Uruguay, where Hooker Affective Disorder hit quick. I chatted with one, “Jessica,” for a while, telling her we were astronauts scheduled for the moon from Cape Canaveral in a week. We were on our last bit of study down here in Panama City, practicing communication skills with foreign entities. It felt like it should have been funny, but it wasn’t. She smiled and faked laughter – always waiting for that deal-sealing “yes.”

Ricky, Froste and I visited the Miraflores lock on the canal and watched huge ships being lowered on the last leg of their 8-10 hour crossing to the Pacific. Over 27,000 workers died in the construction of the canal, most under the original French overseer who intended to build a direct, lock-less channel straight across. The U.S. took over construction and the mammoth project was opened for business in 1914.

Now, over 14,000 ships pass through the Panama Canal annually, saving time and operation costs necessary to round Cape Horn. The amount of land removed in its construction, if strung together in flatbed rail cars, would circle the planet four times.

Wow.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Next Article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks

Panama City was exactly as I’d pictured it – all white, dense, oozing history. I took it as a good omen, like forgotten faces from a dream, as we wandered the crumbling edifices of Casco Viejo.

The city was destroyed in 1671 by Welsh pirate Henry Morgan and a band of 1,400 men. Old Panama was looted and burned, though to this day nobody knows whether the flames were set by the pirates or by the residents of Panama in a last-ditch effort to stave off the raiders. The city was reconstructed in 1673 about five miles southwest of Old Panama with a great wall on the ocean side.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The remains of this ancient settlement are still inhabited: the poor in apartments hundred of years old, the wealthy in renovated complexes with Brazilian restaurants downstairs. The President himself lives in the gentrified outskirts of Casco Viejo, with a great balcony looking over the bay towards the skyscrapers of modern-day downtown Panama City.

That night we went out to a casino in Miguel’s neighborhood of El Cangrejo. I won $1.84 on Texas Tea and cashed in. In an insightful reversal of roles, we laughed and became oddly giddy at the realization that we were being carefully watched like small prey by the various gaggles of Colombian hookers, who sulked about the place in bright clothing and fake breasts, ever searching for a glimmer of “yes” in our naive gringo eyes. Miguel took us to a bar down the street and a Colombian girl squeezed my butt on the way in. Another suddenly began rubbing my belly as I waited absent-mindedly for a beer.

We thought it was hilarious, somehow – stupidly enjoying all the attention over a game of pool. I realized that Miguel had taken us here intentionally. He was getting a kick out of the way we perceived the decadence with novelty. We joked about our newfound popularity for a while, but then, as if someone had pressed a button, the realities of the situation sunk in and at once we were somber. Fat gringo wastoids walked away with beautiful young women who would never find love notes scrawled on napkins hidden in their pockets. The thin film of humor had popped. We left.

A causeway extends several kilometers over the water of the south-facing bay of Panama, offering a fantastic view of the towering downtown. The location was U.S. military access only until control of the canal was given over to Panama on December 31, 1999. Several students had been gunned down in protests against the American control of Panamanian territory, leading to negotiations that resulted in the signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaty treaty on September 7, 1977. Now the causeway houses bars, restaurants and marinas, with the occasional converted bunker the only reminder of the location’s history.

Miguel took us out to a waterfront bar owned by a friend of his. Huge tankers loomed between us and the city, waiting for passage through the Panama Canal. Nella – Miguel’s friend, a beautiful woman, all smiles – served us buckets of Atlas and Panama cerveza. Kaj, fluent and suave in most languages in existence, was already chatting in both English and Spanish with two women at the bar. We stayed late into the night talking, drinking and laughing together like old friends.

The next evening we went back to the casino, where Ricky made twenty bucks at blackjack in five minutes and I broke even. Then out to a hip little bar in Casco Viejo, located in the remains of the old city bank. You could still see the vault locks in the doorway. It was Froste’s birthday, the big 21, so we bought him an excess of tequila and he danced like a man possessed.

Our group unhinged the bubbly, bold and free-flowing aspects in each other – psyche-clockwork-champagne. We had excellent synergy, a classic click, and we laughed and danced like idiots, like old friends. After a while we merged with a group of American and Canadian expat girls who were living in the city – talked, danced.

Then off to clubby Calle Uruguay, where Hooker Affective Disorder hit quick. I chatted with one, “Jessica,” for a while, telling her we were astronauts scheduled for the moon from Cape Canaveral in a week. We were on our last bit of study down here in Panama City, practicing communication skills with foreign entities. It felt like it should have been funny, but it wasn’t. She smiled and faked laughter – always waiting for that deal-sealing “yes.”

Ricky, Froste and I visited the Miraflores lock on the canal and watched huge ships being lowered on the last leg of their 8-10 hour crossing to the Pacific. Over 27,000 workers died in the construction of the canal, most under the original French overseer who intended to build a direct, lock-less channel straight across. The U.S. took over construction and the mammoth project was opened for business in 1914.

Now, over 14,000 ships pass through the Panama Canal annually, saving time and operation costs necessary to round Cape Horn. The amount of land removed in its construction, if strung together in flatbed rail cars, would circle the planet four times.

Wow.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.